Here’s what happened in the 2022 Class 4A football quarterfinals
By Dan Mohrmann, Alissa Noe & Brad Cochi
Photo: Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com
Three of the four quarterfinals in the Class 4A football state playoffs were played on Saturday afternoon after Loveland and Montrose got the round started on Friday night.
After a wild day of football, the semifinal matchups in the classification are now set. No. 1 Palmer Ridge will face No. 4 Loveland and No. 2 Broomfield will face No. 11 Erie.
(11) Erie 43, (3) Ponderosa 25
Through 24 minutes of play, it looked like the day was going to belong to Zach Stryker and the Ponderosa Mustangs. They had forced two Erie turnovers and jumped out to a 17-point lead at halftime.
But the Tigers apparently hunt better when they’re chasing.
Erie came out and forced four turnovers in the second half and seized every ounce of momentum possible to get a 43-25 win and advance to the Class 4A football semifinals.
The state runner-up a year ago, a bad start to the season saw the Tigers (9-4 overall) come into the postseason as the No. 11 seed, but they were all smiles after getting their second upset win in as many weeks.
“It’s so fun being an 11 seed and upsetting six seeds and three seeds,” quarterback Blake Barnett said. “We were doubted all year long and lost to (Ponderosa) in Week 1 and then crushed their dreams in the quarterfinals.”
If the last two years are any indication, Barnett does his best work in the postseason. He picked off Stryker early in the second half and it was that turnover that swung the momentum back in Erie’s direction. Preston Terranova came up with two interceptions of his own in the second half and freshman Braylon Toliver added another.
The only second-half possession that the Tigers didn’t start with field position near midfield was their final one after stopping the Mustangs (9-3) on 4th and 2. Three of their offensive possession started at the Ponderosa 10 or better.
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(2) Broomfield 46, (7) Heritage 0
Not many football teams can say they collected three defensive touchdowns in the state quarterfinals. Few, if any, can say they added a 109-yard pick six to those totals.
Class 4A’s second-seeded Broomfield did that and more at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium when the Eagles thumped No. 7 Heritage 46-0 to secure their spot in the semis. Four players had a heavy hand in the victory, including that 109-yard jaw-dropper from senior wide receiver/defensive back Canon Juarez.
The last time the two teams met, the Eagles narrowly escaped against Heritage with a 17-13 victory.
“When I saw my teammates cheering me on, it really made me just go an extra mile. My first reaction was, ‘That’s another pick. I’m going to go take it to the crib now,'” Juarez said. “Oh, this is a statement game. Three weeks ago, we didn’t play our best performance against these guys. We just showed today what Broomfield Eagles football is about.”
Senior quarterback and Wisconsin commit Cole LaCrue lit up his offense with 195 passing yards and two touchdowns as senior running back Luke Francis added 89 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Juarez aggregated 74 yards on offense with two receiving touchdowns and added that long-haul interception return in the final minutes for three scores in all. Sophomore cornerback Mikhail Benner blessed the Eagle defense with two pick sixes to begin and end the game.
Head coach Blair Hubbard knew the game would boil down to his defense’s performance, and it more than stepped up.
“Our defense had to really play well today and they just set the tone right away with that defensive touchdown (from Benner) to start the game and it just built some momentum,” he said. “And then, offensively, they were getting some pressure on us but Cole stood in the pocket and made some great throws for us today. I’m just proud of the effort across the board.”
The Eagles improved to a glittering 12-0 with the victory and will now prepare to face No. 11 Erie, who upset No. 3 Ponderosa 43-25, in the semifinals on their home turf next Saturday.
(1) Palmer Ridge 35, (8) Vista Ridge 21
The Palmer Ridge football team is back in the Class 4A state semifinals for the second time in three years.
In the 4A state quarterfinals on Saturday, No. 1 Palmer Ridge came from behind to win 35-21 against No. 8 Vista Ridge and advance to the semifinals. The game was a rematch of an area rivalry game that Palmer Ridge won to cap the regular season.
The quarterfinals rematch nearly ended very differently, as Vista Ridge led 21-14 before Palmer Ridge came roaring back to score the final 21 points of the game to claim victory.
“It was a beautiful day and it was fun,” Palmer Ridge coach Mike Armentrout said on the Coloradopreps.com Scoreboard Show. “(The key was) guys just staying locked in and finding a way to take it inch by inch and get the job done. Really proud of our guys. Really proud of our defense.”
The Palmer Ridge defense was outstanding and critial to the late comeback against a high-octane Vista Ridge offense led by standout quarterback Braden Dorman.
Palmer Ridge continues its postseason success, advancing in the 4A playoffs for the third straight year in Class 4A. Prior to that, the Bears won three straight titles in Class 3A.
“I think it has a lot to do with your preparation,” Armentrout said. “When you’ve been there, when you’ve had some Thanksgiving-week practices and you’ve had some practices in the cold. Honestly, our staff is full of guys who invest a ton in our kids and in our culture. There’s a lot of guys who’ve been around for a long time and it’s paying dividends.”
In the semifinals, the Bears will face No. 4 Loveland in a rematch of state title game from two years ago. It will be a chance to exact some revenge from that title game, in which Loveland trounced Palmer Ridge, 42-6.
(4) Loveland 20, (5) Montrose 15
The Loveland football team is back in Class 4A state semifinals for the second time in three years.
One of just a few games to play on Friday night, the No. 4 Red Wolves held off a late charge from the No. 5 Montrose Red Hawks to win 20-15 and clinch a spot in the penultimate round. The Red Wolves led 14-0 at halftime but the Red Hawks came back to take a 15-14 lead with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
With just a minute left in the game, senior Garrett Harstad ran the ball in from 13 yards out to give the ball back to Loveland and the Red Wolves held on for the victory.
The Loveland football team has won two state titles since 2018, most recently defeating Palmer Ridge in the 2020 championship game at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl.
