Broomfield – Sometimes big plays are flukes. But when a team executes them as often as Platte Valley, there’s nothing lucky about them.
Platte Valley quarterback/defensive back Ty Tschacher rushed, passed, kicked and hit the defending state champions out of the playoffs Saturday, leading the Broncos to a 39-26 Class 2A semifinal victory over host Holy Family. The Broncos will travel again Saturday when they make their first state-title appearance in school history against unbeaten, No. 1-ranked Faith Christian.
“Our offense is built around big plays. We’ve been doing it all year,” said the speedy Tschacher, who rushed for 149 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, on 20 carries. He also completed 8-of-17 passes for 78 yards and a 26-yard touchdown on fourth- and-10 to a leaping tight end Tate Mekelburg to open scoring. And Tschacher booted a 35-yard field goal, plus two extra points.
Plus, late in the first quarter with Platte Valley (11-1) leading 8-0 and Holy Family (9-3) driving, Tschacher ended a Tigers option run by Drew Hawkins with a crushing tackle, knocking the junior quarterback out of the game with a concussion, according to Holy Family coach Jim Bratten.
“He wanted to come back, but there was no way we were going to take that chance,” Bratten said of the younger son of Colorado coach Dan Hawkins. Drew Hawkins finished 3-of-4 for 38 yards and an interception.
At least the dropoff between first- and second-team quarterback isn’t as severe at Holy Family as at just about any other school. In came senior Patrick Chappell, the starter on the 2005 championship team, and he ran for one touchdown and passed for another among his 140 yards through the air.
But Chappell also threw three interceptions, one of which Platte Valley’s Parker Gutterson returned 40 yards for a touchdown. Gutterson had another interception and then nearly a third as Holy Family turned over the ball five times, which negated a final 398-388 advantage in total yards.
Platte Valley High School is in the Weld County town of Kersey, and the school takes in players from a wide area. Coach Mike DeWall noted that Tschacher, for example, lives in Gill, about 10 miles north of the school. Platte Valley fans filled the east stands and then some, with many followers taking in the game from a hill south of the bleachers.
“These kids have talked about this event (reaching the championship game) since they were in peewee ball at 8 years old,” De- Wall said. “And a lot of our coaches have worked with the youth football players over the years.”
Platte Valley 8 17 0 14 – 39
Holy Family 6 9 3 8 – 26
PV – Mekelburg 26 pass from Tschacher (Wisehart run). HF – Borecky 10 pass from Chappell (pass failed). HF – FG Glynn 33. PV – Tschacher 58 run (pass failed). HF – Chappell 4 run (pass failed). PV – Gutterson 40 interception return (Paden run). PV – FG Tschacher 35. HF – FG Glynn 18. PV – Wisehart 9 run (Tschacher kick). PV – Paden 3 run (Tschacher kick). HF – Scherr 55 run (Maul pass from Chappell).
Mike Judson can be reached at 303-954-1549 or mjudson@denverpost.com.
