Bear Creek football rolls past Green Mountain at Jeffco Stadium

LAKEWOOD — Year three of Tom Thenell 2.0 guiding the Bear Creek football program is starting to look very familiar.

Bear Creek is off to a 3-0 start to the season with a trio of dominating victories. The latest being a 46-14 win over cross-town rival Green Mountain on Thursday night at Jeffco Stadium.

“What a great start,” Bear Creek senior quarterback Riley Wilson said of the Bears’ 3-0 record heading into Class 4A Front Range League play next week. “We had mistakes out here, but we come back and fix them. I don’t hate that score (46-14). I’m happy with it.”

Thenell — who guided Bear Creek’s football program from 1992 to 2011 — returned to Bear Creek in 2024 after stints at Mullen, Smoky Hill and the offensive coordinator at Mesa State University in Grand Junction. Especially on the offensive side of the football, the Bears are starting to remind high school football fans in Colorado how entertaining and explosive Thenell’s offense looked like in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Wilson passed for a pair of touchdowns and ran for a third score as the Bears’ offense put up 40-plus points for the third straight week. Bear Creek already had impressive road wins over North Port (FL) and Greeley West before facing Green Mountain on Thursday night.

Senior receiver Jonathan Brink had touchdown catches of 27 and 65 yards in the first half as Bear Creek opened up a 31-0 lead at halftime. Senior Dylan Thomas had a 3-yard touchdown run and the Bear Creek’s special teams got into the scoring action with a touchdown on a blocked punt that both seniors Cruz Martinez-Tom and JJ Hernandez jumped on in the end zone.

“This is a pretty dangerous offense, especially with our new No. 4 (Elijah Hargrove),” Wilson said of the Bears running back to be paired with Brink and Thomas. “My line is beautiful. I love being behind those guys. I’m excited about this year.”

Hargrove looks to be the real deal in his first year as a Bear. He came into Thursday’s game already with nearly 400 yards combined rushing and receiving. He scored his fifth touchdown of the season on a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“He (Hargrove) is just an honest, sincere young man,” Thenell said. “This means a lot to him right now. He fits in well with these senior kids right now. He has fit in since he got here.”

Bear Creek actually got off to a 5-0 start last season, but finished the season 6-5 and suffered a first-round playoff loss to Frederick. This senior class has no intentions of having a similar result the season.

“That is what the senior class is all about. A bunch of those guys are seniors and it means a lot to them,” Thenell said of having success league play. “We have to keep playing. We weren’t perfect tonight, but that is OK.”

Bear Creek’s starting defense only allowed the one touchdown by Green Mountain before it became a running clock late in the third quarter.

“It’s effort,” Thenell said of his defense. “That is all you can ask of your kids as a coach. In my opinion, after 42 years a mark of a good coach is kids play hard and try hard. That they never quit.”

Green Mountain (1-2 record) got on the scoreboard with a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Hudson Allison to senior Alan Johnston in the third quarter. Junior OJ Jones scored the final touchdown of the night on a 5-yard touchdown run for the Rams.

Green Mountain begins its 3A Foothills League play next Saturday afternoon against Kent Denver (0-2).

Bear Creek opens up what should be a competitive 4A Front Range League on the road against Westminster (0-2) next Friday night up north.

“We are going to have some very, very tough games late in the year and the kids know it,” Thenell said.