Eagles soar past Spartans in homecoming game
By Dan Karpiel
The Surveyor
Regulation time in high school football is 48 minutes. But through five games the Berthoud High School (BHS) football team has proven unable of playing at high level for the full duration. Berthoud has played well in spurts but now, at the halfway point of the 2016 season, the Spartans continue to search for a complete game.
Playing at Max Marr Field at BHS for their annual homecoming game on Sept. 30 against Thompson Valley, Berthoud was right in the game at halftime – trailing by just a single point, 7-6 – but the visiting Eagles scored on their first two possessions of the second half and ultimately handed the Spartans their fourth-consecutive defeat, 28-13.
“Right now we really have to focus on getting our kids to be competitive for 48 minutes, and that happens right over there on that practice field,” Berthoud Head Coach Troy Diffendaffer said following the game. “We need to get the guys to be competitive for two hours each day in practice there, and have that carry over to this field here.”
Berthoud did show some flashes on both sides of the ball. On Thompson Valley’s opening possession, the Spartans produced a goal-line stand that ended the Eagles’ drive when Wyatt Woodrick tackled Braydon Besse at the Berthoud three-yard line, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Yet the Spartans shot themselves in the foot on the next Thompson Valley possession. After stopping the Eagles before they crossed midfield, Berthoud was called for off-sides on the punt, gifting Thompson Valley a fresh set of downs. A subsequent facemask penalty on Berthoud provided a free 15 yards and also negated a Berthoud sack. The Eagles scored the first touchdown of the game six plays later on a 25-yard run by Thompson Valley’s Matt Berg.
“Penalties, mental mistakes, missed tackles are pretty much what kind of put us behind in this game,” Berthoud’s Jake Rafferty explained.
Berthoud responded to Thompson Valley’s opening score by capping off a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Brock Voth to Ryan Schmad. The extra point attempt failed, but Berthoud was behind just 7-6 at the break.
The Eagles came out firing to open the second half, assembling a six-play, 79-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown run from Berg to put Thompson Valley up 14-6 just a minute and a half into the third quarter. Berthoud responded well, however, chewing up more than five minutes of clock on a 15-play, 62-yard drive that saw Voth and Rafferty connect twice on third-and-longs to sustain the drive. The Spartan offense fizzled out, however, as a pass on third-and-seven at the Eagle 30 fell incomplete and Berthoud elected to punt, hoping to pin the Eagles deep in their own territory.
Starting a drive in the shadow of their own goal line proved no problem for the Eagles, as freshman quarterback Cameron Neller connected with lanky wideout Charlie Brunner who galloped nearly the length of the field – 95 yards – to give Thompson Valley a commanding 21-6 lead with just 3:36 remaining in the third quarter.
The 95-yard score appeared to take the wind out of Berthoud’s sails while giving the heretofore winless Eagles a booster shot of confidence. With the big lead and Berthoud unable to develop much semblance of a running game, Thompson Valley was able to pin their ears back and rush Voth, ending the next two Berthoud possessions with turnovers on downs.
“The constant we need to work on is keeping ourselves fired up, because we give up a big play and then we end up getting flat,” Rafferty, who led Berthoud with eight receptions for 86 yards and also contributed five total tackles, said. “We need to work on just keeping our momentum going.”
Diffendaffer remarked on the struggles of the Berthoud offensive line after the game, saying, “Our front line today was horrible offensively. We’ve got to be able to create some type of push up there so we can establish a little bit of a running game so we can establish a passing game off of that … and it’s just unacceptable right now.”
Berthoud did score once more on a 21-yard run from quarterback Ty Beaman, who replaced Voth under center in the fourth quarter, and the Spartans subsequently recovered the on-sides kick with 1:57 left in the game. The drive failed to reach end zone, however, when Berg intercepted a Beaman pass on third and eight.
“We just need to find our passion and our heart to finish these games; there’s really nothing much to it, just focusing on playing football,” Rafferty said.
Berthoud (1-4) will begin Tri-Valley Conference play on Oct. 7 with a trip to Erie (4-1).
- October, 08 2015
Berthoud bests Erie 18-14 in pivotal ...
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor Berthoud wide receiver Jackson Hall eluded...
- September, 30 2015
Berthoud football playing for today a...
By John Hall Surveyor columnist Twenty short months ago, the Berthoud High School football program...
- October, 26 2017
Berthoud football falls to Frederick
Photo by Tiffany Rafferty - Berthoud senior tailback Wyatt Woodrick races...
- October, 20 2016
Roughriders run roughshod over Spartans
Berthoud's Brock Voth breaks a tackle for a short gain during...
- October, 15 2015
Berthoud suffers first lost to Holy F...
Spartans eye No. 10 Mavericks this Friday By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor [caption id="attachment_2335" align="alignright"...
- August, 31 2023
Larson runs for four touchdowns as Sp...
Photo by Will CorneliusSenior running back Alex Larson breaks free in...
- Spring training begins for Spartan ba...
- Berthoud “Bombers” win championship i...
- Spartan baseball undefeated in April
- Boys basketball 13-10 season ends in ...
- Spartan C-team sees big success
- Spartans notch well-deserved win in s...
- Spartan golf team has enormous partic...
- Berthoud golfers win R2J Championship
- Berthoud golf team begins season swing
- Boys soccer wins in season opener
- Spartan soccer ends season on a high ...
- Berthoud soccer squad seeing signific...
- Bothun leads Spartans to second place...
- Spartans send ten runners to state cr...
- Clark wins Patriot League Cross Count...
- Lady Spartans fall to Jefferson Acade...
- Thompson Valley tramples Lady Spartan...
- Berthoud girls stand out in All-Star ...
- Tychsen leads Lady Spartans to first ...
- Top five finish for girls golf
- Lady Spartan golfers battle for state...
- Spartans fall to Frederick in state s...
- Spartan softball comes back against N...
- Softball finishes regular season 20-3
- Back in the water and back winning
- Spartan swimmers set new school recor...
- Berthoud swimmers shine in Break the ...
- Berthoud boys head to state tennis to...
- Berthoud sending two lines to state c...
- Lady Spartans earn second place at re...
- Spartans steal the show at Roosevelt ...
- Brooke Nelsen leaps over 30-year scho...
- Half-mile state champion Williams ret...
Berthoud mulls Downtown Development Authority
Community NewsBerthoud takes second in R2J Girls Invitational
Community NewsA day in the life as Berthoud’s top cop
Community NewsUnified basketball comes to Turner Middle School
Community NewsMike Grace says goodbye as Brett Wing joins town board
Community NewsPOLICEBLOTTER
Community NewsNorthern Water sets C-BT quota at 70% for 2024
Community NewsEmotions run high during Revere Property hearing
Community News
COMMUNITY CALENDAR:
Community Calendar – add an eventHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
07 Jun 4:00 PM - 7:00 PMHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
05 Jul 4:00 PM - 7:00 PMHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
02 Aug 4:00 PM - 7:00 PMHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
06 Sep 4:00 PM - 7:00 PMHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
04 Oct 4:00 PM - 7:00 PMHomestead Fine Art Gallery First Fridays OPEN HOUSE
01 Nov 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM