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Hayden drops opener against Holyoke

Luke Graham

— In a strange game and on a strange night, the Hayden High School football team dropped its season opener Friday, falling, 34-9, to Holyoke. 

Playing in Denver at Valor Christian High School, the two teams endured a 90-minute lightning delay. Then, with three minutes remaining in the game, the lights went out. 

Hayden scored first when the team registered a safety to go up 2-0. Holyoke responded with a touchdown to make it 8-2. The Tigers were driving as the half closed out but couldn’t convert a fourth-down play.



To open the second half, Holyoke kicked the ball short and Hayden fumbled it. The Dragons took advantage and started to pull away. 

“A lot of our inexperience came out,” Hayden coach Shawn Baumgartner said. “We dropped balls and missed assignments. It just happened at key times. But we did some stuff well. There are things that we can build off of.” 



Hayden’s lone touchdown came at the tail end of the fourth quarter when Dan Engle returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown. 

Hayden next plays at 1 p.m. Sept. 10 against Yuma in Idaho Springs.

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com 


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