Chatfield wins high-scoring thriller versus No. 7 Golden

ARVADA — Nine times?

Golden and Chatfield combined for nine first-half touchdowns in a key Class 4A Metro 1 League game Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. 

“I can’t ever remember a game like this,” Golden coach Jared Yannacito said of the conference game the finished with the Demons and Chargers scoring seven touchdowns each. 

In the end, it was a little jump pass from Chatfield senior Jake Marschall to junior Cole Roybal on a 2-point conversion with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Chargers the 50-49 upset victory over previously undefeated and No. 7-ranked Golden.

 

“We couldn’t stop them,” Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin said about going for the 2-point conversion to give the Chargers their first lead of the game. “I told the guys if we scored on that drive we would go for two and they all embraced it. I knew what I wanted to call.”

Due to injuries at quarterback, Marschall has moved from running back to quarterback. The senior threw his first touchdown pass ever earlier in the high-scoring affair. 

“He (Marschall) is the leader of this team and puts everyone on his back,” Chatfield junior Mason Lowe said. “He would play line if you asked him to. He is the heart and soul of our team.”

McGatlin didn’t hesitate to let the senior decide the game with his arm.

“I know my coaches believe in me and I know my teammates have my back,” Marschall said when asked if he was surprised McGatlin called a pass play on the 2-point conversion. “At first I thought I overthrew it for sure, but then (Roybal) caught it and I almost started crying. I’ve never had the feeling in my life. It was awesome.”

Chatfield (6-2, 2-1 in league) sealed the victory with the second interception of the game by Lowe. The two-way playmaker for the Chargers had missed the previous five games with a broken foot.

Lowe picked off Golden junior quarterback Jazel Riley with 1:21 to give the Chargers the ball on their own 36-yard line. Chatfield got one more first down to run out the clock.

“The quarterback gave me that pick,” Lowe said. “I read his eyes.”

The win keeps Chatfield in the race for the league title. Chatfield will have its homecoming game next Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. The Chargers face Standley Lake before what will be a monster regular-season finale against cross-town rival and No. 2-ranked Dakota Ridge (8-0, 3-0).

“If we overlook Standley Lake they can upset us,” Marschall said. “We learned that with Bear Creek and we aren’t going to make that mistake again.”

The Demons (7-1, 2-1) looked to be in good shape to stay undefeated taking a 28-13 lead early in the second quarter. Riley had a touchdown run and a pair of touchdown passes to senior Tobias Trujillo in the first half. Golden sophomore Luc Chevalier had a pair of touchdown runs for the Demons before halftime.

Chatfield’s four first-half touchdowns were all on the ground. Marschall and Lowe each found the end zone twice before halftime to keep pace with the Demons.

“Jake is the greatest kid you could ever coach. He is the most selfless kid,” McGatlin said. “I told him we were going to ride him this week. I told him he might carry the ball 40 times. Our offensive line was amazing tonight.”

The Chargers finally caught the Demons thanks to an impressive opening drive to start the second half. Marschall connected with Roybal for an 11-yard touchdown. Marschall ran in a 2-point conversion to tie thing up 35-35 midway through the third quarter.

Golden answered with its sixth touchdown drive of the game. Chevalier scored his third touchdown of the game with a short touchdown run with 1:38 left in the third quarter. The Demons retook the lead 42-35. 

The scoring continued in the fourth quarter with the Demons and Chargers exchanging touchdowns, but with 2:19 left to play in the fourth quarter junior Sam Ayres scored on a full-back dive from the 1-yard to set up the 2-point conversion as Chatfield went for the win.

“Hardwork beats everything. That has been our motto starting in the off-season,” Marschall said. “We never got scare or frazzled. We knew what we had to do and went out and did it.”

Golden has a huge test in trying to bounce back next week against No. 2 Dakota Ridge. The Demons host the undefeated Eagles on Friday, Oct. 22, at NAAC.

“I told the kids a loss is a lesson,” Yannacito said. “We either treat it as a loss or a lesson. There is a lot we can learn from this game.”