Football roundup: No. 1 Kent Denver beats No. 4 La Junta in state title rematch

Eagle Valley Kent Denver football Scott Yates

After failing to beat La Junta twice last year, Kent Denver needed this one. And with a late field goal, the top-ranked team in the Class 2A CHSAANow.com football poll got it.

The Sun Devils came away with a 10-7 win over the Tigers to somewhat avenge last year’s defeats, the latter of which came in the 2A state title game.

“Anytime you lose the state championship game you have a bad taste in your mouth,” Kent Denver coach Scott Yates said. “All our kids and coaches wanted to try and erase it.”

The win is the 319th for Yates, who remains tied with West Grand’s Chris Brown for the most in state history.

The Tigers (3-1 overall) jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the end of the first quarter.

But the lead wouldn’t hold.

Kent Denver (4-0) was able to tie the game before halftime and the two teams came out unwilling to give each other any more points.

Still locked in a 7-7 tie, it was Kent Denver who would get the edge as Quinn Voboril kicked a late field goal which proved to be the game winner.

“We had to stop them in order to get the ball with enough time to go down the field. That created a little momentum for us,” Yates said. “It gives you an uplift and said let’s do something with it. We marched the ball down the field pretty well.”

The Sun Devils open league play next week when they hit the road and travel to Elizabeth. The Tigers also begin league play next week, hosting TCA.

8-man: (8) Hoehne 44, (2) Daypsring Christian 37

Hoehne built a 22-8 lead at halftime, but Dayspring Christian did everything possible to make up ground in the second half. But 22 points in the third quarter alone wasn’t going to cut it.

The Farmers were able to put up 22 more points in the second half and finish off the upset over 8-man’s second-ranked team.

Senior Jacob Yates had 202 yards and two touchdowns for Hoehne. Kyle Rowe also rushed for two scores, and Riley Hudson added one.

Christian Still, a freshman, tossed three touchdown passes for Dayspring Christian — all of them to senior Jimmy Fargo.

5A: (5) Regis Jesuit 24, (9) Highlands Ranch 0

It took Regis Jesuit almost a full 24 minutes of game time to find the end zone. But after scoring just once in the first half, the Raiders turned up the heat in the second.

They added two touchdowns and field goal to get a big win over a top-10 opponent.

1A: (3) Strasburg 14, (4) Limon 12

Strasburg handed Limon its first loss of the season on Saturday.

The Indians scored touchdown a in each the first and fourth quarters and that was all that was needed to move to 3-1 on the season.

8-man: (9) Merino 14, (10) McClave 8

Merino remained undefeated on the year with a 14-8 win over McClave. It’s the first loss for the Cardinals, who broke into the 8-man rankings last week.

Notables:

No. 3 Cheyenne Wells beat No. 5 Kit Carson in a top-10 game in 6-man, 14-12.
Monarch is now 4-0 following a 14-10 win over Brighton in 4A.
Blayden Fletcher rushed for five touchdowns and 227 yards in North Park’s 47-42 win over Briggsdale. He also had 11 tackles and a sack on defense.
Noah Roper’s great season continues: He had 276 yards and three touchdowns as Erie beat Centaurus 38-13 in 3A. Erie is 4-0.
5A No. 10 Fairview rolled over Prairie View 68-0. Sophomore quarterback Aiden Atkinson threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Mariano Kemp, Brian Moreno and Jake Sheerin each rushed for two scores. Sheerin also had a receiving touchdown.
Calvin Pope rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown as Denver East beat Hinkley 50-19 for its first win this season.
Gilpin County improved to 3-1 following a 54-0 win over Belleview Christian.
Thane Duzenack threw a touchdown pass for Mitchell and the Marauders beat Ridge View Academy 22-6 to win their first game this season.
Golden beat Far Northeast 17-14. David O’Connell threw two touchdown passes. Jack Walters recovered two fumbles.
James LaCerte had two touchdowns and 182 yards rushing for Cheyenne Mountain in its 30-7 win over Lincoln.
DJ King threw three touchdowns and had 199 yards passing as Mesa Ridge beat George Washington 49-22. Ju-Wan Edgerton added two rushing scores.
Grant Baker returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown, and then held up as Colorado Springs Christian beat Valley 7-0.