Much of the 2021 fall season hasn't been kind to Sterling football.

Quarterback Radek McCracken (11) looks for an open receiver in the Sterling Tigers' homecoming game against Weld Central Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. (Kim Francis/Journal-Advocate)

Throughout its first four contests, the Tigers struggled to not only win any of the games, but they couldn't even put up a single point against Resurrection Christian, Eaton, Evergreen and Scottsbluff of Nebraska.

The three Colorado teams they faced were certainly not easy opponents for anyone, as all three currently sit in CHSAANow.com's top-10 rankings at Class 2A's No. 1 (Eaton), No. 2 (Resurrection Christian) and Class 3A's No. 7 (Evergreen).

On Friday, the Tigers finally broke through both in the points column and in the win column as they took down Weld Central in a 40-26 final. What a perfect way to celebrate homecoming.

The road forward for the Tigers, however, won't get any easier. They head next to Platte Valley, who is sitting just outside of the Class 2A top 10, on Friday. Brush, who they'll face after that, sits just behind Platte Valley in those (non)rankings.

Sterling soccer still searching for second win

Much like football, Sterling's soccer team has struggled to keep up with its competition. Much like football, its only win came against Weld Central.

Ten games into the season, the Tigers have enjoyed offensive production from a few key players, namely senior forward Jesus Ochoa, who holds a team-high seven goals. Senior defender Joe Brink follows him up with four goals of his own, and senior forward Reegan Skeels has added three more. Senior forward Toribio Gonzalez has scored two of his own as freshman midfielder Roman Merez, freshman defender Taten Himes and senior midfielder Patrick Canvasser have each added one more.

The Tigers have experimented with four different keepers throughout the season, but none have earned more saves than senior Keanu Renteria and junior Vincente Vitaco, who've nabbed 33 and 22 saves, respectively.