Football roundup: Pueblo East upsets No. 4 Longmont
Pueblo East trailed Longmont 11-0 after the first quarter. The Eagles, a Class 3A program, went on to storm back and upset Longmont 41-25, ranked No. 4 in the preseason 4A poll.
Yes, it was somewhat stunning.
Pueblo East scored 28 unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters, and never really looked back afterward. Manuel Arellano kick-started the comeback with his 15-yard interception return with 5:34 to play in the second quarter.
At the end of the night, six different players had scored touchdowns for Pueblo East.
Longmont got a 95-yard kick return from Eli Sullivan which made it 28-18 in the third quarter, but it didn’t turn the momentum.
5A: (1) Valor Christian 61, Bonneville (Idaho) 20
The five-time defending champions had what amounted to a scoring party on the road.
It was 28-0 after the first quarter and 54-7 at halftime. Sophomore Dylan McCaffrey threw three touchdown passes — two to Ben Waters — Eric Lee Jr. had a 55-yard touchdown on a reverse, and senior Parker Courier threw for a touchdowns and ran for another. Ben Smith also threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.
Valor’s defense also had a safety and an interception return for a score (Gabe Kortz).
The Eagles open in-state play at Pomona next Thursday.
4A: (1) Pine Creek 49, (9) Pueblo Centennial 12
Another defending champion, these Eagles of the 4A variety, also rolled in its opener.
Pine Creek raced out to a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter and went on to hold a lead of 42-6 later in the frame.
Josh Odom had five rushing scores for the Eagles, and Ryan Carlos also had one.
Tommy Lazzaro had a 33-yard touchdown pass to JoJo Domann.
3A: (2) Delta 27, (7) The Classical Academy 22
In perhaps the game of the night which featured five lead changes or ties, Delta outlasted The Classical Academy.
Delta had leads of 7-0 and 13-7 but TCA battled back to tie it both times. The Panthers finally took the lead for good when they went up 20-13 (and later 27-16), but the Titans rallied to make it a five-point game with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.
TCA missed two field goals in the fourth quarter and drove down to Delta’s 19 with 1:36 to play, but couldn’t convert on fourth down.
Jonathan Ponce had two touchdowns for Delta, while Tristian Brown had one.
Austin Bervig threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns in the loss for The Classical Academy. Chuck Calvert had 144 receiving yards and a touchdown. Nick DeRay had 141 and a score.
