Playoff football roundup: Windsor holds off Palmer Ridge in OT
4A quarterfinals
Video of the game-winning TD run from @jakeshields20 #copreps pic.twitter.com/yD35ZJ3g2c
— Quentin Sickafoose (@QSickafoose) November 21, 2015
Video courtesy of Quentin Sickafoose/The Coloradoan
(3) Windsor 20, (11) Palmer Ridge 14 (OT)
For much of the afternoon, Palmer Ridge looked like it might pull off the upset. But Windsor quarterback Brad Peeples had a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
The two teams went to overtime, where the Windsor defense forced a turnover and the offense secured the win on Jake Shields’ touchdown.
“After last year’s second-round loss, I told the boys, ‘The sun will come up tomorrow,'” Windsor coach Chris Jones told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show after the game. “And today’s speech was, ‘The sun came up. It’s tomorrow. It’s our moment.’ They just had faith that they were going to get it done no matter what.”
After Shields scored, “It was a great moment of euphoria for all of our fans, our players, our coaches,” Jones said.
Palmer Ridge led 14-7 at halftime, and it stayed that way until Peeples’ touchdown.
“We had a lot of ups and downs to overcome early in the game and in the third quarter,” Jones said. “It was a very gut-wrenching game there at the end there.”
The Wizards get a rematch with Longmont. The two teams played a tight defensive battle during the regular season, which ended in a Hail Mary score to give Longmont a win.
(2) Longmont 48, (10) Denver South 14
The Trojans absolutely rolled in the quarterfinals, to the tune of a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and 35-7 at the half.
Longmont’s Conlan Berger rushed for two touchdowns and also had a receiving score, while Eli Sullivan returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and also added a four-yard rushing score.
In addition, Ethan Gabrielle had a rushing TD, and David Speidel threw a touchdown.
View a photo gallery of the game here.
(13) Loveland 49, (5) Durango 21
The Cinderella of the 4A playoffs continued its run with a stunning upset of Durango.
Loveland went up 28-7 at halftime, and led 42-14 after three quarters.
Read a complete recap of the game here. View a photo gallery here.
(1) Pine Creek 43, (8) Wheat Ridge 8
Pine Creek cruised to its 37th-straight win, this one coming after yet another fast start. It was 36-0 at halftime.
Brock Domann passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, while his brother JoJo had a rushing TD, and was on the receiving end of one of the passing score.
Joey Long scores two rushing touchdowns, and Kacin Nowlin had a receiving touchdown.
3A quarterfinals
(4) Fort Morgan 21, (5) Palisade 0
Anthony Arroyo, Toby McBride and Tate Kembel each had rushing touchdowns as the Mustangs moved to the semifinals. It was 14-0 at halftime.
Fort Morgan is now 12-0 this season.
“We just didn’t give up the big plays,” Fort Morgan coach Harrison Chisum told the Scoreboard Show. “We were able to be aggressive yet disciplined on their counters. A lot of the end-arounds, we were able to set the edge.”
The Mustangs will play at defending champion Pueblo East in the semifinals.
(2) Roosevelt 42, (7) Evergreen 19
Roosevelt built a big lead early in cruising to the semifinals. The Roughriders led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-6 at half. It was 42-6 after three.
Carlos Ortega had two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving score for Roosevelt. Cameron Hurtado added two passing touchdowns, and also rushed for one.
“Our guys showed up to play today, and I think the scoreboard shows it,” Roosevely coach Noland Eastin told the Scoreboard Show. “It doesn’t get any easier, but it’s a good way to end a good week of practice.”
Roosevelt will face Delta in the semifinals at home.
View a photo gallery of the game here.
(1) Pueblo East 28, (8) Discovery Canyon 10
Quarterback Daniel Martin had three rushing touchdowns, Bryson Torres also scored, and the defending champions returned to the semifinals.
The game was a rematch of a regular season game, also won by Pueblo East.
Pueblo East will be home in the semifinals.
(3) Delta 27, (6) The Classical Academy 14
Delta trailed 14-13 at halftime, but rallied to secure a spot in the semifinals.
Kole Roberts gave his team the lead for good with a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and then the quarterback found Tristan Brown for an insurance score in the fourth quarter.
Brown also had a rushing touchdown, while Jayce Hall returned a fumble for a score for Delta.
2A semifinals
(1) Bayfield 47, (4) La Junta 7
This game was close at halftime — Bayfield led just 13-7 — but the Wolverines pulled away to move to the championship game.
Bayfield scored 34 unanswered points in the second half in winning.
“We knew that it was going to be a battle. It was 13-7 at the half. So we knew they were a tough team, that we just had to put our hats on,” coach Gary Heide told the Scoreboard Show.
Of the second half, Heide said, “We came out on defense, played well … and then we drove the ball down and scored. … When we scored, I knew that we were here to play the second half.”
Kelton McCoy threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more in leading Bayfield to the win. Brody McGhehey was on the receiving end of two of those scores.
Wyatt Freier and Taed Heydinger each had a receiving touchdown, while Zane Phelps scored on the ground.
Bayfield was last in a championship game in 2011, when it lost to Florence.
(3) Platte Valley 29, (2) Kent Denver 23
Platte Valley, down 17-0 in the second quarter and 23-7 at halftime, had a furious rally to reach the title game.
Read a complete roundup of the game here.
1A semifinals
(3) Paonia 21, (2) Resurrection Christian 15
The Eagles rallied late to earn a chance at defending their championship yet again.
Paonia, which is a two-time defending champion, got a touchdown from Jeremiah Hillman with 3:06 to play, then got a late interception to seal the win.
“It was third down, and we just ran a little off-tackle play, and Jeremiah Hillman just buried it in,” Paonia coach Brent McRae told the Scoreboard Show.
The win sets up a rematch with Buena Vista for the 1A title. The championship game will be in Buena Vista.
“We’re pretty familiar with each other in the postseason,” McRae said. “It’s going to be very interesting, a very competitive ballgame.”
(1) Buena Vista 42, (5) Crowley County 0
The top seed rolled into the championship game, which it will host next weekend.
“The score doesn’t do the game justice. It was a pretty hard-fought battle. It was 14-0 at half,” Buena Vista coach Matt Flavin told the Scoreboard Show. “But we got the win, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Keenan Barr had two rushing touchdowns and a defensive score, and Keegan Wentz also scored twice on the ground.
Of the rematch with Paonia, Flavin said, “Those guys, the last few years, have just been the dominant team. … I hope we can rise to that occasion.”
8-man semifinals
(1) Sedgwick County 50, (4) Sargent 8
The Cougars led 20-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime in rolling to the championship game.
“We got a couple of quick scores, and that always helps,” Sedgwick County coach Chris Michel told the Scoreboard Show.
This marks the first appearance in a title game for the Sedgwick County football co-op, which is comprised of Julesburg and Revere. Julesburg has won four titles in school history, and Revere has won nine. That program was last in a title game in 2004, when it lost to Hi-Plains for the 6-man championship.
“The boys are excited, the community is excited,” Michel said. “It should be a fun week.”
The championship against Akron will be a rematch of a 22-3 Sedgwick County win on Oct. 30.
“They say it’s always hard to beat a good team twice, and Akron’s a very good program,” Michel said. “They’ve got a good defense. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
(3) Akron 16, (2) Norwood 0
Akron’s defense pitched a shutout as the Rams advanced to a title game for the first time since 2009. That was the last appearance in a stretch of five-straight for the program.
“Our kids just showed up to play today and did a really good job,” Akron coach Jerome Weers told the Scoreboard Show. “Our kids definitely have a very good defensive mindset, and they like playing it. They’re going to have to play good next week against SedgCo.”
Akron will host the 8-man title game.
6-man championship
(3) Eads 34, (4) Arickaree/Woodlin 12
Eads won the rematch of last season’s game.
