Regis Jesuit, No. 10 in 5A, beat Doherty football 42-10 on Friday.
Month: November 2020
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Photos: No. 8 Skyline football beats Monarch
Quarterback Chase Silva threw two touchdown and ran for two more as 4A No. 8 Skyline improved to 5-0 with a 35-21 win over Monarch.
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No. 1 Dakota Ridge football turns it on in the 2nd half against Golden
LAKEWOOD — Dakota Ridge senior Max Hart was able to get back into an old position on the football field Saturday afternoon at Jeffco Stadium.
“I just don’t like being off the field too much,” Hart said. “I love playing offense and defense.”
The wide receiver hadn’t played cornerback this season, but was pressed into the defensive backfield against Golden. Hart came up big for the lone touchdown in the first half with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown during Dakota Ridge’s eventual 45-3 victory over Golden.
Dakota Ridge senior Spencer Hardy (37) closes in on Golden quarterback Joey Mancuso during the first half Saturday at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “There was huge pressure up front and that helps out big time,” Hart said. “It makes our job easy when there is pressure up front. The ball was right in my hands and I was gone.”
The pick-6 by Hart was one of the few things the Eagles — No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A football rankings — could celebrate in the first half. Dakota Ridge held just a 11-3 lead over Golden (1-4, 1-3 in 4A Jeffco) at halftime.
“We haven’t been challenged and I think our kids are complacent. They expect to show up and turn the switch on and off,” Dakota Ridge coach Ron Woitalewicz said. “We just can’t be complacent. It’s going to get tougher from here on out.”
Dakota Ridge (5-0, 4-0) has outscored its opponents 257-32 through the first five weeks. However, the Eagles know that a first-half effort like Saturday’s could spell doom down the road.
“We started the game slow. We can’t do that against big teams,” Hart said. “They will put 30 points on us in a blink of an eye.”
Dakota Ridge did get things going offensively in the second half after turning the ball over three times before halftime. The Eagles took advantage of short fields on three straight possessions to start the second half.
Quarterback Ben Gultig connected with Hart for a 29-yard touchdown in the first minute of the third quarter. Sophomore Noah Triplett had his first of two touchdown runs midway through the third quarter and Gultig hit senior Luke Loehding for a 2-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the third quarter to push the Eagles’ lead to 31-3.
Golden senior Hayden English (25) eyes a loose ball after Dakota Ridge miss played a kickoff in the first quarter Saturday at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “We just came out kind of flat,” Dakota Ridge senior linebacker Steve Reyes said. “I knew our defense had to do something because it was a defensive game. We also knew the offense would get going in the second half.”
The Eagles eventually scored 34 unanswered points and shut out Golden in the second half.
“When we play aggressive, fly around and tackle we are pretty good,” Woitalewicz said of the Eagles’ defense.
The Demons shocked the Eagles last year with a 14-0 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams. Golden could only muster up a 29-yard field goal by sophomore Chase Brion offensively against Dakota Ridge.
Golden hosts Bear Creek (2-3, 2-2) at the North Area Athletic Complex next Friday night.
Dakota Ridge has one final hurdle to complete its undefeated regular season. The Eagles face rival Chatfield at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Trailblazer Stadium. The Chargers (3-2, 3-1) defeated Standley Lake 17-7 on Saturday afternoon at NAAC.
“We just have to practice every practice like it’s your last. Play every game like it’s your last,” Hart said. “We have really been pounding and focusing on that this year.”
Dakota Ridge’s defense was dominate against Golden on Saturday afternoon at Jeffco Stadium. The Eagles sacked Golden quarterback Joey Mancuso a number of times. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Missed extra point is the difference as 5A No. 7 Legend football downs 4A No. 3 Pine Creek
More photos from the game. (PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com) PARKER — By all accounts, Pine Creek’s second-half rally should have been enough to at least force overtime. But after scoring a touchdown to cut Legend’s lead to one point, it all came down to the extra point attempt.
With the wind howling all day accounting for the gust became a factor as Jackson Issac’s kick veered right to give Class 5A No. 7 Legend a narrow 21-20 win over 4A No. 3 Pine Creek.
“We want to give Pine Creek a lot of credit,” Legend coach Monte Thelen said. “They were all the opponent that we thought they’d be.”
That may not have appeared to be the case in the first half as the Titans (5-0 overall, 4-0 5A/4A Southern League) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
Kalen Shoemaker tossed touchdown passes to Carter Helfrich and Jackson Brush to build the lead and give Legend what turned out to be a much-needed cushion in the first half.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) The biggest momentum shift in that span came as a botched Eagles (2-1, 2-1) toss send a squad of Titans after the ball and Caleb Bouldin came up with it. It wasn’t long after that Shoemaker found Brush. Points off turnovers is certainly one way to beat a Pine Creek team that has been a state powerhouse for the better part of the last decade.
“There’s no better feeling than that,” Bouldin said. “Knowing that you changed the tide of the game and made that big of a play, it feels great.”
Pine Creek made crucial adjustments in the second half which resulted in points on the board and a big swing of momentum. The Eagles were facing fourth down, going with the wind, and opted for a fake punt to generate some offense. It paid off and not long after, Josiah Roy found Beau Freyler for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Roy found paydirt again later in the quarter, finding William Kea for a 13-yard touchdown pass. A once promising 14-point lead for Legend had been completely erased, but the Titans never allowed themselves to panic.
“We had to keep trucking, keep going and keep grinding,” Shoemaker said. “It was nothing new to us.”
The only problem is that the Legend offense wasn’t getting as many chances to keep trucking. The Titans ran all of three plays in the entire third quarter, three runs to Connor Eise, and couldn’t generate any of the progress that was frequently made in the first half.
They needed just one big play and got it when Shoemaker found Brush for a 40-yard touchdown pass, his third of the game, with 9 minutes left in regulation.
“I was kind of hoping and praying it would happen, but not expecting it to,” Shoemaker said. “I was expecting to put together a drive and put it in (that way).”
With newfound rhythm of their own, the Eagles were able to put together a methodical march down the field and Roy broke into the end zone on a one-yard run. That’s when Issac’s extra point missed.
The Eagles couldn’t recover the onside kick and a few solid runs from Eise put the game out of reach, but not before Pine Creek showed its ability to hang with a top-notch 5A team.
“It means a lot,” Shoemaker said. “They’re the defending champs in 4A and they’re usually a powerhouse. Coming out here and getting to play them actually gave us the first taste of blood in a regular season game.”
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Cormaney leads Rampart football to upset win over No. 5 Fountain-Fort Carson
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) COLORADO SPRINGS — Rampart football coach Troy Ward knows that through the course of a game, there are about five plays that really factor into the final outcome. No one usually knows what those five plays are until the final seconds tick away.
It was safe to say that the first few plays early in the third quarter were counted in Ward’s five. Class 4A No. 5 Fountain-Fort Carson fumbled the kickoff. A few plays later, Rampart quarterback Cale Cormaney ran for the Rams’ first touchdown of the game.
Those plays were among the five that resulted in Rampart coming away with a big 17-14 win and handing the Trojans their first loss of the season.
“That is one,” Ward said of the fumble on the kickoff. “That is one of those five plays. We had two interceptions. Those are huge plays. Our kids stepped up to the plate.”
Getting the win was also going to require something no team has been able to do all season: slow down Trojan running back Q. Jones. Among the top rushers in the state, Jones has proven to be a threat to score anytime he touches the ball.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) “We knew how how good No. 20 is,” Ward said. “He’s the best running back that’s come out of southern Colorado in the last 15 years. There’s no doubt about that.”
The plan for slowing down Jones came down to what the Rams (4-1 overall, 3-1 4A Southern) could do offensively. Offensive coordinator Pat Bloemen ws intent on his squad sustaining long drives and chewing up as much time as possible.
The first touchdown for FFC (4-1, 3-1) came on a run from Tai Faavae. Rampart could only answer with a field goal and the Trojans went into halftime with a 7-3 lead.
Then the ball was turned over on the kick and Cormaney found the end zone. From that point on, Rampart looked like a very different team. The Trojans couldn’t get enough push in the trenches to slow the Rampart running attack when they really needed it.
“The big boys up front, all those kids up there are seniors except one, he’s a sophomore, and they played the best game I’ve ever seen them play,” Cormaney said. “I’ve never seen a group of men come together like that and fight.”
The Trojans regained the lead in the third quarter thanks to a short touchdown run from Jones. The Rams marched right down the field and Logan Candelaria ran in from one yard out in what turned out to be the game-winning score.
Rampart had a chance to push the lead to six, but a field goal attempt slammed off the upright giving the Trojans one last breath of life.
But it wasn’t meant to be as Tavian Tuli was picked off by Cormaney, sending the Rams sideline into a frenzy.
“That win right there proves that we get overlooked a lot,” Cormaney said. “I feel like we’re the hardest working team in the city, if not the entire state.”
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No. 4 Pomona football builds an early lead, runs away in win against Mullen
ARVADA — Pomona linebacker Juju Howard had a late birthday celebration Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Howard picked up a loose football off a bad snap on Mullen’s 25-yard line midway through the second quarter. The senior returned it for a touchdown, his first score of his prep career.
A day after his 18th birthday, Pomona senior Juju Howard could celebrate his fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter against Mullen. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “I saw Deion (Maes) get the pressure. I thought he had the ball, but then I saw it pop out,” Howard said of the touchdown that extended Pomona’s lead to 35-0 over the Mustangs. “The first thing I thought was ‘scoop and score’ so that’s what I did.”
Howard had his 18th birthday the day before and was able to celebrate again as the No. 4-ranked Pomona Panthers improved to 5-0 on the season with a dominating 42-21 victory.
Pomona wasted no time in getting up on Mullen (1-3, 1-3 in Class 5A Jeffco). Pomona senior Jack Pospisil returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
“We really didn’t practice kick returns because they were kicking it in the end zone every time this year,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said. “I knew as soon as Jack caught it he was going. Every time he gets it on kick returns he seems to score.”
It took 16 seconds for Pospisil race past Mullen’s sideline and into the end zone.
“I was expecting it to go (into the end zone). I was glad it didn’t for once,” Pospisil said of the opening kickoff. “It was a great kickstart for the team and really got us going.”
Pomona was a bit sluggish in a 33-14 victory last Saturday afternoon against rival Arvada West. The Panthers were clicking Thursday night scoring touchdowns on four straight offensive positions, along with the defensive score by Howard.
Pomona senior Ben Cruz (24) tries to break out of a tackle during the Panthers’ 42-21 victory over Mullen on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “I think we called better plays and the kids did a better job executing those plays,” Madden said of the offense looking better than it did against A-West. “We didn’t try to do too much individually on plays. They beat Arvada West so I think that got our kids’ attention a little bit more.”
Pospisil scored on a 23-yard touchdown run from his quarterback position. Senior Ian Dexter found the end zone late in the first quarter to push the Panthers’ lead to 21-0.
Dexter had a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter and senior AJ Zamora extended the lead to 42-0 minutes left before halftime to induce the running clock.
“The offensive line had a great week of practice,” Pospisil said. “They did a great job opening up so many holes for us. They are the whole key for us.”
Mullen got a trio of touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Blake Palladino in the second half going up against Pomona’s backups.
“We are playing out of our minds this year,” Howard said of Pomona’s defense. “We had our struggles last year. These year we’ve cleaned it up. Everyone is playing together and we are communicating well.”
Pomona is scheduled to face No. 3 Columbine (4-0, 3-0) next week in a regular-season finale. The game will be played 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Jeffco Stadium.
“We are just excited to go play another football game,” Madden said of the scheduled showdown with Columbine. “The fact that it’s Columbine makes it that much more special.”
The Rebels weren’t able to play its scheduled game this week against No. 8 Ralston Valley because of a COVID related issue. With only eight teams making the 5A state playoff field this season makes every game critical.
“Ever since the season started we talked about 6-0,” Pospisil said. “The playoffs are going to be slim. You have to win when you can. We are on a roll right now and super happy with where we are at.”
Mullen hosts Lakewood (1-4, 1-3) on Friday, Nov. 13, in another 5A Jeffco League regular-season finale. The Tigers pulled off a 14-7 victory over A-West on Thursday night at Jeffco Stadium.
Pomona senior Juju Howard (41) tackles Mullen sophomore quarterback Hunter Lay (10) for a loss during the first quarter Thursday night at NAAC. The Panthers’ defense held get Pomona out to a 42-0 lead at halftime. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Photos: Smoky Hill football pulls away from Overland
A big second half allowed Smoky Hill football to pull away from Overland and get a 49-39 win on Thursday.
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Photos: No. 2 Strasburg football tops Jefferson to remain undefeated
A perfect record remained unblemished as Class 1A No. 2 Strasburg beat Jefferson 56-0 on Thursday to move to 5-0 on the season.
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Photos: No. 6 Broomfield football beats No. 9 Windsor in overtime
Sixth-ranked Broomfield football is now 5-0 following a 17-14 win over No. 9 Windsor in overtime on Thursday.
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Friday night football hub: Week 5 live streams, scores and more
It’s Week 5 of the football season around the state.
Links
- Live scoreboard
- Top-10 scoreboard | Full rankings
- Full schedule & scoreboard | @ColoHSFootball
- RPI standings
- Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show (9:30 p.m.)
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