When John Mall High School decided recently to forfeit the final three games of its 2017 football season, it was an announcement that certainly didn’t generate as much buzz as when Glenwood Springs was forced the next week to forfeit not only games already played, but won.
Four of them, to be exact – dropping the Demons from 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the 3A Western Slope, to 0-7, 0-2 at the time. Or in other words, about the same respective standing as the Panthers, who pulled the plug on their own season before facing 1A Southern Peaks powers Monte Vista and La Jara-based Centauri, with an Oct. 21 trip to Ignacio slated in between – leaving the Walsenburg-based program with final marks of 0-8 overall, 0-4 SPC.
But whereas GSHS’ fate came as a result of having one too many players in uniform, JMHS’ came about due to not having enough – healthy, and/or at least academically eligible, and/or merely willing – to safely compete.
Though not having the easiest go of things either this fall, IHS – which improved to 3-5, 2-2 as a result of the Panthers’ choice – still had hope of taking the field one last time.
“We’re trying to get one more game for next weekend,” said head coach Alfonso ‘Ponch’ Garcia the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 18, mentioning the site being either IHS Field or even upon neutral ground in Alamosa, “and have that be our Senior Day. We’ll see what happens in the next couple days.”
Something did indeed happen.
Whereas Glenwood Springs – which passed its first test after having all earlier wins vacated, winning Oct. 20 at Frisco Summit – still had an Oct. 27 home game versus Rifle and a Nov. 3 trip to Gypsum Eagle Valley to finish out its original itinerary, Ignacio has added a final opponent: Pueblo-based Dolores Huerta Prep.
Winless in eight tries – including a season-opening forfeit to Lyons, presently an Ignacio-like 3-5 overall – with just 28 points scored against a whopping 345 allowed, the Scorpions (0-4 in the 1A Santa Fe) will meet the Bobcats on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Alamosa High for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
“This … is a pick-up game due to Center dropping its program in August,” IHS Athletic Director Rocky Cundiff said Tuesday, Oct. 24, “leaving Ignacio with an open last week.”
Sharing Dolores and Ellicott as common opponents with IHS this fall, DHPH had most recently taken a 53-0 Homecoming Week beating from Ordway-based Crowley County on Friday, Oct. 20, inside CSU-Pueblo’s Eddie & Neta DeRose ThunderBowl.
DHS had prevailed 39-8, Sept. 15 inside the Dolores Coliseum, while EHS won 61-0 at home on Friday, Oct. 6.