Left Hand Valley Courier - All Local, All The Time

Emotions were raw after the Cougars’ sixth straight loss last Saturday, a 54-7 drubbing at the hands of the Greeley West Spartans. Tempers flared between Niwot players while the coaches led the team through their post-game debriefing. Clearly, the strain of three straight blowout losses was taking a toll on the team.

The Cougars scored quickly against the Spartans on a beautiful fall afternoon at Weld County District 6 Stadium. Senior quarterback Trae Gomez drove the Cougars 66 yards in just over three minutes to give Niwot its first lead since week three. Gomez was three-for-three for 32 yards on the drive, and scrambled for another 34 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown. Junior receiver Nate Nielsen caught two passes for 16 yards on the drive, while senior Alex Oelsner had a 16-yard reception that set up the Gomez touchdown.

Unfortunately, that drive constituted the highlight of the game for the Cougars. The Niwot defense kept the game close in the first quarter, allowing just one Greeley West touchdown. Spartans senior receiver Darren Delacroix ran it from two yards out to even the score with 4:58 remaining in the first period.

Niwot’s next drive showed promise, but ended in a turnover on downs with just under 11 minutes to go in the second quarter. Greeley West scored on their next play, a 69-yard reception by sophomore receiver Jack Lovin, making the score 14-7.

The Spartans would go on to score three more times during the quarter, including on a short-field possession resulting from a Cougar interception with 2:43 to go in the half. Niwot’s offense was largely ineffective in the quarter, though Gomez and Oelsner connected on a 19-yard TD that was overturned as time expired. At the break, Greeley West led the Cougars 34-7.

Nothing broke the Cougars’ way in the second half. Greeley West senior Devin Sirio rumbled his way to a one-yard TD on the opening drive of the quarter, making the score 40-7. The Cougars drove deep into Spartan territory on the next drive, their first of the half, but lost a fumble on the Greeley West 16. Greeley West’s next touchdown activated the running clock rule, and they would go on to tack on another score, making the Spartans the third straight Niwot opponent to post more than 50 points. The final score was Greeley West 54, Niwot 7.

With the loss, Niwot moved to 3-6 on the season, and 0-4 in the Longs Peak League. The last regular season game is Nov. 5 against Grand Junction at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont.

Photo by Ed Navarro Niwot’s Trae Gomez (17) gets off a pass as a Greeley West player heads towards him.

Greeley West 54, Niwot 7

Niwot

(3-6, 0-7) 7 0 0 0 — 7

Greeley West

(7-2, 4-0) 14 20 13 7 — 54