With the return to classrooms last week, the fall sports season has begun in Moffat County and athletes are looking to pick up where they left off last year.

Back in the swing

As usual, the boys golf team will be first in line this fall and will boast the largest turnout Coach Tim Adams has ever seen.

“This is largely due to our junior golf program, which helped many of these guys decide to participate this year,” Adams said.

With a total of 16 players, Adams is also coached by Trini Loya and former Moffat County High School player Lance Brackett.

So far, the more experienced players have battled to be at the top of the points standings at each tournament. Senior JW Yapoujian shot an 85 to finish eighth at the Bruin Invitational at Cedaredge on August 8.

At the Aspen Invite on August 12, senior Jayden Evenson achieved his personal best with 82 points.

“My putt was great. Aspen isn’t very long, so I didn’t have to worry too much about the drives,” he said.

At the Longhorn Course on Aug. 13 at River Valley Ranch, junior Kolten Vasquez – the team’s only returning state champion – posted a score of 89.

“We’ve had a different leader each time, so it looks like every Bulldog has his day,” Adams said. “These three are all pretty solid.”

Seniors Trayson Carlson and Stone Balleck are in their first year in the program, their first year of competition, but by no means their first sport.

“I’ve always played golf and thought, ‘why not try playing on the team my senior year?'” Carlson said. “The training has been pretty fun so far.”

Now that school has resumed, MCHS golf will be suspended until August 26. The Dogs’ home tournament will take place on September 9 at the Yampa Valley Golf Course.

Ready and full of energy

The fall portion of Moffat County’s rodeo schedule began Saturday and Sunday at none other than the Moffat County Fairgrounds.

The MoCo Cowboys try out new events this season and score a respectable number of points at their first rodeo on the program.

Cutter Barnes placed fourth in the boys cutting both days, while Jesse Grajeda, in his freshman year of high school competition, emerged early on the leaderboard, placing sixth in the rifle shooting both days.

After competing in the national event this summer, senior Jolene Rhyne showed she may be back at that level, taking second place in goat tying on day one and fourth place on day two. Likewise, junior Myka Grajeda took second in breakaway roping on Saturday and won barrel racing on Sunday.

“I feel great,” Grajeda said. “After this weekend, I’m already third in the barrels and fourth overall. My expectations this year are to really just focus on my horses and let them do their job and I mean, hopefully we can get back to the top.”

The MCHS rodeo will have a short fall season with upcoming events in Colorado Springs, Cortez and Grand Junction in the coming weeks before taking a break until April.

Gridiron guts

Bulldogs football begins this weekend with an away game on Friday in Denver against the John F. Kennedy Commanders.

A MoCo team that went farther than any team in decades — and made it to the 2A semifinals for the first time since 1993 — will compete in a slightly different lineup this fall following the graduation of many players from last season.

The Dogs will, however, retain many of their talents on offense: Seniors Cody Dade, Adam Delay and Clayton Vandersluis will look to defend the reputation they earned last year as the best offensive line in 2A ball (as named by MileHigh Prep Report).

While the linemen will protect a largely different lineup of backfield athletes, among the strong returners is senior Zach Hedman, the top returning rusher of 2023, who posted nearly 600 ground yards and scored seven touchdowns as a junior.

Hedman, an honorable mention CHSAA All-State last year, is also the Dogs’ leading returning tackler with 75 hits as a linebacker, while Vandersluis is the leading returning player with four sacks.

Following this week’s road game, MCHS will play two consecutive home games over the next two weeks, hosting Steamboat Springs on August 30th and Berthoud on September 6th.

At home and on the go

This week the schedule is up for all Bulldog sports as the Bulldogs boys soccer starts the year with a home game against Eagle Valley on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

On the same day, MoCo Cross Country will host the Fraser Valley Invitational in Granby, hosted by Middle Park, while volleyball players will compete in a two-day tournament in Rangely.

Meanwhile, the newest Bulldog team will play its first competition as a group when MoCo Softball takes on challengers in the Lyons Round Robin on Saturday.