No. 6 ThunderRidge comes up big on defense to upset No. 3 Fountain-Carson in 5A football playoffs

Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com

FOUNTAIN — Any hopes that Fountain-Fort Carson had of advancing in the Class 5A football playoffs ended in the hands of ThunderRidge safety Andrew Hopper. Friday night, he was the Heartbreak Kid.

Hopper’s two interceptions killed potential scoring drives for the Trojans and propelled the Grizzlies to a 35-14 win, putting them into the round of 16.

“We had to get them,” Hopper said of his picks. “They were driving the field on us and we had turned it over once, so we had to get that ball back.”

If there was one theme that was consistent for the Trojans, it was missed opportunities. Disaster struck early for them as the offense couldn’t get the ball moving on their first drive. On 4th down, the punt was blocked by Alex Bezugly, which set up a four-yard touchdown run by Zeke Johnson.

After getting the ball back, the Trojans were able to navigate their way down the field thanks to Stock Chenault finding receiver Kenneth Tate often. On 2nd and 10 at the 23, Chenault lofted a beautiful pass to Henrique Torres for a touchdown pass to even the score.

“We were going to have to score touchdowns,” Trojans coach Mitch Johnson said. “I felt that we needed to do that to get our guys going.”

But that was the extent of the damage that the Trojans could inflict in the first half. The Grizzlies added a one-yard touchdown run from Josh Duckworth and another touchdown run from Johnson to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.

But the Trojans refused to go down without a fight. They forced a fumble on the opening drive of the second half, but failed to put any points on the board. Their defense stood tall on the second ThunderRidge drive of the half and the Trojans took over at the Grizzlies’ 26-yard line.

And just when it looked like the Trojans could fight their way back in the game, Chenault tried to make something out of nothing and his pass was intercepted by Andrew Hopper. Duckworth followed up the turnover with a 28-yard run before the drive stalled and ThunderRidge was forced to punt.

“We were excited and ready to play,” Duckworth said. “Those touchdowns were crucial. We’ve been putting in work all week and it pays off during the game because we know what we’re looking for.”

And to keep up with the theme of the night, the Trojans would show a sign of life only to come away empty handed. They crossed midfield on a 33-yard pass from Chenault to D’Jimon O’Neil, but that’s when Hopper struck again. On 1st down, Chenault took aim for the end zone only to have his pass deflected into the hands of the Hopper for his second interception of the night.

“We had been practicing better,” Grizzlies coach Joe Johnson said. “We had been getting better, we just hadn’t shown it. It was a good night to put it all together.”

That led to another one-yard touchdown run for Duckworth to put the game out of reach for the Trojans. Each side added one more score to bring the final to 35-14.

The Grizzlies now have a date with No. 7 Fruita Monument who upset Westminster on Friday. But for now, the Grizzlies are just excited to get back to work.

“We go in (Saturday) at eight,” Hopper said. “We get better. We go run.”