Colorado Springs – With the game on the line Friday night, the Wasson Thunderbirds trusted their sputtering passing game to rally them past Cheyenne Mountain.
Senior quarterback Jason Sanchez connected on four straight passes to march the T-birds 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:16 remaining.
All-state running back Diontea Forrest pounded into the end zone from 5 yards out to give the No. 8 Thunderbirds a 29-22 victory over the Indians in a Class 4A Foothills League opener for both teams.
Sanchez was just 2-for-13 with an interception before the final drive, when he picked up 66 yards – including a 32-yard catch by senior Steven Knapstein.
“We just all stepped up,” Sanchez said. “The receivers weren’t catching anything, I wasn’t giving them good balls. The last drive we just looked each other in the eye and said whoever has heart is going to win the game.”
Forrest was a decoy for most the drive. The senior ran for 219 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns. Knapstein caught four passes for 91 yards.
For Wasson (1-1, 1-0 league), the victory was the perfect tonic after getting roughed up last week by Class 5A rival Palmer.
“That game really helped us realize all this hype didn’t really mean nothing,” Forrest said.
Cheyenne Mountain (1-1, 0-1) struggled to move the ball until the fourth quarter, but stuck around by virtue of a stingy defense that forced the Thunderbirds into numerous mistakes.
The Indians stormed back in the final quarter on a 62-yard touchdown catch by Dan Schniedwind and a 10-yard run by Andrew Perdue to put the Indians ahead 22-21 with 3:31 remaining.
“I feel pretty good, because now I know we can play with anybody in the state,” said Perdue, who ran for a team-best 109 yards on 21 carries.
With almost no offense, the Indians trailed just 14-10 at halftime on the strength of three Wasson turnovers and a blocked punt by Perdue that set up Dustin Gray’s 4-yard touchdown run.
The Indians had the ball four times in the first quarter and one first down to show for it. Cheyenne Mountain had just 60 yards of offense at halftime compared with nearly 200 by the Thunderbirds.
Wasson 14 0 7 8 – 29
Cheyenne Mountain 3 7 0 12 – 22
W – Forrest 5 run (Lesnick kick). CM – FG Kocel 40. W – Jennings 3 run (Lesnick kick). CM – Gray 4 run (Kocel kick). W – Tomkins 9 run (Lesnick kick). CM – Schniedwind 62 pass from Jessup (pass failed). CM – Perdue 10 run (pass failed). W – Forrest 5 run (Knapstein pass from Sanchez).
