Dave Gibson, Gilpin County. “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”  -Bear Bryant

 The taste of victory was oh so sweet for the Gilpin County Eagles who registered their first win of the season Saturday night and first win ever on their new field. Having shown steady improvement throughout the year and almost attaining victory in their homecoming game, all of their sacrifice and sweat came to fruition in a decidedly lopsided contest.

A fumble recovery on the Plateau Valley Cowboys’ 44-yard line led to Blake Boulter’s 1-yard TD plunge and conversion to put the Eagles up 8 – 0.  Another Boulter run upped the score to 14 – 0. Stephen King added a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown putting the Eagles ahead by twenty-two as a nearly full Hunter’s Moon rose over the scoreboard. With 22 seconds left on the clock and everyone expecting a kneel-down to end the first half, Blake Boulter connected with Stephen King for a 69-yard TD pass. Score at halftime: 28 – 0, Eagles.

King continued his stellar play with a 46-yard off-tackle TD to begin the second half. You could be excused for confusing the Eagles defense’s black and gold for the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers’ Steel Curtain while dominating and pitching a perfect game. Jessie Alexander delivered the final blow with a 33-yard rushing touchdown. Final score: Gilpin Eagles 40, Plateau Valley Cowboys 0.   

 As with any great football victory in recent memory, the coach was doused in Gatorade after the game. A fulfilled and dripping wet Head Coach Craig Ball relayed that “This is the 4th year that we have played PV and we are 3 – 1 in the series now.”

“In our game plan, we wanted to take advantage of PV’s aggressive defense style to put them in positions that would set up matchups that were in our favor. We started in our King set that spreads the defense out and relies on a 3-man line. Two of my seniors, #98 Seth  Antill and #6 John Paul Deimauro play the two guard positions during the game and did a great job making holes for our backs to run through. Our sophomore center, #26 James Immordino proved that you could go the entire game without a bad snap. I had told my offense that if we took care of the ball we would win this game…These boys really took that challenge on and for the first time all year we were turnover-free.”

“Our defense was relentless. James Immordino caused and recovered a fumble on the 3rd play of the game and we just kept the pressure on PV throughout the entire game. This was our first shutout since our 2017 season and you could really see the results of all the hard work that the boys had put in practicing our tackling over the last few weeks as we took advantage of our bye-week. In the second quarter, we forced an interception by #2 Stephen King who returned the pick for 6 points. There’s nothing quite like forcing a turnover on downs when you want to get the crowd and team fired up. We had five 4th down stops during the game and I can’t be more proud of the way our guys moved, shed blocks, and swarmed the ball carrier. Every player that was dressed out on our team on Saturday night played a big role in this win and we are excited to come in on Monday morning to start preparing for the #1 RPI ranked team in the state on Thursday night when we face Vail Christian in Edwards, Colorado.”

The Eagles return home Friday, Oct. 25th, at 7 p.m. against Rangely.

For more information about Gilpin County’s football schedule, roster, and statistics go to Maxpreps.com.  

(Originally published in the October 17, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)