Aucklynn Sacco, Gilpin County. Last Friday night, the Gilpin Eagles faced the Soroco Rams at Soroco High School in Oak Ridge, Colorado, for the Rams homecoming game. Both teams made sure to take precautions that fulfilled the Covid-19 safety guidelines, making sure the players were 25 feet away from the cheerleaders and the cheerleaders 25 feet away from the fans. Everyone on the field was wearing masks with the fans social distancing in their cars in the parking lot above the field.

The Gilpin football team left the school at 1:30 p.m., and it took them about three hours to arrive at Oak Ridge, Colorado. The Gilpin cheerleading team also drove to Soroco High School to cheer the Gilpin Eagles on. The game began at 7 p.m., with both teams ready to play.

The long drive did not take away from the Eagles spirit, for, within the first minute of the game, the team scored a touchdown, securing them six points; however, the team did not make the 2-point conversion. The Gilpin team scored another touchdown in the first quarter, again missing the 2-point conversion turning the score 12-0. The Eagles continued their scoring-streak in the second quarter, getting another touchdown. By the end of the first half, the score was 18-0. 

The teams then got a twenty minute halftime break to regroup and rest. After the break, the teams were excited to go back and play. In the third quarter, the Eagles scored another touchdown. This time, they got the 2-point conversion, to add eight points to their lead.

Neither team scored again in the third quarter. The Gilpin team thought it was a sure win at this point, but the Rams did not go down without a fight. Within the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, the Rams got a touchdown getting them their first points of the night. The team also got the 2-point conversion. In the fourth quarter, Soroco also scored two more touchdowns, making their final score 20. The Gilpin team scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both times converting the 2-point play. The final score: 42-20. 

For the Gilpin Eagles senior Blake Boulter (#19) scored two touchdowns plus two 2-point conversions. Senior Stephen King (#2) scored two touchdowns, plus one 2-point conversion. Junior Kamron Brewer (#8) and Senior Nolen Lindberg (#6) scored one touchdown each. 

(Originally published in the October 29, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)