Columbine football rambles past Jeffco rival Arvada West

LAKEWOOD — Long time consuming drives just wasn’t Columbine’s style Friday at Jeffco Stadium, at least not for running back Mark Snyder.

“It kind of switched roles tonight. It was a little weird,” Snyder said of the quick-striking offense Friday that featured the junior scoring on an 80-yard touchdown run that took 13 seconds on Columbine’s first offensive play from scrimmage. “It was supposed to be a run to the left. I didn’t see anything. I cut it back and ended up getting some space to run.”

Snyder had touchdown runs of 80, 3 and 56 yards as the Rebels — ranked No. 3 in the Class 5A Colorado Preps football poll — took a 35-14 win over Jeffco rival and No. 9 Arvada West.

“I don’t care. Just get in the end zone. Right?,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry said with a smile when asked about the Rebels’ 1-play, 13-second first possession. “Those two backs (Snyder and James Basinger) are pretty special. We just have to keep them healthy.”

Senior James Basinger scored the other two rushing touchdowns of the night — 20 and 1 yard — to put him at 16 rushing touchdown on the season for Columbine (7-0, 2-0 in 5A Metro League). Basinger is already well over 1,000 yards on the season, while Snyder is nearing that century mark with 13 rushing touchdowns.

“We would like to think so. We hope so,” Snyder said when asked if him and Basigner are the best running back duo in the state.

A-West (5-2, 1-1) had an impressive opening drive of the game. The Wildcats drove inside Columbine’s 20-yard line, but back-to-back sacks of A-West junior quarterback Logan Duhachek stalled the 16-play drive that ended in a missed 52-yard field goal. 

Senior Rory Marez and sophomore Keith Fischer picked up the two key sacks to end the drive.

“At practice this week we were all really focused,” Columbine sophomore defensive back Lijah Vialpondo said of the Rebels’ defense getting ready for the Wildcats’ high-powered offense. “Everyone was dialed in day. Everyone was quiet and locked in for everything.”

The drive took nearly 9 minutes off the clock and yielded no points. It took only 13 seconds for Columbine first of five rushing touchdown. Snyder broke out of a pack of bodies and rambled 80 yards to give the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

“When Mark was gone, everyone knew we were going to win,” Vialpondo said. “That was a giant swing.”

A-West responded with a 26-yard touchdown throw from Duhachek to junior Keegen Balistreri to even things up 7-7 just before the end of the first quarter.

The second touchdown run by Snyder gave the Rebels the lead back 14-7 early in the second quarter. Basinger pushed the lead to 21-7 seconds before halftime on an impressive 20-yard touchdown run.

Snyder capped off another quick scoring drive with a 56-yard touchdown run on the opening drive on a 3-play drive that covered 80 yards in less than two minutes.

“It’s huge for us because we really still don’t know how good we are,” Snyder said. “Knowing we can handle a physical team like (A-West) is huge for us. It is going to give us a lot of confidence.”

The Rebels’ defense intercepted Duhachek three times and also forced a fumble.

Columbine now has a 21-game winning streak dating back to last year’s undefeated squad that captured the 5A state title. The winning streak is nearing the Rebels’ 24-game winning streak it had over the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

The Rebels continue league play against No. 7 Ralston Valley (6-1, 2-0) at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, back at Jeffco Stadium. The Mustangs cruised to a 47-7 win over Denver South at the North Area Athletic Complex on Thursday night.

A-West stays on the road and faces Denver East at All-City Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 17.