Top-seeded Limon scored 26 points in the second quarter on its way to a 41-15 win over No. 8 Holyoke in the Class 1A football playoffs.
Month: November 2020
-
Top-seeded Cherry Creek football survives battle with No. 8 Regis Jesuit
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Cherry Creek coach Dave Logan pointed it out very nicely when describing the climate of the Class 5A football playoffs.
Nothing is going to come easy.
While the score might indicate it wasn’t difficult, Cherry Creek’s 29-6 win over Regis Jesuit was hard-fought and well-earned. The win puts the Bruins into next week’s 5A semifinals as they continue their quest to defend last year’s state championship win.
“When the playoffs have only eight teams, all eight teams are good teams,” Logan said. “We’ve had some games this year where teams have basically given the game away. What you have to do is prepare your kids the best you can that when you get to the final eight that you’re playing good teams that are not going to give the game away.”
The Bruins (7-0 overall) got on the board early thanks to a 49-yard completion from Julian Hammond to Chase Penry which set up a four-yard James Walker rushing touchdown. Walker added a second rushing touchdown in the first half, breaking for 96 yards to get Cherry Creek up by two scores.
“It was a huge performance in that first half,” Walker said. “It was a huge performance on the line’s part, a huge performance on the defense’s part, we had some big time players making some big time plays.”
The Raiders (5-2) battled to get into striking distance late in the second quarter, but the offense stalled out inside the 20. Jaden Ohlsen got them on the board with a 26-yard field goal and then the defense stepped up to slow Creek down and give Regis another chance before halftime.
More photos from the game. (Theodore Stark/tstark.com) With four seconds on the clock, Ohlsen got a chance at a 48-yard field goal and he connected to cut the Creek lead to 14-6 at halftime.
That was more points than the Creek defense would’ve like to have given up. The Bruins came out energetic in the second half and focused that energy on shutting down running back David Dody who had amassed 81 all-purpose yards in the first two quarters.
“We adjusted a bit to what they were doing,” Logan said. “We’ve been a good defense all year long and I thought in the first half we didn’t play as well as we could have.”
The Bruins forced four turnovers in the second half, two coming from interceptions by Myles Purchase. Another rushing touchdown for Walker and a safety had given Creek a 23-6 lead in the fourth quarter, but Regis was intent on driving down the field to get more points on the board.
Purchase ended those hopes when he snatched his second interception and took for six points the other way.
“Regis played a great game,” Purchase said. “They took it to us and gave us a taste of our own medicine. We just had to stay poised on the back end. When we stayed poised and stayed patient, we got the stops we needed to make.”
This wasn’t like most games that Creek had seen this year and although the score might’ve been tighter than some would have liked, Logan had no problem acknowledging that this game was something his team needed in its quest to claim another state championship.
“It’s easy for people for read scores and think it’s going to be a cakewalk,” he said. “It’s not going to be a cakewalk for anybody. When you play good, well-coached teams in the playoffs, you’re going to get tested. That’s just the way it is.”
More photos from the game. (Theodore Stark/tstark.com) -
Photos: Pomona football runs past Eaglecrest in 5A’s first round
Pomona football beat Eaglecrest 49-19 in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
-
Pomona football runs into 5A state semifinals with win over Eaglecrest
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Pomona was scoring rushing touchdowns like it was going out of style Friday night in its Class 5A state quarterfinal match-up against Eaglecrest.
Dominick Nichols, Ben Cruz, Jack Pospisil, AJ Zamora and Ian Dexter all scored touchdowns on the ground for the Panthers in a dominating performance. Pomona’s six rushing scores allowed the Panthers to walk out to Valor Christian Stadium with an impressive 49-19 victory in the postseason opener.
More photos from the game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “We have five or six of the greatest running backs any team has ever had and they all have different things they are good at,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said of his riches at running back. “They do everything for us.”
Nichols had a pair of rushing touchdowns, an interception on defense, along with a huge 27-yard touchdown catch with under a minute to play in the first half that gave No. 4-seeded Pomona a 21-13 lead at halftime. It was just the second touchdown pass of the season for senior quarterback Jack Pospisil, who was celebrating his 18th birthday.
“That was huge,” Nichols said of his touchdown catch. “I saw #13 (Riley Lovato Mueller) guarding me and I felt like I had the speed advantage on him. I told Coach Madden to bring it to me.”
No. 5 Eaglecrest (5-2 record) actually held a 13-7 lead after a remarkable 39-yard touchdown catch by senior Seyi Oladipo with 8:14 left in the second quarter. Pomona’s defense was able to buckle down and the Panthers’ offense ran wild with 35 unanswered points.
“We knew it could be a roller coast ride,” Madden said. “As soon as we got used to their speed and got some pressure on the quarterback we were OK. Our offense let our defense relax because they knew we were going to score points.”
Pomona (7-0) got touchdown runs from Pospisil and Nichols in the third quarter to really take control of the game. Zamora found the end zone early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 42-13.
“We’ve got a lot of good running backs and we try to spread it around because teams can’t stop most of us,” Zamora said. “Our offensive line is getting stronger and stronger. We are looking super good.”
More photos from the game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Dexter scored on a 6-yard run to finish the scoring.
“We came into the week knowing they would key on Jack,” Nichols said. “The running backs knew we had to come out and execute plays.”
Next up for Pomona is defending state champion Cherry Creek (7-0). The top-seeded Bruins defeated No. 8 Regis Jesuit 29-6 in another state quarterfinal game held Friday night.
The Panthers and Bruins will play next week in the semifinals at Stutler Bowl.
“We have been an underdog ever since Max Borghi left,” Zamora said. “We made it to the state semifinals last year and we weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs. I’ve fine with the underdog role. All we are going to do is prove people wrong.”
The last meeting between Eaglecrest and Pomona was one of the most memorable 5A state championships games on record that featured Borghi, current running back at Washington State University. The Panthers took a 56-49 victory over the Raptors in the 5A title game on Dec. 2, 2017.
The Panthers produced on of the most impressive offensive performances ever in the largest classification state title game. Pomona quarterback Ryan Marquez passed for nearly 350 yards and five touchdowns. Borghi has almost 250 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Billy Pospisil, Jack’s older brother, had 189 yards receiving and three scores.
Pomona is the torch barrier for the historically strong 5A Jeffco League during this condensed state tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Columbine (5-1) and Ralston Valley (5-2) — both suffered 3-point losses to Pomona during the regular season — were just on the outside of the Top-8 of the CHSAA Seeding Index that determined the 8-team field.
“We wanted to show everyone that Jeffco has a great league,” Madden said. “In a normal year those two (Columbine and Ralston Valley) would be in for sure. It’s just too bad it didn’t work out that way.”
More photos from the game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Photos: No. 1 Cherry Creek football tops No. 8 Regis Jesuit in 5A playoffs
James Walker scored three touchdowns as No. 1 Cherry Creek football beat No. 8 Regis Jesuit to advance to the Class 5A semifinals.
-
Photos: Loveland football beats Broomfield in first round of 4A playoffs
Loveland football beat Broomfield 28-7 to advance in the Class 4A playoffs.
-
Photos: Holy Family football moves to 3A semis with win over Evergreen
No. 2-seeded Holy Family beat Evergreen 41-6 to advance to the Class 3A semifinals.
-
Photos: Strasburg holds off Meeker in 1A football playoffs
Strasburg football held off Meeker, 36-34, in a tough 1A football playoff contest.
-
No. 6 Fountain-Fort Carson rides strong second half to thrilling 4A football playoff win over No. 3 Ponderosa
PARKER — Every once in a while, the biggest stars shine brights on the brightest of stages. With his team down 10 points in the second half of Saturday’s Class 4A football quarterfinals, Fountain-Fort Carson running back Q. Jones took center stage.
The standout ran for scores of 64 and 35 yards to lead the No. 6 Trojans to a 41-38 win over No. 3 Ponderosa advance to a football semifinal game for the first time since 1988.
In all, Jones ran the ball 28 times for 332 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
“He’s been doing that for at least two years of his high school career,” coach Jake Novotny said. “It’s a shame he doesn’t have a single Division I offer.”
His performance on Saturday is certainly in line high-level collegiate play. After quarterback Tavian Tuli first pass of the game was picked off by Ponderosa lineback Brady Porter and returned for a touchdown, Jones put himself to work.
He broke for a 50-yard run to tie the game, officially lighting the fuse on what is sure to be one of the more thrilling playoff games of the year.
By no means, did Jones’ effort batter any confidence coming from the Mustangs (6-1 overall). Quarterback Jack Henenburg had every intention of setting the tone offensively and did just that by going 15-for-20 for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.
“We’ve never played a quarterback and receiving corps that can flow like that,” lineback Nick Neely said. “He was finding those small windows and the DB’s never had to step up like that.”
A change was needed, so Novotny moved away from the zone coverage that he leaned toward in the first half and went to more of a man set.
“That quarterback is a stud,” Novotny said. “He was picking apart our zone so we decided to tighten those windows and take our chances with the run game.”
(Brad Cochi) At the same time, the Trojans (6-1) got the run game going big time. With the defense slowing down the Mustangs and offensive line creating just enough space for Jones to work with, he went hog wild, amassing 209 of his rushing yards in the second half alone.
“It’s a blessing to get that opportunity,” Jones said. “The fact that I get the opportunity to do that is big.”
The first half closed with Ponderosa taking a 31-21 lead thanks to a touchdown pass from Hanenburg to Kolton Miller and then taking advantage of Tuli’s second interception of the day which led to a Hayden Huckaby field goal.
Jones cut the lead to three points with a 64-yard touchdown run and Tuli found Ricardo Rivera for a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Trojans up 35-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Hanenburg struck again, finding Carter Motichka for a 28-yard score to put the Mustangs back ahead.
The Trojans put together a methodical drive, trying to chew up clock in the process and faced a crucial 4th and 1 at the Ponderosa 35-yard line. Needing just a yard, Jones broke for 35 to score what would be the game-winning touchdown, putting FFC up 41-38 after the extra point was missed.
But the defense still needed to make one more stand. A great punt return gave the Mustangs possession at the FFC 20. They tried to go ground heavy and found themselves facing 4th and 2 from the 12. Rather than a field goal attempt to tie the game, Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen went for the first down, but Cael Porter was stopped short of the yard to game.
“For someone to have to lose that game by a foot, it stinks that it’s us, but credit goes to them,” Cohen said. “They played hard for 48 minutes and we played hard and it was just one of those games.”
It’ll be one of those games that will get talked about and referenced several years from now. In the midst of a crazy 2020 season, playoff football is still just as thrilling as ever and it’s performances from Hanenburg and Jones, as well as their entire teams, that are proof of that.
(Brad Cochi) -
Photos: No. 6 Fountain-Fort Carson football wins thriller over No. 3 Ponderosa
Running back Q. Jones ran for over 300 yards to lead No. 6 Fountain-Fort Carson to a 41-38 win over No. 3 Ponderosa in the Class 4A football playoffs.