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 Brittanny Brasfield is fouled by Eagle Valley’s Ally Zehring during game action in Gypsum last Saturday. Delta swept weekend games with Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley to up its record to 10-0 (league) and 12-3 (overall).The Mojo is still with the Lady Panthers as they completed a successful weekend of 4A WSL competition. Delta was on the road against the league's number seven team, Battle Mountain on Friday (Feb. 1) and then played number two Eagle Valley on Saturday.
The two games were victories for the Lady Panthers and marked their eleventh and twelfth straight wins after losing three straight early in the season.
Delta 73, BM 24
An early emphasis on defense helped Delta (10-0 and 12-3) ease past the Lady Huskies. Delta stormed to a 17-3 first quarter and held a comfortable 42-5 halftime lead.
Skylyn Webb, one of the state's top scorers, scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the opening quarter. Another eight points in the second stanza gave her 18 at the break.
Callie Gafford and Brittanny Brasfield scored 10 and six points. respectively, in the third quarter, fueling a 22-8 run. Battle Mountain (2-7 and 2-12) outscored the Lady Panthers 11-9 in the fourth quarter to make the final score 73-24.
Gafford's 18 points gave Delta two players with double-digit scoring in the game. Battle Mountain's Taylor Davidson had 10 points to lead the Lady Huskies.
After the game, head coach Matt Hamm praised his team for playing one of the best games, execution-wise, they had played all year.
Delta 55, EV 30
In one of the most important games of the season, Delta was more than motivated for the task at hand. That task was to stay focused from the start and execute their offense and defense against the league's number two team.
Eagle Valley came into the Saturday contest with a 7-2 record, having lost to Glenwood Springs (49-33) on Tuesday (Jan. 29) and winning over Palisade (40-27) on Thursday.
The Lady Devils (7-3, 10-5) used hustle and a solid defense to stay with Delta in the first eight minutes. As the two teams headed to the second quarter, Delta owned a narrow 12-7 lead with Webb's eight points a key ingredient in staying ahead.
Another eight points from Webb, and five points from Gafford and Patti Chapman, helped propel the Lady Panthers to a 20-6 run and a 32-13 halftime lead.
Gafford controlled Delta's offense with six points in the third quarter and Brooke Taylor had four in the fourth as the Lady Panthers outplayed Eagle Valley 23-17 in the second half.
Webb was Delta's leading scorer with 20 points and Gafford finished with 15. Megan Asmussen led Eagle Valley shooters with 11 points and Taylor Martin finished with 10.
Hamm was excited for the Lady Panthers following the win in Gypsum. "This win leaves us with a three-game lead over our closest competition," said Hamm in a post-game locker room talk.
Hamm went on to heap more praise on the team for an excellent game. "We were better today than we were yesterday (against Battle Mountain). Our execution was better and everyone contributed to the win."
The Lady Panthers have tough opponents to finish the regular season and must stay focused and take care of business when Delta visits Glenwood Springs on Friday, Feb. 8. Glenwood is fourth (6-4, 10-4) in league standings and is capable of knocking off any team.
Saturday's game is at home with Steamboat Springs (3-7, 7-8), with varsity action set for 2 p.m.
On Feb. 15, Delta is set to host Summit (0-12, 1-15) for a 6 p.m. game.
Delta will conclude its regular season schedule on Feb. 16 against long-time rival Palisade (5-4, 6-8). That game has been scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
With Delta's success this season, its state standings have steadily climbed after the winning streak began. The Lady Panthers are currently listed in the 10th spot in Class 4A rankings. The top team, Mesa Ridge is 17-0 and has won 17 straight. Number two D'Evelyn is 16-1 and is on an 11-game win streak.
Pueblo West, the number three team, is 16-1, Broomfield is fourth (16-1 and has won 10 in a row), Pueblo South is fifth (16-1, and has 14 in a row), Montrose is sixth with its 12-2 record with a seven-game streak, Windsor is listed seventh (15-3) after seven straight wins, Palmer Ridge (14-3) is eighth, and Sand Creek (13-3, with a nine-game win streak) is ninth.
