Lafayette – Hi, Mom.
That was the brief conversation ThunderRidge fullback Nick Lind had with his mother as he raced for a 79-yard touchdown run against Monarch on Saturday.
“I saw my mom. She had the camera out,” said Lind, who took the time to strike a brief pose while rambling down the sideline for his third touchdown of the day.
Lind, The Denver Post 2004 Class 4A player of the year, finished with four scores as the defending champion Grizzlies crushed the Coyotes 49-6 at Howard P. Spangenberg Field to advance to the state semifinals.
With hard work and execution seemingly second nature, the fleet-footed and senior-loaded Grizzlies (12-0) appeared to be having loads of fun.
“It’s my favorite team to beat,” Lind said of the Coyotes, who ThunderRidge eliminated from the playoffs last year, 51-29 “I love coming up here. It wouldn’t have been the same if we played them at Shea (Stadium), because I kind of like beating them at their place.”
Lind ran for 181 yards and converted all seven extra-point attempts for a personal tally of 31 points to lead the Grizzlies to their 21st consecutive victory. ThunderRidge will host Thompson Valley (10-2) in the semifinals.
Quarterback Kyle Black ran for two touchdowns and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to running back Mike Coffey late in the first quarter as the Grizzlies jumped to a 14-0 lead and cruised. Black completed four passes for 98 yards and rushed for 77 yards on nine carries.
“We know each other and we know what each other is thinking all the time,” said Coffey, who rushed for 38 yards.
Monarch (10-2) played without all-state running back Wade Landowski (knee and groin injuries), which was a huge blow to the Coyotes’ power running game. Running back Rocky Borgstrom was held to 91 yards on 26 carries, and Monarch’s longest drive totaled just nine plays.
“We just didn’t have that punch, that additional energy on offense to keep the ball away from them,” Monarch coach Phil Bravo said. “It came to hurt us. We punted more today than we probably did the whole year.”
ThunderRidge punted just twice, both times in the second quarter, as Monarch cut the deficit to 14-6 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joshua Vaughn to Joe Manders.
The Grizzlies went into halftime up 21-6 after Lind’s 23-yard touchdown run and blew the game wide open with a 21-point third quarter.
“It’s a special group,” Grizzlies coach Joe Johnson said. “Hopefully, we can help them reach that final goal.”
ThunderRidge 14 7 21 7 – 49
Monarch 0 6 0 0 – 6
TR – Black 4 run (Lind kick). TR – Coffey 34 pass from Black (Lind kick). M – Manders 33 pass from Vaughn (kick failed). TR – Lind 23 run (Lind kick). TR – Lind 1 run (Lind kick). TR – Lind 79 run (Lind kick). TR – Black 4 run (Lind kick). TR – Lind 32 run (Lind kick).
