ARVADA — The Zero Week showdown between Class 5A football powerhouses Pomona and Mullen actually came out of necessity.
According to Pomona coach Jay Madden, the Panthers and Mustangs simply couldn’t find another program willing to face them in a non-league game. With Pomona tabbed to play Week 1 against Glynn Academy (Georgia) in Florida and Mullen also heading out of state Week 4, they agreed to a Zero Week game on the Mustangs’ campus at de La Salle Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26. The game will be broadcasted live on Altitude.
“We love to compete. Whatever game it is we want to play a good team. It makes you better,” Madden said of his Panthers, ranked No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com 5A preseason poll, facing No. 3 Mullen. “We don’t want to go out and look for a win. We want to go out and look for competition.”
There is a ton of history between the two programs. Most recently, Mullen took a 38-31 overtime victory last season against Pomona in a 5A Jeffco League opener. That loss is still in the back of the minds of the numerous returners the Panthers have back on both sides of the football.
“I’m really excited, especially after what happened last year,” Pomona senior linebacker Garrett Zanon said of the premier game to kickoff the prep football season. “We just didn’t play as well as we could have against them last year.”
Mullen coach Tom Thenell has several returning key players from his 2015 team that went 7-4 last season before suffering a second-round playoff loss to Cherry Creek. Pomona’s toughest task Friday night against Mullen will be to slow down senior running back Marcus McElroy, Jr. The 200-pound back rushed for nearly 1,500 yards last season, but was limited to just 26 yards on the ground against Pomona last year, but had five catches for 93 yards to hurt the Panthers.
“If you make a mistake against a Thenell team they are going to make you pay,” Madden said. “(Thenell) has a lot of good athletes with three or four Division I guys over there. We are going to have our work cutout for us.”
The Panthers return a ton of starters on defense. Seniors Isiah Hirtler, Brandon Micale and Isaac Lopez will anchor the defensive line that Madden called his best group up front in his 14 years at the helm at Pomona.
Zanon is a strong middle linebacker and senior safeties Uriah Vigil and Miles Matulik are solid playmakers on defense. Senior Jeremy Gonzales will be counted on a being a shutdown cornerback for the Panthers.
“We know how important it is to take practice seriously to get ready for each game,” Zanon said about how the load of experience will benefit the Panthers.
Pomona offensive returns several key pieces as well. However, a huge void will be the absence of senior Jake Moretti. One of the top offensive linemen in the country — Moretti verbally committed to Ohio State University last year — will miss his senior season after a knee injury that resulted in surgery. Moretti suffered the knee injury at an Ohio State camp this summer.
“You don’t replace Jake. He is the best player I’ve ever coached,” Madden said of his 6-foot-5, 285-pound two-way lineman. “We can find other ways to win. There isn’t just one way to win.”
Madden admitted Pomona will have to be more “creative” offensively without Moretti on the field this year. The positive is the Panthers return starting junior quarterback Ryan Marquez who finished third in the state in the 5A 300-meter hurdles this spring. Back is also the running back tandem of senior Cameron Gonzales and junior Max Borghi that terrorized defenses last year.
Gonzales said the loss in the state championship game to Valor Christian is what motivates him going into his final season.
“We’ve got to prove ourselves this year,” Gonzales said. “You can’t let that effect us in a negative way this year. You have to use it as motivation.”
Gonzales and Borghi combine for more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage. Gonzales had nearly 1,500 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns. Borghi had nearly 1,000 yards rushing and more than 500 yards receiving.
“They (Gonzales and Borghi) are going to have to have even better years,” Madden said. “They are both great football players. They have completely different skill sets, which is great. Max is more of an outside quick guy. With Cameron you can have him run blindfolded and he’ll find his way to the end zone.”
The Panthers aren’t blind to the fact that they lost a fourth-quarter lead to Valor in the state championship game last season. Pomona advanced to the title game edging Jeffco League rival Columbine in the state semifinals when the Rebels missed an extra point that would have sent the game into overtime.
“We’ve played great games in state championships and not to win one of them has been tough, but it is part of life,” said Madden, who coached the Panthers to the 5A state runner-up in 2009. “I told our kids that Columbine was feeling the way we did the week before. That’s what sports is about and if you can’t deal with that you shouldn’t play.”
Pomona continues its strong non-league schedule against Fountain-Fort Carson and rival Ralston Valley before its state championship rematch against Valor scheduled for Sept. 23 in Highlands Ranch. The Panthers then have a bye week before jumping into their 5A Mt. Evans League schedule.
Despite having plenty of football ahead, Gonzales believes Friday’s opener against Mullen is important.
“Hopefully we will set a statement in that game for the rest of the year,” Gonzales said. “We can let the state know who we are and what we are about.”
