Holyoke High School football beats No. 2 Colorado Springs Christian

Much anticipation surrounded the Sept. 6 home opener for the Holyoke High School football team. Colorado Springs Christian was expected to bring the competition, and the Friday night matchup did not disappoint. Though a final score of 21-6 may make it seem like it was an easy enough win for the Dragons, every bit of it was hard fought.

Coach Dusty Sprague pointed out that it’s been a long time since there’s been a top-five matchup in Holyoke, and the excitement was evident on both sides of the field. Based on the CHSAANow poll, CSCS was ranked second and HHS fifth among Colorado 1A teams last week.

Beating such a good team made for an exciting win for the Dragons, and Sprague emphasized how proud he is of the hard work his players put in to get to that point.

Getting the game started, Holyoke received the kickoff, but CSCS got an interception early on, ending up at the 18-yard line. A Lion touchdown was called back on a penalty, and the visiting team ended up turning the ball over on downs at the 9-yard line.

Much to the relief of an enthusiastic Holyoke crowd, the Dragons put some distance between themselves and their own end zone. The competing teams went on to exchange punts, and HHS ended up with the ball on the 44-yard line. Blake Mosenteen made a big first down on a run, putting the Dragons in scoring position. Miles Sprague threw a touchdown pass to Seth Watson, and Alexis Vega followed up with a successful PAT kick. With 1:11 left in the first quarter, the Dragons led 7-0.

The first few minutes of play in the second quarter saw CSCS fighting to gain ground. The Dragons took full advantage of a subsequent turnover on downs made by the Lions. Mosenteen made a 30-yard pass to Caleb Deaver on a halfback option, putting Holyoke back in Lion territory. Sprague passed to Luis Chafino, who broke multiple tackles for the team’s second touchdown. Another extra point by Vega put the Dragons ahead 14-0 with 5:29 on the clock, and that’s where the score remained at halftime.

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