Broomfield football powers past Dakota Ridge into 4A title game

LAKEWOOD — It was all Broomfield on Saturday afternoon at Jeffco Stadium.

No. 5-seeded Broomfield defeated top-seeded Dakota Ridge 45-7 to advance Broomfield to the Class 4A state football championship game next week.

“It’s a dream come true,” Broomfield senior Colin Torres said of the Eagles heading to the 4A title game. “Senior year with all my boys. I don’t want any other team. This is the team I want. I cannot wait.”

In the battle of the Eagles — Broomfield’s and Dakota Ridge’s mascot — Broomfield scored touchdowns on three of its first four offensive possessions, along with having two defensive scores in the first half to open up a 38-0 lead at halftime in the semifinal game. 

“It was our defense. Defense wins championships,” said Torres, who had a pair of touchdown runs. “Starting with that stop on our 1-yard line. I think that is what set the tone and let our offense drive down the field and score.”

Dakota Ridge took the opening kickoff, driving down to Broomfield’s 1-yard line. However, on fourth-down Dakota Ridge junior Landon Kalsbeck was stopped just short of the goal line to turn the ball over on downs. 

Broomfield kept the momentum going with an 11-play, 99-yard scoring drive capped off with a 17-yard touchdown run by senior Elliot Less.

“Our offense, wow. What a response with a 99-yard drive,” Broomfield coach Robert O’Brien said after Broomfield stopped Dakota Ridge on the fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. “That was really, really big.”

Broomfield senior Mikhail Benner got the first of two defensive scores when Dakota Ridge junior quarterback Kellen Behrendsen couldn’t throw the ball out-of-bounds and Benner intercepted it and strolled into the end zone with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

“I was just excited. I don’t get a lot of targets during the regular season,” Benner said of his pick-6 that put Broomfield up 14-0. “That ball got thrown to me and I just jumped it. It was surreal.”

Broomfield quarterback Darien Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second quarter pushed the lead to 21-0. A second defensive score where senior Maverick Scarpella scooped up a fumble and ran 22 yards for a touchdown gave Broomfield a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

“We had an awesome week of practice,” Benner said. “Monday through Friday we took practice seriously. It helps when everyone is bought in.”

Benner caused another turnover late in the second quarter. After Benner ripped a ball out of the hands of a Dakota Ridge receiver, senior CT Worley recovered the fumble at Dakota Ridge’s 15-yard line. The next play, Torres scored to give Broomfield a 35-0 lead with 2:56 left before halftime.

“Snowballing is a thing. As a coach you know it happens, you can feel it,” Dakota Ridge coach Jeremiah Behrendsen said. “You always try to stop it. Sometimes the kids want it so bad that just adds snow.”

A field goal just before halftime, along with a 16-play, 73-yard touchdown scoring drive coming out of the break induced a running clock midway through the third quarter with Broomfield holding a 45-0 lead.

“We were physical up front, that’s going to win you games. You win games in the trenches,” Benner said. “On to next week. We’ll celebrate this for the next hour or two.”

Broomfield (12-1 record) heads to Fort Collins where the Eagles will face No. 2 Montrose in the 4A state championship game next weekend. The Red Hawks (13-0) defeated Pueblo West 18-7 on the Western Slope in the other 4A semifinal Saturday. 

The 4A title game will be the second of three championship games played on Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University on Saturday, Dec. 7. The 4A title game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff next Saturday.

The 3A championship game — Mead versus Thompson Valley  — will be a 10 a.m. kickoff. The 5A championship game — Legend versus Cherry Creek — is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start. 

Broomfield and Dakota Ridge have been two of the most consistent 4A football programs over the past five years. Both have advanced to at least the state quarterfinals five times from 2019 to 2024.

“We talk about pressure is something that is earned,” O’Brien said of the impressive run over the past six years of for Broomfield. “Teams that don’t make the playoffs have no pressure. We have earned that pressure and earned the opportunity to play in big games. We want that target on our back. It is culture over everything that we do.” 

Dakota Ridge advanced to the 4A semifinals in 2019 and 2020, along with making the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2023. Broomfield actually edged Dakota Ridge 17-15 in a semifinal thriller at Jeffco Stadium in 2019.

Broomfield won the 4A state championship in 2022 and was the 4A runner-up in 2019, along with making it to the 4A semifinals in 2023 and quarterfinals in 2020. Broomfield have captured five state titles — 2022, 1984, 1983, 1981 and 1979 —  and have been a state runner-up four times. 

Dakota Ridge’s lone state championship appearance was two decades ago in 2004. The Eagles lost to ThunderRidge 35-29. Dakota Ridge High School opened in 1996. 

“They are going to be chomping at the bit,” Coach Behrendsen said of the fairly young squad getting ready for next year. “They have more than earned some rest. It has been an incredible year. It has also been a taxing year emotionally and mentally.”

Kalsbeck did prevent Dakota Ridge from suffering a shutout loss in the semifinal. The junior had a 48-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make the final score 45-7.

Coach Behrendsen said there will be high-expectations next year after Dakota Ridge had an impressive 11-win season in his first year as head coach.

“The cupboard isn’t bare. We are incredibly excited about that,” Coach Behrendsen said of several key returners for next season. “With that being said, our seniors will be hard to replace. They contributed in so many ways. They were incredible leaders. Those are things not easy to replace.”