The live event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
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| Live games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Game | Time | Notes |
| 5A | Fairview vs. Valor Christian | 2:30 p.m. | Championship |
| 4A | Montrose vs. Pine Creek | 11 a.m. | Championship |
| 4A | Coronado at Silver Creek | 1 p.m. | Championship |
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s championship games this week.
| Class 5A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (1) Fairview | 16 | (2) Valor Christian | 56 |
| Class 4A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (1) Montrose | 14 | (3) Pine Creek | 49 |
| Class 3A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (6) Coronado | 28 | (9) Silver Creek | 24 |
DENVER — Pine Creek senior Matt List gave a kiss to the Class 4A state football trophy and proudly handed it off to a teammate Saturday afternoon at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
“This is indescribable,” said List after his Eagles defeated Montrose 49-14 in the 4A final. “We played our hearts out and the score shows it. We played a great game. I’m so excited for the guys, happy for the seniors and the community.”
It was the second trip to the state championship football game for Pine Creek (12-2) in three years. The team from Colorado Springs lost in the 4A title game to Valor in 2011. List, who started in the 2011 championship game, pointed out a group of seniors from the state runner-up squad who came out Saturday to support this year’s championship team.
Montrose (12-2) was attempting to win its first football title since 1950.
No. 3 Pine Creek’s rushing attack of seniors Austin Schultz, Lavanson Coffey and Scott Savage was too much for top-seeded Montrose to handle. The trio combined for 334 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. List and junior Avery Anderson both added rushing touchdowns. The Eagles scored all seven touchdowns on rushes.
“It’s all the O-line,” List said. “They played a great game.”
Pine Creek coach Todd Miller broke propensity on Pine Creek’s first scoring drive, calling on Coffey to run the ball. The fullback had three carries for 40 yards on the drive, including a 21-yard touchdown run to cap things off.
“(Coffey) is our heart and soul,” Miller said. “He blocks and does all the things nobody wants to do. If he was at any other school he’d be carrying the ball.”
Coffey finished the game with 79 yards on just seven carries.
“(Coffey) is such a great fullback and he deserves to get his own highlights,” Schultz said.
Just over a minute after Coffey’s touchdown, Pine Creek scored on a 30-yard touchdown run by Schultz to widen the Eagles’ lead to 14-0.
Schultz had a monster first half with 11 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Schultz’s second touchdown carry in the first half capped off a 13-play, 93-yard scoring drive. The Eagles took a 21-7 lead in at halftime. He finished with 178 yards on 20 carries.
“Austin just runs hard,” Miller said. “If you know the kid you’ll like him even better. He has great passion.”
Pine Creek scored two quick touchdowns on both 1-play drives in the second half to take a 35-7 lead. Savage took a reverse for a 59-yard touchdown and Schultz scored on a 45-yard run after Montrose turned the ball over on downs.
“We didn’t play great, but Pine Creek is a reason why we didn’t play great,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier said. “Give them credit. It was their day.”
Montrose senior Angelo Youngren was instrumental in both of Indians’ touchdowns. The tailback scored from 2 yards out to finish a 16-play, 51-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter to cut Pine Creek’s lead to 14-7.
Youngren caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from Montrose junior quarterback Kameron DeVincentis in the fourth quarter on a fourth-down play. The Indians’ tailback missed a handful of games this season with a broken hand and broken collarbone finished with 64 yards rushing and two catches for 63 yards.
“We came up short, but we left it all out on the field,” Youngren said. “Our seniors are happy that we got Montrose here to play on this field.”
Junior Mike Rocha led the Indians in rushing with 84 yards, but Montrose had just three carries over 10 yards.
“We tackled very well,” Miller said. “We didn’t want to give up big plays and we did.”
Pine Creek’s defense also forced four Montrose turnovers to aid in the Eagles winning their school’s first state football title.
“Our defense is phenomenal,” Schultz said. “A great core of linebackers really leads the team with Matt List, Josh Odom and Kacin Nowlin. I could not ask for a better defense.”
DENVER — When Pine Creek football coach Todd Miller looks at game film of his opponent — Montrose — for the upcoming Class 4A football championship game he sees a mirror image of his own team.
“I look on film and Montrose is the same as us,” said Miller during Tuesday’s press conference for the 4A title game, scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Top-seeded Montrose (12-1) and No. 3 Pine Creek (11-2) have used physical play on both sides of the ball to reach the championship game. The three losses both teams have combined for this season all came to 5A squads — Grand Junction, Columbine and Lakewood — which all made the 32-team 5A postseason field.
Montrose will attempt to win its first football title since 1950, while the Pine Creek Eagles will attempt to win the school’s first football championship trophy.
“In order to be the champion you have to beat the best teams,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier said Tuesday after flying in from the Western Slope for the press conference. “I think it’s a perfect situation where we have to beat the best.”
The detail that Montrose and Pine Creek scored victories against last year’s 4A state champion, Monarch, during the season is glaring evidence that the two best 4A teams in the state will square off for the state title Saturday. The Montrose Indians knocked off Monarch in late September. The Pine Creek Eagles pulled off the same feat in the semifinals last week. Both victories were on Monarch’s home field.
“The fact that we beat Monarch, and Pine Creek beat them, I do believe the best two teams are playing,” Casebier said. “Now it’s about who plays the best on Saturday.”
One of the most important battles Saturday will pit Montrose’s vaunted ground game versus Pine Creek’s stingy defense. Indians’ running backs Mike Rocha (1,492 yards, 26 touchdowns) and Angelo Youngren (995 yards, nine touchdowns), along with Montrose’s offensive line, will attempt to find a weakness in the Eagles’ defense that held Monarch to 133 yards and no offensive touchdowns last week.
“The offensive line has been the mainstay of our offense,” Casebier said. “It starts up front for us.”
Youngren has been sensational during the Indians’ postseason run. The senior missed a handful of games during the season with a broken hand and then broken collarbone, but since returning to the field for the playoffs, Youngren has 490 yards rushing and five touchdowns in three playoff games.
“Anytime (Youngren) touches it, he can go,” Miller said. “He makes people miss in the hole and has great vision.”
Miller gives credit to his defensive coordinator Andy Colgate for Pine Creek’s defensive success. The Eagles have held six of their opponents to single digits.
The Eagles’ starting linebacker core of Matt List, Josh Odom, Kacin Nowlin and JoJo Domann will have the task of slowing down the Indians’ running game.
“We do play on a razor’s edge,” Miller said of his defense. “We aren’t really big, but we play very physical and hard. Since the playoffs I think we’ve kicked it up just a notch.”
Pine Creek does have some recent familiarity playing in the championship game. The Eagles faced Valor Christian in the 2011 4A title game. Pine Creek suffered a 66-10 loss.
“The experience was great, being a young pup out there,” said List, who started as a sophomore in the championship game. “The loss was tough. It was tough on the seniors. What I took from that is I didn’t want my senior class to go through what they went through. We are going for that ring this year. We are putting everything on the line.”
The total population of nearly 19,000 in Montrose County might very well descend on Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Saturday. Despite a five-hour drive covering 300-mile to Denver, Casebier expects a good crowd from the Western Slope.
“It will be one of those deals where the last one out shuts the lights off,” Casebier said. “Hopefully we’ll have a great following. We’ve had a great following all year. Our town does a great job supporting us.”
The championship football games in 5A, 4A and 3A are Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:
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The NFL bag policy will be in effect:
Seating chart for the 5A and 4A games:
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(1) Fairview vs. (2) Valor Christian
Game time: 2:30 p.m.
Site: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Parking: Free
Tickets: Information ($10 for students K-12 and seniors, 60+; $15 for adults)
TV: Root Sports (tape-delayed, 8:30 p.m.)
Radio: AM 1600 (live)
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(1) Montrose vs. (3) Pine Creek
Game time: 11 a.m.
Site: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Parking: Free
Tickets: Information ($10 for students K-12 and seniors, 60+; $15 for adults)
TV: Root Sports (tape-delayed, 6 p.m.)
Radio: AM 1600 (live); KUCB in Montrose (live)
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(6) Coronado at (9) Silver Creek
Game time: 1 p.m.
Site: Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont
Parking: Free
Tickets: At the gate ($6 for students, $8 for adults)
TV: NFHS Network
Radio: None
DENVER — Saturday looks to be an offensive showdown for the Class 5A football championship.
Both coaches of the finalists, from Fairview and Valor Christian, praised their opponent’s offense on Tuesday morning at the annual press conference held in advance of the Class 4A and 5A championship football games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
It makes sense: Valor Christian (602 total points, 46.3 per game) and Fairview (540 points, 45.0 per game) are the two highest-scoring offenses in Colorado, regardless of class.
“Much is known about their prolific passing offense, but also being able to run the ball when they need to do that, “Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman said of Fairview. “Exceptional quarterback, receivers all over the field that can make plays — I think it’s going to be quite a track meet on Saturday.”
Fairview wide receiver Sam Martin has already set the single season record for receiving yardage — he’s up to 1,719 — and the Knights also have weapons like Cam Frazier (20 total touchdowns), Daniel Hoskins (seven scores), Jason Harvey (six) and Owen Harris (three).
Of course, there’s also quarterback Anders Hill, who has thrown for a state-best 3,659 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“I feel like their quarterback is the best quarterback in the state,” Sherman said. “He doesn’t miss open guys and can thread the needle.”
Valor Christian, meanwhile, has scored 86 total touchdowns, a figure that tops the state. (Fairview is second with 72.) The Eagles are led by senior do-everything back Christian McCaffrey, whose 42 total touchdowns lead Colorado.
“Valor scores a lot of points, and they don’t give up much,” Fairview coach Tom McCartney said. “They have great size, they have great speed. They love to give the ball to No. 5 (McCaffrey), and that’s pretty smart. That’s probably what we would do, too.
“Offensively, you’ve got to be prepared for so many different things. Sometimes, we’ll see (McCaffrey) to the right, sometimes we’ll see him to the left, sometimes we’ll see him in the backfield. Sometimes, the quarterback will take off and (McCaffrey is) now the quarterback. So there’s a lot going on with him, and we have tremendous respect for him.”
Valor quarterback A.J. Cecil has thrown for 1,974 yards this season and 29 touchdowns. He also has 406 rushing yards and eight scores.
“Their quarterback, he can hurt you with his arm, he can hurt with with his feet,” McCartney said. “So they have so many different things they can do.”
Valor Christian has won four consecutive state championship over three classifications.
“We don’t talk a lot about the tradition, the past. Every year’s different, every team’s different,” Sherman said. “We’re certainly thankful to be able to be playing here again, and we’re excited.”
Fairview last won a championship in 1987, when it took 4A.
Kickoff in the 5A game is set for 2:30 p.m. Here is more information.
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Todd Casebier took a plane to Mile High. Well, not directly to the stadium, but from Montrose to Denver. It made for a shorter trip.
And, the Montrose coach joked, he needed all the time he could get. Because, “After seeing Pine Creek here, I’ve got to get home in a hurry to practice.”
The drive from Montrose to Denver is roughly five hours. So, to ensure he made it home for practice, Casebier took a trip on his brother’s plane in order to speak at Tuesday’s press conference
“We got up early and our principal and our AD are both here,” Casebier said. “We’ll get back for practice.”
The 4A matchup features Casebier’s top-seeded Indians and No. 3 Pine Creek (11-2).
“I know everyone says they have respect for their opponent, but it’s pretty simple for us: Montrose is trying to get to where Pine Creek is,” Casebier said. “We played Monarch earlier in the year, and the two best programs in 4A are Monarch and Pine Creek. It turns out we’re going to play them both in the same season.
“They set the bar high, the way they do things, the way their kids play, the way they prepare. … In order to be a champion, you have to beat the best teams. I think it’s a perfect situation in that we have to beat the best.”
Montrose will face a Pine Creek team that really like to spread the ball around among its players. Nine different Eagles have scored rushing touchdowns this season.
“It’s just a selfless group. No one really cares about who gets their carries,” Pine Creek coach Todd Miller said. “We wear ‘One Team’ on the back of our jerseys for a reason. In a society that’s very selfish, we’ve got a bunch of selfless guys.”
Montrose is in search of its first football championship since winning Class A in 1950. Pine Creek has never won a championship, but appeared in the 2011 4A title game.
Kickoff for the 4A game is at 11 a.m. Here is more information.
DENVER — The annual press conference held in advance of the Class 4A and 5A championship football games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High was Tuesday. Below are photos.
LAFAYETTE — Pine Creek senior running back Austin Schultz rushed for a season-high 189 yards on 16 carries, and added a touchdown, as No. 3 Pine Creek advanced to the Class 4A state title game with a 21-7 win against No. 2 Monarch at Centaurus High School on Saturday.
Schultz gave all the credit to his teammates blocking for him.
“We have a tenacious offensive line,” Schultz said. “Our fullback and offensive line punished them (Monarch). I did nothing but put my head down and go.”
Pine Creek started the scoring on a one yard punch-in by Schultz with 4:12 left in the first quarter. The drive started at the Eagles’ own 25-yard-line.
It appeared that Pine Creek would extend its lead in the second quarter after getting inside the 5-yard-line. However, Monarch recovered a fumble on a Pine Creek run on the 4-yard line. The teams battled, but Pine Creek held its 7-0 lead going into the half.
Pine Creek opened the second half on a strong drive, getting down to the 6. Quarterback Tommy Lazzaro kept the ball and managed to score despite fumbling the ball after crossing the goal-line on a keeper to the left.
Monarch responded on the ensuing kickoff when Jay MacIntyre returned the kick 96 yards for a touchdown.
Down 14-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Monarch drove down to the 11. But the Coyotes couldn’t convert on a 4th-and-3, and turned the ball over on downs with 8:56 left in the game. Pine Creek retained the ball, and got all the way down to Monarch’s 2-yard-line before running back Matt List muscled in for the score.
“That fourth-down stop really gave us the momentum we needed,” Lazzaro said. “When we got the ball back, we knew we had to chew up some time. Monarch’s a good team we knew we couldn’t give them another chance. We really chewed up the clock which gave us a chance to win.”
Monarch tried to get down the field after starting on its own 20, but turned the ball over when MacIntyre’s pass was intercepted by Eric Warren with 3:44 left. Pine Creek ran the clock out, and left with the win.
Monarch finishes 2013 at 10-2, while Pine Creek marches on with a record of 11-2.
Before the game on Saturday, Monarch had won seven-straight games by outscoring its opponents an average of 41.9 points per game. Pine Creek held Monarch to just 133 yards and one score, while getting 429 yards of offense and three scores of their own.
Pine Creek coach Todd Miller didn’t give credit to just one player for the win.
“Amazing things can happen when no one cares who gets the credit,” Miller said. “That’s the epitome of our team. I don’t know if people look at us and say ‘there’s a superstar,’ but you look out there and say there are a lot of good football players.”
Pine Creek will play for the 4A state title against No. 1 Montrose on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The last time the Eagles made it to the championship game, in 2011, they lost to Valor Christian 66-10. Pine Creek has never won a state championship.
“We’re going to enjoy this win — and then we’re going to work like dogs,” Miller said. “It’s going to be a fun Thanksgiving dinner knowing we have a game the next day.”
LAFAYETTE — Pine Creek will play for the 4A football championship after beating Monarch on Saturday.
The live event will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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| Live games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Game | Time | Notes |
| 5A | Cherokee Trail at Valor Christian | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 5A | Fairview at ThunderRidge | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 4A | Pine Creek at Monarch | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 4A | Montrose at Pueblo South | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 3A | The Classical Academy at Coronado | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 3A | Silver Creek at Delta | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 2A | Faith Christian at Platte Valley | 1 p.m. | Championship |
| 1A | Centauri at Paonia | 1 p.m. | Championship |
| 8-man | Dayspring Christian at Caliche | 1 p.m. | Championship |