Columbine football runs past Fruita Monument in 5A playoff opener

LAKEWOOD — Columbine football is heading back to the NAAC.

The No. 15-seeded Rebels had absolutely no issue ending the season of the visiting No. 18 Fruita Monument on Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. Columbine dominated to the tune of 44-14 in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament.

Columbine (6-5 record) will face No. 2 Ralston Valley (10-0) in the second round next week at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. 

“It’s better than not going back,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry said of the Rebels  heading up to NAAC for the third time this season. “Ralston is awfully good.”

Columbine suffered league losses to Arvada West and Ralston Valley in back-to-back weeks in October. However, the Rebels have won 6 of 8 games to close out the regular season after a rough 0-3 start to the season.

“After our third game I don’t know how many people thought we would be in this position,” Lowry said referring to the Rebels’ 0-3 start. 

The string of victories allowed Columbine to host a first-round playoff game and the Rebels took care of business rushing for 300 yards in the first half to take a commanding 24-0 lead on the Wildcats at halftime.

Junior Ben Frazier had 11 carries for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns at the break. Senior Mark Snyder had 18 carries for 161 yards and a touchdown through the first two quarters. 

Last week, Snyder had 30 carries for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ victory over rival Chatfield to close out the regular season.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Snyder said of carrying much of the rushing load with over 200 carries and 1,400 yards this season. “Even when I’m tired I love getting the ball. I make the most of it. I’m just having fun.”

Columbine continued the fun in the second half with Snyder recovering a fumble on Fruita’s opening drive of the third quarter. Snyder cashed it in with a 12-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 30-0. 

At a point early in the third quarter, the Wildcats (5-6) had three first down and three turnovers.

“We always teach stripping the ball and we got a couple tonight,” said Columbine senior defensive end Will Monroe who recovered the Wildcats’ first fumble of the night. “We got a couple of picks that really turned the game around.”

Junior Lucas Gonzales had a 75-yard touchdown and sophomore Tavis McCatty had a the Rebels’ sixth touchdown run of the game in the final minutes of the third quarter to induce the running clock with Columbine holding a 44-0 lead.

“Our coaches do a great job. Our program always finds a way. They have been in this position before,” Snyder said of the roughest start to the season in more than a decade. “I believe in my brothers. I think we did a great job of coming back. As long as we are working and never giving up we are going to have a successful season. I’m proud of that.”

Columbine can now turn its attention to Ralston Valley.

“(Ralston Valley) is a tough team, but we are a tough team too,” Snyder said. “We have grown a ton. We could have beat them the first time. We are going to come in hungry and I believe we have a good chance this time.”

The Mustangs and Rebels faced off at NAAC back on Oct. 16 in league action. Columbine actually led at halftime, but Ralston Valley rallied to take a 35-21 victory. The win did come at a cost, senior quarterback Zeke Andrews was injured in the game and missed the final two regular-season games for Ralston Valley.

Junior quarterback Logan Gabler did fill in nicely. Gabler was 31-for-43 passing for 440 yards and nine touchdowns in the Mustangs’ victories over Denver East and Arvada West. 

Ralston Valley coach Jared Yannacito said last week he expected Andrews to be back on the field for the second round of the playoffs after the Mustangs’ first-round bye.

“I don’t think we are too worried it,” Monroe said of likely facing Andrews in his return. “Obviously he is a good quarterback, but if we do our job and our defensive backs do their job we’ll do really good.”

The win over Fruita Monument guaranteed that the Rebels will not have a sub-.500 overall record this season. Columbine’s last losing season was over a decade ago in 2014. 

“I was thinking about that before the game,” Monroe said of Columbine getting above .500 record for the first time this season thanks to a 3-game winning streak. “That was a factor for me for sure.”