CHSAANow

Month: September 2015

  • Football roundup: No. 5 Palisade knocks off No. 3 Holy Family in 3A

    Palisade had a key fourth-down stop near the goal-line in the fourth quarter as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs upset No. 3 Holy Family 42-34 in a huge Class 3A football game on Friday evening.

    PD Riddle ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, while Prescott Price and Isaac Maestas each had two touchdowns.

    “It was like an arena football game,” Palisade coach Joe Ramunno told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show on Friday. “We had to take away possessions, and we were able to do that.”

    The game tilted back-and-forth throughout, though Palisade never trailed. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, and that proved to be the difference.

    “That’s what we knew we had to do, because they are so potent offensively,” Ramunno said. “They came back, though. They brought it back to 28-21 at the half. … We just knew we had to keep a possession ahead as much as we could, but they made a run for it there at the end.”

    Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig, who set the state passing record two weeks ago, continued his torrid early-season pace. He threw for three more touchdowns on Friday night, giving him 16 over three consecutive games. That breaks the previous record of 15 set by Grand Junction’s Doug Musgrave in 1988.

    Trailing 35-28 late in the fourth quarter, Holy Family marched down to the Palisade 5-yard-line, but the Bulldogs turned away the high-powered offense. Palisade scored on Maestas’ 87-yard touchdown on its next drive.

    “They had a great drive going on, and our defense really stepped up to get a great finish on it,” Ramunno said. “We were able to stop that fourth-down conversion, and then just a just a few plays later, Isaac was able to get into the end zone.

    “It was a big turnaround for us. They were going in to tie it up, and we ended up getting it back to (a 14-point lead).”

    Holy Family again cut into the lead to make it 45-34 with 55 seconds to play, but couldn’t recover an onside kick and Palisade was able to hang on.

    Maestas rushed for more than 200 yards for Palisade.

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    5A: Mullen 38, (2) Pomona 31 (OT)

    Mullen rallied from down 24-13 in the third quarter to eventually take a 28-24 lead over the second-ranked Panthers with seven minutes remaining.

    Pomona went up 31-28 with a minute remaining, and then Mullen hit a field goal to send it to overtime.

    Once there, the Mustangs pulled off the biggest upset of the young season.

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    5A: Arapahoe 17, (5) Grandview 14

    Arapahoe pulled off the upset thanks to the above field goal with a little over a minute to play.

    The Warriors led 7-0 at the half after Mitch Pennetta’s fumble recovery for a score. Grandview tied it up, but then Pete Mitchell hit Connor Williams for a 69-yard passing touchdown to give Arapahoe another lead.

    Arapahoe is now 3-0, including two wins over ranked teams.

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    6-man: (1) Fleming 66, (3) Pawnee 22

    Fleming was up 24-6 at the half, then exploded in the second half to take the important 6-man matchup.

    “We came out aggressively,” Wildcats coach John King told the Scoreboard Show. “We just executed really well. We kind of went right at them and actually probably ran the ball more tonight than we have been lately.”

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    5A: (7) Regis Jesuit 19, (9) Cherokee Trail  14

    The Raiders jumped out to a 13-0 lead at halftime, and held on for the important top-10 win.

    Cherokee Trail cut it to 13-7 in the third quarter, but Regis Jesuit pushed it back to 19-7 midway through the fourth quarter.

    The Cougars did score again in the final minutes, but Regis Jesuit got a game-ending interception.

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    5A: Horizon 18, (8) Fairview 14

    Horizon rallied from a 14-0 hole to score the game’s final 18 points and pull the upset.

    The Hawks cut into that lead to make it 14-12 at half, then took the lead on Jared Jiron’s 1-yard touchdown with 2:15 to go in the third quarter.

    Horizon made a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, and then recovered a muffed punt with two minutes left to hold on and win.

    The Knights had won 20 consecutive games in the regular season prior to Friday’s loss.

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    4A/3A: (9) Palmer Ridge 48, (9) Lewis Palmer 14

    Isaiah Sanders threw for 440 yards and four touchdowns as Palmer Ridge won General Palmer’s Cup over its rival.

    Palmer Ridge (3-0) stretched its lead to 28-0 before Lewis-Palmer finally got on the board, and then cruised from there.

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    Notables

    • A total of five top-10 teams in Class 5A have lost (so far) this week, including four to unranked opponents.
    • Mountain View beat rival Loveland for the first time ever, 38-28. It was the team’s ninth meeting.
    • No. 4 Windsor easily handled Fort Collins in a good 4A matchup, 30-6.
    • 1A No. 8 Rye shutout 2A No. 10 Trinidad 45-0.
    • Pueblo South upset No. 8 Wheat Ridge in 4A, 42-35.
    • Another upset, this one in 2A: Pueblo County over No. 8 Florence 14-0.
    • No. 2 Eads handled No. 9 Cheyenne Wells in 6-man, 60-12.
    • In coach Todd Casebier’s return to Montrose, his former team beat Fruita Monument 31-7.
    • 5A No. 4 Valor Christian went to Utah and beat East 26-10.
    • Nate Renfrew had the game-winning extra point in overtime as Air Academy beat Widefield 40-39 in 4A.
    • West Grand football coach Chris Brown won his 300th career game last week. Friday, he got No. 301 in a 46-32 win over Gilpin County.
    • Pueblo West beat Falcon 34-26 in 4A.
    • Wiggins took down 1A No. 10 Crowley County, 27-20.

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    More coverage

  • No. 6 La Junta football causes havoc defensively to top No. 2 Eaton in 2A

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com

    LA JUNTA — If there’s one glaring number that will stand out to La Junta and Eaton from their gridiron battle Friday night, it’s this: 27 points off turnovers.

    It was three first half turnovers that led to the first 20 points for the Tigers (4-0 overall) that set the tone in a 33-14 over the Reds at Tigers Stadium.

    “Is that what it was? I knew it was something significant,” Eaton coach Zac Lemon said. “That’s the killer.”

    The Reds (2-1) made the four-hour trip down Highway 71 as the No. 2-ranked team in 2A and walked into the den of a fired up La Junta team, ranked No. 6, who had outscored their opponents 128-16 coming into Friday night.

    And that trend would continue, thanks in large part to five forced turnovers.

    After their first drive stalled, the Reds defense was able to hold off a very balanced Tigers offense to get another chance to get points on the board. And that’s when things start going wrong for the Reds.

    Apela Furtado-Tom picked off Eaton quarterback Austin Coalson and returned the ball inside the Reds 15-yard line. Dax Bender rewarded the defensive play with a four-yard touchdown run to get the Tigers on the board 6-0.

    “Our line was doing a great job,” Bender said. “I just found the holes and it was because of the rest of the team.”

    Those holes that the offensive created were good enough to let Bender run for 136 yards. He also found the end zone twice on the night.

    The Reds looked to get things settled by getting their running attack involved, but disaster struck again as Colton Ingram coughed up the ball, giving the Tigers possession once again. This time, it was Carlos Triana who found pay dirt for a touchdown. After their first extra point was blocked, the Tigers converted on a two-point conversion to give them a 14-0 lead.

    Down two scores, it was time for the high-flying Eaton offense to get some points on the board. Coalson found Preston Donlon on a 53-yard pass to cut the La Junta lead in half and make it a 14-7 game.

    Another touchdown from each team made the score 20-14 at halftime. It almost seemed that the Reds were on the verge of getting back into the game and fighting to keep their spot as the second-ranked team in the state.

    But Furtado-Tom had other plans.

    He took the opening kick of the second half 92 yards for a touchdown to make it 26-14 and take the air out of Eaton’s comeback hopes.

    “Our deflated attitude kind of stepped up there,” Lemon said. “It’s good to have a test like this. It’s good to be in a playoff-style atmosphere. All of our turnovers and the kick-off just demoralized us.”

    Bender added the second of his two touchdowns later in the quarter and the Tigers were able to kill the rest of the clock to get the 33-14 win and put the rest of 2A on notice. And it’s the Tigers defense that should be getting most of the attention.

    “Our defense has been good all year; that’s the most (points) we’ve given up in a game and they’re by far the best team we’ve played,” La Junta coach Clint Buderus said. “I think our D-coordinator had a pretty good game plan. We fly around and get after it.”

    Both Eaton and La Junta will prepare for the same opponent in Manitou Springs. The Reds host the Mustangs Sept. 25 while the Tigers will take a bye week before hosting Manitou on Oct. 2.

  • Aguilar wins first football game since 2005, ending 30-game streak

    Aguilar football won a football game for the first time in a decade on Friday, ending a 30-game losing streak in the process.

    The Wildcats, a 6-man program which last won a game on Sept. 9, 2005, beat Antonito 25-6 to improve to 1-2 this season.

    “The feeling was — there are no words that can express the feelings for us and the kids right now,” first-year Aguilar coach Joseph Porras said on Friday evening. “Those boys worked their butts off. They deserved it. It’s long overdue.”

    Aguilar didn’t field a team from 2007-09, nor in 2011-13, so that accounts for their relative lack of games since 2005. The team went 2-5 in 2005, losing the final five games, then 0-8 in 2006, 0-8 in 2010, 0-7 last season, and lost its first two this year.

    “We were aware of (the losing streak), but we were trying to keep the past in the past and trying to go forward into the future,” Porras said.

    After the final whistle on Friday night, though, “It changed,” Porras said. “And it felt good.”

    Aguilar has eight players on its roster, so it makes practices a little tough.

    “It’s tough. It really is,” Porras said. “We can do our offense with the kids, and then we’ve got two defenders. When I put them in to defense, I don’t have anybody to run offense. So it is, it’s tough. These kids, like I said, they’ve been working hard since August.”

    Ten years later, Aguilar has another W.

    “It has been emotional all day, for the kids, for me,” Porras said. “It’s been something spectacular. Like I said, it’s been long overdue. It’s been 10 years.

    “This is all about the kids,” the coach added. “And that’s why I’m here. It’s not for me, it’s not for anybody else. It’s for the boys. It’s for the school.

    “They won’t forget it,” he continued. “And they deserve it because they did it themselves. I only gave them the direction.”

  • Tubbs leads No. 5 Vista Ridge football past No. 7 Ponderosa in 4A

    (Zach Fogg/CHSAANow.com)
    (Zach Fogg/CHSAANow.com)

    PARKER — A fast and loose affair that matched two of the top-10 Class 4A teams in the state ended in a 57-35 shootout victory for Vista Ridge.

    The fifth-ranked Wolves (3-0) used a high-powered passing attack and no small amount of turnovers to defeat the No. 7 Ponderosa Mustangs (2-1) on a clear night in Parker.

    Vista Ridge quarterback Elway Tubbs led the way with a career day with over 400 yards passing and six touchdowns.

    “Elway’s been in the system for three years now,” said Vista Ridge coach Jerimi Calip. “Any time you can get a quarterback in there with that much experience, it’s going to be a big advantage for you and we were able to take advantage tonight.”

    Midway through the first quarter, Vista Ridge running back Louis Quinones took an inside handoff from Stubbs through the line and down the left sideline for the first score of the game.

    It wouldn’t take long after that for Tubbs to get in on the action. After a quick possession from the Mustangs, Tubbs connectd with Breon Michel on a 53-yard strike to make it 12-0 after a missed point after and subsequent failed two-point conversion.

    The second quarter saw the Mustangs regroup offensively, but a couple of costly fumbles kept them out of the endzone despite long, sustained drives spanning a good chunk of the quarter.

    On the other side of the ball, however, Ponderosa’s defense stiffened, forcing an interception out of Tubbs following one fumble and a quick four-down denial in Wolves territory to set themselves up at the Vista Ridge 37 yard-line.

    From there, it was just a long pass from Nick Wilson to Matt Brady down to the 12 yard-line, then a nifty little scamper into the endzone by Kelton Whitehead.

    “Brady’s a real leader on this team,” said Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen. “His ability on both sides of the ball, but especially as a tight end, has a steadying influence on our team.”

    But the Wolves were not done before the half. Elway Tubbs connected with Marquez Trunnell on a 73-yard pass down the sideline for the long score. Then the Mustangs had a late drive of their own in them, culminating in a short pass to Brady to go in 18-14 at halftime.

    “They’re a well-coached team and their offense is scary-good, obviously,” said Cohen. “This was a really good football game that was closer than the score showed but unfortunately, we came up on the wrong end.”

    The second half began with a more deliberate pace than the first. Vista Ridge orchestrated a 40-yard drive before losing the ball on a bizarre 4th-and-one play in which the Wolves were called for a forward lateral. Ponderosa took the ensuing possession down to the Vista Ridge 20 yard-line before missing a 36 yard field goal attempt.

    The Wolves coughed up the football again on the very next play, however, and the Mustangs’ Nick Wilson capitalized by beating two linebackers to the pylon for a Ponderosa touchdown.

    After a few more possessions back and forth, Vista Ridge would make a definitive statement, scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the third quarter, along with a pair of two-point conversions to take a 34-21 lead. But as time expired on the third quarter, Ponderosa answered with an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to make it 34-28 heading into the fourth.

    A methodical drive to begin the fourth quarter saw the Wolves extend their lead to 42-28, and Vista Ridge iced the game a few possessions later with a clock-killing drive midway through the fourth quarter for a touchdown. Then an interception on the ensuing possession set up a final score for the 57-28 victory.

    “We had a few mistakes to correct from the first half,” Calip said. “A few dropped balls, some penalties, and some turnovers. I knew if we got that under control we would be just fine.”

    Indeed, Tubbs’ record day throwing the ball saw him hit four different receivers with touchdown passes, and both Quinones and backup running back Emmanuel Walker added a score, as well. It was a group effort for the Wolves, who overcame several turnovers and special teams miscues of their own.

    “We kept giving them field position on special teams,” Calip said. “But once we got the little things corrected, we knew we’d take care of business.”

  • Berger’s big night pushes No. 2 Longmont football past Broomfield

    (Ariana Freeman/CHSAANow.com)
    (Ariana Freeman/CHSAANow.com)

    BROOMFIELD — Second-ranked Longmont football came out strong in the first half of play against Broomfield, and it was senior Conlan Berger who led the way.

    Berger had a quick 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter, one that proved to be the first of many in the Trojans’ 42-7 win over Broomfield in a Class 4A game on Friday.

    “We knew we had to come out with the same mindset we had in our first two games and couldn’t underestimate anybody,” Berger said.

    Longmont, last season’s runner-up in 4A, is now 3-0.

    Longmont quarterback David Speidel added a 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and the Trojans led 14-0 at the half. In the third quarter, it was all Berger. The senior scored his second touchdown of the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Speidel.

    Speidel then found tight end Josh Walker later on in the quarter for yet another Trojan score, making it 28-0.

    The Eagles (0-3) just couldn’t seem to get a break. In the fourth quarter, Broomfield intercepted a pass — only to give possession right back by fumbling it away. Berger, the game’s star, was there to pick up the fumble, and he returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

    “It wouldn’t matter to me if I touched the ball zero times this whole season as long as we win the state championship,” Berger said.

    Said Longmont coach Doug Johnson: “He is our work horse, a great kid, and we know we can go to him when we need to.”

    Longmont’s Eli Sullivan capped off his team’s scoring with a 37-yard rush.

    “We approached this game as if it was a playoff game,” Longmont coach Doug Johnson said. “We played them twice last season, once in the semifinals, and they beat us at our place (during the regular season).”

    Broomfield quarterback Jack Burgesser hit wide receiver Tudor Arvinte on a 15-yard pass with in the games final minutes for the Eagles’ lone score.

    Broomfield coach Gary Davies said his team needs “to work on just being more consistent, getting stops at crucial times of the game, and not making the same mistakes.”

  • Photos: Pace leads the way as Westminster football runs all over Denver East

    20150918_WESTYvsDENVEREAST
    Denver East wide receiver Connell Maxwell, Jr. (8) hauls in a two-point conversion over Westminster’s Dakota Lowery (23) at Westminster High School on Friday night. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    WESTMINSTER — Westminster pounded the ground to beat Denver East, 34-28, and move to 3-0 for the first time since 2011 on Friday night.

    The Wolves carried the ball a total of 42 times, with Dillon Pace’s 149 yards leading the way.

    Denver East quarterback Holden Nicoletti threw for 177 yards and added 59 on the ground, with three total TDs.

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  • Westminster football improves to 3-0 for first time since 2011

    20150918_westyvsdenvereast_39
    Westminster moved to 3-0 with a win on Friday. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    WESTMINSTER — Westminster football is 3-0 for the first time since the 2011 season following a 34-28 win against Denver East on Friday night.

    The Wolves, who have now outscored their opponents 130-52 in the three weeks, set out to run. And run. And run. By game’s end, the Wolves had run the ball 42 times, and attempted just three passes.

    “We thought we could run the ball on them,” said Westminster coach Kerry Denison. “We knew they had some team speed, but we thought we could run it and practiced all week with it.”

    Westminster jumped out to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter. Senior fullback Brandon Dickerson had a 15-yard touchdown run on the team’s first drive, Spencer Gilven found Christian Rosales for a score later in the first quarter, and Dickerson’s second touchdown midway through the second quarter built the large lead.

    The Angels quickly responded with a Holden Nicoletti touchdown pass to Connell Maxwell Jr. and the comeback was on.

    By halftime, it was 20-14. Gilvin was 2-for-2 with minus-two yards — and one touchdown.

    20150918_westyvsdenvereast_43
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    “It’s all about the win, you have to do whatever it takes to get the win. Doesn’t matter about stats at all,” Gilvin said.

    Leave the stats for the Westminster backfield. Senior running back Dillon Pace ran for 149 yards and one touchdown, averaging just under eight yards per carry.

    “You just gotta go hard every play, every practice, get that conditioning in during the week and in the game it’ll show,” Pace said.

    What looked like a blowout shaped up to be a nail-biter. On 4th-and-5 from the Westminster 6-yard-line, Nicoletti scrambled to tie the game at 20 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter.

    “Their team speed is unbelievable,” Denison said. “I think we underestimated their team speed, we knew they were fast but didn’t expect them to be that fast.”

    Westminster punched right back with Gilvin’s second touchdown of the night, a 65-yard catch-and-run by senior wide receiver Brian Hogan, to make it 28-20 heading into the fourth.

    Pace’s final touchdown gave the Wolves a 34-20 cushion and the momentum was all on Westminster’s side. A fluke play on the ensuing kickoff saw Hassani Moore pick up teammate Terrell Pearson’s fumble and take it all the way to the house for a Denver East touchdown.

    Coach Denison took the opportunity with 4:45 left in the game to calm his team down.

    “All we told the kids at the end was we gotta just drive the ball, we’ll just pound it out and try to run the clock out and get these first downs,” he said.

    Nicoletti kept Denver East in the game with his dual threat ability, throwing for 177 yards and picking up an additional 59 on the ground for three total touchdowns. But the running attack from the Wolves was too much in the 5A Flatirons league matchup.

    The Wolves turned to Pace and the run game one last time to bleed the clock out and end any hope of a second comeback from the Angels.

    “We had to dig down deep,” Denison said, “but we shouldn’t have had to dig that deep.”

    Westminster’s 3-0 start is its first time since 2011, a season in which the Wolves ended with a 6-4 record. As for Denver East, the loss drops the Angels to 0-3.

    The Wolves hope to continue their success against Thornton (0-3) next week, while the Angels will look to right the ship on the road at Brighton (0-3).

    20150918_westyvsdenvereast_19
    More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

  • Photos: Lakewood football rallies to beat Chatfield

    LAKEWOOD — Lakewood trailed 14-0 in the second quarter, but scored 31 unanswered points to beat Chatfield 31-14 in Class 5A football on Friday.

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  • Trick play powers Doherty football comeback over Highlands Ranch

    Doherty running back TeQuan Baker (28) runs the ball in the second half against Highlands Ranch. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
    Doherty running back TeQuan Baker (28) runs the ball in the second half against Highlands Ranch. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS – Back to basics. That was the theme for the Doherty Spartans in their 20-17 win over Highlands Ranch Saturday afternoon. At least, until coach Jeff Krumlauf pulled a rabbit out his had just when it was needed.

    “Wildcat. Shake and bake.” That was the call. Doherty running back TeQuan Baker lined up as the quarterback and took the snap, sweeping left. He tossed the ball to quarterback Zander Offutt who looked down the field and saw Dillon Keily streaking down the seam, with no defender in sight. The 76-yard touchdown pass completely changed the momentum of the game, giving the Spartans (2-1 overall) a much needed win.

    “The only thought that came to my mind is that we have to score,” Offutt said. “I was pretty confident we were going to score on that play.”

    Following a 7-6 loss to Arapahoe last week, Krumlauf brought his team out with a very different look in both pre-game preparation and his overall game plan.

    “Our whole culture is ‘we before me,’” Krumlauf said. “We looked at it as an opportunity to warmup at the place that we practice and have a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Have a moment where it was just us.”

    Rather than assembling at Garry Berry Stadium, the Spartans warmed up at Doherty High School about 10 minutes away, then were bused over in full uniform. Offensive lineman Matt Steele served as the only player captain for the Spartans as he was flanked by Doherty’s assistant principals at the coin toss.

    And lastly, starting quarterback Sergio Gordillo didn’t see the field to start the game. And the message appeared to get through. On the first play from scrimmage, the Falcons (1-2) fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Marcus Hurtado for Doherty.

    The very next snap, running back Cameron Crowe took the handoff from new starting quarterback Zander Offutt and bolted 39 yards for the touchdown run, giving the Spartans a quick 7-0 lead. But the offense had trouble moving the ball after that and using an option attack, the Falcons were able to get down the field and tie the game on a 10-yard touchdown run from Nathan Hamby.

    “Honestly, I thought we came out a little flat,” Krumlauf said. “Sometimes you have a slow start, but if you finish strong, that’s all that matters.”

    The Falcons added a field goal near the end of the second quarter to take a 10-7 halftime lead. They came out in the second half once again determined to run the ball and fullback Daniel McGettigan was able to find the end zone from five yards out to give Highlands Ranch a 17-7 advantage.

    After getting the ball back, the Falcons once again drove into Spartan territory and tried to mix some passes into their offensive attack. Spartans defensive back Donte Wiggins made an outstanding athletic play to pick off a Hamby pass, just when Doherty was up against the ropes. Knowing his team needed a score, Krumlauf sent into the wildcat play, sending Garry Berry Stadium into a frenzy.

    “We needed a spark,” Krumlauf said. “After Donte Wiggins got that interception, it was time to take a shot. And it worked.”

    Defensively, the Spartans became stronger and offensively, they stuck with the wildcat, which helped Baker find the zone on the next series to give Doherty a 20-17 edge.

    “They made some good plays,” Falcons coach Mark Robinson said. “It didn’t feel like they made great adjustments, they just came out and outplayed us in the second half.”

    Baker powered the Spartans’ offense with 202 yards on the ground to go with his game-winning touchdown run.

    “(Defensive coordinator) Richardson put our defenders in the best position that he could,” Baker said. “Their job was stop the offense so we could take care of what we had to do and sometimes we didn’t execute, but we came back trying to better ourselves and score.”

    Better themselves they did. The Spartans felt that the team played selfishly against Arapahoe, which was a major factor in the loss. They wouldn’t have any of that on Saturday. It was an adjustment to team from self. They got back to “we” before “me.”

  • No. 1 Kent Denver boys soccer cruises by No. 9 Colorado Springs Christian

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — In what looked like a slugfest in the making, Class 3A’s top-ranked Kent Denver Sun Devils scored all three of their goals in the second half as they shutout No. 9 Colorado Springs Christian School 3-0 Thursday.

    The Sun Devils (5-0 overall) were more than happy to escape the 4 Diamonds Sports Complex in Colorado Springs with the win considering that CSCS (4-1-1) was without four starters, two of which being the Lions’ best defenders.

    “I had my two center backs out,” Lions coach Jason Rollins said. “That makes everyone have to adjust and play different positions and we just played our hearts out.”

    Even though the score showed 0-0 after the first 40 minutes of play, both teams were not without their scoring chances. In the first minute of the game Sun Devils forward David Felman was able to navigate behind the Lions defense and get a quick shot off.

    The ball went wide of the net, but it was a clear indication that the Kent Denver offense intended to put pressure on the depleted Lions backfield.

    “We just stuck to our game plan,” Sun Devils coach Arty Smith said. “The big difference was that in the first half our through balls, the wind was carrying them over the end line.”

    Note even a minute later, the Lions responded as David Benthem saw Caleb Miller streaking down the left side. Benthem kicked the ball ahead of Miller who was able to get his own shot off, which also went wide.

    Within the first 120 seconds of the game, both keepers had been put on notice that they had their work cut out for them, but they were up for the challenge. The teams went into the first half tied 0-0, turning the game into a question of who would break first.

    The depleted Lions defense finally ran out of steam and Max Gottesfeld found Felman who buried the shot past CSCS keeper Jake Zander to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead.

    “It felt great,” Felman said. “We had been attacking the goal all game long and we had a lot of opportunities. It was great that one finally went in.”

    The goal seemed to spark Kent Denver as they upped their intensity, looking to take advantage of a CSCS team lacking depth with four starters gone. The Lions kept pressing to try to get back in the game and even had their chances with a shot going off the Kent Denver crossbar before keeper Ross Rainaldi was able to clear it from the goal area.

    But the Sun Devils soon struck again as Robby Dunn found Davis Oudet in front of the net. Oudet was able to get the ball just beyond Zander’s reach for the Sun Devils’ second goal of the game.

    Oudet would strike a minute later and Kent Denver finished off the 3-0 win. But Smith knows that the potential of seeing a complete CSCS in the playoffs is there and that the result of this game shouldn’t dictate what would happen if they did indeed play again.

    “We will certainly respect their team,” Smith said. “Straight up the middle, they have some great players with fantastic speed and they gave us everything we could handle.”