Delta coaches Luis Meza, center, and Clayton Curtis congratulate 152-pound senior Hunter Brasfield after an upset win sent him into the 4A Region 4 semifinals.
Hotchkiss senior Joe Boyle controls Ruben Chagoya of Basalt to win a 3A Region 1 title. He is one of 7 Hotchkiss state qualifiers.
Hotchkiss and Paonia boys will square off this week on the basketball courts. Both are 6-4 in league play.
Delta senior Brooke Taylor scores two of her 12 points against Summit after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Paonia 195-pounder Tyler “TK” Kendall sets Rangely’s Drew Collins up for a pin.
Paonia freshman Bo Pipher sets TJ Richard of North Park up for a pin in Saturday’s regional semifinal round. He is one of 13 Paonia wrestlers headed to state!
Surrounded by coaches and his dad, Conner Beard signs Letter of Intent to play football for the University of Nebraska Kearney.
Hotchkiss' Jacobe Galley signed a Letter of Intent to play football and study engineering at Colorado Mesa University.
Hotchkiss senior Cody Bartlett signed his National Letter of Intent to run cross-country for Hawaii Pacific University.
Last week's regular-season baseball finale in Gypsum was a victory for the Panthers as they rolled past Eagle Valley 12-1. The win left Delta with a league record of 12-2 and an overall mark of 16-3.
It was a tale of two games for Cedaredge's baseball team last week. The Bruins were on the road in Bayfield to face Peak to Peak's Pumas in game one of elimination play.
Photo by Tamie Meck Kylie Hodges releases the discus at the Bruin Invitational. Hodges will compete in both the discus and shot put at this week’s state 2A track meet in Lakewood. Teammate Daryl Batt had her best throw of the season and is going to state in…
Photo by Tamie Meck Senior Josiah Spano, of Paonia, was an All-Conference first team selecton in the 2A WSL for the 2012-13 hoop year.This year's Class 2A All-Conference and All-State honors in the 2013 Photo by Tamie Meck Paonia High School senior Annavah…
This Friday, the communities of Paonia and Hotchkiss will be cheering as their hometown football teams play out their annual rivalry at Paonia. While the winners take home the North Fork Bowl trophy, which Hotchkiss has claimed the past five years, there's more at stake this year than just bragging rights.
The Bulldogs (5-2, 2-1, 1A Western Slope League) are currently in third place in the WSL after a one-point loss on Sept. 28 to Cedaredge. The Bruins, one of two new teams in the 1A WSL, are in first place with a 6-1, 3-0 record. This is the first time in four years that Hotchkiss is not dominating the league, but they're hardly the underdogs in this match and are coming off of last Friday's 55-6 throttling of Roaring Fork (1-6, 0-3).
The Eagles are in second place with a 4-3 overall, 3-0 league record, and defeated visiting Lake County last Friday, 52-0. The final two games of the season, including a game at No. 1 Cedaredge on Oct. 26, will be their biggest tests this year.
Both teams have strong running games, and powerful running backs — Jacobe Galley for the Bulldogs and Will Austin for the Eagles. Against Lake County last Friday, Austin had nine carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while Galley ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs' win Friday over Roaring Fork. Against the Rams, Hotchkiss rushed for 236 yards; against Lake County, Paonia rushed for 331 yards.
Both teams have a new quarterback at the helm. Both have experienced and successful defensive teams.
On special teams, Paonia recently acquired place kicker Jorge Quinonez, who kicked four PATs against Lake County and a 44-yard field goal in the Eagles' win at Meeker.
Paonia will be focused on maintaining their second-place standing in the league, which ensures a place in first-round state playoffs in three weeks. A loss for Hotchkiss would hold them in third place in the league.
With wins over the two top teams in the Southern Peaks League by Hotchkiss and Paonia playing one of their toughest early-season schedules in recent years, either team could pick up a wildcard berth.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Paonia Town Park.
