It was jaw-dropping and dizzying. It was wince-inducing and bizarre. It was Thomas Jefferson and George Washington blowing up on offense in the teams’ battle for the second and final Class 5A Denver Prep League playoff slot.
Spartans running back Nigel Nelson racked up 291 yards and five touchdowns outdoing Patriots back Elzy Spruell’s 232-yard, three-touchdown performance in leading Thomas Jefferson to a 65-43 league victory Thursday night at All-City Stadium.
“We just had to get into the playoffs first and foremost, and then show we can compete in 5A against (schools in) the suburbs,” Nelson said.
Thomas Jefferson (6-4, 6-1) will join the DPL’s Montbello in the big-school playoffs next week, and George Washington (5-5, 5-2) will call it a season.
But not before putting on a spectacle.
The teams combined for 1,146 total yards, with Thomas Jefferson picking up 634. Nelson scored on runs of 1, 3, 4, 7 and 40 yards, and teammate Eric Ramsey returned a kickoff 89 yards and also ran for a 69-yard touchdown. Ramsey finished with 100 yards on the ground and 79 yards in receptions.
Spartans quarterback Korey Askew completed his first five passes and finished 8-of-11 for 161 yards. Askew also returned an interception 40 yards to the end zone.
“I felt like I was Peyton Manning. I had quarterback vision,” Askew said. “This was huge. It was either win or lose and pack up. We’d probably be crying in the locker room right now.”
For the Patriots, Spruell scored on runs of 11, 28 and 92 yards, and tight end Jordan Schultz hauled in three of quarterback Darius Reed’s five completions for 86 yards.
Including extra points, 13 players put points on the scoreboard.
“We came out and handled business. Now we have to keep doing what we did,” said Ramsey, who went untouched on his kickoff return.
That touchdown went in the books 12 seconds after Spruell brought the Patriots to within 19-14 on his 92-yard sprint that started off right tackle. No worries, as Spruell followed with another long run to keep it close at 26-21.
Then Thomas Jefferson scored four consecutive touchdowns: two on the ground, one through the air and one on an interception return.
The Spartans finished the regular season with 3,180 yards rushing, about 300 yards more than Columbine for the most in the state. Columbine plays Fruita Monument on Saturday.
Producer’s note: Box score does not appear due to technical difficulties. See today’s print edititon for last night’s box score.
