Arvada – Thank goodness for video.
Peak to Peak goalie Tyler Weber, who was knocked unconscious with just more than 10 minutes to play, will appreciate his title-game performance and that of his Pumas teammates much more when he can watch the replay.
Peak to Peak, behind Weber and a quirky goal from Trini Mares in the 44th minute, helped the fifth-year charter school in Lafayette earn its first state championship, 1-0 over Faith Christian on Tuesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Weber, who said as he came off the bench to celebrate with his team that he couldn’t remember anything, will look inside the box score to realize he made nine saves en route to earning The Denver Post’s championship MVP award.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Peak to Peak coach Peter Chandler said of the final 10 minutes. “I’ve got the vision of ‘Gosh, there’s 18 minutes left, we may win a state title, gosh, there’s 10 minutes left; gosh, there’s two minutes left; can we hang on?”
Peak to Peak (17-3-0) did just that: hang on. With the Eagles (16-3-0) swarming around backup keeper and natural sweeper Greg Borchers, the Pumas defense didn’t give up a good look inside the box.
Mares’ goal was anything but common. He sent a ball into the box from the midfield stripe, which was more of a cross, but the wind grabbed it and Eagles goalie Julio Hornedo never looked comfortable trying to track it down. The ball bounced right on the goal line and into the top of the net.
“It was just a cross,” said Mares, who scored just one goal in the season. “I saw the keeper backing up and I knew it had a chance.”
Weber, Borchers and the Pumas defense did the rest to make the goal stand up. Weber, who made a spectacular save on Marcus Kirkwood earlier in the half, made an even bigger one in the 64th minute.
Faith Christian’s Luke McCaslin was able to work himself free on the goal line and put one shot on net, but the rebound went right to Grant Cowles. Cowles went low and Weber was able to pin the ball on the goal line before it crossed.
“It seems like every keeper we come up against, they just find another level,” Faith Christian coach Will Lind said. “I have no answers. They just outplayed us.”
Peak to Peak 0 1 – 1
Faith Christian 0 0 – 0
Goal – Trini Mares (unassisted), 44th minute.
Shots on goal – Peak to Peak 1-2 – 3; Faith Christian 4-7 – 11. Saves – Peak to Peak (Tyler Weber, 69 min.) 4-5 – 9, (Greg Borchers, 11 min.) 0-2 – 2; Faith Christian (Julio Hornedo, 46 min.) 1-0 – 1, (Graham Yantis, 34 min.) 0-1 – 1. Corner kicks – Peak to Peak 2-1 – 3; Faith Christian 0-4 – 4. Offsides – Peak to Peak 1-1 – 2; Faith Christian 2-1 – 3. Fouls – Peak to Peak 2-2 – 4; Faith Christian 7-3 – 10. Yellow cards – Luke McCaslin, FC, 45th; Kaleb Mahanes, PtP, 80th.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-8820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
