ERIE — A 12-run fifth inning sparked Mountain View to a 17-8 win over Broomfield on softball on Saturday during the Erie Festival of Champions.

(Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)

Cherry Creek has hired former assistant Kathryn Ames as its new girls lacrosse coach, athletic director Jason Wilkins announced over Twitter on Friday:

Cherry Creek is proud to announce Kathryn Ames had accepted the head women's lacrosse position for the Bruins. We are very excited. #copreps

— WilkinsAD (@creeksports) August 29, 2014

Ames takes over for Brianne Tierney, who resigned to pursue opportunities in college. She played Division I lacrosse at James Madison in college.

Though she’s been involved with it up to this point, Ames will now head a program which is coming off of back-to-back appearances in the state title game, including a championship in 2013. Tierney was 28-9 in two seasons at Creek.

The Bruins graduated their top five point scorers from last season, including all-state midfielder Blair Sisk.

Still, it is a program with a lot of history — arguably the most in the state. Cherry Creek has won 10 of the 17 championships awarded in girls lacrosse’s sanctioned history.

Lutheran and Lutheran South Academy meet at midfield after their game on Friday night. (Courtesy of Lutheran athletics)

Lutheran was destined to win its football game on Friday night.

Consider that while on the road in Texas, the Lions saw a 21-point lead erased; surrendered an onside kick in a tie game with less than three minutes to play; faced fourth down in overtime; and — finally — had to stop a two-point conversion attempt later in that overtime.

Despite it all, Lutheran, ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A poll, topped Lutheran South Academy of Houston 56-55 on Friday. It gave new coach Blair Hubbard a win in his debut.

What follows is an account relayed by the Lions’ official Twitter account.

Lutheran lead 35-21 at halftime and seemed to be in relative control. The lead extended to 42-21 early in the third quarter, but then things got crazy.

Lutheran South Academy scored 21 unanswered points, the final touchdown coming with 48 seconds to play in the third quarter. Lutheran retook the lead at 49-42 in the fourth quarter, but Lutheran South answered with 2:58 remaining. It followed the score up with an onside kick, and recovered.

But Lutheran’s defense forced a punt, and it’s offense drove down to Lutheran South’s 35-yard-line before regulation eventually expired.

In overtime — unlike Colorado, Texas starts teams at the 25-yard-line — Lutheran had possession first but soon faced 4th-and-9. That’s when quarterback James Willis hit Joshua Clausen for a first down at the 10. Three plays later, Willis had a 3-yard score on the ground.

It was 56-49. But not for long. Lutheran South quickly scored a touchdown of its own and called timeout. Out of the break, Lutheran South went for two but was turned away.

Clausen had a monster game with 214 receiving yards and a score, and running back Jamil Bond had four rushing scores and 184 yards. Willis threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for the winning score.

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Adams City 21, Thornton 8

Friday’s victory marked the first time since 2008 that Adams City had won a football game on the field.

The Eagles had lost 58-consecutive games on the field, though their loss to Niwot to open the 2011 season was later forfeit. In fact, dating to the 2006 season, Adams City was 4-96 heading into 2014.

Adams City made the move to Class 4A this season after years of playing in 5A.

Friday was also the first time since 2005 that the Eagles had won their opening game of the season. That year, they went 6-5.

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4A: (1) Pine Creek 34, Falcon 28 (OT)

(Photo: District 49)

All night, this game had the state buzzing: Is Falcon going to knock off the top-ranked and defending champion Eagles to start the season?

Well … no.

Falcon led 14-6 at halftime, 21-14 in the third quarter and 28-20 late in the fourth. But Pine Creek rallied to score a touchdown and convert for two with 1:02 to play in regulation.

The Eagles then stopped Falcon’s offense on its possession in overtime, and scored on its own possession a short while later.

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2A: (7) Strasburg 26, (1) Platte Valley 22

While the defending 4A champ might not have been toppled on Friday, the 2A champ was — on the road, no less.

Like many games across the state on Friday, the teams endured a lightning delay. And Strasburg coach Jeff Giger said it may have helped, especially with his team trailing by 10 at the time.

“We were able to regroup,” he told ColoradoPreps.com’s Scoreboard Show. “I thought the kids just battled through it. I can’t say enough about them. They worked so hard to put themselves in this position.”

Giger added that the win may be a springboard, of sorts.

“We’ve got to take it in stride, it is a season-opener, but at the same time, playing in the Patriot League as long as we did, we’ve never beaten those guys. So for the kids to get out there and do that, I think it just helps confidence. We think we have a pretty good team this year, and it’s a huge stepping stone for us starting off the season.”

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4A-3A: (2) Montrose 28, (2) Delta 21

Montrose picked up yet another big win to start the season. A week after beating rival Grand Junction, the Indians had to rally and beat Delta.

“Delta’s a heck of a team, so I was happy to get out of there with a win,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier told the Scoreboard Show.

Delta hung tough most of the game, thanks to its offense. So Montrose’s D stepped up.

“Our defense has got to carry us sometimes, and they did tonight in the second half,” Casebier said.

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1A: (1) Paonia 20, (7) Monte Vista 14

The defending 1A champion had a tough matchup to start the season, but prevailed.

“It was a fun game,” Paonia coach Brent McRae told the Scoreboard Show. “They played a heck of a ballgame. Our kids fought, their kids fought. … It was a fun night.”

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5A: (3) Cherokee Trail 35, ThunderRidge 7

Izaiah Lottie rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, Quincy Voss had 102 and a score and Cherokee Trail cruised to a win.

Quarterback Connor Nantkes also threw a touchdown for the Cougars, who led 21-7 at halftime.

Zeke Johnson had 83 rushing yards in the loss for ThunderRidge. Quarterback Tristan Eve hit Alex O’Reilly on a 39-yard touchdown.

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Notes

• Rocky Mountain kicker Alex Kinney had a 56-yard field goal in his team’s 34-7 win over Brighton. Kinney is a CU recruit.
• Fossil Ridge beat Boulder 24-14 tonight, and it was apparently the first time in school history that the team had won its opener.
• Another long winless streak came to an end on Friday night. Battle Mountain, coming off of consecutive 0-10 seasons, beat Middle Park 58-0 to capture its first game since Nov. 4, 2011. The losing streak spanned 21 games.
• Dakota Ridge beat Taravella (Fla.) 26-3, but the two teams didn’t finish their game until close to 2 a.m. in Florida because of a late kick caused by a lightning delay in an earlier game. They actually didn’t kick off until 11:20 p.m. local time. The win improved Colorado teams to 10-4 against out-of-state competition, including a 6-1 mark on Friday. They are 10-3 on the road.
• Legacy won the Mayor’s Cup by virtue of a 21-6 win over Broomfield.
• Can’t wait to see this boxscore: Holy Family 66, Mountain View 47. Still, the combined 113 points doesn’t even crack the top-10 all time. The record is held by Hugo and Vona (mostly Hugo, though) at 182 points. Hugo beat Vona 176-6 in 1930.

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Other coverage

• Cherry Creek 27, Regis Jesuit 14 (Photos)
• Faith Christian 18, Manitou Springs 15
• Windsor 24, Roosevelt 7
• Pueblo Centennial 38, Highlands Ranch 31
• Top-10 results
• Full scoreboard

Faith Christian quarterback Adam Buchmann attempts a pass during the Eagles’ 18-15 win over Manitou Springs. (Frank McKiel)

MANITOU SPRINGS – It was so close to being a rematch of the Class 2A state championship game.

As the 2014 high school football season got underway this week, it was seen as one of the marquee games on the schedule. And after fighting through a sloppy first half, it was clear why as the No. 2 Faith Christian Eagles (1-0) topped the No. 4 Manitou Springs Mustangs (0-1) 18-15 Friday night.

It was an encouraging win for Faith Christian and coach Ralph Nance and tough loss for new Manitou Springs coach Monte Gutowski. What started as a sloppy contest rife with turnovers turned into an intense battle that could’ve seen either side emerge with the win.

“Turnovers always make a difference in a game. Every time,” Gutowski said. “You commit turnovers and it’s going to cost you. Shoot, everyone knows that.”

The Mustangs’ defense started strong, forcing and recovering a fumble on the first Eagles drive of the game. A solid running attack by senior Malachi Peterson put the ball inside the Eagles 15-yard line. Facing a 4th and goal, Gutowski elected to go for the touchdown, but to no avail.

With the ball back in the Eagles’ hands they began their slow march down the field, only to have Hunter Warren pick-off an Adam Buchmann pass for the Mustangs’ second forced turnover in as many drives to start their season. Their second opportunity, however, would not get them close to the endzone as quarterback Ryan Adamscheck threw the first of his three interceptions on the first play of the drive.

Unlike the Mustangs, the Eagles would capitalize on the turnover as running back Zach Schultz broke free for 60 yards to put Faith Christian up 6-0. Adamscheck would get the feeling of déjà vu as he threw another interception shortly after, leading to a 20-yard touchdown run by Elijah Durrett.

With a 12-0 lead, the pressure shifted to Manitou’s defense, who had played well with the exception of allowing two long touchdown runs. They were able to limit the Eagles to no further damage in the first half, going into the break still down by 12.

“If either team had been sharper with what they were trying to do, it probably would’ve been a different ball game at that point,” Nance said. “It was a totally new offense for us, a new defense, there were a lot of new guys on the (offensive) line so all of that stuff plays in to where everyone’s just trying to gel together.

Halftime adjustments didn’t show immediate dividends for Manitou as they turned the ball over for the fourth time of the game on their first drive of the half. The defense once again came big, forcing the Eagles to punt after the offense stalled at mid-field.

That’s when the Mustangs found their run game. Paced by Peterson, the Mustangs powered their way down field. They got on the scoreboard with a five-yard touchdown run by Peterson, cutting the deficit to 12-7.

The Eagles answered quickly with a touchdown run by Buchmann, building the Eagles lead back to scores at 18-7. But that would be far from the end for Manitou. The Mustangs continued to focus on the ground game and it paid off as Peterson broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run with six minutes still remaining on the clock.

The Mustangs would add on the two-point, making the score 18-15 and pulling Manitou to within a field goal. But in order to have that opportunity, Manitou had to come up big on the defensive side of the ball.

The Eagles continued to use their ground game to try and advance the ball while running time off the clock. Buchmann had his team at mid-field, facing 4th and 4. Rather than hand the ball over to Manitou, the Eagle went for it with Buchmann throwing the ball down the field where it was caught, but out of bounds.

“It was (a collective) call to go for it,” Buchmann said. “We felt confident in what we had called it just kind of broke down.”

The Mustangs now had possession of the ball with a chance to drive down and tie or win the game. They crossed into Faith Christian territory and found themselves with a 1st and 10 situation at the Eagles’ 45. The running attack is what got Manitou back into the game, but with no timeouts, Gutowski was forced into a passing situation. Four straight incompletions gave the Eagles the ball and their first win of 2014.

“It was execution. We had that many mistakes and we couldn’t execute,” Gutowski said. “I didn’t have our ball club ready to go. Bottom line. We didn’t have a timeout and they were playing outside. That’s my call and no one else’s.”

The Mustangs will hit the road for the first time next Friday as they travel to Woodland Park. The Eagles will play host for the first time Friday when they welcome Florence into town.

More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

AURORA — Things didn’t go exactly as planned for the Cherry Creek Bruins as they kicked off their 2014 football season against Regis Jesuit Friday night at Lou Kellogg Stadium — but they ended up happy with the results anyway.

The Bruins (1-0), ranked second in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings to start the year, finished off a convincing 27-14 win over the defending Continental League Champion Raiders in a highly anticipated and well attended matchup that — eventually — lived up to the hype.

Things didn’t start smoothly for either squad. The No. 7 Raiders (0-1) started the game with a quick three and out, highlighted by an illegal substitution penalty. Cherry Creek would give the ball quickly back courtesy of a fumbled snap.

That was the way things went for most of the first quarter as defense ruled almost by default. Both teams tried to establish the run game early, but Regis couldn’t break free of the Bruins’ suffocating defensive line. Cherry Creek, while it had more success on the ground, couldn’t get out of its own way long enough to sustain a drive.

The only highlight early was Bruins’ senior wide receiver Tyus Carter, who broke a number of potential tacklers after catching a pass over the middle to get into Regis territory. Back-to-back sacks by an attacking Raiders’ defense wiped those gains away.

After the game, Bruins’ coach Dave Logan acknowledged that there were some definite nerves to start.

“When you play a really good team in Week 1, it’s tough, and Regis is a really good team,” said Logan. “There were plenty of errors. We had some first game jitters.”

More photos. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

Creek would finish the first half with seven penalties that cost them 71 yards. Senior running back D.J. attributed some of the early game nerves to having a young squad on the field.

“We got a lot of young guys. We’ve got a sophomore center, a junior quarterback, so we just had to get settled,” said Luke postgame. “Once we got settled, we got going.”

With both teams still shaking off the rust early, it was Creek that was able settle down first. After two straight illegal procedure penalties put the Bruins in a fourth and 27 situation, Creek was forced to punt.

Regis fumbled on the return, and all of sudden Creek’s nerves were calmed. Luke would draw first blood, plowing into the end-zone after 17-yard run and to take a 7-0 lead.

“Good. Real good. Been working hard all summer,” said Luke when asked about scoring the first touchdown of the season. “Grinding. Playing F and H so it’s a grind, but I’m doing it.”

F and H are different running back positions in Creek’s system.

After another Regis three and out, the Bruins turned to another senior for a spark. Wide receiver Joseph Parker caught Regis’ punt and streaked 56 yards down the sideline to set the Bruins up deep in Raiders’ territory. Senior running back Milo Hall, part of a dangerous tandem ground attack along with Luke, would finish the drive off with a 15-yard scamper to put the Bruins up two touchdowns at halftime.

The second half didn’t start much better for the Raiders. After the opening kickoff rolled out of bounds, giving the Bruins excellent field position to start, Hall broke off a 51-yard run down the sideline for his second touchdown of the night. Cherry Creek was in control, 21-0.

And while things looked bleak for the Raiders at the start of the fourth quarter, they didn’t wilt. Cheered on by a raucous home crowd that adopted the “I believe that we will win!” chant, Regis opened up the offense and started airing things out.

A 51-yard bomb from quarterback Matt Houghtaling to wide receiver Trevor Williams got Regis on the board. A quick defensive stop followed, and Regis suddenly had life.

Two quick first downs courtesy of running back Alec Barnes later, and Regis was staring at first down on the Cherry Creek 31. Barnes would finish off what he started, storming into the end-zone for a seven-yard score that put Regis within one score with five minutes left.

More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Cherry Creek would continue to lean on their running game to wind out the clock. After securing one first down, a holding penalty had the Bruins looking at second and 17. One more first down, and Regis would almost surely be out of time.

So the Bruins again turned to Parker, who busted his second long run of the game, sprinting 51-yards before stumbling out of bounds. Luke would ice the game two plays later with his second touchdown run of the evening.

Despite the 27-14 win, like most head coaches, Logan saw plenty of things that need improvement. But he says he was happy to get in and out with a win against a tough opponent in Regis.

“Regis is a really talented team. I don’t think you’ll be seeing them do much except win this season,” said Logan. “I like the fact that we hung in there physically.

“You get out here with the win you feel pretty good. There a lot of things we have to improve upon, and we will. It’s the first game against a quality opponent, and we feel fortunate to get one.”

Cherry Creek will look to improve on their impressive win by welcoming Pomona at home next week. Regis will try and bounce-back against Mullen on road.

More photos. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

(Brock Laue)

WINDSOR — Friday night at Dudley Field, home of the Windsor Wizards, old school football fans would’ve been pleased.

In a 24-7 Wizard win over Roosevelt, both teams displayed a smash-mouth, hard-hitting style with the pigskin almost solely in the hands of the tailbacks and fullbacks.

Windsor, ranked No. 10 in CHSAANow.com’s Class 4A poll, threw enough second half punches to pull away from 3A No. 5 Roosevelt (1-1) after a 7-7 score at the break.

“It was a slugfest,” Windsor coach Chris Jones said. “We came out pretty high strung early on. I believe we had seven penalties in the first quarter, which hurt us and helped them a little. They stayed pretty calm.”

Roosevelt was coming off a 34-25 road win at 4A Thompson Valley in Zero Week. And the Riders, with lightning painting the background far off in the distance, struck first after recovering a muffed punt return at Windsor’s 41 yard line.

The Wizards had two critical personal foul penalties, giving Roosevelt further momentum. Power back Christian Majszak ran in a two-yard touchdown and the extra point gave the Riders a 7-0 lead with 10:28 to play in the first half.

“We’ll just attribute that to first game jitters with a couple new guys,” Jones said of his team’s early miscues.

“We just came out a little emotional,” fullback Jake Shields added. “We were high-strung and ready to hit. Things got a little out of hand. But eventually, we really just put things together.”

Windsor’s James Shields. (Brock Laue)

“We calmed down in the second quarter, drove one the length of the field, and put one in,” Jones noted. “We got the ball back in the second half, drove down and scored again. I think we calmed down and our coaches schemed real well how to stop the attack and get after the attack. That’s a very tough team and a big team, if you saw compared to us.”

Windsor’s own bruiser, Cody Johnson, capped off a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to tie the game at seven with 3:44 remaining in the opening half.

From then on, it was all Windsor as the home team utilized a multi-faceted rushing attack and a gritty defense to wear down the Riders. Juniors Jake Shields (16 carries, 94 yards, two touchdowns) and Landon Schmidt — the speedsters — and seniors Noah Winick and Johnson — the bulldozers — controlled possession.

Shields found the edge for a 16-yard touchdown run with 4:59 left in the third to give Windsor a 14-7 lead. The Wizards dominated the ball before a lightning delay with 5:12 remaining. A field goal and another touchdown run by Shields sealed a season opening win for Windsor.

“Jake came back from last week’s scrimmage and did a great job,” Jones said. “He’s a short slippery guy with great vision. You don’t see that little (5-foot-5) dude back there. He runs hard, protects the ball. As far as for pound for pound strength and for how hard he runs, he’s definitely a help.

“Then, we put Cody back there and he’s a bulldozer,” Jones added. “It was a fullback game for us mostly. They took away the quarterback, but if you take away the quarterback, we’ll go fullback wings. Defense played well and wrapped up in tackles. It was a fight. We knew it was going to be 48 body blows.”

“O-line did their jobs and we did all the little details we’ve been working on all summer,” Shields said of the victory. “We just came together as a brotherhood.”

“Thanks to the sacrifice of the kids to do our year-round stuff, conditioning and training, how our coaches push them in practice, and how they push each other in practice, it all goes back to that,” Jones said of his team’s ability to wear down Roosevelt late. “It’s almost like we need a fifth quarter sometimes, because we start off a little slow at times.”

Windsor moves to 1-0 before taking on No. 6 Broomfield, always a tough 4A opponent, at home next Friday.

Quarterback Tanner Bohm was pleased with the season opening win. “That was a good team, good team to play in the first game, and good team to work our kinks out,” he said.

“Our expectations are always high,” Bohm added. “We have a standard at Windsor that we have to uphold every year. Like we say, tradition never graduates, tradition keeps going on and on. We’re held to high expectations and we all know that.”

AURORA — Second-ranked Cherry Creek beat No. 7 Regis Jesuit on Friday night, 27-12.

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Pueblo Centennial rallied from down 28-21 to beat Highlands Ranch 38-31 on Friday night in football.