Littleton – The opening whistle was akin to striking a match Wednesday for Chatfield.
And it didn’t take long for all the Chargers to catch fire.
Chatfield turned its Class 5A Jefferson County League opener against archrival Columbine into a stroll with an offensive display and just six turnovers en route to a 75-51 thumping.
Chatfield ran the floor effectively, made shots from seemingly all spots, rebounded well on both ends and didn’t let the bigger Rebels establish themselves in the paint.
The Chargers (7-4, 1-0 Jeffco) led their neighborhood rivals by 17 after the first quarter, 23 at halftime, 27 by the end of the third quarter and 30 in the fourth quarter when Ben Detwiler’s driving layup made it 65-35.
“When we came out, we wanted intensity,” Chargers senior Brian Kenshalo said. “This isn’t about league, this is about pride.”
Seven Chargers connected on 3-pointers, much to the delight of the overflow visitors’ seating section. Chatfield shot 31-of-67 from the floor and got points from 10 players.
Kenshalo and Detwiler led the Chargers with 16 points apiece and Ryan Beigie finished with 15.
The Chatfield student section chanted “It’s all over” when the Chargers went up 2-0 and turned out to be right. The Rebels tied it 2-2 but missed their first seven shots and gave up a 9-0 run en route to trailing 23-6 at the end of the quarter.
Kenshalo’s 3-pointer just before halftime had Chatfield up 41-18, and Ryan Murphy beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter with a long jumper to make it a 56-29 advantage.
The young Rebels (6-7, 0-1) couldn’t match Chatfield’s intensity and couldn’t buy a basket early on. Columbine shot 1-for-11 from the field in the first quarter and had more turnovers (nine) than baskets (four) at halftime.
Sean Miller, sophomore Connor Osborne and Tyler Holtzinger finished with 11 points each. Ben Tedford, a 6-foot-6 junior, continued to play with a lingering knee injury and finished with six points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
“We’ve got to work on some things, but we can play better than that and I’m disappointed,” Rebels coach David Eicher said.
Chatfield 23 18 15 19 – 75
Columbine 6 12 11 22 – 51
Chatfield – Bishop 1 2-2 4, Murphy 3 0-0 7, Kenshalo 6 1-2 16, Beigie 7 0-0 15, Collins 0 0-0 0, Detwiler 7 1-2 16, Fritze 2 0-0 5, Leroue 1 0-0 2, Gillette 1 0-0 2, Haidaris 2 0-0 5, Clements 1 0-0 3. Totals 31 4-6 75.
Columbine – Smith 0 4-5 4, Miller 3 4-4 11, Osborne 4 3-3 11, Tedford 2 2-6 6, Holtzinger 5 1-1 11, Kilker 2 0-0 4, Vassar 1 1-2 3, Hurlbut 0 1-2 1, Markle 0 0-0 0, Spond 0 0-0 0, Varney 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 16-23 51.
3-pt. goals – Kenshalo 3, Beigie, Clements, Detwiler, Fritze, Haidaris, Murphy; Miller. Total fouls – Chatfield 17, Columbine 7. Fouled out – Fritze. Technicals – None.
