OAK CREEK — Despite shooting themselves in the foot all night, Gilpin County managed a 42-20 win over Soroco High School on Friday.

Already up 12-0, Gilpin County ran across the endline for another score partway through the second quarter. Right away, it was called back for an illegal blindside block. That put the Eagles at 4th down and 15 yards, on the 22-yard line. A pass attempt was incomplete, giving the Rams the ball.

Soroco couldn’t capitalize, though, unable to even earn a first down.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only time the Rams couldn’t take advantage of a Gilpin County error. The Eagles committed quite a few fouls, including false starts and holds, putting them in many long-yardage situations. They usually found a way to chip away at the yards, but even if they kicked the ball to Soroco, the Rams didn’t get far down the field.

Soroco’s offense finally got going in the second half, but it was too late to close the gap created by Gilpin County.

Putting junior Jed Kirby at running back woke up the Rams. He used his size to plow by the Eagles and earn a few first downs. Slowly, Soroco moved down the field and senior quarterback Tyler Koler-Wixom earned the touchdown and the 2-point conversion.

Bradley Hoskinson added to the Soroco tally by scoring on a punt return. With six minutes to play, the Rams trailed 42-14.

A fumble recovery gave Soroco the ball back and a first down run by Bradley Hoskinson paired with a helmet-to-helmet penalty, put the Rams within 20 yards of another touchdown.

Koler-Wixom went the distance, bringing the score to 42-20.

“I think we finally started relaxing,” said Soroco head coach Johnny DeCosta. “Tyler came out and took over. We just started having fun with it.

The boys in maroon had their first solid drive as the clock neared halftime.

Koler-Wixom found sophomore Bradley Hoskinson with a huge pass and then earned the next first down himself with a run up the middle.

Three attempts to score failed and as the fourth-down rush attempt fell short of the line, the clock hit zero. Gilpin County led 18-0 at the half.

Soroco received the ball to start the second half, but lost yardage on every play of the three-and-out. The Rams relinquished big runs, allowing Gilpin County to score twice more in the third.

First, Eagles senior Stephen King hauled 44 yards to score. A few minutes later, senior Blake Boulter ran more than 25 yards into Soroco territory. A few plays later, Boulter scooted one yard into the end zone, putting Gilpin County up 34-0 with 4:06 left in the third.

“It was tough at the beginning,” said DeCosta. “We’re really beat up.”

Gilpin County 42, Soroco 20

GC126168-42

S00020-20

First quarter

GC – Kamron Brewer 20 rush, conversion no good, 10:57

GC – Nolan Lindberg 40 pass from Kamron Brewer, conversion no good, 2:07

Second quarter

GC – Stephen King 20 rush, conversion no good, 3:01

Third quarter

GC – King 44 rush, Blake Boulter rush, 9:17

GC – Boulter 1 rush, King rush, 4:06

Fourth quarter

S – Tyler Wixom 1 rush, Wixom rush, 9:22

GC – Boulter 7 rush, Boulter rush, 5:50

S – Bradley Hoskinson punt return, 5:35

S – Wixom-Koler 19 rush, conversion no good, 2:41

Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.