BROOMFIELD — Backup quarterback Jack Burgesser threw what proved to be the game-winning touchdowns pass with 52 seconds left as the No. 11 Eagles stunned third-seeded Montrose 24-20 in the Class 4A football quarterfinals.
Burgesser finished the game 5-of-5 with 109 yards and two touchdowns in relieving starter Logan McCormick, who was injured in the third quarter.
Cherry Creek beat Regis Jesuit, and returned to the Class 5A semifinals for the first time since 2008.
D.J. Luke ran for three touchdowns, Milo Hall had two, and the No. 1-seeded Bruins cruised to a 49-21 win over the No. 2 Raiders.
Cherry Creek was last in the semifinals during the 2008 season, when the Bruins advanced to the title game, but lost to Mullen 20-16. The Mustangs were coached by Dave Logan at that time. Logan is now the head coach for Cherry Creek.
On Friday, Cherry Creek actually trailed 7-0 before the Bruins ran off 28 unanswered points to grab control of the game.
The Bruins advance to play Ralston Valley, another No. 1 seed, which handled Fairview 71-29 on Friday night.
That semifinal game will be hosted by Ralston Valley, likely at the NAAC on Friday or Saturday.
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The defending champions jumped out to a 17-7 lead at halftime, and didn’t need to do much else in advancing to the 4A semifinals for the third time in four years.
Quarterback Tommy Lazzaro had two rushing touchdowns for the Eagles, and running back Josh Odom had a 1-yard score.
With the win, Pine Creek extended its winning streak to 23 games, as well as 25 games against 4A teams.
Pine Creek’s previous two trips to the semifinals have ended in wins. The Eagles beat Monarch 20-0 in 2011, then lost to Valor Christian in the championship game. Of course, last season Pine Creek won the 4A title.
Pine Creek moves on to play Falcon in the semifinals. That game will be hosted by Falcon.
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It was 14-7 at halftime, but Pueblo East expanded its lead to 28-7 before the third quarter ended and the Eagles didn’t look back.
Quarterback Daniel Martin had a hand in all four touchdowns for Pueblo East, passing for one score and rushing for three more.
After a 3-3 start, Pueblo East has now won its last six games.
Pueblo East gets the winner of Discovery Canyon and Delta, who play at 1 p.m. Saturday.
FALCON — Another week. Another huge upset for the Falcon High School football team.
Thanks to a smash-mouth ground attack, especially in the second half, the No. 13-seeded Falcons upended No. 5 Pueblo South 38-21 Friday night in the Class 4A quarterfinals at the FHS field.
“Our guys in the trenches have been fantastic all year long, and they really come together about midseason,” said Falcon co-head coach Brian Green, whose team also upset No. 4 Denver South 20-7 in the first round of the playoffs.
Falcon improved to 8-4 overall with its fourth win in a row, thanks in large part to its 400 yards rushing. The Falcons move on to play defending state champion Pine Creek next week in the semifinals.
Matt Bastian fueled the Falcons attack rushing for a career-high 212 yards on 25 carries. The junior also had scoring runs of 31 and 19 yards.
“We just wanted to keep on getting first downs and keep on scoring,” the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Bastian said. “We are determined to run the ball and we will make sure it happens. We had great blocking and we were able to make things happen out there.”
South saw its season end with a 10-2 record, and the Colts also saw their six-game winning streak snapped. A year ago, the Colts advanced to the Class 4A semifinals before losing to Montrose in overtime 39-38 at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo.
On Friday night the Colts were in control — at least early.
South marched 65 yards in nine plays capped by Dennis Ramos’ 1-yard scoring run at the 7:46 of the first quarter.
Moments later South was business agaim when Ray Mitchell intercepted quarterback Ty Murphy’s pass, giving South the ball at the Falcon 34-yard line.
South quarterback Nathan Spinuzzi had his pass intercepted by John Lynch and returned to the Colts’ 39-yard line and then 15 yards was added on because of a Colts’ personal foul.
That was a huge momentum swing as Falcon’s Wyatt Aaberg finished his team’s drive with a 14-yard scoring run at 4:17 of the first quarter.
Aaberg stepped up again for the Falcons giving them their first lead at 14-7 with a bruising 5-yard run at 9:07 of the second quarter.
The rest of the first half was a see-saw affair with each team’s offense producing plays.
Spinuzzi tossed a pass over the middle to Mitchell who blazed in for a 59-yard touchdown at 5:24 of the second quarter.
Once again Falcon answered, this time with an 11-play 80-yard drive that finished with Bastian’s 31-yard run around the right corner with 1:07 left in the half.
Like the start of the game, South started fast in the second half.
The Colts tied the game at 21-all when Spinuzzi scampered around the right corner for a 7-yard score on 4th-down-2 from the 7-yard line.
That, however, is when the Colts’ highlights stopped and Aaberg and Bastian’s kept rolling.
Falcon answered quickly with a 70-yard jaunt by Aaberg to put the Falcons up 28-21 with 4:23 left in the third.
“I caught the pitch on the reverse from Matt (Bastian),” said Aaberg, a senior. “I just went around the corner and my line did a great job. They really handled (South) and they helped us get those touchdowns, and let us get this win.”
Bastian came up big again with a 19-yard run, capping a 12-play drive at 6:20 of the fourth that essentially sealed the victory for the Falcons as they held a 14-point lead.
“Matt is one of those very talented kids who is so fun to have around,” Green said.
Austin Toussaint capped the scoring with a 35-yard field goal for Falcon with 3:30 left.
“I don’t think you shake your head at 10 wins ever,” South coach Ryan Goddard said. “I have great appreciation for everything we accomplished this year. “They (Falcon) broke a few big plays in the second half, and that’s a credit to them.”
South’s offensive was paced by Spinuzzi who had 257 yards passing.
The win avenged a 24-21 loss to Pueblo South on Sept. 19. Falcon’s three other losses are to Pine Creek, Longmont, and Montrose. Longmont and Pine Creek have already advanced to the 4A semifinals; Montrose has a chance to do it on Saturday.
FORT COLLINS — On Sept. 18, the Longmont football team dropped a road game to Fort Collins, 13-7. A flag-filled, five-turnover performance that evening gave the Trojans a 1-3 record.
They were in serious danger of missing the playoffs.
Two months later, Longmont (9-3) hasn’t lost since. An aerial assault on Fort Collins led to a 42-35 win at French Field on Friday, giving the Trojans a Class 4A semifinals berth for the first time since a loss in the state championship game to Heritage in 2009.
On the same field that saw Longmont struggle with numerous miscues back in September, the Trojans displayed their revamped team. A powerful offensive line paved the way for an explosive passing attack Friday as senior quarterback Clint Sigg showed off his arm strength and accuracy. Throughout the evening, the Trojans were the aggressors.
From the get-go, No. 7-seeded Longmont (9-3) set the tone against the number two seeded and previously undefeated Lambkins (11-1).
On the Trojans’ first play, Sigg hit his favorite target, wide receiver Eli Sullivan in the flat. Sullivan ran through nearly the entire Fort Collins defense on a 58-yard gain. Sigg bulldozed in from six yards out to give Longmont a 7-0 lead.
A back-and-forth first half saw both teams march up and down the field. Sigg threw for 259 yards by halftime as Fort Collins quarterback Kyler Sigsbee, a talented signal-caller in his own right, rushed for 106 yards. Both offenses were rolling but the difference at halftime was turnovers. Fort Collins had two, Longmont had zero as the Trojans took a 28-14 lead into the break.
But Fort Collins, showing why they were 11-0 headed into the quarterfinals, continued to punish Longmont on the ground and marched up and down the field throughout.
Mason Schroyer, a hard-nosed runner who missed six games with injury this season, returned for the playoffs. Coming off a 188-yard, two-touchdown game on the ground last week in a 49-6 handling of Rampart, Schroyer was equally impressive Friday finishing with 178 rushing yards and a score. Sigsbee ran for 119 and a touchdown and passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns.
In a wild fourth quarter, Fort Collins threatened time and again as a Schroyer touchdown cut the lead to 35-28 with 8:03 to play. The Trojans answered back as a Sullivan 18 yard touchdown catch on third and long gave Longmont a 42-28 lead with 2:31 on the clock. But, Sigsbee wasn’t finished as he found Bradley Pelkey for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 to play to trim the deficit to seven again.
Fort Collins failed to recover the onside kick, but forced Longmont to punt. 98 yards, 37 seconds left with no timeouts left and all Longmont needed to do was prevent a big pass play. Instead the Trojans, as they had been all game, were the aggressors forcing a fumble to seal a semifinals bid.
The Lambkins rolled for more than 300 rushing yards and 500 yards of total offense and yet Longmont’s defense was stellar in one department, turnovers. The Trojans forced six of them, four fumbles and two interceptions.
“They’ve been money for us all year and I’m really proud of them,” Longmont coach Doug Johnson said of his defense. “They fly to the ball. We did enough to win.”
Offensively, Sigg finished 14-22 passing for 320 yards and three touchdowns. Sullivan (7 receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown) and Conlan Berger (130 receiving yards and a touchdown), a pair of elusive and fast junior playmakers, were too much for the Lambkins defense, as well.
“It takes 11 to make the passing game work,” Johnson said. “You have to have protection, you have to have a snap, you have to have good routes. We’ve been starting to execute well and I was pleased with that.”
“We knew they were a heavy blitz team,” Sigg added of the passing game. “We had a great week of practice. Even in the snow we were throwing and catching the ball well. Me just hitting the flats route and just making the open read and staying within myself helped our team a lot.”
“We’ve got skill positions through the roof,” Sullivan added.
Longmont, a team that returned a great core of talent from a 2013 playoff squad, was expected to be a force in 4A this season. A 1-3 start mostly attributed to turnovers and penalties would’ve put doubt into most teams. The Trojans proved they aren’t most teams with a semifinals berth.
“We talk about faith and belief and they refused to give up,” Johnson said of his team’s turnaround. “Our coaches, we stayed together. We didn’t implode and fall apart. We’ve been talking about doing this since 1-3.”
“With this team, I knew it was possible,” Sigg said of the magical playoff run. “We love each other so much and it’s a really tight knit group.”
A final four showdown with the winner of Saturday’s Broomfield vs. Montrose quarterfinals matchup awaits Longmont next week.
“It’s great to be a final four team,” Sigg said. “It hasn’t happened yet in my career. To come back and beat a really good team that beat us once shows a lot about our team.”
Asked if Sullivan and his team thought a semifinals run was possible this year, the wide receiver gave a resounding answer, one his coach would be proud of.
“Heck yeah, we did,” Sullivan said. “Our motto is believe or leave and that’s what we do.”
ARVADA — Ralston Valley senior Andrew Wingard hasn’t seen an end zone he doesn’t like.
The University of Wyoming-bound senior scored six touchdowns Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in a 71-29 Class 5A football state quarterfinal victory against last year’s state runner-up Fairview.
“He (Wingard) is a heck of a player, but he also understands that the guys have to do their job blocking and everything else,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said of Wingard who has 37 touchdowns on the season. “It was a team effort, but when you have a guy like that who can do special things it really helps you.”
The win kept the Mustangs (12-0) undefeated on the season and more importantly put Ralston Valley into next week’s Class 5A state football semifinals. Ralston Valley faces Cherry Creek — both were No. 1 seeds in their regions — in the state semifinals next week. The game will be played at the NAAC either Friday or Saturday.
“It’s a fairytale season,” Ralston Valley senior Collin Root said of the Mustangs’ first ever 12-win season. “Next week we’ll try to get another win. Creek has a lot of talent and a lot of speed. We’ll prepare well and be ready to go.”
Both Fairview (11-1) and Ralston Valley had their offenses ready to go Friday night. Fairview quarterback Johnny Feauto had touchdown passes to David McWilliams and Tim Ryan, along with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jason Harvey in the first quarter for the Knights.
Ralston Valley had a big first quarter of its own with a 95-yard kickoff return by Wingard to begin his scoring barrage.
“I’m speechless with that. If we don’t have that it’s a whole different ball game,” Root said of Wingard’s kickoff return following the Knights’ first touchdown. “It showed we could put points on the board without our offense out there.”
Wingard had a 52-yard touchdown run and senior quarterback Cooper Loyd tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Dalton Pribble in the first 12 minutes. The game was tied 21-21 after the first quarter.
Ralston Valley took a 28-21 lead on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chase Heffley to Root with 10:50 left in the second quarter. The Mustangs extended their lead to 35-21 with a 3-yard touchdown run by Wingard following the second Fairview turnover of the first half.
Turnovers really determined the outcome. Fairview turned the football over five times and Root sacked Feauto in the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter to make the score 50-29. Ralston Valley outscored Fairview 36-0 in the second half.
“Fairview had some turnovers and our offense just kept rolling,” Matt Loyd said. “I didn’t plan on putting up 71 points against a really good team. They had some turnovers and that kills you.”
By ground or by air was a major question raised in the undefeated quarterfinal match-up. Ralston Valley racked up more than 3,000 yards rushing coming into its showdown with Fairview. While the Knights has relied on a passing attack that has accumulated nearly 4,000 yards prior to their date with the Mustangs.
Wingard finished with 24 carries for 162 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to go along with his 95-yard kickoff return. Junior Kyle Rush had a solid night with 16 carries for 117 yards rushing and senior Anthony Falbo pitched in 46 yards on eight carries for the Mustangs.
“We knew we had to come out with ground and pound,” Rush said. “We knew it would be a little slippery with it being icy. Dewey (Wingard) and I talked about it being just a one cut night and get downhill. It worked out for us.”
Feauto had a big first half with going 17-for-23 for 265 yards and three touchdowns through the air at halftime. He had a much tougher second half while being sacked four times.
“Our defense stepped up really big this game,” Root said. “We gave up 29 points at halftime. We came in and calmed down. If we play our kind of defense we can beat anybody in the state.”
Cherry Creek (9-3) will be riding a five-game winning streak after downing Regis Jesuit 49-21 in another quarterfinal Friday night. It will be the first regular season or playoff meeting between Creek and Ralston Valley. However, the two programs has scrimmaged each other the last three years.
LAKEWOOD – Dylan McCaffrey never got the opportunity to finish what he started against Pomona earlier this season.
Given a second go-around with the Panthers Friday night, the Valor Christian sophomore made up for that in a big way.
McCaffrey, who was forced from the initial contest in August with a concussion, put on a clinic in the Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night. He passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns and added 72 yards on the ground and two more scores as the Eagles rolled to a 56-34 victory at Jeffco Stadium.
The victory sent Valor back into the 5A semifinals, where the team awaits the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal between Grandview and Fountain-Fort Carson.
“Every week’s a blessing from here on out,” McCaffrey said.
Valor Christian (9-3) struggled to hold off Pomona in the first meeting, emerging with a 21-12 victory. The defensive mentality of that night was thrown out the window in the bitter cold Friday, with the Eagles erupting for 592 yards of total offense.
McCaffrey was the spark, tossing touchdown passes to Sid Turnbull-Frazier and Danny Rambo on the team’s first two possessions. He added a 29-yard scoring run before finding Brandon O’Donnell for a 53-yard touchdown strike to put Valor up 28-7 at halftime.
“We felt like we were a pretty different team than the first time we played them,” Eagles coach Rod Sherman said. “Dylan went down in the first quarter the first time we played them. As a sophomore we feel like he’s just getting better, and his last three games he’s just been outstanding.”
With its potent ground game a non-factor, Pomona (9-3) did its best to rely on an aerial attack to try and rally in the second half. Senior Justin Roberts, who threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, hit Isaac Marquez for a 52-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. But Valor had an answer for everything the Panthers threw its way.
Stone Watson and McCaffrey had scoring runs to make it 42-14, and Rambo responded to a pair of Pomona scores with touchdown runs of 41 and 48 yards.
“They certainly had some plays in the passing game, but because we were so good against the run and played so well up front defensively, I’m not sure they wanted to come in this game and be one-dimensional,” Sherman said. “I think that really helped us with the flow of the game. They threw the ball 37 times, and that’s probably more than they wanted to coming in.”
Rambo and Watson each went over the 100-yard mark on the night.
“It was just our preparation. It started with the o-line again,” McCaffrey said. “They gave us plenty of time in the backfield. That really opened up all the offensive reads.”
Marquez scored four of Pomona’s touchdowns, and Dillon Pace added the fifth. Marquez caught 11 passes for 183 yards.
The cold weather led to a few fumbles and dropped passes, but for the most part wasn’t a deciding factor. Sherman said the field conditions were a bit of an obstacle, going from practicing on turf to playing on grass, but said the groundskeepers did a tremendous job of getting the field ready.
Now the five-time defending state champions in three different classifications are eager to see if a sixth title game is in the cards. Valor will get the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Fountain-Fort Carson and Grandview in the semifinals.
“We’ve been blessed in the past to play well at the end of the season,” Sherman said. “I think for us, with (Fountain-Fort Carson) coach (Mitch) Johnson and (Grandview) coach (John) Schultz, you’re going to get a very well-coached, disciplined team.
“I’m sure they’ll play in a tough, physical game (Saturday) and I guess we’ll see who we get to match up with next weekend.”
AURORA — No. 1-seeded Cherry Creek beat No. 2 Regis Jesuit 49-21 in the Class 5A football playoffs on Friday night. The Bruins move to the semifinals.
AURORA — Warren Mitchell, a coaching icon in Limon for 56 years, passed away Friday at his home in Aurora last season. He was 88.
Mitchell coached for nearly 60 years at two high schools and was the architect of one of the state’s top track & field programs. His Limon track athletes won 73 individual or relay state champions and set 15 individual state records.
He also coached boys’ basketball for 25 years at Eads and Limon, compiling a 399-162 mark that include four state titles, all with Limon.
In addition, he coached the legendary Limon football program for nine seasons, going 64-35 and winning the 1979 state championship.
Prior to coming to Limon, Mitchell also taught and coached at Eads High School for two and a half years, making his tenure as a high school coach a remarkable 59 1/2 years. Over that time, he coached 17 state championship squads in three different sports.
He was inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 2001, followed by the National High School Hall of Fame in 2008 and will be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in April 2015.
Love Funeral Home will be handling the services which will be in Limon.
AURORA — The bitter temperatures and the loss of their top runner couldn’t stop the Grandview Wolves as they made their way into next week’s Class 5A semifinals.
The Wolves defeated the visiting Fountain-Fort Carson Trojans 28-7 in front of a loyal, frigid crowd at Legacy Stadium.
The win sets up a rematch between the Wolves and league rival Valor Christian. Grandview won the first meeting by a score of 24-21.
“I’m proud of our kids; we’ve had such a good weather year since a rain storm back in week two, we knew (the cold) was coming and we’d have to win a tough game in it,” Wolves coach John Schultz said. “We have another week to get better. Valor’s been getting better as the playoffs have progressed and we know we have to get better too.”
After gaining only a couple of yards on their first drive, the Trojans got the Wolves’ attention as Drue Harris broke free for a 91-yard touchdown run. Grandview, who finished the season ranked first in state, suddenly found themselves on their heels.
Salt was added to that wound when it was revealed that a hip injury to Wolves running back Chukwuma Obinnah was bad enough to sideline him for the rest of the game.
Down 7-0 and without their star running back, the Wolves found themselves in a hole, a position they had not seen in the postseason. With one more drive remaining with the wind in the first quarter, they were able to drive down the field where Cody Summers connected with Morgan Smith for a nine-yard touchdown pass.
“(Obinnah’s injury) affected us quite a bit,” Summers said. “Our game plan was to run the ball and he went down we knew Ben (Marshall) and those guys had to step up and they did.”
The score would remain 7-7 through the bulk of the second quarter. But with time running out, the Trojans were facing a 4th down and were forced to punt. Charles Tigner took the snap and attempted a rugby-style kick that he missed, giving the Wolves the ball on the 50-yard line.
Minutes later, Ben Marshall carried several Trojan defenders down to the five, punching the ball into the end zone the following play. The Wolves went to the locker room at halftime with a 14-7.
“It’s one of those games where you don’t want to blame anyone or anything,” Trojans coach Mitch Johnson said. “Football is a game of mistakes and whoever makes the fewest is going to be successful. You create your own momentum.”
The Trojans defense continued to their admirable performance to start the second half, forcing the Wolves to punt the ball away on the first possession of the second half. But the special teams unit continued their struggles as another poor punt by Tigner gave Grandview the ball in Trojans territory.
The Wolves drove down inside the 5-yard-line, before three straight runs were stuffed by the Trojans. Facing 4th and goal on the one, the Wolves timeout to discuss their options. The offense ran back out on the field, where Summers pushed the ball in to give Grandview a 21-7 lead.
Disaster struck for Fountain-Fort Carson on the ensuing possession as a botched hand-off from quarterback Stock Chenault fell into the hands of the Wolves at the Trojan 13-yard line. Despite the loss of Obinnah, the Wolves running game remained successful as Austin Quarles scampered into the end zone on a two-yard run.
With a 28-7 lead, only time was standing in the way of a rematch between Grandview and Valor Christian. The Trojans failed to make the game any closer and as the closing seconds ran off the game clock, the crowd exploded into a chant of “We Want Valor.”
The prospect of the rematch with the defending state champions put a huge smile on Summers’s face as he walked off the field.
“We’re really excited for that one,” he said.
ARVADA — No. 1-seeded Ralston Valley beat No. 2 Fairview 71-29 on Friday night to move to the Class 5A semifinals.