Akron – It was scary.
It may be deemed the Nightmare on Elm Street in Akron for years to come.
Limon rolled into Akron, situated at 600 Elm St., and sliced apart the Rams 35-0 to win its third consecutive Class 1A state title and 39th straight game.
“We just kind of had our day today,” said Badgers coach Mike O’Dwyer, who is 43-5 in his four years at the helm.
It was the 18th title overall for Limon, which extended its state-best mark to six over the next-closest follower, Fort Collins. Akron finished the season 10-3.
The Limon offense, as if it needed any breaks, took advantage of a short field on its first two possessions to quickly put the Rams in a hole.
After Akron went three- and-out on its first possession, Tyson Liggett returned a punt 34 yards to the Akron 20-yard line.
Four plays later, Liggett, the quarterback, finished what he started, calling his own number to go in from 13 yards out.
“We came right out and hit them right in the mouth, and that is what our game plan was,” said Liggett, who has been at the helm all three years of the run. “We didn’t think we were going to get in the end zone that easy, but we were just more intense than them.”
On the ensuing kickoff, one of Akron’s up-men misplayed the ball and Limon’s L.D. Meier fell on it, again at the 20-yard line. Seven consecutive running plays, and Ty Rohrbaugh carried it over on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Trailing 21-0, after Andy Love reversed his field and scored on a 22-yard run, Akron made its first venture into Badgers territory behind a big gain from Austin Woods. But the turnover bug bit again, and Meier was again there to pounce on Trent Campbell’s fumble.
“They were running their offense so well coming into this game, and our defense just stepped up and stuck to its assignments to get the job done,” said Meier, who registered nine tackles to go with his two fumble recoveries en route to being named The Denver Post’s MVP. “We watched film every night this week and we really studied their plays, and we knew what they were going to do.”
Said Akron coach Brian Christensen: “It seemed like every time we’d get something going, we would just shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Akron’s single-wing attack was held to just 162 yards, and Woods, who led the Rams’ ground game this season, finished with 44 yards on six carries.
Akron’s passers, Tyler Pickens and Woods, were intercepted a total of three times.
Meier capped the scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter, culminating a 71-yard, 15-play drive with a 1-yard run that ate up more than seven minutes of clock time.
“He’s been a defensive leader for us the last few years,” O’Dwyer said of Meier. “It’s been an incredible career for him, and everything he gets he deserves, because he has worked his butt off.”
1A MVP
You name it, L.D. Meier will get it done for you. The senior, who also has a bull riding world championship to his credit, was instrumental on both sides of the ball for the Badgers’ run to a third straight title. Defensively, he accounted for nine tackles and two fumble recoveries. On offense, the numbers aren’t as impressive, 13 carries for 50 yards. But they came at critical points, including a 1-yard run to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Limon 14 14 0 7 – 35
Akron 0 0 0 0 – 0
L – Liggett 13 run (Meaney kick). L – Rohrbaugh 1 run (Meaney kick). L – Love 22 run (Meaney kick). L – Love 1 run (Meaney kick). L – Meier 1 run (Meaney kick).
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
