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.
Photo by Wayne Crick Delta junior Keaton Reiher drives past a Glenwood Springs’ defender on Friday. Delta dominated the game at both ends of the court to score a 79-50 win over the Demons.A pair of wins over the weekend enabled the Delta Panther boys to extend their winning streak to five. The wins leave Delta at the top of 4A WSL standings with a 3-0 league mark and 5-3 overall.
Delta defeated Glenwood Springs 79-50 on Friday night and then eased past Steamboat Springs 55-48 on Saturday afternoon in Steamboat Springs.
Delta 79, Glenwood 50
This contest began as if both teams would be near the 100-point mark when the game finished. Delta ran its way to a 25-18 advantage after one period of play and seemed capable of sustaining its momentum for the rest of the game.
Chris Black and Jorge Olivas had seven and six points, respectively, to lead the Panthers. Eian Baier was close behind with his four points as seven Panthers figured in the first-quarter scoring run by the Panthers. Chris Thomas led Glenwood with five points.
A more closely-contested game was played in the second frame with the Panthers outscoring the Demons 15-13 to take a 40-31 halftime lead. Black paced Delta with another seven points.
A big third quarter provided a cushion the Panthers would rely on the rest of the way. Olivas' six points led the way for Delta with Black chipping in five counters and Baier another four.
Ryan Whiteside had the hot hand for Delta in the fourth period as he scored six points in a 17-8 run. Olivas and Doug Hawkins added four points each.
Delta was led by Black's 19 points with Olivas close behind with 18. Baier had 10 points while Ryan Whiteside finished with 11 markers and Hawkins nine more.
Delta 55, SS 48
For Delta head coach Von Mitchell, Saturday's game in Steamboat Springs had an eerie feel to it. The young Sailors were pretty much in control of the game's tempo, which was a slow down style, and that just isn't what the Panthers are about. Add to that the fact your point guard and floor general was uncharacteristically saddled with foul trouble and you've got some uneasy feelings in the Panther camp.
Chris Black picked up two hustling fouls in the first half and spent time on the bench to prevent picking up more to jeopardize his role in the game. An opening three for Black was all there was in the first quarter. He knocked down another trey and had a pair of two-pointers to finish with 10 points at the half.
By the end of the third quarter, Black had his fourth foul and Mitchell was forced to sit him down. Black started the fourth quarter and eventually finished the game on the floor and finished with 14 points for the Panthers.
"It seemed like every time we were on the verge of getting the offense rolling, Chris would pick up a foul to change the momentum," noted Mitchell. One of the bright spots in the game was the play of Doug Hawkins. "He (Hawkins) was a rebounding monster," said Mitchell.
Delta and Steamboat struggled to a 7-7 tie after one period with the Panthers easing to the front with a 15-12 second quarter and a halftime lead of 22-19.
In the second half, Ryan Whiteside and Hawkins kept the Panthers in the lead with a five and four-point performance respectively while fending off the Sailors 15-14 in the third period.
The game stayed close in the final stanza with Delta keeping its edge with an 18-15 run and a 55-48 victory. Black's 14 was game-high with Hawkins' 11 counters gave the Panthers two players in double figures. Ryan Whiteside finished with nine points and Keaton Reiher had eight.
Steamboat's Miller had 13 to lead the Sailor's offense. Delta's schedule has the Panthers on two long road trips this week beginning with Rifle on Friday at 7:30 p.m. After a short night's rest, Delta loads the bus early on Saturday morning to make the trip to Summit (Frisco) for afternoon games in varsity action.
The Panthers host Palisade on Jan. 22 with boys' varsity action beginning at 7:30 p.m.
