Aurora – Eaglecrest knows its strength, and that strength, without a doubt, is running the football.
The Raptors totaled 395 yards rushing, with Milton Cherry leading the way with 225 of those, as Eaglecrest rolled over Boulder 35-18 in a Class 5A Centennial League contest Thursday night at Legacy Stadium.
“That’s kind of our mind-set,” Eaglecrest coach Tom Doherty said. “We feel like we have a good offensive line and two great backs.”
Eaglecrest (3-0 overall, 1-0 league), No. 5 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, has 1,280 yards rushing this season.
Cherry carried 19 times with two rushing touchdowns, and also hooked up with quarterback Allen Noble for an 8-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Brandon Hill gained 104 yards on 14 carries, and both Hill and Cherry displayed power and style by running up the middle or around the end with equal ease.
Boulder’s special teams triggered the first score of the game when Aaron Young blocked Andrew Hunt’s punt to set up the Panthers 13 yards away from the end zone. Four plays later Jerry O’Leary dived in from a yard out for a touchdown.
But Boulder’s offense stalled the rest of the half, with three consecutive punts. The Panthers finished the first half with just 68 total yards.
Eaglecrest, on the other hand, used options, counters and dive plays to rack up the yardage on the ground. Cherry evened the score with a 55-yard option to the right, juking a defender near the sideline and racing to the end zone.
“My line had another good week providing holes for me to run through,” Cherry said. “I have to give it up to my linemen.”
The Raptors’ next drive was a nine-play, 78-yard beauty with Noble running a bootleg to the right for a 10-yard touchdown. On its next drive, Eaglecrest went 75 yards in less than three minutes near the end of the first half to make it a two-touchdown lead. Noble’s 30-yard pass to Hill put the Raptors in Boulder territory, and then Noble followed his offensive line for a 1-yard run to put Eaglecrest up 21-7 at the half.
The Raptors’ first drive of the second half ended with Cherry scoring from 32 yards out.
Boulder (2-1, 0-1) had trouble getting its offense moving until Eaglecrest inserted its backups with a 35-10 lead. Boulder QB Brandon Gouin rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries and threw for another 177 yards.
Boulder 7 0 3 8 -18
Eaglecrest 7 14 7 7 -35
B – O’Leary 1 run (Lupa kick). E – Cherry 55 run (Hunt kick). E – Noble 10 run (Hunt kick). E – Noble 1 run (Hunt kick). E – Cherry 32 run (Hunt kick). B – FG Lupa 29. E – Cherry 8 pass from Noble (Hunt kick). B – Colter 23 pass from Gouin (O’Leary run).
