FOUNTAIN — No. 13 seed Fountain-Fort Carson recovered from a train wreck of a first half to pull within a possession of No. 20 Arvada West in the second half Friday night, but the Wildcats used a surprise pass in the fourth quarter to pull away 34-13 in the first round of the 5A playoff.
Few people in the stadium saw the pivotal touchdown develop until receiver Chad Campbell was crossing the goal line. The Wildcats (6-4) had lined up for a fourth-and-1 play by packing in the box for what looked like a second straight quarterback sneak. But instead, Arvada West quarterback Taylor Connors quickly slung it to Campbell, who blended in with his teammates on the sideline as the only player not around the ball. He went untouched for the 19-yard score.
“We haven’t really worked on that at all,” Connors told The Gazette (Colorado Springs). “We just flipped it to the receiver to try and catch them off guard. They didn’t cover him at all, and he just slipped in for the touchdown.”
Mullen 45, Rampart 7
Top-seeded Mullen did its heavy work in the first half, scoring all of its points before the break.
Mullen, which has won 28 in a row, stacked up a 24-0 first-quarter lead on three TDs, including a Malik McKinney punt return and a 3-yard TD run by Adonis Ameen-Moore. Rampart did hold Mullen to a Hank Baker field goal on one possession.
Addie Brown returned a bouncing punt 90 yards up the sideline to give Mullen a 31-0 lead. Ameen-Moore and Brown both found the end zone again on touchdown runs of 80 and 23 yards, respectively, before the Mullen scoring assault ended the half 45-0.
Platte Valley 29, Eaton 24
KERSEY — Platte Valley made big plays on defense, special teams and offense to edge ninth-ranked Eaton to secure a Class 2A playoff spot. The Reds (7-4, 5-2 Patriot) had a chance to win with the ball on the Broncos’ 30 and 12 seconds left. Junior quarterback Jaden Olearnick scrambled to pick up 13 yards but was stopped just inbounds with 2 seconds left. After the chains were moved, Eaton had time for one more play. Platte Valley sophomore Dillon Joens sacked Olearnick six yards behind the line of scrimmage.
