{"id":800952,"date":"2019-11-02T10:57:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T16:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=373961"},"modified":"2019-11-02T10:57:04","modified_gmt":"2019-11-02T16:57:04","slug":"subzero-senior-night-in-frigid-conditions-summit-football-fights-falls-to-glenwood-36-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/subzero-senior-night-in-frigid-conditions-summit-football-fights-falls-to-glenwood-36-30\/","title":{"rendered":"Subzero Senior Night: In frigid conditions, Summit football fights, falls to Glenwood 36-30"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
(Left to right) Summit Tigers quarterback Cam Kalaf, tight end and defensive end Dan Gonzalez, linebacker and offensive lineman Al Espinoza and wide receiver Kobe Cortright take in the national anthem with the Denver Broncos mascot Miles before Friday night’s Senior Night game versus Glenwood Springs at Tiger Stadium in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Antonio Olivero \/ aolivero@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

BRECKENRIDGE \u2013 Summit senior linebacker Al Espinoza and the Summit Tigers knew what they were getting Friday night on the frozen turf at Tiger Stadium in Breckenridge with Glenwood Springs\u2019 smashmouth double-tight, double-wing offense.<\/p>\n

On paper, it may seem simple to some. A dive, a counter and a pull \u2013 three plays to diagnose and stop. Better buckle your chin strap, stay low and discipline your eyes to diagnose what\u2019s coming at you.<\/p>\n

But with a distinct weight and experience disadvantage in the trenches, the Demons rushing attack left the Tigers somewhat stunned and dazed, Summit down 16-0 at the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it was coming hard,\u201d Espinoza said. \u201cAnd the first couple of plays it just smacked us right in the face. But I believe in my team so much. Man, last year, we lost to this team 41-12. And in this game I saw a completely different team. I\u2019m so proud of how the defense showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing in frigid, high-altitude conditions that dipped into the single digits with the wind chill, Summit scraped back from that early 16-0 hole to take an eventual 23-22 lead Friday night under the lights at Tiger Stadium. But, in the end, Glenwood\u2019s 485 rushing yards on 59 attempts \u2013 attempting a solitary passing play on the night \u2013 proved too much for an inspired bunch of Tigers. Despite the 36-30 loss, the Tigers (3-6, 2-2 3A Western Slope) put it all on the line against the Demons (3-6, 3-1), playing for Espinoza and fellow seniors including two-way lineman Zayden \u201cZiggy\u201d Gerry, tight end and defensive end Daniel Gonzalez, safety and wide receiver Alexi Nevarez and team inspiration Joseph Burgos.<\/p>\n

Before the sun set behind the Tenmile Range and turned Senior Night into a subzero struggle, Summit first-year head coach James Wagner sat his team down in the Summit High auditorium. He then asked each senior, one-by-one, to address the team. Later during pregame, the Denver Broncos mascot, Miles, hoisted the NFL team\u2019s flag in the air while leading theTigers to the field, as electrified as ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey poured it all out there,\u201d Wagner said of the seniors. \u201cThey spoke from the heart, it really set the tone for the night. Our whole team wanted to win this game for them, and I think that put an extra motivation in them to pursue a victory. \u2026 Every time Glenwood did something, they responded. We did some great things for us to mentally come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Down 16-0 after a pair of rushing touchdowns by Glenwood junior running back Garrett Dollahan, Summit maintained hope after Glenwood sophomore running back Blake Nieslanik fumbled at the end of a 35-yard run, Summit junior Kobe Cortright recovering possession at Summit\u2019s 45 with 4:50 remaining in the half. A minute later, Summit junior quarterback Cam Kalaf took an up-the-gut run 24 yards for a touchdown, following it up with a 2-point conversion, the Tigers down 16-8, as Miles the Denver Broncos mascot waved his flag.<\/p>\n

With 2:06 left in the half, Summit continued to dial in their defensive adjustments, Gonzalez blowing up a play in the backfield to force a long third down and Glenwood\u2019s only pass attempt of the night. Then with just 29 seconds left in the half, Kalaf found junior wide receiver Kobe Cortright for a 24-yard touchdown catch, capped by a Gonzalez 2-point conversion run to tie the game at 16. For Cortright, his two catches on the drive were season-defining moments of growth after he dropped an open pass to start the drive.<\/p>\n

At halftime Wagner and the Tiger coaches were in the midst of adjusting to Glenwood\u2019s 154<\/p>\n

154 rushing yards in the first half on 25 carries. Gauging that the Demons liked to run to the boundary \u2013 narrow side of field \u2013 Summit set its strength to the boundary while rotating the positions of individual defensive players to employ their strengths strategically.<\/p>\n

The third quarter was scoreless until the final moments, as Summit started slanting into gaps to disrupt the timing of Glenwood\u2019s blocks. With 1:08 left in the quarter, Niselanik broke free off tackle for a 15-yard touchdown scamper. But the Tigers kept it to within 22-16 after Wagner barked out a \u201ctoss\u201d  to help stop the 2-point conversion.<\/p>\n

Just 41 seconds later, Kalaf connected to Cortright for a 72-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a read-pass option, capped by a 1-point conversion kick by junior Jaden Smith for a 23-22 Tigers lead.<\/p>\n

Glenwood then created enough cushion beginning with a 55-yard rushing touchdown by Dollahan and a 2-point conversion from senior fullback Elliot Walz with 8:47 left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Glenwood\u2019s kicker rocketed the football off of a Summit player, the freak play resulting in an effective onside kick and Glenwood recovery. Glenwood then extended their lead to 36-23 with 4:13 left on a 7-yard touchdown run by Dollahan.<\/p>\n

Summit took less than a minute to score on the next drive, Collins catching an 11-yard pass, Cortright catching a 53-yard strike and Summit capping the drive with a speed-option pass play involving Kalaf, Collins and senior Alexi Nevarez.<\/p>\n

Drawing within 36-30 wasn\u2019t enough though, as Glenwood converted enough first downs to run the clock out. Still, on a subzero Senior Night, Wagner described the Tigers\u2019 effort as \u201cunbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fight that my kids gave,\u201d the coach said, \u201cI could not ask more of them. They played their hearts out.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Left to right) Summit Tigers quarterback Cam Kalaf, tight end and defensive end Dan Gonzalez, linebacker and offensive lineman Al Espinoza and wide receiver Kobe Cortright take in the national anthem with the Denver Broncos mascot Miles before Friday night’s Senior Night game versus Glenwood Springs at Tiger Stadium in Breckenridge.Antonio Olivero \/ aolivero@summitdaily.com BRECKENRIDGE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-800952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 22:28:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}