Arvada – With 2:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, Colby Tucker had one simple responsibility.
As Pomona lined up for a potential game-tying two-point conversion, Tucker had to forget about the fake, forget about the fullback and stick to Panthers quarterback Matt Castillo.
Castillo faked the handoff and tried to scamper around the outside only to be stuck by Tucker at the 1-yard line as Columbine held on for a wild 17-15 South Metro League victory Thursday at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“They caught (the corner), but I just came up to speed and beat him to the goal line,” said Tucker, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior. “I didn’t know it was short. I didn’t even know where I was. I had to get up and look around.”
The Rebels (7-1), ranked fifth in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, nearly choked on their subsequent celebrations.
Pomona failed to recover the onside kick but forced Columbine to punt on its 49 with more than a minute remaining. Pomona junior Dustin Ebner shot nearly untouched through the middle and blocked the ball off the foot of C.J. Gillman.
The Panthers recovered on the Rebels’ 39 with 1:03 remaining but failed to get any closer. Castillo threw three incomplete passes and was dropped for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-21 after the Panthers took a holding penalty.
“At the last second I tried to boot it quick, and he got right on it,” Gillman said of the punt. “But we got our ‘D’ up.”
The teams matched each other blow for blow, even calling identical trick plays. But Columbine forced Pomona to try for a two-point conversion when the Rebels blocked Nathan Riley’s extra-point attempt late in the third quarter to hold a 10-9 advantage.
After matching field goals in the first half, Columbine scored on a 14-yard run by Orenzo Davis and got the game-winning touchdown on 10-yard run from junior Chad Korodaj with 7:24 left in the fourth quarter.
Pomona (5-3) matched with a 3-yard touchdown run from Aaron Romero and a 2-yard score from Castillo, but didn’t get points from either extra-point attempt.
The Panthers, who have beaten Columbine just twice since 1999, played without standout running back/linebacker Blake Krenke (mononucleosis) and wide receiver/punter Devon Davidson (ankle).
“We’re going to play with who is here,” Panthers coach Jay Madden said. “We never talked about Krenke not playing, we never talked about Davidson not playing. Our job was to win a game Thursday night, and we went out and tried to win it.”
Columbine 0 3 7 7 – 17
Pomona 0 3 6 6 – 15
P – FG Riley 34. C – FG Anundsen 26. C – Davis 14 run (Anundsen kick). P – Romero 3 run (kick blocked). C – Korodaj 10 run (Anundsen kick). P – Castillo 2 run (run failed).
