Cherry Hills Village – Several heroes emerged in the Kent Denver Sun Devils’ 49-0 shellacking of the St. Mary’s Pirates from Colorado Springs in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs Saturday at wind-ripped Justin Desorrento Memorial Field.
The Sun Devils (8-2) will host Brush in the second round Saturday.
With a strong wind blowing across the field from west to east for most of the game, Sun Devils junior quarterback Will Deevy completed 6-of-13 passes for 103 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one, and was intercepted once.
Senior tailback Brendon Henderson, who finished the regular season second in 2A rushing (1,288 yards), ran for 222 yards on 22 carries. His 23-yard run with 7:55 to play in the first quarter was his 19th touchdown of the season and ignited the Sun Devils’ scoring feast.
Tight end-linebacker Matt Kelsic scored two touchdowns, including catching a 14-yard pass from Deevy with 19 seconds left to go in the first half that made it 34-0, and recovered two fumbles.
T.J. Slatterly, a 5-foot-8 senior fullback, added 61 yards on 13 carries.
The Sun Devils churned out 454 total yards, 351 on the ground, and held the Pirates to 60 yards on offense.
Sun Devils coach Scott Yates, in his 24th season, couldn’t have been much happier after getting his 204th coaching victory Saturday. Yates already has led Kent Denver to state titles in 1986 and 1991.
Kelsic was key, Yates said, as “he was making plays everywhere. He stepped up for the team.
“A lot of people might not have seen it. But if they’ll look at the film they’ll see that his play today was unbelievable.”
St. Mary’s ended its season with a 5-5 record.
St. Mary’s 0 0 0 0 – 0
Kent Denver 7 28 7 7 – 49
KD – Henderson 23 run (Reichert kick). KD – Ferrell 10 run (Reichert kick). KD – Deevy 1 run (Reichert kick). KD – Deevy 1 run (Reichert kick). KD – Kelsic 14 pass from Deevy (Reichert kick). KD – Kelsic 15 pass from Deevy (Reichert kick). KD – Levy 2 run (Reichert kick).
