No. 6 Golden football stays hot with win over Standley Lake

ARVADA — Golden’s passing game found a nice rhythm late Friday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex.

Junior quarterback Kalin Hufford threw three touchdowns passes in the first seven minutes to jumpstart the Demons to an easy 46-6 victory over Standley Lake in the Class 4A Mountain West League game. 

“We came out with our heavy package to set the tone with the run game,” Golden coach Matt McDougal said. “It opened up the passing game. We have been working a lot on some little things to try to improve the passing game. We got some openings today, threw the ball well and completed them.”

McDougal said after last week’s conference win over Bear Creek that he knew the passing game needed to be more of a factor for the Demons. Hufford connected with seniors Jonathan Wheeler, Trey Abrams and junior Jack Dixon for touchdown passes well before the end of the first quarter to give Golden a 21-0 lead.

“It felt great,” Abrams said of the first quarter show through the air. “It has been a little rough the last couple of weeks, but we are there now. We are getting it done.”

Hufford has replaced the shoes of Jazel Riley, who threw for over 1,500 yards and rushed for over 1,500 yards in his senior campaign with the Demons.

“I think he (Hufford) is getting there,” McDougal said. “It is always a process when you are the new guy. The new starter. I think he is starting to see things a little bit better and we are trying to give him more options to help him out. He is getting better every week.”

Senior Luc Chevalier did all the scoring for the Demons (6-1 record, 2-0 in 4A Mountain West) in the second quarter. The senior running back had touchdown runs of 11 and 2 yards to push the lead to 35-0. 

Chevalier then kicked a 31-yard field in the final minute to give the Demons a 38-0 halftime lead.

Standley Lake did get on the board with a short touchdown run by quarterback Boston Harris to cut the lead to 38-6, but the Demons were quick to answer. Hufford threw his fourth touchdown pass with an 11-yard score to Abrams with 6:41 left in the third quarter.

“We just wanted to get on the same page with each other where it’s just pass and catch between quarterback and receiver,” Abrams said. “I think we are there now. It’s awesome.”

A successful 2-point conversion pushed the margin to 40 points to induce a running clock for the rest of the game.

Golden returns to the NAAC next Friday night for a huge conference game against Dakota Ridge. The Eagles (4-3, 1-0) had a dominating 47-19 win last night against Bear Creek at Jeffco Stadium.

“It is a big game and I think over the last few years it has kind of turned into a rivalry,” McDougal said of the game against Dakota Ridge. “They have a good team again. They have some dangerous guys. We are going to have to come out and play one of our best games of the year.”

Golden ended Dakota Ridge’s string of four straight league titles last year when the Demons won the 4A Mountain West title.

“We have been looking toward this game all year,” Hufford said of Dakota Ridge. “We are excited to have it finally coming this week.”

Standley Lake will also be back at NAAC next week. The Gators (4-3, 1-1) have a non-league game against Heritage. That game will kickoff at 4 p.m. before the big showdown between Golden and Dakota Ridge.