Horizon was stuffed on fourth down with less than three minutes to play, and it looked like Legacy might escape with a big win in Class 5A football. But then the Hawks got a game-changing, go-ahead safety and walked away with a 22-21 win on Friday night.
The game was a wild one.
Legacy jumped out 14-0 in the second quarter, but Horizon battled back to tie it at 14 in the third quarter.
Legacy took the lead when quarterback Matt Lynch, a UCLA commit, threw a touchdown pass later in that quarter. Horizon answered with a Cade Verkler rushing score, but the extra point missed, making it a 21-20 Legacy lead in the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Horizon had a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard-line. The Hawks were stuffed. But two plays later, Horizon got the key safety. It was 22-21, and the Hawks would hold on to win.
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2A/1A: (3) Bayfield 35, (1) Paonia 0
Bayfield ended Paonia’s 26-game winning streak in stunning fashion.
It was 22-0 at halftime, and the lead only grew from there. Bayfield forced three turnovers in an outstanding defensive effort.
“We had to be physical up front, and we had to stop them,” coach Gary Heide told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “The plan worked to perfection.”
Paonia’s 26-game streak was the second-longest in the state.
“I’m kind of a low-key, one-game-at-a-time, and, ‘No game is no more important than the other’ guy, but this morning, I just realized the opportunity that Bayfield had, along with getting a win,” Heide said. “A game like this, you end up gaining a lot of confidence.”
Bayfield quarterback Kelton McCoy threw three touchdown passes for the traditionally run-based offense.
“We don’t pass a whole lot, but when we do, we try to do it at optimal times. Tonight, it really worked out,” Heide said. “Kelton McCoy threw some really nice passes.”
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3A: (1) Pueblo East 47, Discovery Canyon 36
Discovery Canyon nearly pulled off a major upset, but Pueblo East was able to pull out a win.
“It was a fun night,” Pueblo East coach Lee Meisner told the Scoreboard Show. “We knew we were going to get everything they had. … We had a heck of a game.”
This game featured 10 ties or lead changes, including a number in the final quarter. It also had a 99-yard kickoff return.
Discovery Canyon led 28-27 going to the fourth. Pueblo East soon went ahead 33-28, and Discovery Canyon answered to retake the lead at 36-33.
Then, with 2:45 to go, Pueblo East took the lead for good at 40-36. The Eagles added a late touchdown to ice the game.
Said Meisner: “We just kept preaching to our kids: ‘We have to play four quarters of football. No matter what the score is, just at the end of it, do your job, and then worry about the score.’”
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5A: Doherty 24, Fruita Monument 21 (OT)
Doherty jumped out to an 18-0 lead at halftime, but then Fruita Monument started to chip away.
It was 18-13 after the third quarter, and then tied in the fourth after a safety and a field goal.
In overtime, Fruita Monument kicked a field goal on its possession, and then Doherty’s Tequan Baker scored the winner on a 6-yard run:
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1A: Limon 26, (4) Burlington 0
Limon pulled off the upset of its rival, and improved to 4-0 this season.
“Our kids really stepped up tonight,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “I thought they played really well. By far, the best game we’ve played all year.”
Of the shutout, O’Dwyer said, “Anytime you play Burlington, they’re so disciplined and so well-coached, you have to play assignment defense and everybody has to do their job and not worry about what everybody else is doing. You just have to take care of your job. I thought tonight, our assignment defense really played very, very well.”
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1A: (5) Cedaredge 40, (10) Center 13
It was 14-13 at halftime, but Cedaredge pulled away to notch a huge top-10 win to move to 4-0.
“They had some turnovers and we capitalized on those turnovers,” coach Brandon Milholland told the Scoreboard Show. “Another important piece that I realized late in the fourth quarter is we’re starting to get out of our own way and kind of believe in what we’ve going on.”
Cedaredge pulled away to 25-13 after the third quarter, then put the game away in the fourth.
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8-man: (3) Norwood 38, (4) Sargent 28
Norwood was clinging to a 16-12 lead at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter with two quick scores.
“We got a lucky bounce,” coach Brandon Alexander told the Scoreboard Show. “We scored quick, and turned the ball over, and scored again. Two scores early in the third quarter, that was really huge for us.
“Sargent was a great team, they were very athletic and fast, so it was exactly what we had to have.”
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Notables
- Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware gave Englewood a pregame speech, and the Pirates beat Elizabeth on homecoming, 32-21, in 3A.
- There were a number of games decided by wide margins on Friday. By the time the night was over, there were 22 total shutouts, 11 of which were decided by 40 or more points. In all, the average margin of victory for all games was 27.8 points.
- Ranked teams are 39-9 so far in Week 4, but only two of those losses have come to unranked teams.
- In 5A, TJ Jones had six touchdowns, including the game winner, to help Boulder beat Prairie View in overtime, 41-35.
- 8-man’s West Grand beat Elbert 46-0, and gave head coach Chris Brown career win No. 302. He’s four shy of the all-time mark of 306 held by longtime Denver East and Machebeuf coach Pat Panek. The Mustangs are 4-0 this season.
- Alameda moved to 4-0 for the first time in more than a decade following a 38-0 win over Denver North in 2A. The Pirates are ranked No. 10.
- Victor Garnes had a 97-yard touchdown as Eaglecrest beat Castle View 31-3 in 5A.
- In 8-man, No. 8 Granada escaped an upset with a 28-26 win over Kiowa.
- A bit of a surprise, also in 8-man: No. 2 Sedgwick County handled No. 10 Holly 64-7.
- Cheyenne Mountain picked up its first win of the season in 4A, beating Mitchell 36-35 on a 28-yard field goal with 7.2 seconds remaining.
- In 6-man, No. 4 Arickaree/Woodlin beat No. 6 Otis 53-14.
- 3A No. 4 Rifle shutout Eagle Valley 26-0. “That’s a pretty tough place to go play, but ultimately we’re very happy with the way our kids played,” Bears coach Damon Wells told the Scoreboard Show. “We’ve been around long enough to know that any time you win a game in our league, it’s worth cherishing.”
- Skyline upset 3A No. 10 Conifer, 35-28.
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