(Courtesy of Thornton HS)

Thornton beat rival Northglenn on Friday night, 27-21, securing the I-25 Bowl for the first time in 14 years.

The Trojans had been 0-11 against the Norse since 2005. Their last victory in the series came via a 44-33 win on Oct. 21, 2005.

But, on Friday night, as both teams opened the 2019 season, Thornton raced out to a 20-7 lead after the first quarter, and added a third-quarter touchdown to push their advantage to 27-7 going into the final frame.

Northglenn rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but a final pass into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired, setting off a celebration on the Thornton sideline.

Ethan Gonzales threw threw touchdown passes to lead his team.

The game, which was delayed an hour by lightning, didn’t started out well for Thornton. Northglenn grabbed an early 7-0 lead following a Thornton fumble. The Trojans also fumbled away their second possession, but were unfazed as they forced the Norse to punt.

Two possessions later, Gonzales threw a 15-yard touchdown with five minutes to play in the first quarter. Then, in the final minute of that quarter, Thornton recovered a fumble at their own 35-yard-line, and promptly threw a long touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead.

Thornton then recovered another fumble on Northglenn’s next possession, this time deep inside Norse territory, and punched it in with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Suddenly, it was 20-7.

Things stayed that way until Gonzales’ third passing TD of the night with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Northglenn scored a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the final quarter, and another with two minutes to play to cut it to 27-21. Thornton recovered ensuring the onside kick, but Northglenn forced a punt.

The Norse had one final shot at the end zone from the 30-yard-line with seconds to play, but the pass fell incomplete:

.@UncommonTrojans football snaps their 14-game losing streak to @NGHS_Athletics in a wild one.

Welcome back, football. #ahsports #copreps @CHSAA @coloradopreps pic.twitter.com/cQQoLoL9G9

— Adam Hothersall (@AdamHothersall) August 31, 2019

https://www.facebook.com/uncommontrojans/videos/913002775730436/

(Courtesy of Thornton HS)

(Courtesy of Thornton HS)

(Courtesy of Thornton HS)

Bayfield football lost its opening game to San Juan (Utah), 42-13.

Arapahoe football beat Greeley West 14-13 in the first week of the season on Friday.

(CHSAANow.com)

Rhonda Blanford-Green, CHSAA’s commissioner, was inducted into the University of Nebraska Hall of Fame on Saturday.

One of seven inductees who was honored during the school’s football game, Blanford-Green competed for the Huskers from 1982-85 and was an 18-time Big Eight champion and eight-time All-American. She holds the school mark in the 50-meter hurdles, 60-yard hurdles and the 55-meter hurdles.

A member of three national championship teams, the Huskers swept the indoor and outdoor Big Eight titles throughout her career. She was one of the first athletes – male or female – to win five gold medals in a conference championship meet.

Blanford-Green worked at CHSAA both as assistant commissioner and associate commissioner from 1996-2012 and was named CHSAA commissioner in 2017.

She was executive director at the Nebraska School Activities Association from 2012-15 and was assistant executive director at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association from 2015-2017. At various times in Colorado, she oversaw boys’ soccer, spirit, track and field, cross country, hockey and skiing. She also oversaw equity, marketing, public relations and legislative relations.

She started many initiatives at CHSAA, including the creation of the Association’s transgender policy, which has since become a national model used by other states.

In 2012, Blanford-Green was named the executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association, becoming the first African-American woman in the country to serve in that capacity. She is the first female to serve as CHSAA’s commissioner, as well as the first African-American.

A 1981 graduate of Aurora Central High School, where she starred in track and also competed in spirit and volleyball, Blanford-Green went on to excel in track at the University of Nebraska.

She was the national prep leader in the 30-inch hurdles and held three state records in the 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and long jump. After college, she twice qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials.

She was coached at the University of Wyoming for several years before joining CHSAA.

Blanford-Green is a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame as a participant (2012 inductee), the Sportswoman of Colorado Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

(CHSAANow.com)

(CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

PARKER — Rivalry games are fun. So much fun that Legend and Ponderosa made sure every fan in attendance got their money’s worth for making it out to the opening football game of the 2019 season.

Early on Legend looked unstoppable. At one point, it looked all but defeated. But when time expired, it was the Titans who emerged with a 28-21 win to stake claim to the town of parker, at least for now.

“It’s just that innertown rivalry,” Titans running back Blake Rarog said. “We just have it in our blood here. We know. (beat) Pando, (beat) Chap. We have it in our blood. We went out and we got this.”

Rarog put on a show in the first half by carrying the ball 19 times for 93 yards and the Titans’ (1-0 overall) only score to that point.

But when Legend needed him the most, the Class 4A No. 3 Mustangs (0-1) had him bottled up. Three rushes went for a total of one yard with just over a minute left in the second quarter and the Titans were forced to punt the ball away.

Then Jack Hanenburg found his groove. He worked quickly off the snap and looked for classmate Carter Motichka often on the final drive of the half. Motichka’s first four catches of the game came in quick succession. The fourth catch came in tight quarters, but he was able to move the ball inside the pile on to tie the game at halftime.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“We went in at halftime to try and come up with a game plan just to break everything down and see where we can get back on the board and win the ballgame,” quarterback Kalen Shoemaker said.

With momentum seemingly on the side of the Mustangs, the second half couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Hanenburg picked up right where he left off in the first half, this time seeking out Mikee Barker.

Barker made up for his fumble in the first half by hauling in two catches for 22 yards on that drive. Ponderosa moved inside of the five-yard line before an unnecessary roughness penalty backed them up 15 yards, ultimately leading to a missed field goal.

“We came out and played really sloppy, but Legend was playing really hard and it’s always a super competitive, super fun game,” Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen said.

After a stalled drive for Legend, Ponderosa once again fumbled the ball away, giving the Titans yet another opportunity to take the lead. But the defense that Cohen so often gushes about held its ground, stopping Rarog on fourth and two.

Two plays later, Hanenburg found Jack Hufford who turned on the afterburners and breaking away for a 42-yard touchdown reception, giving the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 14-7.

For a brief minute, it seemed like the Titans had let doubt creep into their play, but Shoemaker turned the tide with one 43-yard run to set them up at the Ponderosa 20. The next play he found Jackson Warner and just like that, the game was tied at 14.

And that proved to be the spark that was needed for Legend.

“Sometimes you feel like you need to have a little momentum boost,” Shoemaker said. “I tried to give it to him as best as I could.”

Connor Eise regained the lead for Legend with a 96-yard touchdown run. Two passes from Hanenburg to Hufford pulled the Mustangs even once again.

The Titans stuck with the ground game and once again it was Rarog with a 50-yard run that setup his second touchdown run of the night, which proved to be the decisive score of the game. After going blow for blow early in the third quarter, Legend emerged with a one-score win to kick the 2019 football season off in thrilling fashion.

“That was a heck of a second half wasn’t it,” Legend coach Monte Thelen said. “We feel fortunate to be able to pull it out, but we’re really proud of our kids in our program right now.”

Legend will bookend its season with Parker rivalry games as they’ll close out regular season play against Chaparral on Nov. 1. Next week, the Titans are back at home to face Poudre.

Things won’t get any easier for the Mustangs who host Columbine next Thursday.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

LAKEWOOD — It appears Golden’s boys soccer team is going to present the same problem to opponents it did last year.

The Demons — No. 10 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys soccer preseason rankings — didn’t have a double-digit goal scorer last season on the way to a 13-4 record and 4A Jeffco League title. However, the strength came with Golden scoring diversity with 14 different players finding the back of the net.

Golden junior Daniel Erger (9) is tripped up by Lewis-Palmer senior Connor Hayes during the Demons’ season opener Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“No matter who we have out on the field we are just as strong as our starters and have just as much of a chance to score as our starters,” Golden senior Zach Chapman said Thursday night after the Demons’ 3-1 season-opening victory against Lewis-Palmer at Lakewood Memorial Field.

Chapman, along with fellow seniors Christian Sekavac and Nate Thompson were the goal scorers against the Rangers (0-1 record).

Sekavac scored the opening goal in the 7th minute. With Lewis-Palmer goalie Aidan McGonagle out of the net after coming forward to clear a ball, Sekavac got control of the ball and lobbed a long shot over everyone’s head. McGonagle attempted to scramble back, but couldn’t catch up to the bounding ball that ended up in the back of the net.

Chapman made it a 2-0 game in the 26th minute converting on a corner kick by senior Joaquin Garfias.

“It was pretty simple,” Chapman said of his eventual game-winning goal. “Nobody was really marking me because I wasn’t on the far post like everyone else. It was a good goal, my first varsity goal.”

Lewis-Palmer answered just before halftime with a goal by junior Tyler Pritchard, but the Rangers couldn’t get any closer.

Golden senior Christian Sekavac (19) lofts a shot on goal during the 7th minute against Lewis-Palmer on Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Golden put the game away in the 68th minute with a penalty kick goal by senior Nate Thompson.

“The boys have been working hard. They have put in so much time and effort,” Golden coach Larry Harding said of his Demons which were the last team in 4A Jeffco to start its regular season. “I’m just so proud of them. It was a team effort tonight.”

It was an improvement to last year’s season opener. Lewis-Palmer handed the Demons a 2-0 loss in Monument last season to start the year.

The memory of the 2-1 second-round playoff loss to Pueblo Centennial is a big motivating factor for the Demons.

“We’ve been working since the beginning of the summer as a team. We all know each other and have played together forever,” Chapman said. “We have been looking forward for this for a long time. We are hungry again.”

Lewis-Palmer junior Charles Holland (13) and Golden senior Joaquin Garfias battle for possession Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Thompson, one of a dozen seniors on the roster, is confident the Demons can successful defend their conference title and make some more noise in the state tournament.

“I think we’ll definitely go further in the playoff this year,” Thompson said. “We’ve worked harder and we have a better team this year.”

Golden is back in action next Tuesday, Sept. 3. The Demons face former 4A Jeffco rival Alameda International (1-0) at 5 p.m. next Tuesday at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada.

“We’ve got some good talent and they just work so hard. It’s a wonderful group of boys,” Harding said. “All I’m hoping for is that I’m able to keep them together and keep them on an even-keel. If we can do that we’ll have a very good season.”

Golden senior Sam Malkovich (17) beats Lewis-Palmer junior Ethan Mann (9) to the ball during the opening half Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

More photos. (Steve Oathout)

BOULDER — Fairview football lost more than 3,500 yards and 41 touchdowns from a talented receiving group that graduated last year.

Good luck dealing with that type of turnover.

Right?

Uh, wrong. Dead wrong.

Back is talented quarterback Aidan Atkinson, who set the single-season passing touchdown record last season and has committed to Northwestern. And a reloaded receiving corps looked every bit as talented as the 2018 crew as the seventh-ranked Knights rolled past rival Boulder in a season-opening 49-14 win on Thursday.

“The trigger man, obviously, in Aidan is very good. I think the new guys, they compete hard on every play, and he’s going to find them,” said longtime Fairview coach Tom McCartney, who picked up his 182nd career win. “It’s nice having Aidan.”

Said Atkinson: “We do so much stuff in the offseason, whether it’s 7-on-7s, practice, lifting, all that stuff. Our chemistry has been built over the past six months, and tonight we were able to show what we wanted to do.”

Fairview scored on its first four drives as it built a 28-0 lead with 10:54 to play in the second quarter.

“We talked about it all week,” McCartney said of starting fast. “It was the first game of the year, on a short week, on a Thursday. We try to have fire in practice on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and we wanted to get an early start. We were fortunate to get ahead on the scoreboard.”

Atkinson threw for 339 yards and five touchdowns, spreading the wealth out to seven different receivers, as the star senior picked up exactly where he left off, when a thumb injury ended his junior year in the final regular season game of 2018.

“I thought we executed pretty well,” Atkinson said. “I thought we definitely have a lot of things to clean up for next week. But for Week 1, with the guys that we brought out here, and the intensity and the fire that we brought against our rival, I was pleased with tonight and how it went.”

Atkinson showed off his arm, especially his accuracy, in the win. A 3-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Grant Page came as he was scrambling to his right, with the throw coming across his body and threading three defenders in the back of the end zone. Later, a 22-yard pass to Adam Moser was lofted perfectly over the junior’s left shoulder en route to another score.

“We practice that stuff all the time, scramble drill, and our receivers are constantly working on when I’m flushed out of the pocket,” Atkinson said. “Our receivers do a great job with that kind of stuff.”

Atkinson certainly had plenty of talent to throw to. Moser finished with a team-high 135 yards on six catches, and also hauled in two touchdowns. Devynn Holly, the starting running back, also had six catches, for 72 yards.

Grant Page, a sophomore who didn’t have a catch last season, hauled in two scores — and added a third touchdown on an offensive fumble recovery. His older brother, Jalen, a basketball star, joined the football team this season — and he caught four passes for 33 yards in his first game.

It was Fairview’s 12th-consecutive win in the rivalry game, having won every matchup since the 2008 season.

“As a kid growing up here, you’re choosing between Monarch, Centaurus, Fairview and Boulder,” Atkinson said. “And we take this game personally.”

Grant Page said, “It’s the city championship. All those players, I’ve played with a bunch of them in youth football. Just knowing that I can beat one of my teammates, it’s fun. It’s like the state championship.”

McCartney is certainly no stranger to the rivalry, and he is a huge fan of it.

“We love playing it,” McCartney said. “It means the world to us. We always want to have fire. We wanted to be at our best. To us, it’s a red-letter game on our schedule. It’s big-time for us, and that’s how we treat it.”

Boulder was led by senior quarterback Hale Chargois, who threw for 133 yards and rushed for 54, including a 2-yard touchdown.

The Panthers, who went 4-6 a year ago in Ryan Bishop’s first year as coach, look to be much improved. Their roster has grown from 35 players just a few years ago to more than 70 this season.

More photos. (Steve Oathout)

Kent Denver field hockey, ranked fourth, shut out Cheyenne Mountain for a 4-0 win on Thursday.

Smoky Hill football opened its 2019 season with a 48-26 win over Overland on Thursday in a rivalry matchup.

Tenth-ranked ThunderRidge football jumped out to a 28-7 lead after the first quarter and kept on rolling en route to a 42-14 win over Rangeview on Thursday.