Littleton – Douglas County’s Keiffer Garton passed for nearly 200 yards against Arapahoe, but it was his lone rushing yard that put the Huskies over the top Saturday.
With nine seconds left to play in a back-and-forth thriller between Class 5A National League powers at Littleton Public Schools Stadium, the Warriors appeared to have Garton stopped cold on a quarterback sneak up the middle. But the junior quarterback looked more like a fullback as he powered his way through the right side to seal a 31-24 victory.
“They just blitzed everyone up the middle, so I told my center I was going to the right,” said Garton, who passed for 194 yards and two touchdowns. “I went to the right and got stuffed again, so I kept going and finally got there.”
The win solidified Douglas County’s league lead as the Huskies, ranked No. 7 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, are at the top of the National at 4-0 and 7-1 overall. Arapahoe (6-2, 3-2) fell to third.
The Huskies opened the game with a dominating 80-yard scoring drive thanks entirely to the power rushing of Andy Muns. And an Arapahoe fumble on its 20-yard line helped give Douglas County a 14-0 lead.
Running back Andrew Preston helped the Warriors claw back. Preston had 126 yards on 25 carries and all three of Arapahoe’s touchdowns, and quarterback Matt Johnson completed 17-of-30 passes for 224 yards.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 21, and Douglas County’s Cory Reynolds hit a field goal with five minutes left to tie it at 24.
Douglas County had a chance to break the deadlock with one minute to play, but Reynolds’ field-goal attempt caromed off the goalpost. Arapahoe took over, but instead of running out the clock and heading to overtime, coach Mike Campbell opted to try to put the game away.
The move backfired, when the Warriors tried to throw from deep in their territory. Johnson’s arm was hit as he tried to throw, and the pass came down into the waiting arms of Douglas County’s Joshua Ruff.
The Huskies took over at Arapahoe’s 35 with 17 seconds left, and Garton immediately hit receiver James O’Hara, who was dragged down at the 1 to set up Garton’s plunge.
Campbell took the blame for the Warriors’ loss, saying his team should have sat on the ball and headed to overtime.
“I probably should have taken a timeout or just run the clock out and play for overtime,” Campbell said.
Douglas County 14 0 7 10 – 31
Arapahoe 7 0 14 3 – 24
DC – Muns 5 run (Rynolds kick). DC – Arnold 16 pass from Garton (Reynolds kick). A – Preston 5 run (Smith kick). A – Preston 2 run (Smith kick). DC – Laymen 32 pass from Garton (Reynolds kick). A – Preston 2 run (Smith kick). A – FG Smith 23. DC – FG Reynolds 30. DC – Garton 1 run (Reynolds kick).
