ELIZABETH — The Berthoud Spartans walked into the locker room at halftime after two quarters of sputtering offense, porous defense and bad bounces.
The third quarter opened with more of the same, and the Spartans found themselves in a three-touchdown hole Friday night against Elizabeth at Cardinals Stadium.
But somehow, someway, Berthoud shut down Elizabeth’s workhorse running back Mitch Johnson while the shotgun option offense started to click. Once it started, it couldn’t be stopped.
Methodically, the Spartans climbed closer and finally overtook Elizabeth 27-21 in the first round of the Class 3A state football playoffs.
“We really didn’t have anything working in the first half,” said Alex Sommers, who scored Berthoud’s final three touchdowns. “That second half, the middle was open and we started playing like the team that we are.”
Elizabeth (7-4), the North Metro League champion, without question controlled the first half of play.
Johnson rushed for 115 yards in the first quarter alone, while Berthoud (9-2) saw just four offensive possessions – three punts and a turnover on downs – in the entire first half.
Johnson surpassed the 200-yard mark midway through the third quarter, about the same time he punched in his third touchdown to give the home team a 21-0 lead.
But that’s when everything changed.
“We were feeling good up 21, but we all knew that (Berthoud) would be fired up,” said Johnson, who finished with 43 carries for 222 yards.
The game took a decided turn after Berthoud scored for the first time, a 5-yard run by Taylor Martin.
Up to that point, Elizabeth was all Johnson runs and good luck. The Cardinals recovered two surprise onside kicks, one in each half, and nothing seemed to be going Berthoud’s way.
It looked like the end of the season for Berthoud even after the Spartans scored their second touchdown to make it a 21-12 score and forced Elizabeth to punt on the ensuing series. Because on that punt, Elizabeth’s Cody Goldschmidt stripped Martin of the ball and recovered the fumble.
But the Spartans’ defense shut down Johnson, allowing him just 11 yards in the fourth quarter.
The offense, meanwhile, just kept scoring behind the smart decisions of quarterback Jordan Major.
Major completed 9-of-17 passes for 120 yards, including a pivotal 30-yard strike to John Duncan on Berthoud’s third scoring drive, and he ran 15 times for 83 yards. Sommers finished with 127 yards and three touchdowns.
“We knew if we got on the board we could do it,” Major said.
Berthoud took the lead for the first and only time on a 35-yard run by Sommers with 4:25 remaining.
Elizabeth had plenty of time to respond but went three-and-out on that drive and then threw an interception on the last-gasp drive.
Berthoud 0 0 12 15 – 27
Elizabeth 7 7 7 0 – 21
E – Johnson 9 run (Van Voris kick). E – Johnson 2 run (Van Voris kick). E – Johnson 10 run (Van Voris kick). B – Martin 5 run (kick blocked). B – Sommers 20 run (kick failed). B – Sommers 3 run (Diffendaffer kick). B – Sommers 35 run (Munoz run).
