Pueblo South scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in a top-10 matchup against Durango on Friday night.
Trailing 34-28, Class 3A’s third-ranked Colts (7-1) scored on a 10-yard pass, then converted the all-important extra point to beat the No. 7 Demons 35-34.
“It was a wild finish,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids, they kept fighting, they kept playing hard. We were fortunate enough to make a couple of plays down the stretch and find a way, and keep fighting and scratching, and clawing for everything we got.”
South quarterback Logan Petit threw three touchdowns, including the winner to Jackson Dickerson in the fourth.
“Those two have been making those catches for a long time. We wanted to put our best guys in our best situation that we could,” Goddard said. “Logan made an excellent throw. Everett Howland for them make an excellent play for them, too, but Jackson Dickerson, he found a way to get across the goal line. It was just a tremendous effort play, and the kid didn’t want to lose. He gave it everything he had to put his team in the best position.”
Pueblo South built a 20-6 lead into the second quarter following a 40-yard fumble return for a score from Dylan Atencio-Lujan. But Durango cut that lead to 20-12 at halftime. The Demons made it a one-point game less than two minutes into the third quarter on Everett Howland’s 41-yard score.
Durango took its first lead of the game at 27-20 when Jordan Woolverton threw a touchdown pass to Gage Mestas, his second of the game, with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.
But South, which hadn’t scored since that fumble return, responded in the form of a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Petit to regain the lead after a two-point conversion at 28-27 with four minutes left.
“It was just that type of game where I didn’t know if we were going to get another possession,” Goddard said. “I figured we’d put a little pressure on them to drive the field, and they did.”
Again, Durango drove down and scored. Again, it was Woolverton, this time on a 45-yard rush. And it was 34-28 Demons with one minute remaining.
“I wasn’t real comfortable because I knew the type of player (Woolverton) was, and he made a run on 4th-and-4 that went for about (45) yards, and he bounced off about six guys trying to make a tackle on him,” Goddard said. “At that point, there was 1:05 left. We just had a huge kickoff return at that point.”
South’s Luke Guarienti set his team with with a big return on the ensuing kickoff.
“It was a big play at a big time,” Goddard said. “This was a big-time game, and big-time guys make big-time plays. And he’s one of them. He put us in a good spot.”
The Colts marched down the field and finished the drive on Petit’s 10-yard pass to Dickerson, along with the extra point, was the difference.
Woolverton finished with four total touchdowns for Durango (5-3).
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3A: Pueblo Central 23, Pueblo Centennial 0
In the 119th Bell Game, the oldest rivalry matchup west of the Mississippi, the Wildcats ensured the Bell would ring blue.
Christian Romero opened the scoring for Central with a 41-yard fumble recovery for a score. Jeromey Baros and Brandon Martin each had a rushing touchdown.
Check out this kickoff to start the second half:
Central's kickoff team with a HUGE play to start the second half, Central recovers an amazing bounce at the 1 yd line, and scores right away. 2 pt conversion is good, score is 23-0 Central with 10:00 left in the 3rd. #DutchClark #CoPreps #ESPNTop10 #BellGame @espn pic.twitter.com/3LXjMliUDo
— Dutch Clark TV (@DutchClarkTV) October 26, 2019
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5A: (1) Cherry Creek 38, (9) Cherokee Trail 7
The Bruins (9-0), newly anointed as the No. 1 team in 5A, started fast and held a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter as they cruised to the win.
Julian Hammond III rushed for a touchdown and passed for another, and Jayle Stacks and James Walker II both rushed for a score. Myles Purchase had a 94-yard punt return for a TD.
Cherokee Trail is now 6-3 this season.
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2A: (1) Rifle 21, (8) Basalt 9
Rifle trailed 9-7 early in the fourth quarter, but rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to remain unbeaten at 8-0.
“Quite frankly, I felt like our kids rose to the occasion,” Rifle coach Damon Wells to the Scoreboard Show. “They played really physical football. It was a really neat environment. It was great to get out of there with a win.”
The Bears clung to a 7-6 halftime lead, and then Basalt kicked a field goal to go up 9-7 in the fourth.
But Rifle marched right down to take a 14-9 lead with just under eight minutes to play, and then added another one to seal with two two minutes left.
The win clinched a league title for Rifle.
“This experience is going to be invaluable,” Wells said. “We have some areas we have to get better with.”
It was Basalt’s first loss, and the Longhorns are now 6-1.
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1A: (6) Centauri 28, (4) Florence 20
Centauri (7-1) built a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, only to see Florence cut it to a 21-20 lead after three quarters.
But the Falcons got a two-yard rushing score from Mason Claunch, his second of the game, with nine minutes to play to help secure the upset.
“I was really impressed with my kids,” Centauri coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “They came out and they didn’t put their heads down. They continued to fight and we ended up grinding out the win.”
Eric Maez had a rushing and passing score for Centauri, and Baron Holman had a receiving touchdown.
Owen Busetti and Josh Martinez each had a rushing touchdown for previously unbeaten Florence (7-1), and Jian Aguilar had a pick-six.
“We knew that they were a very physical team and physical up front with great backs,” Forster said. “I thought our kids did a really good job of containing them. Those kids that they have, you can’t stop them, and they battled all night.”
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1A: (3) Limon 40, (10) Wray 9
Limon (7-1) led 20-9 at the break, then scored 20 more points in the second half in the win.
Kory Tacha had two rushing touchdowns for the Badgers — runs of 31 and 67 yards — and Jeremiah Leeper also had a rushing TD.
“We did a nice job of running the ball,” coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “Both Kory Tacha and Jeremiah Leeper did a great job of running the ball, and our offensive line continues to improve and get a little bit better and they opened up some good holes.”
Tyler Collins had a passing touchdown for Wray (5-3).
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 50, (9) Caliche 0
The Cougars had six rushing touchdowns in the big win. Now 8-0, Sedgwick County led 38-0 at halftime and it was 50-0 after three.
Caliche is now 5-3 this season.
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Notables:
- No. 3 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 5 Flagler/Hi-Plains in a 6-man showdown. “It was a fun win, and we’re excited about going forward,” Knighted Eagles coach Toby Kechter told the Scoreboard Show.
- Quite a notable upset in 5A, where Doherty (2-7) knocked off No. 10 Legend (7-2) 36-34. Tight all game long, Brandon Becker had two second-half touchdowns to help secure the win for Doherty.
- Longmont knocked off No. 10 Brighton in 4A, 20-14.
- 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, and has a shot to claim the Metro South league title against Valor Christian next week.
- Horizon beat Rocky Mountain 20-10 in an important 5A Front Range League matchup. The Hawks are now 3-1 in league play, and 4-5 overall. “We knew we had a tough non-league schedule,” Horizon coach Frank Ybarra told the Scoreboard Show. “We knew we might take some losses because we’re a pretty young football team, and we just hoped it would help us come league. And so far, so good.”
- Golden beat Wheat Ridge 21-14. It is the first time in more than 25 years that the Demons have beat their rivals in consecutive years.
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