Football: Ailing Niwot gets blanked by Brighton

The Cougars opened their conference schedule with a 56-0 loss to the Brighton Bulldogs on Homecoming.

“I was proud of a lot of different kids and their efforts,” Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter said following the Cougars’ third shutout of the year last Friday night. “You could tell we were disconnected at certain times in certain things tonight offensively, but they’re working hard for us right now. I wish we could capitalize on that and get some W's on the board, but that’s not where we are right now.”

Quarterbacks Matt Baun and Ayden Bartko were a combined 5-for-12 for 12 yards and one interception. Baun also fumbled the ball three times, losing it once.

The Cougars were without starting rushers Liam Flanagan and Anton Sandoval, so a number of players carried the ball for Niwot against Brighton, including senior Trent Tadewald who had 11 yards on six attempts. Tadewald also had three solo tackles for the Cougars on the other side of the ball

On defense, senior Brandon Barton led the Cougars with nine total tackles, seven of them solo. Senior Shane Timmerman and sophomore Matt Bitterman had four total tackles apiece. On special teams, senior Nate Nielsen racked up 64 yards on three kick returns, while punter James Lerner averaged 34 yards on eight punts. He also had a tackle to save a touchdown in the second quarter.

With injuries and eligibility issues plaguing numerous starters on both offense and defense, Lanter said he was forced to slot inexperienced players into key positions against the much improved Bulldogs.

“We are very beat-up,” Lanter said. “We had five to six sophomores out there at any given time, even with the starters on the field.” Lanter singled out Blake Bair and Noah Pena as particularly effective on the night.

On Thursday, Oct. 12 the Cougars head out on the road to face Loveland . Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Ray Patterson Field.

Skyline 56, Niwot 0

Cougars (0-6, 0-1) 0 0 0 0 — 3

Bulldogs (4-2, 1-0) 21 21 0 14 — 56

Niwot Individuals

Rushing — Tadewald 6-11, Baun 1-1, Molina 1-1, Marrufo 1-0, Timmerman 5- (-1), Colon 1-(-3), Bartko 1-(-6)

Passing — Baun 3-8-1-9, Bartko 2-4-0-3

Receiving — Colon 2-10, Neilsen 1-(-1)