After both having extra time off, the Moffat County Bulldogs and the Grand Valley Cardinals will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Moffat County and four for Grand Valley.
Moffat County saw some tournament action last Saturday. They fell 81-68 to Eagle Valley. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 184th, while the Devils are ranked 47th).
| 12/21/24 vs Eagle Valley | 28 |
| 12/20/24 vs Montezuma-Cortez | 3 |
| 12/19/24 @ Palisade | 12 |
| 12/14/24 vs Lotus School For Excellence | 19 |
| 12/13/24 vs Windsor Charter Academy | 6 |
Moffat County might have lost, but man, Jr Welch was a machine: he went 12 of 21 on his way to 28 points and three steals. With that strong performance, Welch is now averaging an impressive 15.3 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Trayson Carlson, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine assists.
Meanwhile, Grand Valley was beaten by Prospect Ridge Academy 83-38 last Saturday.
Moffat County will need focus on slowing down Tyden Richardson, one of several Grand Valley players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 11 points. Richardson continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Porter Ostermiller, who put up seven points and three steals.
Moffat County's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Grand Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Moffat County has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33 boards per game. However, it's not like Grand Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Moffat County didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Grand Valley when the teams last played back in February of 2022, but they still walked away with a 55-51 victory. Will Moffat County repeat their success, or does Grand Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
