Arvada West’s second-half surge downs Fossil Ridge

ARVADA — Arvada West’s 20-point third quarter was a welcome sight for Wildcats’ coach Brad Pyatt.

“I challenged them in the second half,” Pyatt said after A-West pulled away after halftime to a 42-21 victory over Fossil Ridge on Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. “If we do our thing we get three-and-outs on defense and score. That is how you put teams away. I’m really proud of how they responded.”

The Wildcats (4-1 record) were tied 14-14 at halftime against Fossil Ridge (1-4). That quickly changed in the third quarter. A-West had a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive to open the second half with the second touchdown run of the night by junior quarterback Ethan Cook.

“The coaches put it on us,” Cook said of halftime. “They put a fire under us. We came out and knew what we had to do.”

A-West’s defense that put a ton of pressure on Fossil Ridge junior quarterback Tyler Kubat all night long forced a three-and-out on the Sabercats’ first drive of the second half.

The Wildcats’ offense pounced again with a 46-yard scoring drive that was capped off by the second touchdown run of the game from senior running back Cade Russell. It was Russell’s first game back from injury since Week 2.

“He (Russell) is mad at me because I took those two rushing touchdowns away from him,” Cook said with a laugh. “Having him back is dangerous. When the offensive line pushes like they did in the second half teams can’t stop us.”

Cook and Russell both had a pair of touchdown runs in the win. Cook also had a pair of touchdown passes to junior Drew Martinez in the second half.

“Ethan calmed down and settled down. He is a great quarterback,” Pyatt said. “We are really young on offense, but they are improving every game.”

Martinez’s second touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter capped off a 6-play, 99-yard scoring drive to finish off 35-unanswered points by the A-West. Fossil Ridge actually led 14-7 midway through the second quarter after Kubat connected with junior Mac Busteed for a 5-yard touchdown. 

“It was really big for our offense,” Martinez said. “We need to start like that every game.”

Fossil Ridge got a late score on Kubat’s third touchdown pass of the night. Fossil Ridge also opens up conference play next week. The Sabercats host cross-town rival Poudre up in Fort Collins on Friday, Oct. 1.

A-West has a tall order for its homecoming game next Friday night at NAAC. The Wildcats face No. 3 Columbine (4-0). The Rebels square off against No. 1 Valor Christian tomorrow night (Friday, Sept. 24) before preparing for the 5A Jeffco League opener against A-West.

“Everyone doubts us and we love that,” Cook said heading into the Columbine game. 

The 4-1 start for A-West is the best start for the Wildcats since the 2018 season.

“I’m happy where we are at,” Pyatt said. “Now we start the tough sled in league. We are excited to start league and see where this goes.”