The Mesa Ridge football team trailed in their rivalry game for 26 seconds. The remainder of the contest at C.A. Foster Stadium, the Grizzlies mauled Widefield.

Mesa Ridge scored 52 unanswered points in the first half Saturday and cruised to a 66-14 victory against the Gladiators.

Isaiah Jones rushed for three touchdowns, Bryce Riehl threw for two scores and converted four, 2-point conversions.

The Grizzlies’ 66 points were the most scored in the rivalry since 2005, and was Mesa Ridge’s highest output since a 57-0 victory in the season opener against Kennedy on Aug. 25.

“Trying to get our guys up for this game doesn’t take much,” Mesa Ridge coach Jerimi Calip said. “Our only selling point in this game is that we all have good friends on the other sideline who we want to beat.”

The game followed a similar pattern to last year’s between the district rivals.

Mesa Ridge entered with a 2-2 record after a victory in the opener, a pair of losses and then a win before the showdown.

Widefield began the past two seasons 4-0 and allowed 44 points to start 2022. This year, the Gladiators allowed 43.

The Grizzlies (3-2) scored their 44th point midway through the second quarter.

“I always tell the guys when they go out there, they should try to get one percent better on every snap,” Calip said. “On any given Saturday, anyone can win. So go play football and do what you need to do.”

The Gladiators (4-1) marched 80 yards on their opening drive, capped with a 16-yard pass by Paul Mitchell to Angelo Thomas to grab a 7-0 lead with 7:38 left in the first.

The Grizzlies needed two plays to tie the game. Riehl found Tanner Widic, who took a reception 42 yards. Isaiah Jones finished the drive with a 10-yard run to make it 7-7 with 7:12 on the clock in the first.

“My offensive line did it all on that score. That’s how I walked in untouched,” Jones said. “From there we kept our foot on the gas.”

The Grizzlies scored two more first-quarter touchdowns as Riehl connected with Sonny Rogers on a 25-yard reception and Jones carried the ball six yards to make it 22-7.

The Grizzlies scored 30 points in the second quarter.

Jones and Trevon Salas both scored on rushes, and Riehl found Zander Iwanski for a touchdown throw.

Anthony Smith also recovered a fumble and carried it 62 yards for a score.

“This was one of those games where we had to be disciplined,” Jones said. “We had a minor error with that early touchdown. We came back and we answered.”

The Grizzlies tacked on two more touchdowns in the second half. Salas earned his second rushing TD of the game and Craig Hodges scampered for a 55-yard run.

Widefield’s Carson Martin recovered a fumble and went 44 yards for a score in the final minute of the contest.

The Grizzlies continue to dominate this rivalry and, in the past 19 games, have a 13-6 record against the Gladiators. Mesa Ridge currently owns an eight-game win streak against Widefield.

Widefield’s 14 points is the most allowed by Mesa Ridge in the rivalry since 2017 when the Gladiators scored 30.

In the previous four contests, Widefield managed just nine points.

“We came out rough and had some mental mistakes early on in the season,” Calip said of the defense. “But we’ve challenged the defense every week and telling them to control the controllables and make sure you’re getting better.”

Widefield returns home to face Gateway (1-4) at 7 p.m. on Friday. Mesa Ridge heads to the CSU Pueblo's Thunderbowl to face Pueblo West (4-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday.