FARMER'S KORNER - When Summit High School football standout Stephen Ike broke his leg in a preseason scrimmage two weeks ago, it created an unforeseen opportunity for rookie senior Josh Kroening.

Kroening, who wasn't expecting to be an offensive focal point just two games into his career, was a key player for the Tigers in their 33-26 home victory over Skyview (1-1) on Friday.

"After Stephen went down (at wide receiver), coach told me I had to know the plays," said Kroening, who scored two touchdowns against the Wolverines. "So I went home and learned them."

Kroening, who also kicked and returned kicks on Friday, scored Summit's opening points of the game less than 5 minutes into the contest when he caught a 9-yard pass from quarterback Landon Greve.

After the Tigers took a 20-12 lead into halftime, Kroening scored again on a 16-yard rushing touchdown and then kicked the extra point. Later, during the fourth quarter, he had to leave the game with a concussion that was coupled with a wrist injury.

"For a first-year player, he did a phenomenal job," Tigers coach Dylan Hollingsworth said of the former soccer player. "We put speed out on the corner and let him go with it. ... I just hope he's OK."

Summit's other first-half touchdowns were scored by Greve (on a 13-yard QB keeper with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter) and Ryan George (on a 12-yard completion from Greve with 3:46 left in the second quarter).

Down 27-12 in the third quarter, Skyview battled back with two consecutive touchdowns, the first of which was set up by a 15-yard penalty (face mask) against SHS on third down.

The Wolverine's second-half surge put them down 27-26 (they completed a two-point conversion) with 8:38 remaining.

Summit's defense tightened up from there and Talon Roggasch made some big plays on offense.

The junior tailback's 45-yard run late in the game brought the Tigers within 19 yards of their fifth touchdown. A few plays later, Roggasch ran the ball into the end zone for a seven-point lead, but Summit failed on its two-point conversion attempt, leaving the visitors down by only seven with 2:01 to play.

Senior QB David Cobos proceeded to lead the Wolverines down field, but the visitor's hopes were dashed with :42 seconds remaining when Greve caught his second interception of the game.

Roggasch and Greve are both junior QBs, but the latter, a transfer student from Oklahoma, has seen all the snaps so far this year.

"Greve's not necessarily going to be our quarterback," explained Hollingsworth after Friday's game. "He stepped in because Talon has filled in for Scott Campbell at tailback the last two games.

"Talk about being the ultimate selfless player," Hollingsworth said. "(Talon's) played every position we've asked him to without ever complaining. This is a kid who's 19-4 as a our starting QB and he happily jumped into receiver and tailback when we needed him to."

Roggasch was all smiles in a locker room that was booming with celebratory hip-hop music after Friday's win.

"It doesn't matter to me (what position I play)," Roggasch said. "I'm just having fun at this point."

The Tigers' next test will be Friday at home against Woodland Park.

Although Hollingsworth seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief after Friday's victory, he indicated that his team has a lot of work to do before the Panthers come to town.

"A win is a great thing," he said. "It's a lot easier to bring the kids in on Monday and coach them up when they're feeling a little positive about themselves as opposed to be being down 0-2. But we've got some holes to fix on both sides - we had way too many dropped balls on offense, and defensively we have got to figure out how to stop them."



Adam Boffey can be contacted at (970) 668-4634, or at aboffey@summitdaily.com.