SEIBERT — Seemingly the entire fourth quarter, Cameron Klann was a black-and-white blur, bursting down the right sideline.
The senior had three hugely important scores in the fourth quarter to help third-seeded Hi-Plains beat No. 9 Cheyenne Wells 66-44 for the 6-man football championship on a crisp Saturday afternoon.
“We knew if we could get Cameron Klann out in the open field, no one was going to catch him,” said Alex Lowther, Hi-Plains’ first-year coach.
Klann, who finished with 178 yards rushing and four total touchdowns, took over right when Cheyenne Wells appeared to get back into the game with a score that made it 43-36 with 8:28 to play.
A few plays after Hi-Plains got possession, Klann took a pass from Riley Marzoff 64 yards for a score. That made it 51-36.
Less than three minutes later, he was at it again with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. 58-36.
Hi-Plains recovered an onside kick, and the next play, Klann added a 36-yard score. 66-36.
“Two straight runs, that was big for us,” Lowther said. “That kind of did it in. We kind of knew we had it in the bag from there.”
Added Klann: “Every time I get the ball, I just bust my butt as hard as I can. I don’t care who’s in my way, I’m going to break through anybody I can, and just get to that end zone.”
The win gave Hi-Plains its third championship. The school also won 6-man in 2008 and 2004.
But it had been an up-and-down four years for this year’s crop of seniors. The group played in the 2013 title game, then went 1-7 in 2014, and 3-5 in 2015.
“It’s been a rough ride,” said Hi-Plains senior Landon McCaffrey, “but this year, we picked it up.
“This feels amazing,” McCaffrey added. “It’s just a dream come true.”
Hi-Plains’ season was buoyed just prior to the year when Flagler announced it wasn’t going to field a team. The bulk of the players who still wanted to play joined the Patriots, as is allowed under state law.
“Obviously, bringing in some of the other athletes, that helped,” said Lowther, the coach at Flagler in 2015 prior to joining Hi-Plains. “What was great about it is all the kids just meshed really well right away. And the team chemistry. Our locker room after this is probably going to be insane. I mean, we’ve got some crazy kids, just a lot of personalities.
“I think that’s what’s really helped us push through to the next level.”
Hi-Plains (10-2) had a trio of stars on Saturday in Klann, Marzoff and McCaffrey. Each had four total touchdowns.
Marzoff had 228 yards passing, while McCaffrey had 113 passing, 104 receiving, and 31 rushing — and also a leaping interception on defense.
The Patriots also had key contributions from Pedro Teixeira (43-yard field goal, six two-point conversions) and Dustin Rico (105 receiving yards, two sacks).
Saturday’s game was a rematch of a Week 1 game won 60-34 by Cheyenne Wells. But Hi-Plains was missing a few players in that matchup, including McCaffrey.
The game was close throughout the first half, but Hi-Plains made it a three-possession game at 39-22 with a 40-yard Hail Mary from Marzoff to McCaffrey as time ran out on the second quarter.
“We started off a little slower than we wanted to, and when we finally get some momentum, we just go,” McCaffrey said.
“Once our offense got going, it was pretty hard to stop,” Lowther added.
Cheyenne Wells, making its third appearance in a state championship game, finished the season 8-4. The Tigers were led by Jaime Huerta (186 rushing yards, 107 passing, four total touchdowns) and Kendall Pelton (68 rushing, 81 passing, one touchdown).
PARKER — The Broomfield defense secured the Eagles a spot in the Class 4A football semifinals with a commanding 61-32 win over No. 4-seeded Ponderosa on Saturday.
Ponderosa conceded three turnovers in the first half but still held a 21-17 lead. Every sign pointed to a close finish between the fifth-seeded Eagles and the Mustangs.
But Broomfield came out strong on defense in the second half. The Eagles put points on the board in four of the first five drives of the third quarter, with pick-sixes coming from Tanner Garner, Trace Jamillo, and Brady Pavlicek, and an offensive touchdown where Steven Croell connected Ryan Mazzola.
The Eagles never looked back.
“This was an upset not many saw coming. We came out and were knocking on the door. We said ‘Hello,’” Broomfield senior Mason Keeler said. “(This game) means a lot, it means the north is where the ballplayers are at.”
Northern Colorado is showing a lot in the 4A field, with next week’s semifinal between Windsor and Broomfield both hailing from the north.
“We expected to win,” said Broomfield coach Blair Hubbard. “Our kids have played with a lot of heart, they played in some gritty games this year and it prepared us for this.
“I’ve never seen three pick-sixes, especially in a playoff game like that,” Hubbard added. “Our defense prepared well all week long and it payed off.”
Hubbard also had high praise for Windsor but expects a big-time battle as all games are at the semifinal stage.
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian’s football team started out the first half of its state quarterfinal game kind of like it started out the 2016 season: just a little bit shaky.
But Valor showed valor.
And in a do-or-die playoff matchup against a tough Grandview team boasting one of the best running backs in the state, the Eagles were resilient.
Coming off a close 31-28 lead from a back-and-fort first half, the Class 5A defending state champion and No. 3-seeded Eagles had an explosive third quarter and ran up a 66-35 victory against the No. 6-seeded Wolves on Friday night at Valor Stadium in the 2016 state quarterfinals.
“I think we were back on our heels a little bit,” Valor coach Rod Sherman said. “We had played pretty well, and had given up one long double cut route and a fumble return for a touchdown. There were some good plays and some bad plays, but we lived through the bad plays and I never thought we’d get 66 points out here on a great Grandview team.”
On a 25-degree mid-November night, the game started after Luke McCaffrey fumbled the kickoff return out of bounds. But on the very next play, senior quarterback Dylan McCaffrey found his younger brother for a 70-yard TD pass to get the Eagles on the board and get the momentum going.
Yes, the Michigan-bound QB threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth in his team’s playoff win.
But McCaffrey started the game outa little shaky as well, fumbling the football on Valor’s second possession of the game, which was recovered by Wolves junior Luke LaFlam 48 yards for a Grandview touchdown, that ultimately led to the first 7-7 tie. He turned the ball over a second time, but no Grandview scores came of it.
Easton Cecil put Valor back in the lead after an eight-yard TD run. But then the Wolves quickly answered back after QB Kyle Smith fired off a 65-yard TD pass to Gunner Gentry for the 14-14 tie.
Brian Brogan was flawless on his extra point kicks and booted a 35-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter.
And then Hayden Blubaugh started doing what he does best.
Blubaugh scored his first of three TDs of the night on a quick three-yard rush to give the Wolves their first lead of the night, 21-17
But then Cecil rushed for his second TD on 14 yards and McCaffrey fired off a 33-yard TD pass to Ryan Thibault, 31-21 Valor.
With 32 seconds left in the first half, Blubaugh jetted 64 yards to cut the Eagles’ lead to 31-28 going into halftime.
“There was a little bit going back and forth in the first half,” Sherman said. “Towards the middle of the second quarter we had a chance to distance ourselves a little bit and I made some poor clock management decisions at the end, which gave Blubaugh a chance to make that log run.”
The third quarter sealed it for the Eagles, putting up 28 points and holding Grandview to zero.
“The first half was a little shaky and it was close, but we knew it was going to be a good game,” Dylan McCaffrey said. “We picked it up and got it rolling on offense in the second half.”
McCaffrey opened the offensive explosion for the Eagles in the second half with a 35-yard TD pass to Thibault, and also rushed 51 yards for a TD.
Sophomore running back Joshia Davis dashed 29 yards for another Eagles TD and then tacked on another off six yards with just over twenty seconds remaining in the quarter.
Jadin Watson was the last to score for Valor in the fourth.
Bluebaugh scored his final TD of the night with just over three minutes left in regulation. It was already too late for the Wolves to make a 20-point comeback in the waning minutes of the game.
“It was totally a team effort offensively and defensively,” Sherman said. “Our D-Line dominated the line of scrimmage and we played about five or six guys who rotated in. We tackled much better in the open field in the second half and took better angles.”
He added: “Hayden Blubaugh is arguably the best RB in the state. Sometimes it takes a little time to understand how fast he is. He’s an exceptional RB, and I’m glad we don’t have to play him again because he’s a senior.”
Valor’s defense racked up 84 tackles and three sacks; the Wolves finished with 51 tackles.
“It’s one of the best rivalries in the state,” McCaffrey said. “It’s going to be a dogfight, like it always is.”
Valor, 9-3, defeated Creek 42-26 earlier in the regular season and also last season in the state playoffs, but lost an epic state championship game in 2014.
“No one does a better job in the state preparing their kids than Coach Dave Logan,” Sherman said. “We have a tall task ahead of us.”
