BERTHOUD — As it is, Nick Henderson is the senior leader of Berthoud’s defense. So it should come as no surprise that when the Spartans needed a big play, their linebacker would be the one to deliver.
He did that Friday night at Max Marr Field and the top-ranked Spartans remained undefeated.
Henderson’s 39-yard interception return of a Brandon Montoya pass set up the home team at the Roosevelt 19-yard line. Three plays later, Bryce Muñoz scored from 12 yards out and Berthoud escaped on its homecoming night, 21-16 in The Denver Post game of the week.
“I felt like I had to step up a lot. It was a big defensive game,” Henderson said.
It didn’t appear it would start out that way for No. 8 Roosevelt (4-1, 3-1 Tri-Valley) in its first year in 3A.
Berthoud (5-0, 4-0) showed why it’s the top-ranked team in The Denver Post/9News Class 3A poll, albeit with a little trickery. Kent Flynn hit Ty Duncan for a 74-yard TD strike on the game’s first play and the Spartans held a 7-0 lead. It was the first pass of the season for Flynn, a reserve running back.
The advantage was 14-0 late in the first quarter after Greg Glasser capped a 17-play, 95-yard drive with his fifth TD run in two weeks, a 5-yard scamper.
But Roosevelt wasn’t going to go quietly. The RoughRiders capitalized on a pair of Berthoud miscues in the second quarter to cut the deficit to four at halftime. First, after a 9-yard punt gave Roosevelt the ball at the Berthoud 44, the RoughRiders hammered out an 11-play drive, finished off by Jeff Kielian’s 2-yard TD run.
After a botched pitch was recovered by Roosevelt at its own 48, the RoughRiders drove six plays to the Berthoud 15 before settling for a 32-yard Hillary Cito field goal.
Things continued to roll for Roosevelt in the third quarter as Ed Eastin’s squad took the opening kickoff 55 yards on seven plays, capped by Kielian’s second TD, a 5-yarder. The extra point was blocked, but the RoughRiders still led 16-14, the first time Berthoud has trailed in the second half all season.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit on the offensive side. It’s nice to see our guys move the ball some and be pretty consistent,” Eastin said. “I thought maybe we could move the ball. We were pretty successful at times. And there were times when we needed to be and we didn’t do it.”
Roosevelt 0 10 6 0 — 16
Berthoud 14 0 0 7 — 21
B — Duncan 74 pass from Flynn (McGinn kick). B — Glasser 5 run (McGinn kick). R — Kielian 2 run (Cito kick). R — FG Cito 32. R — Kielian 5 run (kick blocked). B — Munoz 12 run (McGinn kick).
