Palisade High School kicker Spencer Jackson.

Plateau Valley WR Hunter Bagett crosses the goal line for a TD in the first half.

Fruita Monument volleyball player MacKenzie Schuller, #11, gathers her team for a celebration after winning a big point against Palisade

Palisade blockers Courtney Wells, right,  and Savannah Hanson go up against a shot by Fruita’s Jordan Eatwell.

GJHS’s Tyler Heinsma runs for a touchdown in the second quarter at MHS Friday night Oct. 19, 2012.

GJHS’s Dion Martinez is stuffed at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter at MHS Friday night Oct. 19, 2012.

MHS’s Angelo Youngren runs for a short gain in the second quarter Friday Oct. 19, 2012, against Grand Junction at MHS.

Palisade’s Dalton Hannigan, #23, carries the ball as Delta’s Hunter Brasfield flies in for the tackle during the secodn half of Friday’s game at Stocker Stadium.

The Palisade Bulldogs meet the Delta Panthers in a home game at Stocker Stadium.

The Palisade Bulldogs meet the Delta Panthers in a home game at Stocker Stadium.

Colorado Mesa University’s Patrick Wall, right, heads tthe ball to a teammate past Metro State’s Andrew Mejia during the second half of Friday’s game at Walker Field. The game went into overtime and ended with a final tied score of 0-0.

Montrose High School softball pitcher Lara Ammermann delivers home during action against Grand Junction Sept. 26, 2012 at Montrose High School. Photo by William Woody/Special to The Sentinel

Montrose High School shortstop Vanessa Nelson fire to first while third baseman Caitlin Warner watches during action against Fruita Sept. 12, 2012 at Montrose High School. Photo by William Woody/Special to The Sentinel

Deke Cisco runs early in the year during a practice for CMU football.

Isaac Maestas, #36, of the Palisade Broncos is tripped up by Rishi Lohar of the Raiders as he heads for the endzone during the first half of the Mesa County Junior Football Association’s heavyweight Super Bowl at Stocker Stadium on Wednesday.

Delta High School’s Clarissa Whiting, left, and her identical twin sister Cleo push toward the finish line in time with one another to finish second and third respectively in the Class 4A regional cross country meet held Wednesday at Confluence Park in Delta. First place winner was sophomore Shannon Maloney of Durango High School.

Raiders quarterback #7 outruns a tackle attempt by the Charger’s #83 to score a touchdown with less than two minutes left to play in the game during the Mesa County Junior Football Association’s lightweight Super Bowl Wednesday at Stocker Stadium.

Action from the Mesa County Junior Football Association’s lightweight Super Bowl Wednesday at Stocker Stadium.

Colorado Mesa sophomore running back Jake Cimolino breaks away for a gain Saturday during the Mavericks’ 31-29 victory over Black Hills State University at Lyle Hare Stadium in Spearfish, S.D. The Mavericks ruined the Yellow Jackets’ homecoming game by winning their first game. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Brayfield, Rapid City Journal

#12, CMU D/M Leilani Wiernicki.

Tester and mechanic Ryan Palmer of Portland, Ore., test rides a Rocky Mountain Elements bike along the Horsethief Bench trail south of Loma as Kevin Rouse, associate editor at Bike magazine, videotapes him from above for the publication’s website. Rouse is from San Clemente, Cal.

Snow guns blow fresh man-made powder onto a run at Telluride Ski Resort in this photo from last year. Colorado resorts rely on early season snowmaking to carry them over until natural snow blankets the slopes.

Looking ahead on the Pipeline Trail.

Bikers hike their bikes down the “spine” of the Wasatch Crest Trail.

Mike Arial makes his putt on the eighth hole of the West Lake Disc Golf Course as his 9-month-old son Sterling Dawson looks on from his backpack Tuesday afternoon.

Chargers quarterback #12 carries the ball through an opening to gain yardage during the first half of Tuesday’s Mesa County Junior Football Association’s sixth grade Super Bowl game against the Raiders at Stocker Stadium.

Chavis Nourse, left, of the Chargers carries the football into the endzone for a touchdown as he is tackled by Zac Coleman of the Raiders during the fifth grade Super Bowl held Tuesday at Stocker Stadium.

Fruita Monument High School’s Brett Payton battles for a ball against Montrose’s Saul Perez during first-half Southwestern League boys soccer Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 16, 2012 at Montrose High School.

Montrose High School’s Vijay Singh (7) battles Fruita Monument High School goalkeeper Connor Gaty and defender Cory Odem during the second half of their Southwestern League boys soccer game Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 16, 2012, at Montrose High School.

Colorado Mesa University’s Zeth Ramsey carries the ball during a recent game against Ft. Lewis College.

Three deer graze in the grass along the banks of the Colorado River across from the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park Connected Lakes Section.A small herd of deer were walking along the river bank eating the grass in the river bottom.

Chandler Burgon didn’t plan to be on the sideline this season for the Colorado Mesa University men’s basketball team. He had surgery three weeks ago to repair a torn labrum, an injury first sustained two seasons ago. The senior hopes to return to the floor in February, opting not to petition for a medical redshirt season. He graduates in May.

New coach Taylor Wagner demands energy and intensity when the Colorado Mesa University women’s basketball team is on the floor.

Lindsay Shaw missed all of last season with a stress fracture in her right leg, which required having a steel rod inserted in her leg. It was removed last summer and she’s back on the court at Colorado Mesa.

CMU’s new women’s basketball head coach Taylor Wagner ran his first official practice Monday.

#21, Blake Carlson with CMU just missing a header as CSU- Pueblo keeper #1, Patrick Markis makes the save in the second half at Walker Field Sunday afternoon.

Certified bander Amber Carver of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory prepares to release a White-crowned sparrow during the recent bird-banding project at Connected Lakes State Park.