Greenwood Village – The showdown Friday night between Columbine and Cherry Creek in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs had all the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster.
There was action, suspense, drama and the revenge factor in Columbine’s 34-28 victory over the Bruins at Stutler Bowl.
Rebels running back Jordan Baum ran for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, and Jeff Cicchinelli picked up 104 yards and two touchdowns on 22 rushes. Columbine compiled 478 yards of total offense, which included just one pass attempt that was completed for 17 yards.
“The guys up front did an awesome job,” said Baum, who scored on runs of 24, 60 and 64 yards. “Their defense seemed to have only two levels. Once I got past the first level, I was gone.”
Columbine (10-1) avenged a semifinal loss to Cherry Creek (8-3) at Stutler Bowl last season.
“The loss last year hurt a lot. I’m sure the seniors from last year that are off at college think this is sweet revenge,” said Columbine’s 6-foot-4, 290-pound guard Joel Buschmann.
The Rebels, who will play Douglas County next in the quarterfinals, scored touchdowns on their first three drives, going 51 yards in four plays, 80 yards in eight plays and 82 yards in six plays.
But Cherry Creek stayed right on Columbine’s heels, thanks to two kickoff returns for touchdowns by Cameron Burl. The first went 94 yards untouched; the second was a thing of beauty. Burl broke a tackle at the 40-yard line and nearly went down, but the 145-pound senior kept his feet, spun off another would-be tackler and followed the block of Darin McDonald the rest of the way for a 92-yard score.
“Off to the races,” Burl said of his first return. “We know Columbine can run the heck out of the ball. But I thought we were going to come out with it.”
The Rebels went up 27-14 on Baum’s 64-yard run, but Cherry Creek’s Karl Heimbrock scored from 5 yards out on his first carry. Cicchinelli made the score 34-21 with 9:19 left in the fourth quarter, but Cherry Creek and quarterback Kelsey Sokoloski (11-of-16, 89 yards) drove 80 yards in 13 plays to pull within six points with 5:11 left.
The Bruins then had to give the ball back to Columbine, and the Rebels ground out the rest of the clock.
“Our (running attack) is just a team thing. As a unit, we have one heartbeat,” said junior tackle Ryan Hill, who stands 6-7 and weighs 280 pounds.
Columbine 13 7 7 7 – 34
Cherry Creek 7 7 7 7 – 28
C – Cicchinelli 13 run (kick failed). CC – Burl 94 kickoff return (Goodman kick). C – Baum 24 run (Hoffschneider kick). C – Baum 60 run (Hoffschneider kick). CC – Burl 92 kickoff return (Goodman kick). C – Baum 64 run (Hoffschneider kick). CC – Heimbrock 5 run (Goodman kick). C – Cicchinelli 3 run (Hoffschneider kick). CC – Sokoloski 1 run (Goodman kick).
