ߣÏÈÉú

The ‘next-man-up’ mentality — and great defense — carried Vail Christian over Lyons last Friday night.

With junior quarterback Asher Morris nursing a hip flexor injury, sophomore Rayman Romanin stepped in to lead the Saints to a 28-12 road win and improve to 2-0 on the year. Saints running back Hunter Gilbert came through in the clutch, too, scoring two of his game-high three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

“Having a sophomore backup quarterback come in today with Asher (out) was huge,” Saints head coach Tim Pierson said. “Rayman — next man up — did a great job filling in there.”

---

---

Romanin put the Saints on the board first with a 22-yard touchdown strike to fellow sophomore Jameson Gregg in the first quarter. Lyons, which came into the game with an 0-2 record, responded with a 60-yard touchdown pass of their own to make it 6-6. Romanin put his team on his back again right before the end of the half. The quarterback dashed for a 36-yard run on a drive which culminated with Gilbert’s 3-yard touchdown.

The third quarter was mostly a defensive battle until Lyons quarterback Calvin Russell tied the game at 12 with his second touchdown pass of the evening. Gilbert scored on a 7-yard run and 39-yard scamper in the fourth and Romanin converted both two-point conversions as Vail Christian pulled away for the 28-12 win.

---

---

“(We) played really well defensively throughout the night,” Pierson said. “Big defensive day for us. Still trying to get our rhythm going passing the ball on offense.”

The No. 12 Saints (2-0) travel to No. 15 Plateau Valley (2-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Turnovers plague Devils in loss to Grand Junction Central

Grand Junction Central scored three defensive touchdowns en route to a 34-0 home win over Eagle Valley on Thursday.

“It was a good night for our team,” second-year coach Ryan Whittington the Grand Junction Sentinel. “Tremendously proud of all of our defensive staff, the time they put into our game plan and executed it really well.”

Even though the Warriors only had 108 yards of offense in the first-half, they went into the break with a 14-0 lead. Quintin Gray fell on the ball in the end zone after a failed Devils swing pass for the first score, and Dom Colosimo made a one-handed interception — which he ran 80 yards to the house — for the second. Grand Junction Central finished with nine takeaways in the game. Colosimo had another pick-six — this one for 60 yards — in the fourth quarter.

Keaden Lake led the Devils offensively, carrying the ball 12 times for 68 yards and going 8-for-22 for 95 yards through the air. Isaiah Gonzalez and James Bivins both tallied eight tackles in the loss.

Eagle Valley (1-2) travels to Littleton (0-2) on Friday.

Volleyball notes: Huskies sweep ߣÏÈÉúers

• Lela Goehring had seven kills, Tyler Heimerl had two kills and three blocks and Keena Shikverg tallied 21 assists as Battle Mountain cruised to a 25-23, 25-20, 25-17 road win over Aspen on Saturday. The Huskies (2-0) host Delta on Tuesday before embarking on a seven-game road trip.
• Vail Mountain School defeated Hayden 25-22, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-6 last Thursday at home. The Gore Rangers were swept by Rangely on Saturday to fall to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.
• Eagle Valley went 1-3 at the Eaglecrest Tournament in Centennial last weekend. The Devils took down Monte Vista 2-0 before falling to Rampart (2-0), Eaglecrest (2-1) and Mountain Vista (2-0). The Devils (4-7, 1-0 league play) host Rifle (0-4) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Softball notes: Devils go 2-1 at Northridge Tournament

Eagle Valley went 2-1 at the Northridge Tournament in Greeley, Colorado last weekend. The Devils fell to the host Grizzles 14-8 on Friday, but picked up a pair of lopsided wins on Saturday. Eagle Valley defeated Skyline 20-1 and Northfield 18-3 to improve to 12-3 on the year.

Ellia Blakey hit a two-run home run and Audrey Crowley, Lauryn Albers and Ashton French each tallied two hits in the game against Skyline, which was over after three innings. The Devils piled on 11 first-inning runs against Northfield.

Eagle Valley starts a five-game road trip on Tuesday against Delta before hosting Battle Mountain on Oct. 3.