LOVELAND — The drought is over.

Sixty years after winning its last state title in 1964, Limon has found itself back atop the Class 2A mountain. The fifth-seeded Badgers staked their claim to history on Saturday evening with a dominant 54-27 victory over No. 6 Sanford in the 2A boys basketball state championship game.

Longtime Limon head coach Dirk Pederson shared his joy for leading a group of bought-in Badgers to the ultimate goal. 

“This group was really good at being connected and being mentally tough,” said Pederson, who closed his 19th season at the helm of Limon’s program. “We had a lot of really good players and really good guys that all got along and stuck together.”

Limon, which finished the season 22-5, now owns five state titles (2024, 1964, 1962, 1961 and 1959). 

Limon sophomore Aiden Kollath set the tone early with three first-quarter 3-pointers. With his help, the Badgers led 17-6 after the first quarter and never looked back at Blue Arena in Loveland.

“Getting up 9-0 kind of set the tone and gave our kids a lot of confidence,” Pederson said. “Defensively, we were phenomenal.”

The biggest star of the evening, though, was Jordan Rockwell. Playing in the final game of his esteemed high school career, the Limon senior dropped 27 points, including three 3-pointers.  

“The whole year, coach preaches us to be confident offensively,” Rockwell said. “I knew It was my last game, so I might as well go out with a bang and be confident shooting. I felt like I did that and was thankful to have what I had.” 

While Rockwell wanted to end his own high school career with a state trophy, he was also playing for something greater than himself. 

“It's a dream come true,” Rockwell said. “I wanted it for our program and Limon. It's the first time in 60 years. For coach Pederson, he's been in that game several times and I really wanted to get that for him, as well.”

To make Limon’s championship even more memorable, the Badgers earned some revenge after falling to Sanford in last year’s semifinals. Rockwell shared that he and his teammates didn’t let that loss impact their approach to this season. 

In addition to Rockwell’s 27, the Badgers received 11 total points from Kollath and six from senior Treyton Marx. 

En route to winning the state championship, Limon beat No. 4 Heritage Christian in the Great 8 and upset No. 1 Simla in the Final Four. 

For the Mustangs, their season ends with a 22-5 record and a state runner-up trophy. Senior Cash Caldon led Sanford with nine points on the evening.