Fossil Ridge football defeated the Arvada West Wildcats 50-14, hitting the 50 point threshold for the first time in a decade. 

This game means plenty to the Sabercats, as last year they lost to the Wildcats 42-21.

“We went into the game as the underdogs, expecting to just give it our all, and honestly that went the best way it possibly could have,” said running back Jake Toshcoff.

It marks the second game in a row in which Fossil has handily beaten a team which they lost to during the 2021 outing, adding to their 33-0 victory over the Windsor Wizards.

Similar to the Windsor game, the key for Fossil was their run attack. The Sabercats rushed the ball for 385 yards against Arvada West, outdoing their total of 318 against the Wizards. 

The team averaged 352 rushing yards from these last two games, completely outclassing the 98 yard average set through their first three outings. 

Perhaps the biggest benefactor from this change in style has been sophomore running back Jake Toshcoff. Toshcoff ran the ball 16 times for a total of 121 yards against Arvada West, rushing for 100+ yards for the second consecutive matchup. The halfback also smashed his way to his first varsity touchdown, adding a cherry on top of his eye-popping stat sheet.

“Our offensive line was doing everything right…that’s where everything starts…they were opening up those holes and really giving us what we like to see,” Toshcoff said.

Another key performance came from the Sabercats defense. Fossil racked up five turnovers and seven sacks, limiting the Wildcats to the least points they’d scored all season. One key defensive standup was defensive end Julian Smith, who was credited with two fumble recoveries and two sacks, one of which resulted in a safety. 

Another major player was linebacker Tanner Isom. Isom provided the highlight of the day, intercepting a pass and taking it back for a pick six, trucking the Arvada West quarterback in the process.

“I’m not sure what the quarterback was thinking because no one was really around me and he threw it right to me. I could’ve ran it in untouched along the sideline, but the quarterback was coming to try and tackle me…I went and ran him over, scored the touchdown,” Isom said.

The Sabercats now turn their attention to league play, and will start things off with a bang. Fossil will look to avenge their third loss in three weeks as they take on the Fort Collins Lambkins on Friday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m., at CSU’s Canvas Stadium.

This is part of the specialty Canvas Classic, as all four 5A Fort Collins high schools will get to play at the college stadium. Rocky Mountain and Poudre will square off earlier in the day at 4:30. 

“We’ll enjoy tonight and then we’ll get right back to work tomorrow and let’s go play a cross town rivalry game. Thank you to Canvas Stadium for sponsoring this and allowing our student body, our families, and our players to play in one of the most beautiful facilities ever. But the game is not about the stadium, the game is about the Lambkins and the Sabercats,” said head coach Jeff Fulton.