LAKEWOOD — Falcon has been sailing in uncharted waters for a long time now.
Undefeated and top-seeded in Class 3A, the Falcons have been having a surreal season and laying the wood to opponents.
Friday, in a rematch of their closest game of the regular season, the Falcons found themselves down and digging until the final two minutes against No. 9 Conifer.
That’s precisely the time when senior running back Vahn Plambeck rumbled 6 yards up the middle for a touchdown to seal a 17-13 victory over the Lobos at Trailblazer Stadium.
The Falcons (12-0) gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff, rallied behind two gift-wrapped safeties and scored twice in the second half to advance to the state semifinals in what is now their second-closest win of the season.
Falcon defeated Conifer 17-14 in Week One.
“I’m super proud,” Falcons quarterback Cade Schulze said. “We came out slow and stuck it out until the end. We gave it all we got from deep down in our hearts.”
Schulze had a 30-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 13-11. Zach Roscoe led the Falcons with 111 yards rushing on 12 carries after the Lobos bottled up speedy running back Keenen Ballage, limiting him to just 20 yards.
“We came really early and sat over there for a long time and I think we lost our composure a little bit,” Roscoe said.
The Lobos (9-3) were heartbroken after twice faltering inside the Falcons’ 20 during the second half.
Conifer saw its dream fizzle slowly, aided by two botched punts where the ball was snapped over the head of punter Kalvin Winter and into the end zone for safeties.
“They’re a very good football team, but that loss is because of us,” Conifer running back Travis Stickney said.
Falcon, which has never played in a state championship football game, will face the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 4 Fort Morgan (10-1) and No. 5 Palisade (8-2).
Falcon 0 4 7 6 – 17
Conifer 7 6 0 0 – 13
C – Stephen Theiss 88 kickoff return (Niels Karford kick). F – Safety. F – Safety. C – Joey Hennessey 2 run (kick failed). F – Cade Schulze 30 run (Raul Franco kick). F – Vahn Plambeck 6 run (kick failed).
