Panthers lose to 7th-ranked Mustangs

RANGELY | The Rangely Panther varsity football team lost to the seventh-ranked West Grand Mustangs last Friday on Yeager Field. The Panthers currently have a 2-5 record and will play on the road this weekend, traveling to Black Hawk to play Gilpin County Saturday with the kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. “We played hard but were out-manned, losing 46-8,” Rangely head coach Paul Fortunato said of the game against the Mustangs. The Panthers only allowed the Mustangs to score once in the first quarter but West Grand scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to put the game out of reach. Rangely was able to score a touchdown when sophomore Tristan Moore broke loose for a 45-yard run into the end zone and Panther senior Mikey Sheppard ran in the two-point conversion. Sheppard carried the ball seven times for 25 yards and Moore rushed three times for 53 yards. Sophomore quarterback Drew Brannan completed two of three passes and classmate CJ Lucero completed one of three for the Panthers. Moore caught two of the passes and Sheppard caught the third. Lujan and Stetson Cudo led the defense with 10 tackles each. Lujan also had an interception. Moore finished the game with seven tackles, senior Zach Sulser had six, Justin Rusher and Grady Nielson each were in on three, while Tytus Coombs, Dalton Dembowski and Trenton Files were each in on a tackle. The Panthers have two conference games left on the schedule, starting with Gilpin County Saturday and they will host the Plateau Valley Cowboys in the final game of the regular season on Oct. 28.