{"id":2450864,"date":"2019-11-07T22:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T05:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/"},"modified":"2019-11-07T22:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T05:56:00","slug":"basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Basalt football expects physical battle with Classical Academy in playoff opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.2082262210797\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-315736-822\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Basalt High School football's Erneso Lopez gets a rare carry as the team hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.47783251231527\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11.467980295567\">\n<p><strong>Basalt High School football&#8217;s Erneso Lopez gets a rare carry as the team hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1024x768.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1024x768.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Basalt High School football's Erneso Lopez gets a rare carry as the team hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1-1024x504.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Basalt High School football hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10.373417721519\">\n<p><strong>Basalt High School football hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1-1024x504.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1-1024x504.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/11\/football-atd-110819-1-1-1024x504.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Basalt High School football hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Ernesto Lopez is ready to go to war in the trenches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That\u2019s the sort of game he anticipates when the Basalt High School football team plays Saturday at The Classical Academy to open the Class 2A state playoffs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m all for, so it should be a good game,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cThey seem pretty big up front, but watching film we know we can play with these guys. As I said, every team is really good in the playoffs, so it doesn\u2019t matter if they are good or bad, it\u2019s just who wants to give it their all. And I\u2019m for sure going to give it my all, thinking it might be my last football game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lopez, a senior on the Basalt lines and arguably its most valuable player, will be a critical piece in trying to stop the Titans and sophomore running back Cade Palmer, who has rushed for 1,238 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. The Classical Academy (6-3) is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-lands-no-9-seed-will-travel-to-no-8-the-classical-academy-on-saturday\/\">No. 8 seed in the 16-team playoff bracket<\/a>, while Basalt (7-2) enters as the No. 9 seed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Both playoff frequenters in recent years, the teams don\u2019t have any recent history playing each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cNot a lot of teams make it over the mountain range, so it\u2019s kind of fun to go against a Western Slope team. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s fun for them to come over to this side of the mountains and compete,\u201d third-year TCA coach Justin Rich said. \u201cThey are clearly a very disciplined team and they have a very powerful run game. They are built for the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The last time the Titans played a team out of the current 2A Western Slope League was in the first round of the 2017 playoffs when they beat Aspen, 36-24. TCA lost in the second round that season, falling 21-14 to eventual state runner-up La Junta, before missing out on the playoffs in 2018. Rich called last season an \u201canomaly\u201d and cited a few close losses that kept them from the postseason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Classical Academy rebounded in 2019, winning the 2A Tri-Peaks league. The Titans\u2019 only league loss came in the regular-season finale last week against Woodland Park, a game played with bad field conditions because of recent weather. Their two other losses came in back-to-back non-league games against Sterling and Resurrection Christian, the tournament\u2019s No. 2 and 3 seed, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe kids know if we are ready to play and show up and do what we are supposed to be doing, we have a great opportunity against whoever it is,\u201d Basalt coach Carl Frerichs said. \u201cClassical Academy is definitely a talented team. They are definitely well coached and it should be a real exciting game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Frerichs compares Classical Academy to D\u2019Evelyn, a team BHS has played a couple of times in recent years. The comparisons are especially noticeable on offense, with both teams using a similar run-based spread scheme. Basalt played D\u2019Evelyn in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, losing 27-20 in the 8-9 matchup. They met again in the first round in 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-holds-off-develyn-for-first-round-playoff-win\/\">Basalt winning as the No. 3 seed<\/a> before losing to No. 6 seed Platte Valley in the second round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Longhorns, who have now made four straight playoff appearances, have never made the 2A state semifinals. The Titans last got there back in 2013 before losing to eventual state champion Coronado.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s something new to think about and I\u2019m excited to play them,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cWe got to play every game at a time, so it doesn\u2019t matter where we were placed. I love that 9 versus 8 \u2014 those are probably the best games out there in the first round, so obviously it should be a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">If Lopez, who hopes to play college football but is only just now starting the recruiting process, can dominate up front like he has most of the season, the Longhorns will have a chance against the Titans. Along with Palmer at running back, Classical Academy has a talented sophomore quarterback in Sam Guilez, although he\u2019s never really been tasked with trying to win the game with Palmer being so effective. Palmer\u2019s older brother, senior Cole Palmer, is a standout on their lines and leads the team with 104 total tackles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Saturday\u2019s game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kickoff on TCA\u2019s field in Colorado Springs. The winner will play either No. 1 seed Rifle or No. 16 seed Englewood in the second round. Should Basalt win Saturday, it would host the second-round game regardless of who wins the other matchup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIf this is going to be my last football game for Basalt, I should make it my most,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI\u2019m going to give it my all I can out on the field, and win or lose I love all these boys on the team. Basalt is always going to have a good spot in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalt-football-expects-physical-battle-with-classical-academy-in-playoff-opener\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Basalt High School football&#8217;s Erneso Lopez gets a rare carry as the team hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Buy Photo Basalt High School football hosts Rifle on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times [&hellip;]<\/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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2450864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-02 06:14:13","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":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2450864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2450864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2450864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2450864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}