Football roundup: Pomona upsets rival Ralston Valley

Pomona’s defense had an outstanding night, limiting Ralston Valley to just two field goals in a 13-6 win on Friday night.

The Panthers, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, pulled the upset of the No. 5 Mustangs. The win continued a streak of equality in the rivalry: Since 2009, Pomona and Ralston Valley have traded wins every other year.

On Friday, Pomona grabbed a 7-0 lead after the first quarter on a punt return for a score. Ralston Valley got a field goal near the end of halftime, but Pomona answered with a touchdown early in the third quarter.

Ralston Valley did cut it to a one-score game with another field goal, but couldn’t get any closer.

3A: (1) Pueblo East 36, (9) The Classical Academy 21

The Classical Academy led 7-0 early, but then Pueblo East took over. The Eagles scored 19 unanswered points to take a 19-7 lead at halftime, thanks to five Titan turnovers.

That lead only grew as the second half opened. It was 26-7, then 33-7, before TCA finally broke the string of points in the fourth quarter.

Pueblo East, the defending 3A champions, is now 7-1 with the lone loss coming to 4A No. 2 Longmont in Zero Week.

2A: (6) Sterling 41, (7) Brush 13

Sterling jumped out to a 13-0 lead after the first quarter, but Brush rallied to tie it at 13 at halftime.

Austin Burkholder’s rushing score late in the third quarter gave Sterling the lead back and the Tigers never looked back. Freshman Isaac Harris made it 27-13 a short while later, Burkholder added another score — his fourth — and Sterling cruised.

8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 44, (5) Dayspring Christian 18

Sedgwick County jumped out to a 30-3 lead at halftime, and kept the pressure on in an important win for the playoff picture.

The loss avenged a 53-21 defeat last season.

2A: (10) Bennett 40, Strasburg 39

Bennett stopped a two-point conversion in the final minutes to hold off the upset bid.

“Big play from Jesse Rodriquez, our corner, (who) intercepted their two-point conversion try,” coach Rick Jacoby told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.

Bennett recovered the ensuing onside kick and then ran out the clock.

Bennett had led with three minutes to play, but Strasburg responded with its own touchdown with under two minutes left prior to the two-point attempt.

“We were behind most of the game,” Jacoby said. “We didn’t take the lead until about the seven minute mark of the fourth. We were down, I think, 19 at one point in the third quarter. We ended up being able to dig ourselves out of the hole.”

With the win, Bennett clinched the Frontier League championship.

Notables

West Grand beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran 80-28 on Friday, giving coach Chris Brown his 305th career win. He can tie the state record for victories at Vail Christian next week.
2A No. 4 La Junta beat Lamar 35-0 in Colorado’s second-oldest rivalry, a matchup known as the Whistle Game.
5A No. 5 Palisade had 689 total yards in a 62-18 win over Grand Junction Central.
In 8-man, No. 4 Sargent beat No. 6 Dove Creek 30-18. “It was a tough battle,” Sargent coach Trevan Pepper told the Scoreboard Show. “We were a little bit asleep getting off the bus on that first drive, they went down and scored, and then we kind of stepped it up on defense the rest of the first half.”
1A No. 6 Crowley County won a tough game against Limon, 21-14. The Chargers won the South Central League as a result. “We had a big, long drive in the third quarter and were able to put it in on a little option play,” coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show. “We just played really great team defense after that.”
Thompson Valley upset 4A No. 7 Greeley West 8-0.
Merino knocked off No. 10 Haxtun in 8-man, 26-21.