WESTMINSTER — Alexisius Jones Jr. rushed for two touchdowns, and Fountain-Fort Carson’s defense stood tall when it needed to as the Trojans opened the season with a 21-14 win over Horizon.
Jones, a sophomore, handled the bulk of the carries for Fountain-Fort Carson, rushing 24 times for 136 yards. Included were scoring runs of 1 yard and 33 yards.
“He’s a special kid,” third-year Fountain-Fort Carson coach Jake Novotny said after the game. “He does not look like a sophomore. He’s the first freshman to play in a long time at Fountain. We played him last year in a couple of games. He’s special, man. We are excited about him.”
The 33-yard run came late in the third quarter, right after the Trojans’ TaShon Smith recovered a huge fumble near midfield and returned it to the Horizon 33-yard-line. Horizon had recently cut the lead to 14-7, and had momentum following a fourth-down stop.
“He’s a special player, too,” Novotny said of Smith.
Fountain-Fort Carson’s defense also held firm after Horizon blocked a punt early in the fourth quarter, and got good field position at the 27-yard-line. The Trojans ultimately forced a turnover on downs.
“Since I’ve been here, that’s been something I’ve put an emphasis on,” Novotny said of his defense. “We’ve been playing well there. It’s the third year in the system for these guys. They’re doing a great job. We talk all the time about being an opportunistic defense, and that’s everything we asked for today.”
DENVER — On a similar weekend, a similar matchup had a similar result. Horizon came into the Class 5A girls Great 8 as the higher seed and perceived favorite. But in the end, it was Regis Jesuit who came away with a Final 4 appearance.
The Raiders came away with a 57-43 win on Thursday and advanced once again to the Class 5A Final 4.
“To start the quarter, they shot the heck out of the ball,” Regis coach Carl Mattei said of Horizon. “They made it difficult for us and we had to change our defense up.”
It felt like every early shot the Hawks were putting up sliced through the nets at the Denver Coliseum. They jumped out to a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and despite Regis briefly taking a lead, went into halftime ahead 26-25.
But in that second quarter, Avery Vansickle planted the seeds for what would be a defining second half for Regis. She led the Raiders with nine points in the first 16 minutes and got over her freshman nerves fairly quickly.
“You just have to get used to the game; used to the team,” Vansickle said. “The whole experience has been the best thing ever for me.”
She didn’t score in the third quarter, but Jada Moore scored all seven of her points in the third and the Raiders built a 43-31 lead.
It was the defense in that quarter though that proved to be the d
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ifference. At halftime, the Hawks were shooting with near 50 percent efficiency. In the third, the Raiders allowed less open looks and Horizon went just 2 for 14 from the field.
“We wanted to keep them under seven points and we held them to five,” Mattei said. “That’s been the biggest thing all year. If somebody is not shooting well, we have good athletes and we can defend it.”
Vansickle led the Raiders with 12 points, shooting 35 percent from the field. She’s not like the more experience players that beat Horizon last year only to fall to eventual state champion Grandview.
With her initial nerves of playing at the Coliseum now past her, she just wants to do what she can to help the Raiders come away with their fourth state title.
“I expect us to play as hard as we can, just like today,” she said. “Count on our defense and come out trusting one another.”
The win comes 52 weeks to the day after the then-No. 11 Raiders beat the Hawks in last year’s Great 8 round. The Raiders last won the state title in 2014, but missed the Final 4 in 2015 and 2016.
Horizon finishes the year 23-3 and will lose three seniors, including Izzy Allen, to graduation.
The Raiders will play Lakewood in next Thursday’s semifinal game.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — The No. 24 Cherry Creek Bruins jumped out to a quick lead and cruised to a 68-39 win over No. 42 Horizon in the first round of the Class 5A boys basketball tournament.
Fruita Monument (21-2) leads the way in 5A follow its No. 1 finish in the final RPI standings of the regular season. Also seeded highly in 5A include No. 2 Lakewood, No. 3 Horizon, No. 4 Grandview, No. 5 Highlands Ranch, No. 6 Regis Jesuit, No. 7 Ralston Valley and No. 8 Fossil Ridge.
Grandview is the defending 5A girls champion.
Pueblo West (22-1) is No. 1 in 4A, having finish atop the final RPI, and is followed by No. 2 Holy Family, No. 3 Air Academy, No. 4 Windsor, No. 5 Valor Christian, No. 6 Evergreen, No. 7 D’Evelyn and No. 8 Mesa Ridge.
Evergreen won the title last season.
Both tournaments begin play on Tuesday, with seeds Nos. 32-48 playing in the first round.
Round 2 games take place on Friday, with the Sweet 16 set for Feb. 27. The Great 8 is March 2, the Final 4 will be March 8, and championship games are set for March 10.
The Great 8 (5A only), Final 4 and championship games will be played at the Denver Coliseum.
