Castle Rock to 3-0 in Colorado HS D2
Castle Rock to 3-0 in Colorado HS D2
Colorado HS teams are a hardy bunch and they got going this past weekend despite the snow.
Chief among these are the Castle Rock Pirates, who won their third game in a row in D2. After playing D1 teams East HS and NCOS Falcons in a couple of preseason friendlies, the Pirates came out of the blocks nicely.
They beat the Titans 38-17 in their opener and shut out Aspen after that 37-0.
That set up last weekend's snow-covered clash with the Hammers, which the Pirates won 24-5.
Subzero temperatures and three inches of snow covering the Highlands Ranch High School field didn't Castle Rock and Fort Collins from entertaining the large crowd of chilly supporters.
Pirates were relentless on attack and eventually breached the Hammers' defense 15 minutes in—Porter Healy scampering over. That was it for the first half, 5-0, but Pirates Head Coach Jeff Bredehoeft talked about focus and control and the chat seemed to pay off.
A lineout deep into the Fort Collins 22 resulted in openside flanker Jack Burnett crashing over for a try, making it 12-0 with the conversion. The Hammer responded almost immediately, but Pirates No. 8 Avery Genders secured a turnover and sent it quickly to Italian exchange student Sebastiano Bertolissi, who ran it in from 30 meters.
The Pirates got the bonus point when, with 5 minutes remaining, lock Tristan Pankratz produced a rather spectacular dive over a pile of bodies for the Pirates' 4th try of the game. Bertolissi nailed the kick and it was 24-5 and a 3-0 record so far.
"We were going in really confidently after two great performances," said scrumhalf Grant Heiderman. "We were coming in here with a lot of energy and excitement."
Despite the conditions.
"I feel like I was a little nervous about the snow at first but we've got really good forwards that can deal with the snow," added fullback Hunter Irish. "We've put in the hard work and effort and I feel like it's really paying off."
Defense is the order of the day for the Pirates and if they are targeting a state D2 title, that's what will take them there.
