DENVER – As the final seconds ticked off the clock on Saturday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High, Broomfield quarterback Cole LaCrue had his late father in mind.
Almost exactly two years after Joe LaCrue died from COVID-19 on Nov. 29, 2020, his sons led the Broomfield Eagles to their first state title in nearly 40 years.
“We have season tickets right over there,” Cole LaCrue said, pointing to the section where he and his brothers used to attend games with their father. “Me and my brother, we ran over there and I just gave him a big hug because it’s the best feeling in the world when you do this.”
Cole, the senior starting quarterback, and Ty, the sophomore starting left guard, played integral roles in Broomfield’s 24-14 victory against Loveland in the Class 4A title game, capping a perfect season for the Eagles (14-0).
“Everything I’ve done in my career has been for (Joe) and I’m just glad that I can do it for everyone – for this whole entire community that was here,” LaCrue said. “It’s great.”
Three years after a loss in the championship game spoiled a perfect season, Broomfield got off to a great start against the Red Wolves (12-2), overcame some mistakes and played exceptional defense to earn the school’s first football title since 1984. It was the fourth title overall for Broomfield.
“These seniors were here when we lost this when they were freshmen (in 2019),” Broomfield head coach Blair Hubbard said. “They were talking about it in the locker room how we came in as freshmen, we’re going out on top as seniors. They put in the work this offseason with Cole leading them, and a lot of weapons around him.
“I’m just happy for our community. It’s a close-knit community. A lot of people see it as a suburb, but the high school’s been around since like 1959 and it’s just great for our community. Very happy for them. We’ve been there three times since I got there and third time’s a charm for sure.”
Hubbard, in his sixth season as Broomfield’s head coach, was a part of title game losses to Pine Creek in 2016 and 2019.
This time, the Eagles got off to a rough start, with Brent Harris losing a fumble on the first play. When they got the ball back, they gave it to Harris again, and he had a 42-yard run to set up the first touchdown.
“We went back to Brent right away, just to put some confidence back in him and he busted the long play,” Hubbard said. “We built some momentum, went down and scored and the defense was lights out.”
Both teams had four turnovers, but Broomfield was able to generate more offensively, with LaCrue leading the way.
LaCrue, who is committed to Wisconsin, threw for 233 yards, but was picked off twice. He made up for it with a pair of touchdown runs.
“Obviously, I don’t think I played that good,” LaCrue said. “Two touchdowns is nice, but I’d rather take those two picks back. But I was telling everyone I’d rather throw six interceptions and win the state championship then you have an all-star game and we lose. I’m just glad that we had a roster like this that can help us out and the defense, man – best defense in state.”
While LaCrue is the team leader, it was senior Canon Juarez who was named the game’s most outstanding player. Juarez did a bit of everything, rushing for 38 yards and a touchdown, catching four passes for 81 yards and intercepting a pass on defense to end Loveland’s last-gasp effort at a comeback.
Defensively, Broomfield held the Red Wolves to 192 yards and 14 points. Loveland came in averaging 39.2 points.
“Credit to their defense, they shut us down,” Loveland head coach Allan Jeffries said. “That’s not an easy task to do. This is a great offense and so they did a heck of a job on their side of the ball, too.”
Jeffries was proud of his defense for holding Broomfield to 364 yards and 24 points. The Eagles, who came in averaging 42.2 points, scored just three points after halftime. The Red Wolves’ defense allowed them to rally from a 21-7 halftime deficit and have a shot at the win late.
This was Loveland’s third title game appearance in the last five years, as it won in 2018 and 2020.
“Every two years we’ve been here and then again in ’15,” Jeffries said. “We played some great teams (to get here). … We’ve got a couple guys in casts, we’ve got some guys in knee braces and it’s just time to battle. You play the cards you’re dealt. I’m just happy that everybody came out of here nice and healthy.”
Broomfield had some beat up players, too, including LaCrue, but they were not to be denied on their mission.
“It is a special group,” Hubbard said. “After our banquet last year, the seniors got together – the juniors at the time that were becoming seniors – and they said, ‘Hey, we need to put in the time, we need to put in the effort. We need to go for this.’ And they went all in. We’ve got T-shirts that say, ‘All in,’ and they went all-in all offseason, all summer long and then through the season.”