LITTLETON — Heritage went into Friday night’s Class 5A second-round playoff game against Rocky Mountain convinced it would be able to run the ball.
Then the Eagles went out and proved it.
Behind 261 rushing yards from senior running back Ryan Skogg, the Eagles, who have struggled in recent years, nailed down a spot in the big schools’ final eight.
They outlasted Rocky Mountain 37-28 at Littleton Public Schools Stadium and earned a trip into next weekend’s quarterfinals against the winner of Saturday’s Cherry Creek-Grandview game.
The Eagles will take a 10-1 record with them as well as the satisfaction that they held off a skilled Lobos team that ended 8-3.
“That’s a good team,” Heritage coach Mike Griebel said of Rocky Mountain. “We saw them last week (against Smoky Hill) and thought we could have some success with the rush.”
Normally a balanced offense, the Eagles and quarterback Mitch Griebel threw just seven times.
That left it up to an offensive line that turned in a spirited effort in front of Skogg, who ran for four touchdowns, Griebel and diminutive Jordan Delbaugh (83 yards rushing).
Heritage trailed just briefly, led 24-14 at halftime, boosted it to 31-14 early in the third quarter, then had to hold off the Lobos.
It was nearly all Rocky Mountain in the second half in terms of possession and quarterback Alex Kelly scored on two short runs.
The Lobos’ defense also was alive and gave them a chance into the final minutes as Kelly and talented wide receiver Jake Stewart took over.
Rocky Mountain got to the Heritage 14-yard line with three minutes to play and trailing just 31-28.
However, a holding penalty, a dropped pass and an intentional-grounding call made the Lobos settle for a field goal attempt.
Delbaugh rushed in from the right side and tipped it with 2:47 to play, and the ball landed harmlessly in the end zone. Delbaugh then took turns with Skogg to crank out a couple of first downs before Skogg capped it with a 44-yard scoring run.
“Their wing only touched me and I got enough of the ball that I knew I blocked it,” Delbaugh said.
Skogg, in his fourth year as a varsity player, said his offensive line “opened the holes and I was able to get through. Those guys did a great job.”
Rocky Mountain coach Mark Brook was satisfied his Lobos “gave it all we had. … Every year at this time there are eight teams happy and eight disappointed. We played hard.”
Rocky Mountain 7 7 7 7 – 28
Heritage 7 17 7 6 – 37
H – Skogg 18 run (Major kick). RM – Liss 16 pass from Kelly (de la Torre kick). H – FG Major 31. RM – Stewart 46 pass from Kelly (de la Torre Kick). H – Skogg 7 run (Major kick). H – Opitz 9 pass from Griebel (Major kick). H – Skogg 8 run (Major kick). RM – Kedlly 2 run (de la Torre kick). RM – Kelly 2 run (de la Toree kick). H – Skogg 44 run (kick failed).
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
