Cherry Creek football lived up to its No. 1 ranking with a 38-7 win over No. 9 Cherokee Trail on Friday night.
Month: October 2019
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Photos: Highlands Ranch football beats Mountain Vista
Highlands Ranch started the season 0-5, but has now won four in a row — all in league play — following its 35-28 win over Mountain Vista.
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Boys cross country: Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout sets yet another standard
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) COLORADO SPRINGS — In the Colorado High School cross country world, everybody’s gunning for Valor Christian senior Cole Sprout.
Most of all, Cole Sprout.
Sprout, already a two-time state cross country champion, added a third gold to his trophy case Saturday, busting his own 5A state meet record by three seconds with a mark of 15 minutes, 12 seconds at the state cross country championships at the Norris Penrose Events Center.
With his third state title, Sprout added his name among the Colorado high school cross country all-time greats.
“It’s incredibly humbling,” Sprout said. “There have been an incredible amount of athletes that had come before me, and to be mentioned with those guys, it’s pretty awesome.”
Sprout went nearly coast-to-coast as the leader, getting a quick kick out of the chute and never looking back.
“Mainly, I was going for the win,” Sprout said. “I had that thought in the back of my head to go fast, as well. But I just went steady in that first mile, and then opened up a bit once I got on those hills (at mile two).”
Currently the second-ranked cross country runner in the nation behind Leo Daschbach of Highland, Ariz., Sprout wasn’t gunning for that top spot on perhaps the most grueling course in the nation. Instead, he just looked to outwork his competition and maintain his mantle as the best runner in the state.
“It I could run for that number-one (national ranking) today, that would’ve been pretty fantastic,” Sprout said. “But I wasn’t really looking at a national ranking for myself today.”
Sprout, who actually competed at the 4A level as a sophomore, set a 4A state course standard of 15:42 when he won his first state crown in 2017. Saturday, Sprout’s 2017 4A record was taken by Niwot’s Cruz Culpepper.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) The defending 4A state champ, Culpepper bested Sprout’s 4A mark by six seconds in winning his second consecutive state title.
“I felt good today,” Culpepper said. “I’m fit and (beating Sprout’s mark) wasn’t super unexpected, but he’s an amazing runner and I’m hoping I get that chance to get him a couple times during track season this year.”
Culpepper was the standard bearer for the Cougars, which won its first ever team cross country title, as well. The Niwot title was part of a clean 4A sweep in which it claimed both the boys and girls team titles as well as the individual title.
“It’s great,” Culpepper said. “We’ve had very poor team finishes every year of high school, so it’s very cool for us to come through and finally do this.”
In the 5A team race, Dakota Ridge claimed the team title for the second straight year, its fourth team cross country state title in school history. The Eagles claimed that top spot on the strength of three top-ten finishes from Connor Ohlson (2nd), Jacob White (5th) and Ben Morrin (6th).
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) [divider]
Class 2A: Another title for another Roberts runner
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Isaac Roberts finally got himself a place at the grown-up’s table.
The Lyons High School senior grew up in a house full of champions. His brother, Andrew, won a 2A state title at Lyons in 2007, while his other brother, Paul, was a four-time state champ from 2012-15.
Now, Isaac can join the Roberts championship circle, winning the 2A state crown with a mark of 16:19, nearly 10 seconds over second-place finisher Noel Lopez of Rocky Ford.
“(Andrew and Paul) set the bar high and they definitely inspired me,” Isaac said. “It pumped me up to see (Paul) win all four years, and it motivated me to win.”
The Roberts boys were all home-schooled, their parents Mark and Kim serving as their “P.E. teachers,” Isaac said, essentially grooming champions.
“I think with us, we just started running from an early age,” Isaac said, “and it kind of gave us a discipline to where when we get to high school, it’s fun to be competitive.”
Roberts headlined a Lyons team championship performance, as well – its second straight, with three top-ten individual finishes (Simon Stone in 5th place, Jordan Shackleford in 8th place).
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Class 3A: Another title for Mason Norman
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) The Classical Academy’s Mason Norman not only established himself as the top 3A runner for the third consecutive season, but he did so in more than convincing fashion.
In a remarkable show of dominance in a state meet, Norman crossed the finish line at 15:50, nearly 40 seconds faster than second-place finisher Owen Nolan of SkyView Academy.
Norman said he was focused internally rather than externally.
“I definitely wanted to try to make a gap for myself,” Norman said, “so I could focus on running a race at my own pace. I didn’t want to have anybody else’s pace affect what I was doing.”
In the team race, Norman’s Classical Academy fell just short of a state title, Frontier Academy claiming its first team crown since 2013 thanks to its remarkable depth. Despite its top finisher, junior Sylas Chambers, coming in 7th place, its four top-20 finishers helped carry the load.
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Otis, big bats drive Columbine to first 5A softball state championship
More photos. (PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) AURORA — This was a moment a long time in the making for Columbine’s softball team.
From two losses in the Class 5A state title game in the mid-1990s, to losing assistant coach Dave Sanders in the tragic mass shooting in 1999, the Rebels had certainly experienced more than their share of heartbreak over the years.
So after junior pitcher Korbe Otis struck out her 13th and final hitter Saturday afternoon at Aurora Sports Park to send Columbine to the program’s first softball championship with a 7-1 victory over Fossil Ridge, the team swarmed Otis as fans rushed on the field to join in the celebration.
Rebels coach Jim Santaniello said the 5A title was a representation of the whole school through the entire history of the program.
“I truly believe Dave Sanders was with us,” he said. “His head coach, Rick Bath, has been a mentor to me. He really taught me the tradition of this sport, and without those guys, this wouldn’t be possible.”
Second-seeded Columbine (28-2) was making its first title-game appearance since 1995. The team topped Valor Christian in the opener Friday, then made a run through three Front Range League squads in Legacy, Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge.
More photos.(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) Otis tossed a shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Lobos on Saturday morning.
“So much credit to all of the teams we played in this tournament,” Santaniello said. “They’re such great competitors, and their sportsmanship was amazing.
“We just got the timely hits, and our girls were comfortable and confident. I told them we could really do this if they stayed together, and they climbed the whole mountain.”
That they did. Even after SaberCats (23-6) freshman Kodi Alvord opened the championship game with a home run to left field, the Rebels didn’t get rattled. Otis retired the next three batters, the latter two by strikeout, and Emma Todd tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning.
Catcher Ally Distler put the Rebels up 2-1 with a home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning, and Riley Marshall followed with a shot to center field.
“We were ready for a fight,” Otis said. “We’ve been winning close ballgames all year long and I think we just had to stay calm. Once they started to bring it, we knew we had to step up.”
A leadoff walk to Maddie McLean and a one-out single by Callie Stern in the third inning brought Distler to the plate again. Once again, the senior rocked a pitch from sophomore Nikki McGaffin over the fence for a three-run home run.
“The second one felt good too, I’m not going to lie,” Distler said with a grin. “Anything I could do to help my team, and that’s just what I was looking for – I was just looking for a pitch to hit, and that’s exactly what I saw.”
Columbine added a final insurance run in the fifth inning. That was more than enough for Otis, who allowed only three hits in seven innings, struck out 13 and didn’t walk a batter.
“She has nerves of steel. She’s the most conditioned athlete I’ve ever coached,” Santaniello said. “She trains like a Division I player and these are the kind of results you see when you do that.”
Otis said the shift in momentum in the first inning was huge for the team.
“I know they weren’t going up to the plate thinking ‘I’m going to hit a home run,’” she said. “They were just trying to do their job one pitch at a time, and do the best they could for their team.”
Marshall finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Distler drove in four runs.
Fossil Ridge, which defeated tournament upstart and No. 16 seed Ralston Valley 13-4 in Saturday morning’s semifinals, will graduate six seniors. The SaberCats were riding a 10-game winning streak coming into the title game after finishing tied for second in the Front Range League.
Columbine graduates only Distler and Stern.
“We’ve just been working constantly to bring it here, to get to this point,” Distler said. “It just feels amazing to make it this far.”
More photos.(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) 
More photos.(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) -
Erie homers its way to the 4A softball championship
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) AURORA — As a No. 14 seed heading into the state tournament semifinals Saturday morning at Aurora Sports Park, Erie wasn’t exactly a favorite to win the Class 4A softball state tournament.
But after wins over No. 2 seed Holy Family in the semis and No. 1 Golden in the championship, the Tigers held up their 12th championship trophy in program history, the most of any team in the state.
“I would like to say we planned it that way,” Erie first-year coach Vanessa Smith said with a chuckle after defeating Golden 13-9 in eight innings. “We started pretty strong. Then we hit a lull this season when these girls had to react and respond. I knew they (Holy Family) couldn’t beat us three times and that’s what I told them: We are too good.”
Taking down their conference foe in the semifinals, the HF squad had the number of Erie heading into their third matchup this season. And, after, bypassing last year’s champion with 12 hits in the 9-5 victory, Golden (28-2) was the only thing standing in the way of a team hotter than anyone in the state.
The Demons jumped out to the early 1-0 lead on senior Kenzie Middleton’s 17th bomb of the season. But, as Erie did all day, they came back.
Erie scored five times in the top of the second, including a two-run homer from senior Kaylee Armstrong, and jump-started an offense that recorded six hits in the frame. The other three runs in the inning came from singles by seniors Jen Williams, Lauren Russell and Madysun Vaughn.
This, however, was just the start of the madness.
Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth, Golden got a three-run opposite-field home run by senior Kayla Middleton to tie the game at 6-6, and sent it on a path the led to a spirited and competitive ending.
Erie took a 7-6 lead in the top of the fifth, then surrendered the lead in the bottom half on error and RBI double from Golden’s Kayla Middleton. The throwing error came from Vaughn, a consistent presence for the Tigers all year, but she wouldn’t let this play define her.
Vaughn, a veteran leader, responded in the top of the sixth with a two-run home run, giving her team the lead right back at 9-8.
“She’s such a competitor, and I’m so proud of her,” Smith said of Vaughn. “She’s one of those leaders that lead this team no matter what the score is.”
Golden refused to give in. The Demons pushed across a game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh, and sent the game to extra innings — where it seemingly was destined to be from the start.
And it didn’t take long for Erie to say “enough.” Vaughn came up clutch again with another go-ahead moon-shot to put Erie up 11-9.
“It was amazing. Every single person on the team had a role to play in that game, and I knew they had my back whenever I messed up,” Vaughn said. “But, I knew I was going to be okay, and I had their back, too.”
Armstrong followed that with a two-run home run of her own, her second of the game, to space the lead out to a comfortable margin for senior pitcher Alyssa Barnett and senior catcher Kat Sackett to close the affair.
“We’ve had ups and downs throughout the entire season, but we stayed together at the end of it, and every single person out there deserves this spot,” Vaughn said. “We worked so hard, and in my opinion, we didn’t necessarily deserve the 14th seed, but you know it was because of those low games we had. It just proves that any team can come out and get it. Such a great feeling to go out like this.”
As both teams graduate a combined 14 seniors, Sackett showcased her worth in both games behind the plate Saturday and all season for Erie — controlling the running game and proving as a wall for senior starter Megan Loveland and Barnett in relief.
“She’s a dream player. All-around, dream player. Not just her physical abilities but her ability to lead, run the game, stop the momentum, and keep things in control at our pace and our level all the time,” Smith said. “You can’t teach half of what she has.”
Smith took over Erie’s softball program a week and a half before the season began and said of most of the season that “we’ve been holding on tight.”
But now, the Tigers can relax. As champions.
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Big innings spark University to its first 3A softball state title
More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) AURORA — The third time proved to be the charm for the University softball team.
The top-seeded Bulldogs, who scored three runs in the third inning and three runs in the fifth inning, earned their first-ever Class 3A softball championship by beating Brush, 8-4, Saturday at Aurora Sports Park.
In the process, University avenged its only two losses of the year, both to the Beetdiggers. Brush beat University, 14-13, on Sept. 21 and 19-4 on Oct. 8.
“Coach (Rocky Ford) told us before the game that it’s really hard to beat a team three times in a season, and we proved that today,” said junior shortstop Delaney Wieneke. “They knew us; we knew them. We knew it was going to be a tough game … it always is. We were excited to play them.”
Wieneke went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. She broke open a scoreless game with a two-run single in the bottom of the third inning and added a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
“I’m not sure how to feel right now. It’s a lot of mixed emotions,” Wieneke admitted. “We were a family this whole season. So having this feeling of being a state champ is so awesome; it’s great.”
Said Ford: “(Delaney) is out of this world. She’s a whole different breed. Every time she’s up to bat you never know how far she’s going to hit the ball. She hits the ball a ton. That home run she hit probably went 250 (feet), no problem.”
Ashlynn Knapp added to the Bulldogs’ offensive explosion with a home run of her own in the bottom of the fifth inning that turned a 3-2 lead for University into a 6-2 advantage.
“Our coach wanted us to double our score,” Knapp explained. “Two outs, two runners on … I went up there thinking ‘base-hit.’ I wasn’t thinking long-ball or anything like that. But all of my techniques were right, and it ended up going over. Not expected, but very exciting!”
Knapp, a sophomore, played first base for the Bulldogs. Normally the team’s right fielder, Knapp filled in for senior Tayler Frank, who injured her leg on Friday.
More photos. (PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) “That was one of the hardest games I have ever played … the most pressure,” Knapp confessed. “I’m just glad my team had a ton of faith in me playing first base because I haven’t played there all season.”
Fittingly, Knapp made the final out of the game when she nabbed Alexis Corral’s grounder and stepped on the bag to help the Bulldogs make history.
“That last ground ball was probably one of the hardest I have ever fielded, knowing there was two outs in the top of the seventh,” Knapp recalled with a smile. “I just appreciate our team being like a family this weekend. This is the happiest I have ever seen this team.”
Sophomore pitcher Kayla Kingsley went the distance for University, which finished the season with a record of 26-2. Kingsley struck out four and walked just one batter.
“It feels so amazing! I am so happy!” she revealed. “We were just confident going into this game, and that helped a lot. I had a few moments where I was shaky and hesitant, but I worked to ignore it and move on.
“This team is so supportive and so helpful, and they always keep me up,” Kingsley added. “It helps so much … to have a nice team that’s always there for you.”
The victory marked the 15th girls team championship for University and the first since the Bulldogs won a spirit title last year. Overall, it is the 22nd state title for the Bulldogs.
Catcher Grace Georgiou led the way for the Beetdiggers, who finished the season with a record of 22-6.
Georgiou went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. She belted a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning and added an RBI single in the top of the sixth to keep Brush in the game.
The Beetdiggers, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the championship game by beating Sterling in the semifinals, 11-9, earlier Saturday.
The Bulldogs earned their shot at redemption by beating two-time defending state champion Strasburg in the semifinals (13-2 in five innings).
“Positive thinking … helped us a lot,” Wieneke said. “We never take Strasburg lightly, no matter what. We played hard that game; that one felt good, but this one is a different kind of feeling.
“It’s absolutely sweeter beating Brush.”
“The girls worked hard all season long,” Ford added. They showed up right away, from our pitching to our defense to our home runs. It feels great.”
More photos. (PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) 
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Girls cross country: Basalt’s Sierra Bower completes amazing year with title run
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) COLORADO SPRINGS — Saturday, as Basalt High School junior Sierra Bower looked into the stands of the Norris Penrose Events Center following her Class 3A state cross country championship, she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.
She had plenty to he happy about, even beyond the fact that she was a brand spanking new state champion, the first state cross country champ in Basalt High School history.
She crossed the finish line at an unbelievable pace, besting the 3A state course record by an amazing 20 seconds at nearly 18 minutes flat, even claiming the fastest girls time at Saturday’s state meet regardless of classification.
“I’m just so shocked,” Bower said. “My freshman and sophomore year, I wasn’t even in the top 20, so I just feel thankful to be out here with my team and I’m so excited.”
That’s right, Bower wasn’t even in the top 20 last season.
She finished 24th overall in the 2018 state championships with a mark of 20:12, nearly two minutes off the state title pace.
Then in a remarkable jump, Bower cut more than two minutes from that state mark in one season. In fact, she was two-tenths of a second away from an exclusive club, as her 18:00.1 mark was tantalizingly close to the sub-18-minute club, which had only been accomplished by seven runners in the history of the state meet.
She felt every bit of that yearlong whirlwind throughout the race Saturday, as everybody along the track knew what was happening.
“I obviously knew what the record was and had my sights set on it,” Bower said, “but it definitely was not my main concern coming into the race. I heard people yelling ‘course record’ along the course, and I definitely tried to keep that pace up.”
She set that pace immediately, trying take it coast-to-coast as the leader. She took that approach by knowing her own limitations.
“For my race plan, I was just hoping to go crazy right from the get-go,” Bower said. “I’m not so strong in the kicking department, so I definitely knew that I had to build my lead from the beginning.”
In the team competition, The Classical Academy put together its first back-to-back state crown since rattling off eight straight from 2003-10. The Titans boasted two top-five finishers, Sawyer Wilson (2nd) and Kennedy McDondald (4th).
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Class 2A: Lyons’ lions good enough for title
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Katie Fankhouser was gunning for her second straight state championship Saturday.
The Lyons High School senior certainly had a wide smile on her face after the 2A race concluded, but it wasn’t because she ascended to the top of the podium. She looked up at her teammate, sophomore Quin Gregg, at the top of the podium, and it filled her with just as much happiness.
“I could not be prouder of this girl,” Fankhouser said of Gregg. “She was amazing.”
Gregg’s excellence was on display with the way she pushed across the finish line, collapsing as she crossed, cramps and the joy of winning overwhelmed her.
“I was wondering how much I actually had left,” Gregg said. “Then I started cramping, wondering if I could even do this.”
But she did it, as Gregg, freshman Jamieson Legh, and Fankhouser finished first, third, and fifth, respectively to deliver a second straight 2A team title for Lyons.
Fankhouser said it was a great way to go out.
“This one was really important to me because I actually got to run with (Gregg and Legh),” Fankhouser said. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to all season.”
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Class 4A: Niwot gets a clean sweep
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Don’t get her wrong, Niwot senior Samrawit Dishon was thrilled to cross the finish line as the 4A state champion Saturday, barely outlasting Eagle Valley’s Samantha Blair by just over three seconds.
But it was the team title – the second straight state crown for Niwot – that thrilled Dishon the most.
“It feels awesome (to win the individual title),” Dishon said, “but I think the best feeling was seeing my teammates when I turned around, seeing all five of them. It was an incredible feeling.”
Niwot placed five on the top 12, Dishon joined by Amelia Philofsky (5th), Madison Shultz (9th), Taylor James (10th) and Joelle McDonald (13th). It was the definite highlight, Dishon said, as Niwot ran as a team the whole way, relying on pack running before Dishon kicked at the end.
“I really like pack running,” Dishon said, “because it’s so fun to listen to everybody’s footsteps and breathing, feeling that emotion next to you. Nobody’s speaking, but everyone is one the same page.”
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Class 5A: Stewart finishes dominant campaign with state title
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) For most of the season, Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart was the clear-cut top girls cross country runner in 5A.
Saturday, Stewart proved it once and for all with an impressive race, getting a mark of 18:12, 12 seconds faster then her closest competition in Cherokee Trail’s Cameron McConnell, to win her first state title and the second ever in Cherry Creek history.
Last season as a freshman, Stewart finished fifth, coming back to best her 2018 state mark by 30 seconds.
“It feels really good because last year, I didn’t have my best race here,” Stewart said. “It’s great to come back and win it. Just an amazing feeling.”
With three top-12 finishes, Arapahoe stepped up to win its first ever cross country state title and just its fourth top-five state finish in school history.
Freshmen Ava Escorcia and Ava Mitchell duked it out down the stretch, Escorcia edging her teammate by just 0.3 seconds to highlight the team state title run.
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No. 2 Ralston Valley stays hot with shutout versus Lakewood
ARVADA — It took awhile for Ralston Valley football to warm up in the 30-degree weather late Thursday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex.
However, a 28-point second quarter by the Mustangs — No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A football rankings — heated up Ralston Valley enough to stay undefeated on the season. Ralston Valley took a 42-0 victory over Lakewood.
Ralston Valley junior Jack Hestra (15) celebrates his 42-yard catch with senior Chase Wilson during the Mustangs’ 28-point second quarter Thursday against Lakewood. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “We needed to pick it. We needed more energy,” Ralston Valley senior linebacker Braden Siders said about the Mustangs’ slow start. “Once we got that we were good.”
Lakewood had a solid opening drive, but the Mustangs’ defense eventually stiffened. The Tigers missed a 44-yard field goal. Ralston Valley’s opening drive went 13-plays, but a pair of holding penalties and a missed 40-yard field goal kept the game scoreless.
“We stopped ourselves on that first drive,” Ralston Valley senior quarterback Walker Brickle said. “We tightened ourselves up and kind of went rolling from there.”
Brickle stayed hot after throwing for nearly 300 yards against then top-ranked Columbine last week in a 24-23 victory for the Mustangs. Brickle tossed three touchdown passes in the span of six minutes in the second quarter after the scoreless first quarter.
Brickle used a lot of his deep receiving core hitting four different players on his four touchdown passes on the night. JJ Galbreath, Jack Hestera and Devin McNearny had touchdown catches from Brickle on three straight touchdown drives in the second quarter.
“It helps us when it comes to teams scouting us to show that we have multiple weapons,” Brickle said of the variety of offensive options. “Everyone really showed up today and the line gave me time to throw.”
Ralston Valley senior Chase Wilson runs the ball during the first quarter at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Ralston Valley senior running back Chase Wilson closed out the first half with a 1-yard touchdown run and successful 2-point conversion run with 11 seconds before halftime to give the Mustangs a 28-0 lead at halftime.
The formula Ralston Valley (9-0, 4-0 in 5A Metro West League) has been using all season continued to work against Lakewood (5-4, 1-3). The Mustangs’ stellar defense forced three straight 3-and-outs by the Tigers to give Ralston Valley great field position in Lakewood territory.
“The defense is really playing great. I’m so proud of them,” Brickle said.
The Mustangs’ defense is allowing just over 10 points per game and has two shutout victories.
Ralston Valley kept it going in the second half with a spectacular touchdown catch by Wilson for 32-yards. A 10-yard touchdown run by Tyler Roybal with 8 minutes left in the third quarter induced a running clock for the remainder of the game.
The Mustangs close out the regular season next week against rival and No. 7 Pomona at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at NAAC. The game will decide the conference title.
“The job is not done,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to lock in next week and get in the film room tomorrow. Pomona is a great team. It’s going to be a dogfight. We can’t come out flat.”
Lakewood wraps up its regular season next Friday night at Mullen. The Tigers were No. 20 in RPI before the loss to Ralston Valley, so Lakewood is still in good position to make the 32-team state tournament field.
Lakewood junior Jason Duong (6) gets pressure from Ralston Valley senior Braden Siders during the second quarter Thursday at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Fairview quarterback Aidan Atkinson sets career record for passing TDs
(Steve Oathout) Fairview senior Aidan Atkinson has set the career record for passing touchdowns.
Atkinson, the prolific right-handed passer, entered Thursday’s contest with 112 career touchdown passes, one behind former Arickaree quarterback Dave Garcia, who played from 1983-86.
Atkinson tossed a score on the Knights’ first drive against Poudre to tie the record of 113. He then set the record with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Grant Page on the next. It was his 114th career touchdown pass.
After the pass, Atkinson calmly walked to the sideline and fist-bumped an assistant coach.
In an age of spread offenses, the career touchdown mark was the oldest individual passing record remaining in the record book.
Fittingly, Atkinson finished the first half with eight touchdown passes, which set a state record. He has now thrown 42 this season. Atkinson threw 23 touchdown passes as a sophomore, and then set the season record with 55 as a junior last season.
Last season, Atkinson etched his name into the record book with the most passing yards (687) and touchdowns (nine) in an 11-man game. He also set records for the most passing touchdowns in three consecutive games (22), and passing yards in a half (425).
Here’s video of the record-setting touchdown:
HISTORY!!! @AidanAtkinsonQB breaks the Colorado All-Time career passing TD’s record with #114. #hardworkpaysoff #WARRIORQB pic.twitter.com/WGfpQ9oi2m
— Warren McCarty (@warriorqbcoach) October 25, 2019
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Pomona football wins 5A top-10 match-up against Columbine
ARVADA — It wasn’t easy, but Pomona set up a winner-take-all situation next week for the Class 5A Metro West League title.
The Panthers — No. 7 in the CHSAANow.com 5A football rankings — withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by No. 4 Columbine late Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. A 47-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds was short allowing Pomona to take a 34-33 victory over the Rebels.
Columbine senior Justin Lohrenz (17) closes in on Pomona running back Dominick Nichols (23) during the Class 5A Metro West League game Thursday night at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “Our kids fought and fought. We are still making mistakes, but when you start eight sophomores you are going to make some mistakes,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said of his young squad. “We are going to keep getting better. That’s all we’ve been talking about.”
Pomona (6-3, 4-0 in 5A Metro West League) faces rival Ralston Valley (9-0, 4-0) with the conference title on the line next week. Kickoff will be at 7:30 pm Friday, Nov. 1, for what will be in essence a league championship game.
“It feels great. It’s the way it should be,” Madden said facing Ralston Valley in the league finale next week with a ton at stake. “A rivalry game with the league title on the line, state seeding on the line and bragging rights for a long time. We are looking forward to it.”
Pomona looked to be well in control after three quarters with a 34-21 lead on Columbine (7-2, 2-2). When junior Kyle Moretti recovered a fumble by Columbine quarterback Jadon Holliday on the Rebels’ opening possession of the fourth quarter a comeback seemed to be out of reach.
However, Columbine had a 24-yard touchdown pass from Holliday to senior Tanner Hollens on a fourth-down play with 5:18 left to make the score 34-27. Pomona was forced to punt with just over three minutes to play and the Rebels found the end zone again.
Pomona junior Jack Pospisil (2) makes a catch over the middle on the way to a 36-yard touchdown catch in the second half Thursday night at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “Columbine put up a heck of a fight,” said Pomona junior receiver Jack Pospisil, who had a 36-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. “It was a fun game.”
Columbine senior Braeden Hogan scored on a bizarre play where it was ruled that Holliday fumbled the ball backward from the 1-yard line and Hogan picked it to score with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Madden said he was surprised that the Rebels decided to kick the extra-point instead of going for a 2-point conversion. However, the PAT sailed wide to keep the Panthers in the lead 34-33.
Still, Columbine recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Rebels got down to Pomona’s 32-yard line, but the last-second field goal attempt was short.
“It just feels so good,” Moretti said after the Panthers’ fifth straight win. “We struggled early in the season, but we’ve gotten better each week and we believe in each other. We beat a really good Columbine team. We know we are taking the right steps.”
It was a seesaw first half in the top-10 match-up.
Pomona sophomore Chase Muller (9) eyes Columbine quarterback Jadon Holliday (13) during the first half Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Columbine grinded out an 80-yard, 11-play drive that was capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by Hollens. It was his 18th touchdown run of the season. Hollens actually threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Holliday in the second quarter that tied things up 14-14.
However, Pomona sophomore running back Dominick Nichols found the end zone for the second time in the first half to give the Panthers a 21-14 lead at halftime. The budding star running back had a trio of touchdown runs in the win.
“He (Nichols) is getting better and better,” Madden said. “The o-line is getting better and better. That combination is getting us better.”
Pospisil hauled in 36-yard pass from junior quarterback Brady Ritzmann for the third touchdown of the first half for the Panthers.
“We improve a lot every week,” Pospisil said of the offense. “We are young, but playing the tough schedule at the beginning of the year made us so much better. We are starting to put it together.”
Columbine has lost back-to-back 1-point games in heartbreaking fashion. The Rebels got edged by No. 2 Ralston Valley last week 24-23 on a last-minute touchdown and 2-point conversion. Columbine is back at NAAC next week. The Rebels finish off its regular season against Arvada West on Halloween night next Thursday.