Photo by Will Cornelius
Senior running back Alex Larson breaks free in the third quarter before scoring his fourth touchdown of the night.

By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

Alex Larson took a handoff early in the third quarter and sliced his way through the defense before sprinting toward the right pylon in the endzone for a touchdown. It was Larson’s fourth rushing touchdown of the night and sealed a season-opening win for Berthoud High School over the Timnath High School Cubs on Aug. 25.

“Took a while for me to knock the rust off because I didn’t play preseason. But once I got it going, it was pretty easy,” Larson commented after the game. The senior Spartan tailback finished the game with 135 yards rushing on 16 carries and four touchdowns.

“That’s a great start to the season for a senior running back. We have high expectations for him. We’re very comfortable giving him the ball. He made some awesome reactions on some weird pitches tonight and really saved our bacon,” said Head Football Coach Cory Ticnor about Larson’s performance.

By the time the final whistle blew, the score was 43-0 for Berthoud. “It’s always great to get the first one under your belt man. It’s a great feeling. These kids—they responded, they played well, they had a lot of fun. I’m really happy for our kids tonight,” Ticnor said reflecting on the first win of the season.

It was a powerful performance by the Spartans on both sides of the ball with Berthoud’s defense holding the Cubs to only 53 yards on offense. “That unit played amazing football tonight. The defense really won this game for us,” Ticnor stated. Leading the defense in a shutout were senior linebackers Joey Finnegan, Aiden McGrath, Ben Larson and Uriah Chacon. “Our linebacker crew, they really reacted and responded,” Ticnor explained.

Finnegan and McGrath led the team with eight tackles each. “This senior year, I think that we’re going to be a great team. I feel like we’re going to try and make it to state,” Finnegan said about expectations this season.

An off-season quarterback battle was also settled with senior Darin Davidson being named the starter against Timnath. “He’s an athletic kid. He’s one of the best athletes on any field that he plays on,” Ticnor said about Davidson and the running threat he adds to the offense.

Davidson finished the game completing 4-of-10 passes for 71 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to junior Weston Peatrowsky 12 seconds before half-time. “Felt really good, it has been a while, so it felt really good being able to do that,” Davidson said about getting his first touchdown pass of the season.

Last season, Davidson was the backup quarterback for Wyoming 4A state champions Sheridan High School before returning to Berthoud for his final year of high school. He also added 13 yards rushing on three carries. “I don’t expect a change at quarterback next week at this point,” said Ticnor about Davidson’s status as the starter moving forward.

One of the team’s goals this season is to expand their passing attack to complement their run-heavy offense. “I feel like improving our passing game will go a long way to opening up our running game,” Larson stated.

Other offensive leaders included junior Jayden Michaelis who had two catches for 56 yards. Finnegan had an impressive 51 yards rushing on only five carries and junior Cole Bialek chipped in with 35 yards on six carries.

The Spartan defense was so dominant they also scored points of their own. A botched snap on a Timnath punt resulted in a safety on the first drive of the game. Then in the third quarter, McGrath blocked a punt that was recovered in the endzone by senior lineman Garrett Pawlowski for a defensive touchdown.

On special teams, Ben Schroeder went 5-of-6 on point after attempts while also excelling on kickoffs, where three of his five attempts went for touchbacks. Jayce Newbill only got one chance at a kickoff return but made it count with a 66-yard return that he nearly took all the way to open the second half.

While it was a terrific start to the season, there are still areas that need to be addressed. Improving execution on offense was something both Larson and Davidson mentioned after the game.

“Some of the things that stand out is obviously ball security, we got to continue to do that. Downfield blocking with our wide receivers, offensive alignment, defensive rotations, all these things we revisit on a daily basis,” Ticnor commented.

Climb the mountain. That has been the team’s mantra all-offseason and training camp. And after the victory over Timnath, the team has taken its first steps on that ascent. “We definitely want to win a playoff game and host a playoff game. That’s probably our main goal,” Larson said.

The next stage of the climb will be in Gilcrest on Sept. 1 against Valley High School. “I think we’re going to beat them,” Finnegan said about the upcoming game.