For the first time in school history, Fossil Football has powerfully begun their season with a 2-0 record. After beating Fort Collins last week in the season opener, 33-7, the boys had confidence going into another rival game this time vs Rocky Mountain High School who finished with a (6-4) record last year, sweeping the city.
Fossil’s defense and Evan Bergerson took the field first, Bergerson started off the game with a kick giving Rocky possession. The Lobos came out on fire, scoring the first touchdown of the game, taking an early 6-0 lead.
Fossil Quarterback Griffin Roberts alongside the Sabercat offense ran the ball down the field, showing some of the strong offensive play the crowd has seen last week in the game against Fort Collins. Late in the first quarter, Roberts connected with Donovan Murphree, proving that they weren’t going to let the Lobo defense walk through this game without a fight. The Cats took a 7-6 lead over the Lobos after Evan Bergerson got the extra point off the field goal.
Play went back and forth between the two powerful offensive lines, while the two defensive lines battled hard as halftime approached. In the first half alone Rocky QB, Tyler Hyland, went 10-17 with 198 yards, while Fossil QB, Roberts, went 9-10 with 79 yards and 3 touchdowns and also a 50 yard rush. Hyland found Jaden Wolfe to score another touchdown for Rocky, taking a 14-7 over the Cats.
Late in the first half, Fossil junior Dylan Johnston had a huge return play. After blocking a punt and picking the ball up, Johnston ran it down to the 6 yard line. Execution was successful, and Roberts hit senior Owen Arkin on a 5 yard pass, to tie the game up 14-14. Roberts fired again right away, finding Brady Russell on a 21 yard pass after getting possession again. The Sabercats made their way to the locker room holding a 21-14 lead over the Lobos at the half.
As the second half was played, the excitement of the game had lost it’s spark until the fourth quarter. Owen Arkin stepped up with a sack, forcing a Rocky field goal attempt. The Cat’s lead was 21-17 with 10:41 left in the game.
Fossil senior, Ryan Cronin, had a 67 yard kick return, but the field goal attempt made by Bergerson was missed. Russell managed in a hard sack on Hyland, and Nick Edridge along with the Fossil defense forced a turnover on the Lobo offense with about a minute left of play.
Fossil won the game with a final score of 21-17. The Harmony Cup champions took down yet another cross town rival, showing they can not only make a mean comeback after starting off slow, but the have enough of a backbone to take over and keep a lead.
The next game is Friday September, 16 at 7:00 PM on French Field vs Poudre. Come out and support, “We are all in this together! Our school, our team, our community. Let’s make it a special year,” commented Head Coach Zak Bigelow.
