AURORA — There is a reason the cliche instructs us to not assume outcomes but to play the game. You just never know.
Friday night, Eaglecrest lived one of those “you never know” moments. But only for a half.
Cherokee Trail was favored to breeze to victory and a Creek Conference title. Eaglecrest made sure the win was anything but a walkover but could not make enough plays in the end to pull off the upset. So, with a tougher-than-expected 13-10 victory, No. 8 Cherokee Trail (8-1, 5-0) claimed its first league title in Class 5A.
“We feel really positive about being 8-1 and winning our second league title in four years, our first one in 5A,” Cherokee Trail coach Monte Thelen said. “But, you know, we obviously have a bitter taste in our mouths. We’re anxious to hit the practice field and get better.”
Meanwhile, Eaglecrest was left to wonder what could have been this season. It put all of its players on the field for the first time Friday night and proved that when that happens, it could probably play with the state’s best teams.
“Defensively, I thought we played lights out,” Eaglecrest coach Mike Schmitt said. “They score a ton of points on people. They really are the real deal.”
Eaglecrest had answers on defense for Cherokee Trail in the first half. The Cougars were held to just 108 yards of total offense in the first half as dual-threat quarterback Thomas Singleton and the Cherokee Trail offense found the yards extremely difficult to come by.
The yards were tough for Eaglecrest as well, but it routinely had solid field position and, with 8:18 left, cashed in with a 49-yard field goal by Juan Casillas for a 3-0 halftime lead.
“Finish the game!” was the cry from an Eaglecrest coach as the team emerged from the locker room, 24 minutes away from pulling off one of the season’s biggest upsets.
But turnovers prevented that from happening. The Cougars turned two fourth-quarter Eaglecrest turnovers into 10 points for a 13-3 lead. A late Eaglecrest touchdown provided the final margin.
“At halftime we just needed to compose ourselves, come out and make some plays,” Thelen said.
“We just didn’t make enough plays, and that’s to Eaglecrest’s credit, no doubt about it. We just needed to come out, relax, settle down, make some plays and minimize our errors.”
Cherokee Trail 0 0 3 10 — 13
Eaglecrest 0 3 0 7 – 10
E – FG Juan Casillas 49; CT – Brady Rogers 45 FG; CT – FG Rogers 31; CT – Bobby Tolliver 42 run (Rogers kick); E – Maleque Washington 21 pass from Ryan Dernocoeor (Casillas kick)
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
