Football roundup: Doherty escapes an upset from Westminster

Doherty football narrowly escaped an upset from Westminster on Thursday, sealing the win with a fourth-down conversion late in the game.

Up by a point with 1:47 remaining, the Spartans picked up a 4th-and-1 from Westminster’s 23-yard-line.

Westminster led 14-7 at halftime, before Doherty running back Julian Cooks tied the game up on the Spartans’ first drive of the second half.

Doherty quarterback Logan Siffert then connected with D’Angelo Shepherd for a go-ahead score later in the third quarter.

But Westminster kept fighting. The Wolves scored with 8:14 remaining — only to have their extra-point attempt blocked.

Later, Doherty sealed the win with that fourth-down conversion. The Spartans are now 3-1, while Westminster falls to 0-4.

Cooks finished with 120 yards rushing for the Spartans. Jaden Martinez also had a rushing score.

4A: (5) Fruita Monument 21, Grand Junction Central 20

Fruita Monument was another near-upset victim, but held on to improve to 5-0.

The Wildcats scored with six minutes remaining on Landon Brown’s pick-six, then Kade McClaskey kicked what proved to be the winning point-after in the 21-20 win.

“We were in a nice coverage, good call by our coaches, and I just jumped the ball. It was perfect,” Brown told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel after the game.

Grand Junction Central had jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, but Jacob Burns returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score to make it 12-7 at the end of that frame, according to the Daily Sentinel.

Braeden Graham’s 2-yard rushing touchdown gave Fruita Monument lead at 14-12 just prior to the half.

Early in the fourth quarter, Grand Junction Central retook the lead on the second of two rushing scores from Joey Estep.

Ultimately, Brown’s interception with six minutes left proved to be the difference.

Notables

4A No. 6 Loveland cruised to 4-0 with a 41-7 win over Fort Collins.
3A No. 1 Holy Family looked as strong as ever, beating Thompson Valley 49-2.
4A No. 4 Windsor jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, and went on to beat a tough Greeley West squad 17-7. The Wizards are now 3-1.
Alec Lewis threw two touchdowns as Legacy topped Horizon 16-7 to move to 3-1.
It was the first career win for new Denver South coach Ryan Marini as the Rebels beat Heritage 35-20. Photos from the game are here.
Gateway moved to 2-2 after beating Vista PEAK 31-13.
ThunderRidge is also 2-2 following a 10-3 win over Rock Canyon.