Two years ago, Eaglecrest’s playoff hopes were dashed at the last minute. A fire turned to embers. But coach Mike Schmitt didn’t let those embers extinguish. He would point to them. He often tells his team to not leave their fate in another person’s hands.

Now, the fire is roaring again. Eaglecrest is unbeaten. They are in their first state championship game since 1993, set to face Pomona for the Class 5A title.

And the Raptors all point to that day in 2015 as a spark.

Jalen Mergerson. (Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)

“When we were sophomores, we went through our bumps and bruises,” said Eaglecrest quarterback Jalen Mergerson, now a senior. “We had a tough road — that was still with the Centennial League — and we were young. We really had to step up and we had won enough games to get in. We were looking forward to getting in, and when they made the decision, it was tough.”

In late October of 2015, Highlands Ranch forfeit three wins after using an illegal communication device during games. The Falcons were 3-6 at the time, but the forfeits made them 0-9. This adjusted the Wild Cart point totals — the playoff qualification system in place at the time — of their opponents.

One of those opponents was Eaglecrest, who fell from No. 30 to No. 33 as a result of the adjusted Wild Card points. The top 32 teams made the postseason in 2015. The Raptors were out.

“At that moment, our boys made a decision that nobody — not one person — was ever going to decide our fate but us,” Eaglecrest coach Mike Schmitt said this week. “Since then, we have changed the way we do things at Eaglecrest High School.”

Schmitt said he brought his team in the Monday following the announced forfeits, which happened on a Saturday. He talked to his seniors first, and then the returning players separately.

Mike Schmitt. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

“We all made a pact right then and there,” Schmitt said. “We weren’t going to lose any more games. I said, ‘If we don’t lose, nobody can tell us we can’t get in.’ So from that moment, we just decided that every game that we played, we didn’t care if we were 10-0 or 0-10, we were going to win the game. We’ve been that way for the last three years.”

Since that moment, Eaglecrest has gone 25-1, including a win to close 2015 in a Week 10 non-playoff matchup, and then consecutive unbeaten regular seasons. The only game the Raptors have lost came in last year’s quarterfinals on a frozen field at Regis Jesuit.

“It sucked not being able to go to the playoffs sophomore year,” said Eaglecrest star Victor Garnes, another senior. “We bounced back from it. We worked hard that summer going into junior year. We’ve been preparing for this moment ever since. And we finally have the opportunity to play on the big stage against a great team.”

Added Mergerson: “We just looked at it as fuel for us as a group. We came back, as juniors, in the offseason and we just went to work because we knew nothing was going to be given to us. We gotta go earn it, we gotta go take it. And we can’t, as our coach says, leave it in another person’s hands.

“So we just did that,” Mergerson continued. “We went out, had a great showing our junior year, and coming out this year going 13-0 and getting to the title game is icing on the cake.”

Now Eaglecrest is in just its second-ever championship football game, and the first since that 1993 squad won the 5A title.

“It’s every football player’s dream growing up to play in that state championship game,” Mergerson said. “For it to be real life now is almost surreal. It’s just like, ‘Wow. This is state. We’re playing for it.’ It’s just great.

“We, as a group of seniors, we came in as freshmen — they have the 1993 trophy, and we just looked at that, and we said, ‘We want to be a part of that. We want to get another one for this program, this community, and bring everyone together.'”

Victor Garnes. (Renee Bourcier/reneebourcierphoto.com)

Said Garnes: “We’ve dreamt about this moment since we were freshmen. We were talking about this as freshmen.”

And Schmitt: “I can tell you that this is an opportunity that we do not look lightly upon. This is an opportunity that we have worked for since that day. These seniors have earned it. We’re excited about being here.”

The title game appearance is part of a larger rebirth for Eaglecrest, both athletically and academically, in recent years. The school won 5A boys basketball in the spring, and its softball team was in the 5A semifinals this fall.

“When I got to Eaglecrest, it wasn’t like that,” said Schmitt, now in his ninth season at the school. “We kinda had some negative connotations within the community and from around the state. And some of the things that was said about it were disheartening to me.

“For the school, it is gratification for our principal, (Gwen Hansen-Vigil), for the job she has done there to make it into what it is (academically and athletically),” Schmitt continued. “It’s school pride, it’s community pride. It allows you to just advance everything. And that’s important. That’s what high school sports are about. It’s about the school elevating.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The Ranson family name is written all over the boys basketball program at Pueblo Central.

As in written on the very floor that the team plays on.

The Wildcats play on Jim Ranson Court at Pueblo Central High School. Brad was a legend in his own right for the school. And he got to coach his son Mike, who now plays at Fort Lewis College in Durango.

When Mike graduated in the spring of 2016, Brad walked away from the program that his family has been a part of for ages. He thought that Steve Gradisar was the guy that was going to be a good fit for the long-term future of the program.

“It just didn’t work out,” Brad said.

So when Gradisar left after last season, Ranson felt that he needed to come back in order to provide stability for a program that he had invested so much of his life in.

“I’ve been there for 25 years and I have a lot invested in it,” he said. “It was a no-brainer to come back and help out the kids. I’m in education and that’s what educators do.”

The impact of Ranson’s return was felt almost immediately. Even though not a single player from this year’s varsity roster saw action the last time Ranson coached the team, they can appreciate everything he brings to the program.

Not just the personal investment that he has given over 25 years, but the actual basketball knowledge that he distributes on a daily basis.

“Being able to get him back as a senior is great,” Austin Eccher-Salazar said. “Last year was really eh. This year we came in with more desire and we’re a lot more energetic in the gym. Everything is better.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Ranson and the Wildcats fell 74-46 to Lewis-Palmer. The Rangers came into the season as the No. 4 team in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com rankings.

Even after just a one-year layoff, getting the team back to the level that he wants it to be is going to be a challenge and a journey.

“I knew it was going to be a big challenge,” Ranson said. “When I left, I gave them seven or eight seniors and they did pretty well. I knew I had my work cut out for me and it’s going to be a work in progress.”

At the same time, old habits die hard.

Once Wednesday’s game was underway, Ranson said he felt right back at home. Coaching basketball, like many things in life, can be just like riding a bicycle. Some things just naturally come back.

“First thing, I got right after the officials,” Ranson said with a laugh. “It felt great.”

And the product on the floor looked like a Brad Ranson team, even from the other bench. The Rangers jumped out to a fast lead, but coach Bill Benton knows that when Ranson is calling the shots, nothing can be taken lightly.

“You know you have to have a game plan coming in,” Benton said. “He’s going to have a game plan against you. I told my guys that I went back three or four years to watch film and find some of his patterns and tendencies.”

What’s most important for Ranson and for those at Pueblo Central is what he aims to do at the core of the job. He wants to coach the kids and make them better basketball players and teach them life lessons.

One of his best traits is his ability to relate to the players individually and not just as one collective unit.

“He knows how to coach each one of us,” Eccher-Salazar said. “Not just us as a whole.”

Ideally Ranson will stay in the job until the school figures out another long-term solution. He plans to retire in the next four years, but until then he’ll be sitting right where everyone is used to seeing him, at the end of the Wildcats’ bench.

MONUMENT — Matthew Ragsdale scored 19 points and Joel Scott added 15 as Class 4A No. 4 Lewis-Palmer opened the boys basketball season with a 74-46 win over Pueblo Central.

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Chatfield’s Christian Holmes (13) takes a tumble during the Chargers’ loss Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

LITTLETON — Douglas County overcame double-digit deficits twice on opening night of the preps boys basketball Wednesday.

“I think the difference between this year and the teams I’ve had in the past is these guys, not matter what’s going on, are confident,” Douglas County coach Earl Boykins said after a 67-62 victory over Chatfield on the Chargers’ home court. “Tonight was a perfect example.”

Chatfield jumped out to a 10-0 lead early before eight 3-pointers in the first half gave the Huskies a 33-30 halftime lead. Even more impressive was Douglas County’s rally in the fourth quarter.

“Everything that could go wrong that last four minutes went wrong, but this is our team right now,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said after the loss. “We’ve known this was coming. I think it’s a wake-up call for us.”

Chatfield freshman Ethan Gorowski buried a 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter to give the Chargers a 60-49 lead. However, it would be the last field goal of the night for Chatfield.

Douglas County’s Brendan Temple (35) had a game-high 20 points Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Douglas County went on an 18-0 run that was finally ended when Chatfield senior Isaiah Reed hit a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left to make the final score a 5-point victory for the Huskies.

“We were struggling with rebounding and that brought (Douglas County) back into it,” said Reed, who led the Chargers with 16 points. “Whenever we messed up, we kept on messing up. It happens.”

Douglas County junior Brendan Temple had a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers.

“Brendan played great tonight,” Coach Boykins said.

Junior TJ Boykins, the coach’s son, struggled with his shot through three quarters. However, the junior guard poured in all seven of his points in the fourth quarter to put the Huskies over the top.

Douglas County lost by 30 points to Chatfield last year in both teams’ opener. The Huskies weren’t able to climb out of a 19-2 early deficit like it did Wednesday night.

Douglas County hopes to take a step up when it begins conference play in the deep and talented Class 5A Continental League. The Huskies went 1-9 in league play last season. Douglas County has its home opener at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, against Coronado.

Chatfield’s Connor Vernon pulls up for a jumper against Douglas County. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

It is a new-look Chatfield team with the graduation of six seniors, including the Chargers’ top four scorers from last season. It didn’t help matter that senior Keland Rumsey didn’t play due to an injury he suffered on the football field in the Chargers’ state quarterfinal loss in the 4A playoffs a little over a week ago.

Senior Liam Mann, Chatfield leading returning scorer, fouled out having scored 10 points late in the third quarter against Douglas County. Junior Connor Vernon also went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter after scoring nine points.

“We need all our guys to be healthy. I’ll be praying for Connor. Hopefully it isn’t that bad,” Reed said. “We need Liam. He is a big man. He is a beast. We’ve got to feed him when we can.”

Schimpeler has Chatfield on a remarkable run in the 5A Jeffco League. The Chargers have a 30-game conference winning streak, including back-to-back undefeated 14-0 league marks the past two seasons.

“We talk about it,” Reed said of the Chargers’ conference winning streak. “It’s a goal for us to keep it going. All we can do is do our best. I think it’s possible. It’s not going to be easy.”

Chatfield’s last league loss was against Arvada West on Feb. 13, 2015. The Chargers have plenty of non-league games before getting in to their league schedule after the winter break. Chatfield opens conference play at Pomona on Jan. 4.

“We are shorthanded right now. It is what it is,” Schimpeler said. “We were in a situation to win the game. This is good for us, as much as it stings.”

The Chargers stay at home for their next game. Chatfield hosts Boulder at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1.

Chatfield’s Isaiah Reed (0) drives on Douglas County’s Kenny Saunders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Coaches from more than 37 colleges will be on hand during an annual event for football recruits next week.

The event, hosted every year by Valor Christian, is for junior and senior high school football players. It is free of charge.

This year’s event is Dec. 6 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Valor Christian High School.

Last year, more than 300 athletes from more than 100 high schools attended.

Players can register for the event on this form.

For questions, email Bill.Bufton@valorchristian.com.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

There are three football championship games on Saturday, in classes 3A, 4A and 5A.

We will have complete live coverage of these games on CHSAANow.com, as well as recaps following their conclusion.

Here’s what you need to know:

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Class 5A championship

• Updated bracket

Pomona vs. Eaglecrest

• Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
• Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver
• Tickets: Purchase online or at the stadium
• Watch online: NFHS Network
• Twitter coverage: @JeffcoAthletics, @jryancasey, @cannon_casey
• Radio: Orange and Blue 760

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Class 4A championship

• Updated bracket

Pueblo South vs. Pine Creek

• Kickoff: 11 a.m.
• Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver
• Tickets: Purchase online or at the stadium
• Watch online: NFHS Network
• Twitter coverage: @DanMohrmann, @jryancasey, @cannon_casey
• Radio: Orange and Blue 760

[divider]

Class 3A championship

(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)

• Updated bracket

Palmer Ridge vs. Erie

• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Location: Falcon Stadium, Air Force Academy
• Tickets: Purchase online or at the stadium
• Watch online: NFHS Network
• Twitter coverage: @ASandstromView

DENVER — Pine Creek coach Todd Miller is no stranger to Tuesday’s gathering at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Four days ahead of the Class 4A football state championship game, Miller sat in the Denver Broncos’ postgame press conference area and answered questions about his team’s advancement in the tournament. This is the fourth time in the last four years he’s done it.

For Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard, the experience was brand new. Not just for him, but for everyone involving his program. The Colts have never won a state football championship. They haven’t even played in a state title game.

So prior to Tuesday’s press conference, Goddard made sure to tell his team to soak in the experience of being at Mile High as much as possible.

They toured the facility. They walked on to the field and they snapped as many pictures as they could either before their phones ran out of storage or it was time to move inside.

“I think they took full advantage of that opportunity,” Goddard said.

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

The Colts need to get the novelty out of the way. Come Saturday, the only thing that matters is what they do on the football field for 48 minutes. Miller’s Eagles have the benefit of knowing the feeling that comes with playing on the same field that have been navigated by the likes of Peyton Manning, Von Miller and Demaryius Thomas.

The three-time state championship winning coach knows that a fresh team like the Colts might be able to ride the energy wave that comes with playing in the game, but at the end of the day it’s no different than any of the 13 games that both teams have played this season.

“I don’t about the psychology of all that, but at the end, it’s football,” Miller said. “When the ball is kicked off, everything goes out door. All that focus and energy that you’ve wasted comes down to four quarters of football.”

And what a four quarters of football it is set to be. South boasts one of the state’s most potent offenses. He has a quarterback in Zach Cozzolino that can distribute the ball to any of the playmakers on the field.

And Cozzolino knows this game means more to just those at Pueblo South. The Colts are playing this game for the entire Pueblo community, who will have no problem rallying and traveling up to Mile High.

“It his us when we walked into school and heard it on the announcements, the congratulations,” Cozzolino said. “Now that we’re here, it’s a really cool experience.”

“We’re representing more than our program, more than our school,” Goddard said. “A lot of people have reached out this week.”

For Pine Creek to come away with their fourth title in five years, their opportunistic defense will have to find a way to make plays.

In their win over Rampart in the quarterfinals, they lacked a spark until Xavier Hill was able to recover a fumble and return it for a touchdown. From that point on, Pine Creek controlled that game.

Those are the kinds of plays that Pine Creek will need to slow down Cozzolino and company.

“Practice makes perfect,” Hill said. “We’re not going to be perfect this game, but we’re going to be deep in film and making sure that we’re prepared.”

And if Pine Creek has been one thing over the course of their last three games at Mile High, it’s prepared. Even though they’ve had plenty of turnover since even last year, this is a team that comes into every game knowing exactly what the game plan is and how to execute it.

In doing so, the Eagles have not given up many points since postseason play has begun.

“What have you given up, seven total points?” Goddard asked Miller during the press session.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

And he’s done it with a young group on both sides of the ball. Miller pointed out that the turnover from last year’s team has left him with a good chunk of underclassmen that have seen time this year.

But Pine Creek underclassmen have a habit of looking far more seasoned than might actually be.

“(Miller) says they play 10 sophomores, but looking at film I can’t see that,” Goddard added. “They look full of experience.”

Among those sophomores is running back David Moore III. The featured back ran for 211 yards against Pueblo West in the semifinals and 155 against Rampart in the quarterfinals.

Moore was a big piece of Pine Creek’s state championship in 2016 and is among those who know what the expectations are when the ball is kicked off on Saturday.

He doesn’t need to rush for 200 and score three touchdowns. He just needs to do what he can to help his team win the game.

“They work hard and the expectations have set by the guys that were here before them,” Miller said. “We put the team first and not individual accolades.”

The Eagles and Colts will go after that one final team goal at Sports Authority Field Saturday morning. Kick-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network.

The Ponderosa football team was hoping for a state championship. While they fell to Loveland in the first round of the state playoffs, they have much to be proud of.

Coach Jaron Cohen has seen great success with the Ponderosa Football program since he joined as head coach in 2014. The program has grown from 75 players to nearly 120 this year.

With a 9-1 record going into playoffs, Cohen, in part, attributed the team’s success to the chocolate milk the athletes enjoyed after practices and games, after weight class and as part of Zero Hour (before school programming).

“They have access to chocolate milk in my office all day for after PE weights classes,” says coach Cohen. “Our kids love the milk – it’s just a parade of teenagers in and out of my office all day,” he jokes.

Coach Cohen provides a list of good options post exercise and chocolate milk tops the list – and for good reason.

“Obviously everyone loves chocolate milk, and it has the proper carbs to protein ratio,” says Cohen. He and his coaching team encourage the players to refuel with chocolate milk within 30 minutes of exercise for maximum benefits.

Western Dairy Association and Colorado dairy farm families congratulate Ponderosa High School Football Team for a wonderful 2017 season!

Athletes can train harder and perform better with proper nutrition. Visit WesternDairyAssociation.org to read more about milk as an exercise recovery beverage and learn how to eat for peak athletic performance.

The 2017 all-state boys soccer teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.

These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a vote of coaches.

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Class 5A

(Carl Auer/MaxPreps)

Player of the year: Michael Mooney, Broomfield

Coach of the year: Jim Davidson, Broomfield

Honorable mention: Alexis Acevedo, Senior, Hinkley; Aaron Biggerstaff, Junior, Rocky Mountain; Cole Blake, Senior, Regis Jesuit; Kelton Boyd, Senior, Greeley West; Kyler Bradshaw, Senior, Grand Junction; Guilherme Caldas, Senior, Prairie View; Alexis Flores, Junior, Rangeview; Quinn Frankovsky, Senior, Boulder; Cameron Gail, Junior, Arapahoe; Colin Giardino, Senior, Regis Jesuit; Jesus Hernandez, Senior, Westminster; Edwin Hernandez, Senior, Coronado; Kyle Hernandez, Senior, Grandview; Parker Josephson, Senior, Fountain-Fort Carson; Jack Mann, Senior, Doherty; Caesar Martinez, Junior, Cherry Creek; Mason Miller, Junior, Ralston Valley; Caleb Norwood, Junior, Liberty; Dillon O’Connor, Senior, Castle View; Alex Ortiz, Sophomore, Far Northeast Warriors; Anthony Priest, Junior, Fort Collins; Jon Schroeder, Senior, Pine Creek; Anandro Sinaga, Senior, Hinkley; Sajji Singh, Junior, Fairview; Langston Smith, Senior, Rangeview; Jonathan Terry, Senior, Castle View; Jacob Wood, Senior, Cherry Creek; Logan Yeager, Junior, Mountain Range; Afeworki Zeru, Senior, Rampart.

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Class 4A

(Chris Fehrm/MaxPreps)

Player of the year: Kristian Hooker, Air Academy

Coach of the year: Lee Stanley, Centaurus

Honorable mention: Sean Alex, Sophomore, Montrose; Nasr AliAbid, Senior, Littleton; Eddie Arciniega, Senior, Mitchell; Kyle Boyd, Senior, D’Evelyn; Jesse Bridge, Senior, Sand Creek; David Brughelli, Senior, Green Mountain; Luis Bustos, Senior, Skyline; Mauricio Castillo, Senior, Battle Mountain; Francisco Chavez, Sophomore, Pueblo Centennial; Isaac Chihuahua, Senior, Thomas Jefferson; Steve Cline, Junior, Pueblo West; Matthew Fountaine, Senior, Holy Family; Saul Garcia-Rodriguez, Junior, Arvada; Colton Gomez, Senior, Golden; Horacio Gomez, Senior, Kennedy; Jesus Gonzales, Junior, Niwot; Ryan Gutberlet, Junior, Evergreen; JP Hallmark, Senior, Silver Creek; Waseem Jimenez, Senior, Windsor; Sam Kilimann, Senior, Cheyenne Mountain; Max Lewter, Junior, Valor Christian; Roberto Martinez, Senior, Fort Morgan; Elian Mojica, Senior, Alameda; Jason Oehme, Senior, Steamboat Springs; Alonso Pacheco, Senior, Glenwood Springs; Connor Peskin, Senior, Silver Creek; Pablo Reyes, Senior, Skyview; Tanner Schnurbusch, Senior, Conifer; Matthew Spory, Junior, Cheyenne Mountain; Tanner Starnes, Senior, D’Evelyn; Garrett Troupe, Senior, The Classical Academy; Bryan Vazquez, Junior, Skyview; Nate Webb, Junior, Skyline; Joe Whitney, Senior, Wheat Ridge; Tristan Widic, Senior, Mesa Ridge; Max Wilson, Senior, Durango.

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Class 3A

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

Player of the year: Larson Baker, Colorado Academy

Coach of the year: Cyrus Salehi, Liberty Common

Honorable mention: Marcus Amaya, Senior, Coal Ridge; Jeff Amidon, Junior, Denver Christian; Demetrio Araiza, Junior, Atlas Preparatory School; Richard Argueta, Sophomore, Basalt; Armando Armas, Freshman, Denver School of Science & Technology: Green Valley Ranch; Bryan Ascencio, Senior, Jefferson; Alex Bonilla, Junior, Valley; Aidan Boyd, Senior, Jefferson Academy; Max Candela, Junior, Roaring Fork; Daniel Cisneros, Senior, Englewood; Joel Daniel, Senior, The Academy; Lewis DeCarolis, Senior, Colorado Springs School; Riki Fujimoto, Freshman, Fountain Valley; Rodrigo Garcia, Senior, KIPP Denver Collegiate; Anderson Gilmore, Senior, The Academy; Luis Guadarrama, Senior, Estes Park; Dom Hartman, Junior, St. Mary’s; Christian Juarez, Sophomore, Aurora West College Prep Academy; Hajrudin Karasalihovic, Senior, WIlliam Smith; Bryce Lindquist, Senior, Faith Christian; Gerardo Lucero Castro, Freshman, WIlliam Smith; Theo Marston, Junior, Vail Mountain; Lamario Nisbeth, Sophomore, Atlas Preparatory School; Caleb Richardson, Senior, Salida; Jorge Rojas, Senior, Bruce Randolph; Asher Schoepflin, Sophomore, Manitou Springs; Lukas Senovaitis, Senior, Middle Park; Jack Shams, Senior, Dawson School; Aidan Sloan, Junior, Roaring Fork; Jaime Vazquez, Junior, Lamar.

DENVER — Both defenses for the Class 5A football finalists will be facing a unique challenges during their matchup on Saturday at Mile High Stadium.

Yes, Pomona and Eaglecrest will each have their hands full during the matchup, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m.

Pomona quarterback Ryan Marquez (2,316 yards passing and 22 touchdowns through the air), running back Max Borghi (1,444 yards rushing and 26 total touchdowns), receiver Billy Pospisil (1,402 yards receiving and 16 total touchdowns) are just three of the playmakers Eaglecrest’s defense must concern itself with come Saturday.

Pomona is averaging 44.6 points per game and have put up well over 500 yards of total offense in all three playoff wins heading into the Panthers’ third straight trip to the 5A title game.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to be an easy task. There are so many weapons,” Eaglecrest coach Mike Schmitt said of Pomona’s offense during media day on Tuesday. “We’ve played some good offensive teams this season, but nobody has this talent across this level. We are challenged by the test.”

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

The undefeated Raptors (13-0 overall) have one of the top defenses in 5A this season. Eaglecrest is allowing just 12 points per game, and that includes the double-overtime victory against Columbine last weekend where the Rebels put up 31 points.

However, Eaglecrest realizes it is facing a different kind of offensive monster led by Borghi, a Washington State commit.

“Max Borghi hits the hole like nobody has ever seen,” said Eaglecrest senior linebacker Kyante Christian, who leads the Raptors with 20 tackles for a loss. “He is that type of athlete.”

To add to Borghi’s fire, the star running back still remembers the fumble late in the 2015 state championship game against Valor Christian. The Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter for a 29-26 victory.

“That has stuck with me for sure,” Borghi said of his fumble in the 2015 state title game. “That was a big play and it has built a lot of fuel in me. It’s always hung on to me and something that pushes me to go get that ring for my team, community and all the alumni.”

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Junior Theorius Robison, a two-time state wrestling champion, has been the complimentary running back to Borghi. Robison has 815 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

While Pomona’s ground game looks impressive, three-year starting quarterback Ryan Marquez has been outstanding during the playoffs. He has distributed the ball to Pospisil, Riley Govan, Colton Muller and David Ross for big pass plays during the postseason.

“You have to play within yourself,” said Eaglecrest senior linebacker and leading tackler Cody Bardin on how to approach facing the Panthers. “As soon as someone plays outside of themselves is when you get breakdowns and allow big plays.”

Defensively for Pomona (11-2), it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The Panthers were hit hard by graduation, but the young unit has pulled together after back-to-back losses to Valor and Rockhurst (Mo.) before the start of league play.

“They were learning so fast and having to play some really good teams early in the season,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said. “They kind of got thrown to the wolves. They got torn up a little bit, but it made them grow up and created some leadership.”

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Eaglecrest has its own impressive offensive trio of quarterback Jalen Mergerson, running back Kenny Wantings and receiver Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez. And don’t forget about one of the more explosive two-way players in the state in senior Victor Garnes.

“The big boys up front have to play well and they know that,” Pomona senior captain and safety Mateo Crespin said. “We’ve got to be strong and physical up front. That makes the job so much easier for the linebackers and defensive backs. They have played great during this playoff run.”

Madden said the Panthers’ defensive effort in the 42-20 semifinal victory over Grandview was one of the best of the season. Pomona had five tackles for loss. Seniors Tanner Kimminau and Diego Medina combined for three sacks. Sophomore linebackers Kyle Moretti and Sanjay Strickland will also be relied on heavily to keep the Raptors’ playmakers contained.

The turning point for the defense this season was when Marquez broke his non-throwing arm to start conference play and missed more than a month.

“With Ryan out we knew we had to step it up. We couldn’t leave it all up to the offense,” Pomona senior defensive end Garrett Warner said. “We had to take control and show our defense can win games for us.”

Another thing Pomona has going for it is heath. The injuries in the state quarterfinal to Borghi and semifinal to running back Cameron Gonzales forced then junior Kenny Maes to his first varsity start at tailback in the 5A title game last season.

Maes leads the Panthers with five interceptions this season and shouldn’t have to worry about taking any handoffs Saturday.

“Kenny is a great free safety and corner. Having him on the defensive side of the ball helps us so much,” Crespin said. “It’s fun to be back here healthy and ready to roll. Hopefully we can get the result we want Saturday.”

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)