Fort Collins – Maybe it was the sleek, all-black duds the Fort Collins Lambkins busted out for the big game, but quarterback Matt Yemm seemed even faster Friday night.
The senior turned what was a tight game for two quarters into a personal showcase, scoring two third-quarter touchdowns rushing and one passing, helping Fort Collins advance to the Class 5A quarterfinals with a 41-19 victory over Doherty at J. Ray French Field.
The second-seeded Lambkins (11-0) will travel to 10th-seeded Bear Creek (8-3) next weekend. Doherty finishes 6-5.
Clinging to a 13-6 halftime lead, Fort Collins wasted little time in the second half. On the Lambkins’ first offensive play of the second half, Yemm juked and jived his way through the Doherty defense 69 yards for a 20-7 lead.
“The first half, we were driving the ball down the field, we just weren’t finishing,” said Yemm, who finished with 184 yards on nine carries. “We knew we could, all we needed to do was put the ball in the end zone and things would start going.”
Doherty’s Jake Melnick booted the ensuing kickoff and Fort Collins recovered on the Spartans’ 18. Two plays later, Yemm hooked up with Jack Shoaff-Bembry for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
“We had a couple of bad breaks early in the second half, and just kind of fell apart,” said Doherty coach Mike Sirko, a Colorado Springs coaching stallwart who may have coached his final game Friday night.
A Darius Turner fumble stopped the Spartans’ next drive. After hooking up with Shoaff-Bembry for a sixth time on second-and-23, Yemm would do the rest, scoring from the 11 to put Fort Collins up 34-6.
“I was just reading the blocks our guys were making,” said Yemm, who completed 10-of-20 passes for 160 yards. “The offensive line just played an amazing game as usual, as expected, and the receivers were making great blocks downfield.”
Any thoughts Doherty may have had about trying to match the Fort Collins aerial attack were grounded when quarterback Alex Oesterle injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the first half. Darius Turner, a New Orleans transplant to the Colorado Springs school after Hurricane Katrina, did most of the damage. The junior finished with 217 yards on 24 carries, including fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 86 and 54 yards.
Doherty 0 6 0 13 – 19
Fort Collins 3 10 28 0 – 41
FC – FG Welch 20. FC – Byers 1 run (Welch kick). FC – FG Welch 39. D – Reece 5 run (kick failed). FC – Yemm 69 run (Welch kick). FC – Shoaff-Bembry 12 pass from Yemm (Welch kick). FC – Yemm 11 run (Welch kick). FC – Houts 6 run (Welch kick). D – Darius Turner 86 run (kickblocked). D – Darius Turner 54 run (Webb kick).
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
