A list of proposed 6-man football conference alignments.
These are the final proposals that were submitted within the permitted time frame that will be considered by the football committee at their Dec. 5 meeting.
Enrollment numbers are listed next to each school.
Asterisk (*) indicates a school is playing up; double asterisks (**) indicates a school is playing down.
AURORA — A total of 17 football alignment options across all seven classifications were submitted to the CHSAA office in the permitted time frame. Monday, those proposals were posted.
Each of these proposals will be voted on at the football committee meeting on Dec. 5. That committee will then forward their selections to the legislative council at its Jan. 30 meeting.
These alignment proposals are for the 2014-16 two-year cycle.
Among the highlights of the proposals is an outside-the-box idea from the Centennial League, which would completely restructure the 5A alignment. Under the proposal, the 5A alignment would be set by a so-called “waterfall” system.
The waterfall system tries to balance leagues based upon past performance. In the Centennial proposal, which would split the 49 5A teams evenly into seven leagues, the system places teams into leagues based on how they performed in the Wild Card points over the past two seasons.
The top seven teams by that criteria would each be placed into separate leagues. Then, teams would be placed into conferences on a snaked order. So, the No. 8 team would go with No. 7, No. 9 with No. 6, No. 10 with No. 5, and so on.
A waterfall system is used in other sports already, notably tennis, golf and wrestling. Those sports use it for regional placement. If the Centennial’s proposal is selected, it would be the first use of a waterfall system to set an alignment in Colorado.
Elsewhere:
Each of the other 5A proposals have Valor Christian in the Centennial League.
The Southwestern League is proposing moving its 5A and 4A teams to metro-area leagues.
LAFAYETTE — Pine Creek senior running back Austin Schultz rushed for a season-high 189 yards on 16 carries, and added a touchdown, as No. 3 Pine Creek advanced to the Class 4A state title game with a 21-7 win against No. 2 Monarch at Centaurus High School on Saturday.
Schultz gave all the credit to his teammates blocking for him.
“We have a tenacious offensive line,” Schultz said. “Our fullback and offensive line punished them (Monarch). I did nothing but put my head down and go.”
Pine Creek started the scoring on a one yard punch-in by Schultz with 4:12 left in the first quarter. The drive started at the Eagles’ own 25-yard-line.
It appeared that Pine Creek would extend its lead in the second quarter after getting inside the 5-yard-line. However, Monarch recovered a fumble on a Pine Creek run on the 4-yard line. The teams battled, but Pine Creek held its 7-0 lead going into the half.
Pine Creek opened the second half on a strong drive, getting down to the 6. Quarterback Tommy Lazzaro kept the ball and managed to score despite fumbling the ball after crossing the goal-line on a keeper to the left.
Monarch responded on the ensuing kickoff when Jay MacIntyre returned the kick 96 yards for a touchdown.
Down 14-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Monarch drove down to the 11. But the Coyotes couldn’t convert on a 4th-and-3, and turned the ball over on downs with 8:56 left in the game. Pine Creek retained the ball, and got all the way down to Monarch’s 2-yard-line before running back Matt List muscled in for the score.
“That fourth-down stop really gave us the momentum we needed,” Lazzaro said. “When we got the ball back, we knew we had to chew up some time. Monarch’s a good team we knew we couldn’t give them another chance. We really chewed up the clock which gave us a chance to win.”
Monarch tried to get down the field after starting on its own 20, but turned the ball over when MacIntyre’s pass was intercepted by Eric Warren with 3:44 left. Pine Creek ran the clock out, and left with the win.
Monarch finishes 2013 at 10-2, while Pine Creek marches on with a record of 11-2.
Before the game on Saturday, Monarch had won seven-straight games by outscoring its opponents an average of 41.9 points per game. Pine Creek held Monarch to just 133 yards and one score, while getting 429 yards of offense and three scores of their own.
Pine Creek coach Todd Miller didn’t give credit to just one player for the win.
“Amazing things can happen when no one cares who gets the credit,” Miller said. “That’s the epitome of our team. I don’t know if people look at us and say ‘there’s a superstar,’ but you look out there and say there are a lot of good football players.”
Pine Creek will play for the 4A state title against No. 1 Montrose on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The last time the Eagles made it to the championship game, in 2011, they lost to Valor Christian 66-10. Pine Creek has never won a state championship.
“We’re going to enjoy this win — and then we’re going to work like dogs,” Miller said. “It’s going to be a fun Thanksgiving dinner knowing we have a game the next day.”
AURORA — With just more than eight minutes remaining in the first half Saturday, Valor Christian’s football team found itself in an unfamiliar position.
Cherokee Trail had just pushed its lead to nine points and had the Eagles on their heels, something Valor had not faced since an early September loss to Bingham (Utah). A Christian McCaffrey touchdown run helped the team recover some of its momentum, but it was a big play on defense that truly turned the tide back in the Eagles’ favor.
Cougars quarterback Aric Johnson was sacked by Brandon Biggs and fumbled. David Corral returned the ball 44 yards for the go-ahead score. Valor Christian never relinquished the lead, eventually taking a 42-23 victory in the Class 5A state semifinals at Legacy Stadium.
“The momentum is huge in the game,” Corral said. “We knew coming out on the field we needed to make a play. It just happened to come my way and I’m just glad I made the play for my teammates. We worked so hard for this game.”
The second-seeded Eagles (12-1) advanced to their fifth consecutive championship game where they’ll meet top-seeded Fairview (12-0), which eliminated ThunderRidge 38-28. The teams will play at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.
Valor Christian won the 3A crown in 2009 and a pair of 4A titles in 2010 and 2011 before claiming its first 5A trophy last season against Cherokee Trail.
“We try not to think about five in a row or anything like that. It’s just the continual process of getting better, improving — it’s all about the journey,” Eagles coach Rod Sherman said. “For us as coaches and players, what we really talked about is we just wanted to spend another week together.”
Valor needed a fourth-quarter touchdown and field goal to defeat Cherokee Trail 9-0 in the 2012 title game, but both offenses showed up ready to go Saturday. The teams traded touchdowns in the first five minutes of play and combined for 695 yards of offense overall.
McCaffrey carried the ball 28 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns and also returned an interception 45 yards for a late score. Senior quarterback A.J. Cecil passed for 77 yards and added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“A.J. was able to make a lot of really important plays in the run game,” Sherman said. “That’s what he’s done all year. I still think he was pretty efficient passing-wise, we just got to a point where you’ve got a kid like Christian and a quarterback like A.J., you’ve got to let those guys play a little bit behind our really strong offensive line.”
Johnson led Cherokee Trail with 129 yards passing and 74 more on the ground, rushing for a score and passing for another. Cameron Smith had 89 yards rushing and a score.
“We’re really proud of our guys. We set our goals really high and we tried to accomplish them,” Cougars coach Monte Thelen said. “Today we came up a little short. You’ve got to give Valor a lot of credit.”
Corral’s touchdown sent Valor into halftime with a 21-16 lead and Cecil made it a 12-point advantage with his touchdown run in the third quarter. Cherokee Trail endured four drives in a row without a first down before Johnson found Dominique Grady open for a 9-yard touchdown to make it 28-23.
The Eagles responded by doing what they do best though, churning out a 10-play, 85-yard drive, with all the damage coming on the ground. McCaffrey eventually scored on a 15-yard run.
“Their offensive line is really big and powerful,” Thelen said. “I think as the game went along and even as the drives went along, it proved to be a lot for us to handle.”
Sherman said his team will have to cut down on the penalties and mistakes against Fairview, but added that he was proud how his squad responded to the adversity.
“It was definitely a reality check,” Corral said. “I’m glad we overcame this adversity, and it will really help us for next week, coming out with a really good team against Fairview.
“At the beginning of the season our goal was to get to Sports Authority Field. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. Our team is really excited, and we’re ready.”
PUEBLO — This game needed a hero and Angelo Youngren delivered Saturday afternoon.
The senior running back sped around the right corner and leaped into the end zone on a two-point conversion propelling Montrose to a dramatic 39-38 double-overtime win past Pueblo South in a Class 4A semifinal game at a frigid Dutch Clark Stadium.
“I live next to my coach (Todd Casebier) and I have grown up with him and he will go for it when he believes we can get it,” the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Youngren said about his coach’s decision to go for the two-point conversion win. “I trusted my teammates and I believe in them. I’m going to make it every time I can when the hole that’s open. It is unbelievable to win like this and go to the state championship game.”
Montrose (12-1) advances to play Pine Creek (11-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Pine Creek beat Monarch 21-7 Saturday.
(Rich Goddard/High Desert Imaging)
“We kind of talked about it and we had a good play,” Montrose coach Casebier said about the two-point conversion. “We put it in our guys’ hands and we made a play, but give them (South) a ton of credit. That could have gone either way and fortunately it went for us.”
Youngren finished with 35 carries for 184 yards and two scores. Youngren missed the four games leading up to the playoffs with a broken collarbone.
“This was just awesome,” Youngren said.
The Indians last played in the state title game in 1990 and ’91, losing both times. Pueblo South was hosting its first semifinal state football game since the school opened in 1959 and was trying to reach its inaugural state championship game. The Colts also had their 10-game winning streak snapped.
“I figured they would go for two,” South coach Ryan Goddard said. “It was the play we thought they were going to run and they executed it well. They made a play and credit to them.”
Montrose held a 21-7 halftime lead, thanks to quarterback Kameron DeVincentis’ 36-yard touchdown pass to Peter Shearer as the second-quarter expired.
The Colts, however, never quit.
(Rich Goddard/High Desert Imaging)
Quaterback Nathan Spinuzzi snuck in for a 1-yard touchdown and then he tossed a pass over the middle to tight end Isiah Panunnzio who broke a slew of tackles on the way to a 93-yard score to tie the game at 21-21 with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
That’s where the score remained until Lucas Ruiz-Diaz’s 27-yard field with 1:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. Montrose’s scoring drive was kept alive when South was called for a facemask penalty on fourth-and-2 at the Colts’ 20-yard line with 3:15 on the clock.
Trailing 24-21, Spinuzzi fueled a frantic 47-yard drive and with 3 seconds remaining he booted a 38-yard field goal right through the uprights.
“Nathan’s a fantastic kicker, but Ray Mitchell had a heck of a hold on that play,” Goddard said. “He got the ball down and he gave Nate a chance. Nate was just being Nate. He’s a football player and he’s playmaker.”
In overtime, each team received a possession at their opponent’s 10-yard line.
Montrose took the lead 31-24 on a 7-yard touchdown catch by Mike Rocha. South countered with Garrett Krage’s 6-yard scoring run to tie the score.
South then took the upper hand when Spinuzzi lunged in for another 1-yard score on fourth-and-1. Spinuzzi’s PAT put the Colts up 38-31.
With pressure at a paramount, the Indians rose to the occasion. Youngren crashed in for a 1-yard score to get Montrose within 38-37, setting the stage for his riveting 2-point conversion run.
“We wanted to see what they were going to do and I thought our defense battled,” Casebier said. “We thought we might have had a stop on fourth down and we didn’t get it. I didn’t want to keep going score-for-score. We just thought we had a chance to go win it and we were able to do that.”
Panunnzio, a sophomore, was just trying to come to grips with this bitter defeat.
“I was a little surprised they went for two,” said the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder who also is a standout defensive end. “It hurts a lot (to lose). We have come so far and to have it end like that was horrible. We gave them a fight and fought with them all the way to the end and that’s all we can really ask for.”
Platte Valley players celebrate with the 2A championship trophy. (Jon E. Yunt)
KERSEY — Platte Valley senior Jacob Smith summed it perfectly when he said, “It’s the perfect last chapter for our story.”
On Saturday, the Broncos won their first Class 2A state title since 2007 with a 28-19 win over Faith Christian at Bronco Stadium and it was their very own Trey Johnson that had the privilege of handing off the hardware to his teammates.
If you recall, Johnson suffered a severe brain injury during a game last year and fell into a coma shortly afterwards. His fight was the strength his teammates needed to bring home the gold ball.
“It’s a huge relief to just see Trey still here. What we lived through last year was very tough and nothing that you plan for,” said Platte Valley coach Troy Hoffman, whose team was on a mission since losing in the title game last season to Kent Denver. “We knew as a team we were going to continue to grow and to have him out here with us today and to want to be — and that is the biggest thing, because when an injury like that happen, you never know how it is going to affect him. We made him part of our team from Day 1, he never missed a practice and was at every team meal.
“So we really do find some inspiration through him, because what he is working through is way harder than any practice or way harder than any tackling drill.”
Even from their defeated huddle, the Faith Christian players and coaches applauded Johnson as he handed off the trophy, knowing that they were seeing something very special.
In a swift moving first half that featured just two possessions for each team, Platte Valley came away with two touchdowns compared to two 27-yard Stefan Knoerr field goals for the Eagles — one of which was on the heels of an 18-play drive that covered 70 yards in over nine minutes.
“We had really hoped that is was going to be a close game and really the two stops they had in the first half by forcing us to kick field goals were big,” Faith coach Blair Hubbard said. “We put touchdowns on the board there, it’s a different game and a different feel at halftime even though it was still only a one score game at the time.”
Platte Valley stretched its lead early in the third quarter when senior quarterback Logan Sitzman, who was being dragged down by an Eagles defender, heaved up a pass that Daniel Frantz was able to run underneath and haul in for a 29-yard score on 3rd-and-12.
Faith Christian would answer back on its next possession. Much like they had in the first half, the Eagles methodically churned up yards and clock behind the power running of Daniel Langewisch and Adam Buchmann. A 12-play drive that went 80 yards, including one fourth down conversion, was capped off by Langewisch from two yards out.
Faith Christian (10-3) would finally get the game’s first defensive stop when they watched Bailey Collins-Landwehr’s 46-yard field goal attempt sail wide left. Hubbard’s crew then marched the ball inside the Platte Valley 10-yard line and was one the brink of scoring when Langewisch was stripped at the 5-yard line and Broncos junior Cody Gabel jumped on the loose ball.
Trey Johnson awards the 2A championship trophy after the game. (Jon E. Yunt)
The Broncos failed to score on the next drive, but the damage was already done to the Eagles’ psyche.
“That was just a great play by some back-ups who were in there in crunch time too,” Hoffman said.
Smith would make it a two score game with 3:57 to play when he scored his second touchdown of the game on a two yard run.
“It was just a battle to the very end,” said a bloody Smith, who is an accomplished bull rider that will likely compete in rodeo for the University of Wyoming, or in Rangely next season. “We were just going blow-for-blow, and when we finally stopped them, that turned out to be huge.”
The Eagles scored with 2:03 left, Langewisch — who finished with 171 yards on 32 carries — scored from 1-yard out, but the Eagles’ two-point conversion never had a chance and the lead stayed at nine points. The ensuing onside kick was gobbled up by Smith and the Broncos were able to run out the clock.
Hofman’s team was efficient on offense. Caleb Creech lead the team on the ground with 88 yard on nine carries. Smith finished with 52 yards on 14 carries and quarterback Logan Sitzman had 46 yards on the ground to go along with a crisp 12-for-14 passing day for another 152 yards. His favorite target? Smith, who finished with six catches for 57 yards.
“Our motto all year long was to work to a near-perfect performance, and last week (against Manitou Springs) we didn’t have that, so I challenged the boys and told them ‘You have one more week. Are you still willing to improve and still willing to gain some opportunities to get better?’” Hoffman said. “And they all said ‘Yes!’ We came out here and we played near perfect. Logan was tremendous in his judgement today. Jake Smith was a hoss for us today and I can’t say enough about Caleb Creech.
“Those five lineman up front took it upon themselves to make sure we controlled the tempo today.”
Paonia poses with the 1A football championship trophy on Saturday. (Eric Goold)
PAONIA — For the first time since 1959, the Class 1A state football championship trophy resides in Paonia.
The Eagles held on to beat visiting Centauri 32-24 on Saturday afternoon at Paonia Town Park, and members of that 1959 championship team were on hand to watch this year’s Eagles squad reclaim the golden trophy.
“It means a lot, with them being here and supporting us,” said Will Austin, who capped his outstanding senior season with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown. “It’s really cool that we have such a great community that rallies around us.”
Nothing came easy against a tough Centauri team that came to Paonia on a 10-game winning streak. The streak started in week three, when the Falcons handed Paonia its only loss all season, a 27-14 setback at Town Park.
The championship game was different, however. Paonia’s physical, bruising offensive line took control and allowed playmakers Austin and Taylor Walters to ignite the offense.
Paonia head coach Brent McRae only needed one word to describe the line’s performance.
“Unbelievable,” said McRae. “That’s the heart of our team.”
Centauri scored first when quarterback K.C. Jarvies threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior Jason Buhr, who made a fantastic mid-air catch on the play. The Falcons were ahead early 6-0, but Paonia came right back and tied it 6-6 on Austin’s 1-yard scoring run.
The Falcons regained the lead on their next possession when Jarvies again hooked up with Ruhr, this time on a 27-yard crossing route that gave Centauri a 12-6 lead.
Then Taylor Walters took over.
The sophomore standout who led Paonia all season broke open the game when he intercepted Jarvies in front of the Centauri sideline, then scampered 52 yards for a touchdown. Paonia was ahead for good at 13-12.
“We practiced that all week and watched tons of film on it,” said Walters. “When the receiver broke I knew what was coming and I was there to make the play.”
Walters then tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Josh Altman and Paonia took a 20-12 lead into halftime.
The Eagles wasted no time after receiving the second half kickoff. On the third play of the possession, Walters ripped off a 58yard scoring run on a counter play that upped the Eagles lead to 26-12.
“Our linemen have been awesome all year. It’s so great running behind them,” said Walters. “Being able to run the ball helps us so much.”
Centauri refused to go away, mounting a 90-yard, 19-play drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jarvies to senior Clay McCarroll. The 2-point play failed and the Falcons trailed 26-18.
“They never quit,” said Falcons coach Kyle Forster. “Jason Buhr is the emotional leader, and the leader overall. When he gets going everybody just follows. Clay McCarroll stepped up for us and had some great catches. Our seniors are going to be hard to replace.”
Paonia responded with its final score, a 29-yard touchdown pass from Walters to Logan Schopp, and the Eagles led 32-18. Walters finished with two touchdown passes and had 121 rushing yards in the game.
The Falcons kept it in doubt and Jarvies found McCarroll again, this time a 29-yard scoring strike that rounded out the scoring in the game with 3:07 left in the contest.
Eagles seniors Austin, Ty Coats, Tyler Jackson, Jesse Gillenwater, Jared Byrge, Tristan Littlejohn, Tony Darling and Drewe Lee ended their careers as state champions in Paonia for the first time in 54 years.
“Growing up here, I played football, my brother played football,” said Lee, whose outstanding play at center this year was matched only by the impressive facial hair he grew since the first practice in August. “We were never able to put it together until this year, and that means the world to me to end my season like this.”
For McRae, who led the Eagles to the golden trophy in his first year as head coach, the title might not have been as big a surprise as everyone thinks.
“In our first meeting with the parents, we told them they’ll have plans all the way to Thanksgiving,” he said. “We put it on the schedule. We told them we’re going to be playing football on the 23rd of November, and then we’re gonna have a Thanksgiving dinner with the trophy in the middle. That was back in August, so it was a self fulfilling prophecy I guess.”
Dayspring Christian freshman Nathan Crawford breaks free into the secondary during the 8-man state championship game Saturday afternoon in Iliff. The Eagles defeated league rival Caliche 35-28. (Dennis Pleuss)
ILIFF — Even with Dayspring Christian quarterback Kylar Mai rushing for 292 yards and having a hand in five touchdowns, the No. 2-seeded Eagles still needed a late-game defensive play Saturday afternoon to win the 8-man football championship.
Caliche senior quarterback Mitch Davison had his eyes on a potential game-tying touchdown with under a minute to play, but Davison was hit from behind by sophomore Gavin Bicknell at the Eagles’ 11-yard line. The hit jarred the ball loose. Dayspring senior Ty Eichman recovered at the 1-yard line with 22 seconds left to preserve a 35-28 victory for Dayspring.
8mantrophy.jpg Dayspring Christian football players hoist the 8-man championship trophy Saturday afternoon in Iliff. It’s the Eagles’ third state football title over the past six seasons. (Dennis Pleuss)
“When I saw the ball I just wanted to get on it as fast as I could,” said Eichman, who also had a touchdown catch in the championship game at Amory E. Beede Field on Caliche High School’s campus. “I was so relieved after I got the ball. As soon as we got it, I knew we were champions.”
It was the third 8-man state title for Dayspring since 2008. The Eagles (13-0) have had plenty of recent championship game experience, playing for the 8-man final five of the past seven years.
“It was awesome,” said Mai, who had 28 carries for 292 yards, along with throwing three first-half touchdowns. “It was a great game.”
Mai’s 71-yard touchdown run with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter put the Eagles up 35-20, but the Buffaloes rallied with a quick scoring drive and 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 35-28 with 3:09 left.
“Offense was a big part of it, but it came down to defensive stops,” said Mai, who also plays on defense.
The Eagles’ offense was nearly unstoppable in the first half. Mai had a 36-yard touchdown run to cap off the first offensive series for Dayspring. The junior quarterback then threw a trio of touchdown passes to end the next three drives for the Eagles. Junior Christian Hershberger, senior Devan Mock and Eichman each caught a first-half touchdown from Mai.
“(Mai) is a super kid,” Caliche coach Paul Zink said. “We just let him make too many plays.”
Caliche’s defense was able to slow down Dayspring in the second half after the Eagles scored 28 points in the first half. Dayspring’s defense also was key, forcing four turnovers by Caliche all in Eagles’ territory in the second half.
Dayspring coach Mick Holmes said he stressed in the locker room at halftime that defense would determine the winner in the battle between the two A8 North-Plains League squads. The two met earlier this season with Dayspring taking a 38-15 victory on Oct. 18.
“I talked to them that defense wins championships,” Holmes said. “Let’s win this game through our defense.”
No. 5-seeded Caliche (11-2 record) never led on its home field, but the Buffaloes made things interesting after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter. Caliche’s rushing attack of Davison, junior Austin Yahn, along with seniors Austin Zink and Chase Debus racked up 468 yards on the ground.
Davison led the way with 33 carries for 206 yards and a touchdown. Yahn added 154 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Debus finished with 99 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Caliche senior quarterback Mitch Davison is tackled by Dayspring Christian’s Christian Hershberger and Mitch Sides during the first half of the 8-man title game Saturday. Davison had 206 yards rushing for the Buffaloes, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles won 35-28. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Buffaloes’ defense allowed just the one Dayspring touchdown in the second half after the Eagles scored on their first four possessions of the game.
“We had some great defensive stops in the second half,” Zink said. “I thought we were going to get it done. It just didn’t happen.”
Zink called the late fumble by Davison “heart-breaking”.
“(Davison) has carried us all year,” Zink said. “It’s too bad it happened, but it did.”
Both coaches did make good on their promise before the start of the postseason. At the meeting where coaches selected the all-conference picks from the A8 North-Plains League, Zink and Holmes shook hands on both meeting up in the championship game.
“It’s too bad someone had to lose,” Holmes said. “Both sides played really well.”
Dayspring senior Ty Eichman fights for extra yards Saturday. Eichman biggest play came on defense when he recovered a Caliche fumble in the final minute to help the Eagles preserve a 35-28 victory in the 8-man championship game (Dennis Pleuss)Dayspring junior quarterback Kylar Mai is brought down by Caliche junior Joel Contreras during the third quarter of the 8-man state championship game played in Iliff. (Dennis Pleuss)Dayspring junior Kylar Mai, left, makes a move on Caliche junior Chase Debus during the 8-man championship game Saturday. Mai had 292 yards rushing and two touchdowns, along with passing or 147 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 35-28 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)Caliche senior quarterback Mitch Davison gets off a pass before Dayspring Christian senior Devan Mock can get to him during the first half Saturday at Amory E. Beede Field in Iliff. The Buffaloes’ second-half rally came up short as the Eagles finished the season with an undefeated record with a 35-28 victory in the 8-man championship game (Dennis Pleuss)
Fairview quarterback Anders Hill (9) throws downfield during a 5A high school playoffs semifinal game between Fairview and ThunderRidge at Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Fairview, you might have heard, has a high-powered offense. Record-setting, in fact. But these Knights make some plays on defense, too, and it was a game-changing interception which propelled Fairview to its first championship football game since 2002.
With his team clinging to a 24-21 lead in the third quarter and ThunderRidge on the 6-yard-line, Fairview junior Johnny Feauto jumped an out-route in the end zone and picked off a pass from ThunderRidge quarterback Brody Westmoreland. He returned it to the 24-yard-line. The Knights would march down and turn the turnover into a 31-21 lead on Owen Harris’ second 1-yard touchdown run of the game.
ThunderRidge never recovered, and top-seeded Fairview went on to win 38-28 in the Class 5A semifinals.
Fairview running back Jason Harvey (21) celebrates as he runs during the game. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“Whenever (ThunderRidge is) down there, they just run so much,” Feauto said after the game. “We knew that they were going to try to come out with something different. I saw him doing an out, I broke right on him, and the quarterback threw it right to me.”
After the interception, “I knew we were going to score,” Feauto said. “Our offense is just that good. If we give them any extra opportunities, they’re going to take it to the house.”
Feauto added another pick on a botched field-goal attempt midway through the fourth quarter. He has six this season.
Said Fairview coach Tom McCartney: “If you look at us versus Lakewood, Johnny Feauto had the big interception. If you look at Overland, Johnny Featuro had the big interception. Johnny’s been a big-time playmaker for us on D.”
Fairview will play No. 2 Valor Christian in the 5A championship next Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Valor Christian beat Cherokee Trail in Saturday’s other semifinal.
And, despite the fact that Fairview is unbeaten (12-0) and the No. 1 seed in these playoffs, the Knights will likely again be seen as underdogs in that game. It makes sense: Valor Christian is a four-time defending champion, and has never lost in the playoffs in school history. The Eagles are also 47-1 against Colorado teams since Oct. 2010.
Still, Fairview is more than familiar with that position. Many around the state doubted the Knights would even reach the final.
Fairview linebacker Bobby Johnson (29) celebrates after defeating ThunderRidge. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“We felt like a lot of people didn’t think we were very good,” Fairview senior Cameron Frazier said on Saturday. “They still picked us to lose every game in the playoffs. So we used that as fuel. We just like to prove people wrong.”
Added quarterback Anders Hill: “We try not to pay attention to that, but it definitely gets under our skin sometimes. We’re the No. 1 seed and people are continuously picking us to lose. It’s motivation. I mean, we know what we’re capable of, so we just go out and play our game.”
“Every week,” Feauto said, “there were some doubters and they don’t think we’re going to win the next one. But we just have to keep proving them wrong, proving them wrong, proving them wrong. We think we’re the best and we’re going to go out and prove it next week.”
To reach that game next week, Fairview got an impressive performance from its offense against ThunderRidge on Saturday.
The Knights scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions as Frazier went wild — he had 143 total yards and two total touchdowns in the first half — with the Grizzlies double-teaming senior wide receiver Sam Martin, who has set the state’s single-season record for receiving yards.
“Every week, teams try and double Sam. He’s the best receiver in the state. That opens up grass for other people,” Hill said. “Today, that just happened to be Cam. We have playmakers at pretty much every position on our offense, so I think it’s just a matter of who steps up for what game. And Cam did a great job today.”
Thunderridge offensive tackle Sam Jones (75) consoles his teammate after losing to Fairview. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Frazier finished with 152 yards receiving and two scores, and also had a rushing touchdown. This was all despite playing with a sprained thumb and microfractures in his right hand — an injury suffered last week.
“We can throw to pretty much anyone, and we have a lot of weapons besides Sam. And then we still have Sam. So that’s just a lot to deal with in the passing game,” Frazier said. “Then (Jason) Harvey running; Anders can run, too. It’s just too much for teams to take away.”
Fairview had 459 yards of total offense. Hill finished with 315 through the air on 21-of-33 passing, and the two scores to Frazier. Martin had 72 yards receiving.
For ThunderRidge, Westmoreland finished with 306 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in his final game. Mark Hopper, a senior wide receiver, had 181 yards.
Fairview’s defense gave up 565 yards of total offense, but made plays when it needed to. That included Feauto’s two interceptions, as well as a fumble recovery by senior Connor Spencer with 9:49 to go in the game. Spencer also had a key one-on-one tackle of Westmoreland on third down which ended ThunderRidge’s next drive and led to the botched field goal attempt.
“They’re going to have a ton of yards throwing, running, whatever, but the turnovers were the difference,” McCartney said. “They’ve done it in every game this year that’s been a big game: games that we’ve trailed in, games that we’ve come back in. Every game, (the defense finds) a way to just basically get turnovers and turn things around.”
Fairview went to back-to-back 5A championship games in 2001 and 2002, but lost both times. Next Saturday will mark the program’s eighth trip to a title game. The Knights have won three championships, including a share of one with Westminster by tying in 1978. Their last championship was in 1987 (4A).
“We made this a goal since the summer,” Hill said. “It’s just a great experience, and I couldn’t be happier right now. Our whole team is just on top of the world right now.”
In fact, this title game has been on Fairview’s mind since this point last season. McCartney took a group of his kids to the 2012 5A title game to watch Valor and Cherokee Trail.
“We basically started dreaming there,” McCartney said. “And said, ‘Hey, we think we can get here, but it’s going to take some work and it’s going to take some seniors that believe.’ We’re very, very excited.”
Fairview linebacker Luke Miller (40) celebrates with fans after defeating ThunderRidge. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
