Lakewood – A terrific football game came down to being decided by an unlikely hero on the final play and the ramifications of the outcome were felt statewide, although they weren’t necessarily fulfilling for the winner.
Confused?
Welcome to Colorado’s Class 5A postseason-qualifying system as well as some of the intricate tiebreakers in big-school leagues.
Tommy Flanagan, a 14-year- old freshman, converted a 35-yard field goal Saturday as time ran out to lift Bear Creek to a 31-28 victory over top- ranked Arvada West at Jefferson County Stadium in The Denver Post game of the week.
It created a three-way tie for the 5A Jeffco League title with the Bears, ranked No. 3 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, Arvada West and Columbine. Each finished league play 4-1.
However, while Arvada West lost Saturday’s game, the Wildcats are Jeffco’s No. 1 playoff seed by combining their 39-33 victory over Columbine with their three-point loss to the Bears. It put the Wildcats at plus-3. Columbine, which finished its Jeffco slate a week ago, is No. 2. The Rebels beat the Bears 21-14, so they are at plus-1.
That put the Bears at minus- 4, third place in the league tiebreaker and a 5A wild-card team, which probably explained why coach Tom Thenell referred to something about being the best wild-card team ever in the playoffs.
Tentatively, A-West finished third in the victory-point system and is to play Eaglecrest. Bear Creek, the first of four wild cards, will host Arapahoe. The Colorado High School Activities Association will confirm the bracket today.
In addition, if A-West had won, it would have been in a playoff quadrant with – you guessed it – Bear Creek and Columbine as two of the other three teams.
“It’s crazy,” Arvada West coach Casey Coons said. “It’s tough. But you knew it would come down to the bitter end.”
By the way, Flanagan’s only other field goal in his career came this season and was the difference in the Bears beating Pomona in overtime.
As it was, the Bears (9-1 overall) used big-time performances by quarterback Jake Spitzlberger, running back Riley Newcomer and receivers Aromous Robinson and David Nelson to keep A-West (8-2) at bay.
Spitzlberger threw for 222 yards and ran for 84. The junior had a lot of success running out of the pocket and avoiding the Wildcats’ pass rush. He also found Robinson when he needed him on third downs, and Nelson, who stands 6-feet-8, caught two passes for touchdowns.
Newcomer just about did it all – he ran 22 times for 143 yards and hauled in six receptions for 117 yards. Limited against Columbine with groin and knee problems, Newcomer said it just felt good to play pain-free again.
“We played real well,” he said. “We had a great week of practice and the coaches prepared us well.”
A-West led twice early. Sean McDougal’s 21-yard pass to Ryan Hill produced the game’s first touchdown and L.D. Briscoe’s 17-yard run in the second quarter (plus a Hill two-point conversion reception) made it 14-7.
But Newcomer’s touchdown runs of 58 and 2 yards made it 21-14 in favor of the Bears at halftime.
McDougal’s second scoring pass to Hill, a 33-yarder, tied it 21-21, but Spitzlberger found Nelson alone running through the middle for a 24-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter.
Briscoe’s 47-yard run for a touchdown tied it for the last time, with 3:29 to play.
Spitzlberger had two 25- yard passes to Newcomer on the final drive that set up Flanagan.
“My teammates were telling me I could make it,” Flanagan said. “I’m glad I did for them.”
Said Thenell: “Both teams played their hearts out. For a ninth-greader, (Flanagan) has a lot of guts.
“And (Spitzlberger) isn’t bad, either.”
Briscoe finished with 107 yards rushing and McDougal, harassed throughout by the Bears’ defense, was held to 115 yards passing.
Arvada West 6 8 7 7 – 28
Bear Creek 0 21 7 3 – 31
AW – Hill 21 pass from McDougal (kick failed). BC – Nelson 7 pass from Spitzlberger (Flanagan kick). AW – Briscoe 17 run (Hill pass from McDougal). BC – Newcomer 58 run (Flanagan kick). BC – Newcomer 2 run (Flanagan kick). AW – Hill 33 pass from McDougal (McDougal kick). BC – Nelson 24 pass from Spitzlberger (Flanagan kick). AW – Briscoe 47 run (McDougal kick). BC – FG Flanagan 35.
Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-820-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
