McCaffrey propels Valor Christian back into 5A football semifinals
LAKEWOOD – Dylan McCaffrey never got the opportunity to finish what he started against Pomona earlier this season.
Given a second go-around with the Panthers Friday night, the Valor Christian sophomore made up for that in a big way.
McCaffrey, who was forced from the initial contest in August with a concussion, put on a clinic in the Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night. He passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns and added 72 yards on the ground and two more scores as the Eagles rolled to a 56-34 victory at Jeffco Stadium.
The victory sent Valor back into the 5A semifinals, where the team awaits the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal between Grandview and Fountain-Fort Carson.
“Every week’s a blessing from here on out,” McCaffrey said.
Valor Christian (9-3) struggled to hold off Pomona in the first meeting, emerging with a 21-12 victory. The defensive mentality of that night was thrown out the window in the bitter cold Friday, with the Eagles erupting for 592 yards of total offense.
McCaffrey was the spark, tossing touchdown passes to Sid Turnbull-Frazier and Danny Rambo on the team’s first two possessions. He added a 29-yard scoring run before finding Brandon O’Donnell for a 53-yard touchdown strike to put Valor up 28-7 at halftime.
“We felt like we were a pretty different team than the first time we played them,” Eagles coach Rod Sherman said. “Dylan went down in the first quarter the first time we played them. As a sophomore we feel like he’s just getting better, and his last three games he’s just been outstanding.”
With its potent ground game a non-factor, Pomona (9-3) did its best to rely on an aerial attack to try and rally in the second half. Senior Justin Roberts, who threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, hit Isaac Marquez for a 52-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. But Valor had an answer for everything the Panthers threw its way.
Stone Watson and McCaffrey had scoring runs to make it 42-14, and Rambo responded to a pair of Pomona scores with touchdown runs of 41 and 48 yards.
“They certainly had some plays in the passing game, but because we were so good against the run and played so well up front defensively, I’m not sure they wanted to come in this game and be one-dimensional,” Sherman said. “I think that really helped us with the flow of the game. They threw the ball 37 times, and that’s probably more than they wanted to coming in.”
Rambo and Watson each went over the 100-yard mark on the night.
“It was just our preparation. It started with the o-line again,” McCaffrey said. “They gave us plenty of time in the backfield. That really opened up all the offensive reads.”
Marquez scored four of Pomona’s touchdowns, and Dillon Pace added the fifth. Marquez caught 11 passes for 183 yards.
The cold weather led to a few fumbles and dropped passes, but for the most part wasn’t a deciding factor. Sherman said the field conditions were a bit of an obstacle, going from practicing on turf to playing on grass, but said the groundskeepers did a tremendous job of getting the field ready.
Now the five-time defending state champions in three different classifications are eager to see if a sixth title game is in the cards. Valor will get the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Fountain-Fort Carson and Grandview in the semifinals.
“We’ve been blessed in the past to play well at the end of the season,” Sherman said. “I think for us, with (Fountain-Fort Carson) coach (Mitch) Johnson and (Grandview) coach (John) Schultz, you’re going to get a very well-coached, disciplined team.
“I’m sure they’ll play in a tough, physical game (Saturday) and I guess we’ll see who we get to match up with next weekend.”
