AURORA — Aurora Central was only able to put up 12 points, but it turned out to be enough as the Tigers beat Mountain Range 12-7 on Saturday.
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Month: September 2016
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Photos: Platte Canyon football scores 28 unanswered to beat Center
BAILEY — Center struck first, but Platte Canyon bounced back with 28 unanswered points as the Huskies rolled to a 28-7 win on Saturday.
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No. 1 Pomona football makes fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 5 Valor Christian in 5A title rematch
HIGHLANDS RANCH — In an epic rematch of last year’s epic Class 5A title game, Pomona was the football team to make a fourth quarter comeback victory that sent students decked out in red and black streaming across a colossal “V” in the middle of Valor’s home turf.
A 2,800-person crowd gathered at Valor Stadium Friday night for the Eagles’ homecoming game, where No. 1-ranked Pomona took down No. 5-ranked Valor Christian 23-16 in dramatic fashion.
The wind was rockin’ the entire stadium and rosters were flying everywhere while lightning flashed faintly in the distance. It was evident early that the wind would have some impact on this already very high pressure game when Panthers running back Max Borghi punted after Pomona’s second drive and Valor fumbled the fair catch at its own 34.
Pomona recovered, but was held by the Eagles’ defense to a 31-yard field goal. The Panthers had the first lead of the game, 3-0, with less than five minutes in the first quarter.
The second quarter was the Dylan McCaffrey show. The Eagles’ senior quarterback scored the first touchdown of the game on an 8-yard dash at the beginning of the quarter. The extra point was good, putting the Eagles up 7-3 over the Panthers.
Four minutes later, the Michigan-bound magician ran 38 yards for a second TD, but the Panthers blocked the XP attempt and the Eagles suddenly had a 13-3 lead.
With one second left on the clock in the first half, Valor snuck in a 31-yard FG for a halftime score of 16-3.
Pomona struggled in the first half with only two first downs, and Valor defense completely shut down stud Borghi, who had just 12 yards on six carries. McCaffrey shined and it seemed Valor had control of the game.
Valor linebacker coach Paul Rose said Valor dominated defensively in the first half. “Michael O’Donnell had one of his best games ever,” he said.
Until the second half started and Pomona had made a few adjustments.
“We changed our defense and went back to something we haven’t run since last year,” Panthers coach Jay Madden said. “And we played it the whole second half.”
The third quarter ended on an absolute Panthers tear though, after quarterback Ryan Marquez jetted for 30 yards and then tossed a 41-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Billy Pospisil — “an incredible catch,” Madden said. Valor had its own shot to block the XP attempt, but the Panthers had cut the lead to 16-9 when the fourth quarter began.
In that final frame, Valor sophomore Ethan Zemla intercepted a Marquez pass, but a facemask foul was called on the Eagles, which was a costly 15-yard penalty. Pomona capitalized and Marquez threw a 30-yard TD pass to Uriah Vigil. When the XP was good, the game was knotted at 16 with 4:52 left in regulation.
This is where Pomona really began to execute.
Marquez, who did an exceptional job dodging defenders when being pressured outside the pocket, threw a crucial 25-yard pass down the sideline to Borghi, who had been quiet most of the night, with less than two minutes left.
That was quickly followed by a 14-yard TD run by senior running back Cameron Gonzales that basically sealed it for the Panthers.
“Our bull, our workhorse, our guy we can always count on, Cam Gonzales, made the big play when we needed him,” Madden said.
But there was still less than one minute in regulation, and now Valor had the ball in the hands of clutch McCaffrey. Jake Moretti, a top Colorado offensive lineman from Pomona who is sitting out this season with a torn ACL, said the game was “stressful, for sure.”
Pomona defense held and just before time expired, the Panthers were already prowling to storm the field.
“It was a big win, especially because it was their homecoming and Valor had a lot of momentum, but we fought back,” Gonzales. “They had us in the first half, but we fought back and executed in the second half.”
Madden said the players never doubted themselves.
“We simplified things on defense, and if we just let them play and not think, good things will happen,” he said. “On offense, we just made a couple plays, and that’s what it comes down to. Those plays were there to be made in the first half, we just weren’t making them.”
No. 1 #copreps pic.twitter.com/QQSEYOqK01
— Morgan Dzak (@morgandzak) September 24, 2016
More photos. (Renee Bourcier/CHSAANow.com) -
Hail Mary helps Standley Lake football edge Green Mountain
Standley Lake junior Ty Webber (21) hauls in a touchdown pass on the final play of the first half. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) ARVADA — A tip on the final play of the first half Friday aided Standley Lake football snag victory against Jeffco rival Green Mountain at the North Area Athletic Complex.
With 2.4 seconds left in the second quarter, the Gators (3-1) had the ball on Green Mountain’s 27-yard line. Senior quarterback Jake Foutz heaved a pass into the end zone. Standley Lake senior Beck Halbiesen and Green Mountain senior Emery Schattinger battled for the jump ball. Halbiesen was able to tip the ball up in the air. Standley Lake senior Ty Webber caught the deflection in the back corner of the end zone to give the Gators a 13-6 lead at halftime.
“I saw the ball and everything stopped,” Webber said about the Hail Mary catch. “I didn’t hear the crowd or anything. I was so surprised.”
Webber said Halbiesen told him before the snap of the ball to be prepared for a tipped ball.
“That wasn’t the plan,” Standley Lake coach Don Morse said after the Gators’ third straight victory. “I just said throw it to the end zone and see what happens.”
What happened in the end was Standley Lake taking a 20-12 victory. Foutz actually connected with Webber in the final minute of the third quarter on more of a conventual touchdown pass of 18 yards to give the Gators a 20-6 lead.
Standley Lake junior Ty Hammock (28) is tackled by Green Mountain’s Thomas Lyall (11) and Ben Schlieper (9) (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) The Gators’ other touchdown came on a 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter by sophomore Brady Kizer that erased Green Mountain’s early lead.
“Football is a game of inches. Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” Green Mountain coach Matt Pees said. “You’ve got to overcome those things and I think our kids did in the second half.”
Green Mountain took advantage of a Standley Lake turnover with less than four minutes to play. Rams’ senior quarterback Dylan Jacob hit senior Justin Booher for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 20-12.
The Rams were able to get the ball back with 1:59 to play and on Standley Lake’s 38-yard line, but a pair of sacks on Jacob eventually turned the ball over on downs to the Gators to seal the win.
“It was a shock. It was pretty stressful,” Standley Lake defensive end Jack Anderson said of Green Mountain getting the ball back late with a chance to tie things up. “Any win is a big win. You have to take them when you can get them.”
Anderson was in on a number of plays in the Rams’ offensive backfield. The Gators sacked or held Jacob to zero yards on eight plays.
“I really think our defense played outstanding,” Morse said. “We got a lot of pressure on Jacob.”
Green Mountain jumped out to an early 6-0 lead when Jacob hit senior Kyle Clabaugh for a 74-yard touchdown on a slip-screen on the Rams’ first offensive possession. Jacob finished 11-for-19 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
“That screen really opened our eyes. We had prepared for it, but we didn’t read it,” Anderson said. “We changed it up and we figured out how to beat it.”
Clabaugh had four catches for 104 yards, along with 64 yards rushing to pace Green Mountain (2-2).
“We’ve got a lot to clean up before playing Battle Mountain,” Pees said. “Our goal is still there to win a conference championship. That is what we’re aiming for.”
Green Mountain has its final non-league game at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood against Battle Mountain.
Standley Lake is back at NAAC next Friday for another late-afternoon game against yet another Jeffco school. The Gators get a shot against Class 5A’s Arvada West at 4 p.m. Sept. 30.
“You like to see your team progressing so once you get into league hopefully you’ve worked out some of those kinks,” Morse said. “Each week you just kind of piece it together and see what you can do.”
Standley Lake’s Landon Warriner, Brady Kizer and Jackson Dowis celebrate Kizer’s first-quarter touchdown run. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Football roundup: Grandview gets big bounce-back win against Cherry Creek
More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) A week after being upset by Eaglecrest, Grandview had a big bounce-back win against Cherry Creek.
The ninth-ranked Wolves got rushing touchdowns from Hayden Blubaugh and Gunnar Lamphere, then relied on a stout defense to secure the 17-6 win.
“It was a great bounce-back week for our kids, and our defense really stepped up tonight,” Grandview coach John Schultz told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.
Blubaugh, the Wolves’ star running back, gave his team a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 57-yard run. No. 7 Cherry Creek responded in the second quarter with a rushing score from Trey Windham.
Grandview added a field goal before the half to lead 10-6 at the break. Lamphere, the quarterback, added his TD in the third quarter.
“It was a good grind-it-out victory for our offense,” Schultz said.
The game set an attendance record for Legacy Stadium.
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8-man: (2) Daypsring Christian 51, (6) Hoehne 50 (OT)
In a wild one, Dayspring Christian outlasted Hoehne in overtime.
The two teams traded scores most of the night, but Hoehne did start to pull away by halftime, leading 30-16 at the break.
It remained a two-score game after the third quarter, with Hoehne holding a 38-29 edge, and the Farmers pushed it to 44-29 with 9:17 remaining the fourth.
But the Eagles refused to go away. They scored 16 unanswered points in five minutes to tie the game at 44, and the teams headed to overtime deadlocked there.
In OT, Dayspring Christian was able to secure the win.
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3A: Mead 49, (3) Longmont 35
And with that @MeadFootball takes down @GoTrojanNation 49-35. Huge win in front of huge crowd. #HornsUp @BoCoPreps @CHSAA pic.twitter.com/N9KIsKQ9lN
— Mead HS Athletics (@MeadAthletics) September 24, 2016
Mead got perhaps the best win since the program was restarted in 2010, topping city rival Longmont in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
“We just kept plugging. That’s kind of the mantra we’ve been using,” Mead coach Jason Klatt told the Scoreboard Show. “Our kids just didn’t get ratted. We’ve shown a resiliency, and our kids don’t really care if we’re down two touchdowns, or seven points. It doesn’t matter. We just kept on plugging and I’m really proud of our kids tonight.”
The two teams went crazy scoring in the first half, and Longmont held a 32-28 lead at halftime. The Trojans pushed it to 35-28 after three quarters, but didn’t score again.
“I’m so proud of our defensive staff and our defensive kids,” Klatt said. “We really just hung in there tonight, and we started gaining confidence as the game wore on that we could stop them.”
Mead tied it up on Riley Glynn’s third passing touchdown, and four minutes later Evan Hanson returned an interception for a score to give the Mavericks the lead.
Nathan Mackey had three total touchdowns, including two rushing scores and one receiving.
It was Mead’s third-straight win after dropping its season-opener.
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8-man: (1) Sargent 22, (5) Norwood 20
The new No. 1 team Sargent held firm with a big top-5 win.
“It was a total team effort. They jumped out ahead 6-0, and we just kept battling and battling,” coach Trevan Pepper told the Scoreboard Show.
The Farmers led 22-8 early in the third quarter, and then 22-14 as the fourth quarter started, but they were able to hold on.
Sargent made a stop on a two-point attempt in the fourth quarter to win.
“It was a good victory for us,” Pepper said.
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3A/2A: Durango 14, (6) Bayfield 6 (OT)
The two area rivals met for the first time in 80 years, and Durango pulled off the overtime win.
Peyton Woolverton hit Jake Bourdon for a four-yard TD in overtime to give his team the lead, which they followed with a two-point conversion.
“We had it timed out well in practice and it was just like second nature down there because we’d done it already so many times,”Boudron told the Durango Herald after the game.
Durango’s Dawson Marcum then ended the game with an interception on Bayfield’s possession in overtime.
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3A: (7) Silver Creek 20, (10) Roosevelt 10
The Raptors improved to 4-0 with a big top-10 win.
“It’s a huge win,” Silver Creek coach Mike Apodaca told the Scoreboard Show. “We had the opportunity to play Roosevelt eight-to-ten times over the last few years, and we’ve never been able to beat them at their place. For our program in general, that was a big win and a step in the right direction.”
Silver Creek led most of the way, though it was only 7-3 at halftime, and Roosevelt did take a brief 10-7 lead in the third quarter.
“Our defense kept us in it,” Apodaca said.
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Notables
- High winds affected a number of games across the state, to the point that they caused the postponement of the Rye/John Mall game, according to Rye AD Beth Burns. The winds were so bad that several cars had their windows blown out, one soccer goal slid on the field, and another blew over the fence. The two teams will play Saturday at 1 p.m.
- 6-man No. 2 Kit Carson beat No. 5 Cheyenne Wells 22-14. The game featured a 20-minute lightning delay, and a big rain storm late in the fourth quarter. “To our kids’ credit, they really hung on and persevered and came up with the win,” coach Jim Trahern told the Scoreboard Show.
- A top-5 showdown in 1A ended with No. 2 Strasburg beating No. 4 Limon 43-12.
- 4A No. 6 Pine Creek beat No. 5 Vista Ridge 39-14. Both teams are now 2-2.
- Another top-10 matchup in 4A saw No. 9 Ponderosa handle No. 10 Rampart, 37-6. “Our team is starting to click a little bit,” Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen told the Scoreboard Show.
- Snow made its first appearance at a game this season, when Grand Valley hosted Aspen. Grand Valley won 48-34.
- In 2A, No. 7 D’Evelyn picked up a good win by topping No. 10 Platte Valley 22-12.
- 1A No. 5 Bennett edged No. 10 Burlington 15-13.
- Centauri got a big 26-12 upset win against 1A No. 6 Buena Vista. “They were fired up and ready to go, and they did everything we asked them to do,” coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show of his defense.
- Pikes Peak Christian upset No. 10 West Grand 20-8 in 8-man. The keeps all-time wins leader Chris Brown at 309 career wins.
- Cheraw knocked off No. 7 Sierra Grande in 6-man.
- Legacy football won its second game in a row after the tragic bus accident that shook the community. This night, the Lightning beat Horizon 38-21.
- Lutheran beat Falcon in overtime, 21-14.
- Pueblo West made a late stand to secure a 20-13 win over Dakota Ridge. Dakota Ridge was at the 6-yard-line with 17 seconds remaining.
- Faith Christian had a 98 1/2 yard touchdown tonight in a 34-7 win over Brush. Freshman Isiah Kroll hit senior Brandon Herman.
- 4A No. 8 Windsor trailed at the half, but rallied to beat Greeley West 28-7.
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More coverage
- In a monster 2A clash, No. 2 La Junta beat No. 1 Kent Denver. We also have a photo gallery of the game.
- No. 1 Pomona football made an epic comeback to beat No. 5 Valor Christian. Highlights of the game.
- A Hail Mary helped Standley Lake beat Green Mountain.
- Holy Family blanked Thompson Valley for a 48-0 win. A gallery of images from the game is here.
- Photos from Grandview’s win over Cherry Creek.
- Photos from Pine Creek’s win over Vista Ridge.
- Photos from Erie’s win over Centaurus.
- An updated top-10 scoreboard & Saturday’s schedule.
- All scores from Friday night, as well as Saturday’s games.
- Replay the night via our live coverage.
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La Junta stakes claim as top 2A football team with win over Kent Denver
More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) LA JUNTA — In the rolling plains of southeastern Colorado, flashes of lightning lit up the night sky. In the confines of La Junta Tigers Stadium, one flash of lightning dethroned the top team in Class 2A football.
A safety followed by a kickoff return for a touchdown from Apela Furtado-Tom propelled the CHSAANow.com No. 2 La Junta Tigers to a 35-6 win over No. 1 Kent Denver.
Heading into league play, the Tigers will be the king of the 2A jungle.
“I felt like we could do what we did,” Tigers coach Clint Buderus said. “I feel like we left some points out there, some penalties killed us, we hurt ourselves in the red zone a lot. We got a fast start and that was the big thing.”
And everyone fed off that start, especially the defense. The Tigers (4-0 overall) did not allow a Kent Denver first down for the entire first half.
With a 9-0 lead and a defense that was not willing to the Sun Devils (3-1) an inch, it was easy for Jon Nuschy and company to stick to the ground game and wear Kent out.
“Our defense did well,” Nuschy said. “Our defense got us on the board and we couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”
More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Nuschy led the ground attack with 132 yards and a touchdown. But the bulk of the action went to running back Carlos Triana who netted 126 rushing yards, but found the endzone twice.
With a 21-0 to nothing lead at halftime, La Junta held every bit of momentum. With lightning strikes picking up in the east, Kent Denver was looking for their own jolt of energy. The Sun Devils thought they got it with a rushing touchdown from Charles McKissick, but that would be the only points they would score all game.
“We knew we were coming into a tough game and we didn’t play well at all,” Kent Denver coach Scott Yates said. “We were not very Kent Denver-like.”
And when looking at the numbers on the season, La Junta was very La Junta-like. The Tigers returned 11 starters on defense from last year’s team. They ran into a buzzsaw in eventual state champion Bayfield in the 2A playoffs, but coming into this season, they felt like they could compete as one of the top teams in the state.
There is no reason they should not be sitting atop that perch come Monday when rankings are released. But that’s not even on their mind. A win over Kent Denver gives them a shot in the arm, but their real test for the season begins next week when they travel to TCA, which could mark another matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2.
“(We) enjoy the win for the weekend,” Traina said. “Then we get back to work. Our next focus is TCA and getting back up there, playing well and starting fast.”
If they get another fast start, they could come away as a team to win games between the two top ranked teams in the state on consecutive weeks.
But next week’s challenge will be different.
If they’re sitting at the top of the 2A polls, the Tigers will no longer be the hunters.
They’ll be the hunted.
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Photos: 2A No. 2 La Junta football knocks off No. 1 Kent Denver
LA JUNTA — Jon Nuschy rushed for 132 yards as La Junta beat Kent Denver 35-6 in a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in Class 2A.
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No. 8 Holy Family football blanks Thompson Valley
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com) On the first play from scrimmage for Holy Family, Michael Zeman took the handoff untouched for an 88-yard rushing touchdown.
It set the tone for the night, which ended in a 48-0 victory for No. 8 Holy Family.
“We really needed to have a game where we started fast this week,” said Holy Family head coach Michael Gabriel. “We were a little slow last week going on both sides of the ball so, just start fast on offense. On defense — to do what they did this week was really something that we needed to have happen.”
Zeman was unstoppable Friday night as he and the Tigers rolled the Thompson Valley Eagles. Zeman finished with 280 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com) “We wanted to mix both the run and pass into the game today, which we did pretty well,” Zeman said. “A lot of (the credit) goes to the line, being able to get me the running lanes and giving Stone time to pass.”
The Holy Family defense stymied Thompson Valley on just about every drive. Thompson Valley threatened to score on two drives, yet came up empty on both chances.
“Any time you can get a shutout, the confidence it gives to your defense and your offense is huge,” Gabriel said. “And we’re very happy with that.”
Late in the second quarter, Thompson Valley quarterback Braydon Besse scrambled 69 yards down to the Holy Family 11-yard-line. The ensuing snap was sent straight over the head of Besse for a 14-yard loss, and the Eagles were forced to settle for a field goal attempt.
Nicholas Williams shot through the line and blocked the kick to keep the shutout intact.
The defense found itself in trouble again with halftime looming after Thompson Valley drove down to the 13-yard-line. Besse dropped back with 6.7 seconds left and was intercepted in the end zone by none other than Zeman, who also plays on defense.
“We’ve been building up for this,” Zeman said. “Last year, our defense wasn’t where we wanted it to be, so this year we’re really focusing on everyone flowing to the ball and pursuit. Coming in this week, we knew we wanted to get after them on the ball.”
The defense came up big time and time again.
“We fuel off of our defense,” said wide receiver Joe Golter. “If our defense has energy, then our whole team has energy. With the goose egg tonight, that really fueled our offense and special teams as well.”
Not to be outdone by the stellar defensive play, the offense shined as well. Golter had 79 yards and three touchdowns on just four receptions.
“It’s just the way of our offense,” Golter said. “We have the potential to score every play. No matter what it is, we have the potential to score.”
“We have so many weapons, we have five returning starters that touch the ball,” Gabriel said. “One week it might be Mikey Zemen, another week it might be Joey Golter, Kyle Helbig, Travis Montoya. It’s a pick-your-poison kind of thing week to week. We’re very lucky to have all those kids.”
Sophomore quarterback Stone Samaras did his part with 172 yards and four touchdowns. Samaras has some big shoes to fill following the record-setting efforts of Chris Helbig.
“We haven’t put that on Stone much, he came in last year for us after Chris got hurt and did a good job,” Gabriel said. “We’ve worked real hard over the summer to get him prepared to do well. He hasn’t let us down, he’s done a really good job for us.”
Gabriel and the Tigers wanted to start off fast after not being able to do so against No. 1 Fort Morgan last week.
“We were just coming off a hard loss last week,” Zeman said. “We know we should have played better than we did, so we wanted to come back and get it. We wanted to come out and show what we really are and who we are.”
“We’ve started fast in every game but last week and we let teams back in and kind of hang around,” Gabriel said. “So, we wanted to get up, stay up, and put them away early.”
That strategy worked well for Holy Family as they executed Gabriel’s gameplan to a tee.
Thompson Valley (0-4) will look to rebound and get in the win column next week at Berthoud.
Holy Family (3-1) faces No. 3 Longmont (2-2) next week at home. The Trojans lost to Mead on Friday.
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Photos: No. 9 Grandview football tops No. 7 Cherry Creek
AURORA — No. 9 Grandview football bounced back from a loss last week to beat No. 7 Cherry Creek 17-6 on Friday night.
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Photos: No. 8 Holy Family football shuts out Thompson Valley
BROOMFIELD — Joe Golter grabbed three touchdown passes and Michael Zeman rushed for two in No. 8-ranked Holy Family’s 48-0 victory over Thompson Valley on Friday.
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