This could make for some fun fantasy football.<\/p>\n
One just mixes and matches \u2014 Eagle Valley’s Zak Cossette and Battle Mountain’s Garrett Anderson in same backfield?<\/p>\n
That makes for a potent 1-2 punch.<\/p>\n
Who would be Nos. 1 and 2? Well, the 3A Western Slope Coach of the Year, Battle Mountain’s Jim Schuppler would have to figure that out. He probably wouldn’t mind these tough decisions.<\/p>\n
Both Devils and Huskies football were well represented on the all-league rolls. Both programs made some strides in 2018.<\/p>\n
The Huskies finished 6-4, the program’s first winning season since 2014. Eagle Valley bounced back from an 0-10 season with a 3-7 record. Of course, the third win was the sweetest as the Devils beat the Huskies, 24-13.<\/p>\n
Devils<\/p>\n
Cossette was all over that 24-13 win. He had a scoop and score to give the Devils a 7-0 lead. He added two more touchdowns from his more conventional spot of running back.<\/p>\n
According to maxpreps.com, Cossette finished the year with 151 carries for 1,354 yards. Of course, no running back goes anywhere without the help of offensive lineman, so Eagle Valley’s Rowan Sokup, Jackson Sticker and tight-end Noah Baldwin earned honorable-mention honors.<\/p>\n
Huskies<\/p>\n
Battle Mountain’s backfield was well represented on the first team with Kia Gongaware and Anderson. As is the case with the local squads, these two also played on defense, where Anderson was part of a ball-hawking secondary.<\/p>\n
The Hectors \u2014 Escobar and Michigua \u2014 also made the first team for their efforts in the trenches.<\/p>\n
Eric Biggs, Jimmy Hancock, Bruce Jones and Mac Schmidt also made honorable mention.<\/p>\n
And the coach<\/p>\n
While the season didn’t end as Schuppler had hoped, the Slope’s coaches recognized the progress the Battle Mountain program is making by voting him as the top coach in the league.<\/p>\n
In Schuppler, the Huskies seem to have found stability in the coaching ranks as well as a good X’s-and-O’s guy. The Huskies are 10-10 under Schuppler in his two seasons as head coach.<\/p>\n