TD barrage surges Conifer football past Green Mountain
LAKEWOOD — Conifer football coach Larry Fitzmaurice has seen a lot during his two decades coaching the Lobos, but nothing quite what he witnessed Friday night at Trailblazer Stadium.
The Lobos scored seven touchdowns on seven straight offensive possessions to erase an early 17-0 lead by Green Mountain. Conifer eventually grabbed a 47-31 victory in the Class 3A West Metro League opener for both Jeffco programs.
“That would be the first time for that,” Fitzmaurice said of the scoring outburst. “It was great effort by the kids. We knew we could do something to (Green Mountain). We just kept at it. It turned out good.”
Conifer senior Mason Meyer led the way for the Lobos racking up nearly 200 yards of total offense from scrimmage. Meyer finished with 10 carries for 80 yards on the ground that included a pair of touchdowns. He also had six catches for 114 yards and another score.
“We just kept driving. Don’t even look at the scoreboard,” Meyer said. “We just did what we do and we got it done.”
Green Mountain got the upper hand early on with an opening 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dylan Jacob to Justin Booher. The senior wide receiver had five catches for 122 yards at halftime.
A pair of Conifer turnovers allowed the Rams (3-3, 0-1 in league) to take a 17-0 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Jacob hit Booher for a 9-yard touchdown pass and Green Mountain added a field goal with Conifer having just two offensive snaps.
“It’s stressful getting down like that early,” Meyer said. “I made a couple of mistakes early and I put that on me. We just needed to play our game because I knew we could beat them.”
Meyer started the offensive barrage with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:26 left in the first quarter, but Green Mountain answered with a 25-yard touchdown run by senior Kyle Clabaugh with just more than a minute left in the first quarter.
Conifer senior Jack Prentner scored his first of two touchdowns with a 6-yard score with 8:14 left in the second quarter. However, Green Mountain pushed its lead back to 17 points with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ben Schlieper midway through the second quarter. It would eventually be the final score for the Rams.
Conifer (5-1, 1-0) outscored Green Mountain 33-0 the rest of the way to get the conference victory.
Senior quarterback Matt Aceto finished 14-for-21 passing for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Prentner had 91 yards on the ground and two touchdowns and junior Kasim Rana bulled his way to 36 yards and a touchdown. Senior John Paulus hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass for the Lobos too.
“Coming out of that Rifle loss last week we wanted to make a statement in this first league game,” Meyer said. “This was a very important game for us. Our most important game thus far. We had to make a statement and that is what we did.”
Winning a conference title and automatic postseason bid won’t be easy for any time in the 3A West Metro. Coming into the start of league play, five of six teams had winning recorders during their non-conference schedule. Conifer, Skyview, Green Mountain, Evergreen and Lutheran should be in the mix for the league title with Alameda also trying get in the picture.
Green Mountain hits the road next Friday night to face Skyview in Thornton. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 14. The Rams’ first-year head football coach Matt Pees has put an emphasis of winning a title and he knows that task will be an uphill climb now.
“It all starts with Skyview. We really can’t think about a four-game season. We have to think about a one-game season,” Pees said. “Each week is a playoff game for us and it starts with Skyview.”
Conifer faces Alameda at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at Trailblazer Stadium.
“I told our kids that this game could be a big one,” Fitzmaurice said of getting the win over the Rams. “Getting this one is a step in the right direction.”
