Football: Niwot drops final home game to Greeley West

The Niwot Cougars put together their best offensive performance of the year last Saturday, but fell 56-15 to the Greeley West Spartans in the final home game of 2017.

Senior quarterback Matt Baun went 12-for-20 passing with 136 yards on the day, and connected with senior Nate Nielsen for the Cougars’ first receiving touchdown since Sept. 22. Freshman Ayden Bartko also had positive yardage on the day, with one completion in one attempt for 46 yards.

Nielsen ended the day with six catches for 83 yards, the most for a Niwot receiver since October 21, 2016. Sophomore Noah Peña was right behind him, with five catches for 81 yards, and senior Trent Tadewald was 2 for 18.

Niwot wasn’t as prolific on the ground, but senior Shane Timmerman’s 1-yard TD run was the first Cougar rushing score since Sept. 8. Tadewald was the leading runner on the day, with 15 yards on seven carries, while junior Jonathan Colon was 1 for 8.

Elsewhere, senior Brandon Barton had a big day on defense, with seven solo tackles and two assists. He also had two kick returns for 41 yards. Timmerman and Tadewald had five solo tackles apiece, while Peña and sophomore Eric Ruiz combined for another five. Senior kicker James Lerner had just two punts on the day, but he also booted his first extra point since the game against Summit.

Niwot travels to Grand Junction next weekend for the final game of 2017, against the Grand Junction Tigers (1-8, 0-4). Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Ralph Stocker Stadium.

Greeley West 56, Niwot 15

Spartans (5-4, 2-2) 0 28 21 7 — 56

Cougars (0-9, 0-4) 8 0 0 7 — 15

Niwot Individuals

Rushing — Tadewald 7-15, Colon 1-8, Peña 1-0, Timmerman 2-(-1), Baun 3-(-1), Bartko 1-(-4), Flanagan 7-(-5)

Passing — Baun 12-20-1-136, Bartko 1-1-0-46

Receiving — Nielsen 6-83, Peña 5-81, Tadewald 2-18