It’s Homecoming for the Grand Junction High School Tigers Tonight as They Take on the Fruita Monument Wildcats

Head Coach Sean Mulvey brings his Fruita Monument Wildcats to Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado for one of those great rivalry games against head coach Robbie Owens and his Grand Junction High School Tigers. With these types of games you can throw the records out the window, because this is Fruita and Grand Junction.

These young men marked the game when the season schedule was released, and by the way it is homecoming for the Grand Junction Tigers. So, who is the game bigger for?

Sure, when you look at the game on paper you say the Tigers win easy, but hold the phone Billy. This is a great rivalry! If you think the Fruita Monument Wildcats will just lay down,  you have not seen a Fruita Monument Wildcats VS Grand Junction Tigers match-up. They could play this game on the Moon and I would get out my telescope to watch.

The Fruita Monument Wildcats come into the contest with a 1-4 record; it’s been a tough season so far for the Fruita Monument Wildcats. They lost players to graduation and have a young quarterback, starting for the first time in his career. The Fruita Monument Wildcats have been in most games and if they had a bounce come their way a couple of times the record would be different. Their season could change tonight, it’s the start of conference play for both teams. If the Fruita Monument Wildcats could win the last 4 games of the season, they would not only win the conference, but would find themselves in the playoffs. That would make the young Fruita Monument Wildcats feel better about the season. So, this is a big game for them.

The Grand Junction Tigers come into tonight’s game with a 4-1 record and look to be on their way into the post-season. Head coach Robbie Owens has the Grand Junction Tigers hitting their stride, but a stumble tonight would be a bad thing for the Grand Junction Tigers.

When you look at the last 4 games for the Grand Junction Tigers; the Fruita Monument Wildcats, Durango at Stocker Stadium, Montrose on the road and finishing at home with the Central Warriors. Yes, at first glance you would say the Grand Junction Tigers will be 8-1 on the 2012 season, but If they drop tonight’s game, they will still have the Montrose Indians. The Montrose Indians are always a tough game on the road and the Grand Junction Tigers couldn’t afford to drop that game.

If that happened, the Grand Junction Tigers would finish 6-3 on the season and would be in the lower half of the 5A playoff bracket. Finishing 8-1 is much better for the Grand Junction Tigers. That would put them in the top part of the 5A bracket, they would host the first playoff game and maybe the second.

So, I say, this is a bigger game for the Grand Junction Tigers. They will need to bring their “A” game because the Fruita Monument Wildcats have nothing to lose tonight, and the Grand Junction Tigers do.