COLORADO SPRINGS — Pine Creek beat on Connor Roumph as if he were an Xbox failing to download a new game. No matter. Pueblo West’s senior quarterback, as tough as a crosscut steak, took his pounding, yet delivered the upset of the Class 4A season.
On Saturday, Roumph led the Cyclones to a stunning 22-21 upset of the Class 4A top-ranked Eagles on the road in nonleague at District 20 Stadium and ended Pine Creek’s regular-season victory string at 30 games.
“Blood and guts,” Cyclones coach Monte Pinkerton said in referring to Roumph, who had some trouble standing and catching his breath after the game. “He’s just a tough kid.”
Roumph ran for two touchdowns and found primary target Ian Imamura for the clincher, a 49-yard catch-and-run with 2:07 to play.
“We knew we could do this. It’s always a good game with Pine Creek,” Roumph said. “Pine Creek is tough. . . . We don’t ever get kicked.”
Actually, the unranked Cyclones (4-2), who won more than their share of battles across the fronts, did some kicking themselves in completing a demanding nonleague schedule, “and it paid off,” Pinkerton said, in heading into the 4A Foothills League.
Roumph was 9-of-19 for 155 yards and was picked off once, but numbers weren’t his entire story. He frequently made the Eagles’ pass rush miss, and he was stellar on third down. His first touchdown, a 5-yarder, came 26 seconds before halftime. His second, a 1-yarder, came early in the third quarter, when it appeared he had been battered enough.
“I thought he was done four or five times,” Eagles coach Todd Miller said.
Imamura hauled in four receptions for 104 yards, none larger than the final one in which he dived into the end zone, but was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I was just trying to get into the end zone, get the game over with,” he said.
The Eagles (5-1), who sat atop The Denver Post/9News 4A poll, had a forgettable outing.
Quarterback Kris Kentera lost fumbles on the Eagles’ first three series. A play before Roumph scored late in the first half, he dropped what may have been a 94-yard interception return.
And he was hardly alone — the Eagles returned the kickoff for a touchdown following Imamura’s big catch, but it was called back because of a penalty.
A snap later, the Eagles dropped what probably would have been a 50-yard touchdown reception. Assorted other penalties, lost fumbles and an interception didn’t help.
“This might be good for us in the long run,” Miller said.
Said Pinkerton: “Connor is a perfect example of what this whole team is about. They keep fighting.”
Pueblo West 3 7 6 6 — 22
Pine Creek 0 14 7 0 — 21
PW — FG Andrade 22. PC — Dennis 10 pass from Kentera (Collison kick). PC — Jackson 60 run (Collison kick). PW — Roumph 5 run (Andrade kick). PW — Roumph 1 run (kick blocked). PC — Beacham 6 run (Collison kick). PW — Imamura 49 pass from Roumph (run failed).
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
