Broomfield – T.J. Wood may have been in the wrong place, but he picked the right time to be there.
Holy Family’s sophomore defensive end found himself out of position on the first defensive play of the second half, only to have a loose ball bounce right into his hands.
Wood took off for the end zone, and his touchdown from 16 yards out propelled the Tigers to a 27-12 victory over Denver Christian in the Class 2A state quarterfinals Saturday at Mike Gabriel Stadium.
“I did the wrong thing there. I got jacked up by one of their players, and then I was looking around and saw the ball pop up right in front of me. I just grabbed it and ran it in,” Wood said.
Holy Family (9-2), the defending state champion, benefitted from five Denver Christian turnovers, but it wasn’t until Wood’s big play that the Tigers started to take control.
Wood recovered another fumble on a mishandled punt, and Andy Maul, Mike Demmon and Drew Hawkins each recorded an interception. Paul Schietinger put heavy pressure on the quarterback on two of the picks.
The Crusaders took a 6-3 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Gandy Henry hooked up with Sean Van Kooten for an 11-yard touchdown. Henry finished the game 10-for-27 for 115 yards, and Van Kooten caught six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Holy Family’s Sam Glynn tied the score with his second field goal of the game, and Schietinger gave the Tigers a tenuous lead with a 5-yard run.
Heading into halftime, there was a feeling among the Tigers that they had not capitalized on the opportunities given to them. That all changed in the second half.
On the first play of the second half, Gandy broke to his right, only to lose his grip on the ball. Wood snatched it up for the touchdown, and it was obvious the momentum had shifted.
Add to that the fact that Denver Christian had just 27 players suited for the game compared to 70-plus on Holy Family’s sideline.
The Tigers’ hammered their message home after Wood recovered a muffed punt and coach Jim Bratten unleashed his ground attack.
Eleven offensive players picked up yards for Holy Family, led by running back Kevin Scherr’s 103 yards on 15 carries. Hawkins went 6-for-10 for 60 yards in the first half and did not throw a pass in the second half.
“We felt like we had them early on; we just had to make the plays and execute. We got down to the 10-yard line twice and only got field goals, so we knew we just had to punch it in,” Scherr said.
After Wood’s second fumble recovery, Andy Maul had an 8-yard TD run to clinch the win.
“We lost our starting tailback (John Lenderink) and we put in a completely new offense that the school has never run before. We had week to learn it and there was some confusion out there,” Henry said.
Denver Christian 6 0 0 6 – 12
Holy Family 3 10 14 0 – 27
HF – FG Glynn 27. DC – Van Kooten 11 pass from Henry (kick failed). HF – FG Glynn 20. HF – Schietinger 5 run (Glynn kick). HF – Wood 16 fumble return (Glynn kick). HF – Maul 8 run (Glynn kick). DC – Van Kooten 25 pass from Henry (pass failed).
