LONGMONT — Lewis-Palmer junior quarterback Nate Conner came back into Friday night’s game after a leg injury in the third quarter to lead a fourth-quarter drive that took less than a minute for a 39-33 upset over sixth-seeded Vista Ridge in the Class 3A first round.
Logan Woish’s third touchdown put No. 11-seed Lewis-Palmer up 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the game, but Vista Ridge came right back. Quarterback Thomas Newman connected with Josh Johnson on a 32-yard pass with 57 seconds left to tie the game at 33, but the extra point kick was no good.
Conner came back in to lead the game-winning drive, capped by a 4-yard pass to Mason Woish — Logan’s twin brother — with two seconds remaining. Lewis-Palmer next will play third-seeded Silver Creek (10-1), which held on for a 28-24 win over No. 14 Palmer Ridge (7-4).
CLASS 5A
(3) Pomona 41, (14) Northglenn 7
ARVADA — Alec Feland passed for 207 yards and all six of the Panthers’ touchdowns as Pomona won its seventh straight since its only loss to Valor Christian. Feland, who was 12-of-16, tossed three scoring passes to Dominic Martinez and two to Mitch Colin, who had five catches for 82 yards.
(5) Grandview 51, (14) Cherry Creek 31
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Jordan Schlehuber passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns and Isaiah Jackson rushed for 157 yards and four scores as the Wolves (10-1) beat the Bruins (6-5) for the second time this season.
(9) Highlands Ranch 28, (8) ThunderRidge 14
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Joe Hansley denied the Grizzlies revenge, rushing for 189 yards and three TDs as the Falcons (9-2) earned the right to face top-seeded Columbine next.
CLASS 4A
(3) Pine Creek 41, (14) Rock Canyon 0
COLORADO SPRINGS — Eagles quarterback Ryan Warner threw for a touchdown and rushed for another, Josh Beacham scored twice and Pine Creek forced five turnovers and had eight sacks to cruise past Rock Canyon at District 20 Stadium.
Pine Creek (11-0) will face the winner of today’s game between No. 6 Montrose and No. 11 Greeley West in the quarterfinals.
(1) Valor Christian 56, (16) Pueblo West 0
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Wes Tabor threw three TD passes and Cody Thibault had a pair of short scoring runs as the defending champion Eagles rolled to 11-0. Thibault, who was 9-of-10 for 186 yards, threw TD passes to Christian and Max McCaffrey, and one to Stephen Miller for Valor, which built a 35-0 halftime lead. Max McCaffrey caught seven passes for 125 yards.
(7) Broomfield 44, (10) Cheyenne Mountain 10
BROOMFIELD — Jose Fraire ran for 175 yards and three TDs and Angelo Perez threw two scoring passes and ran for a TD as the Eagles (9-2) won their third straight. Fraire scored from 19, 48 and 65 yards out, while Perez was 6-of-11 for 229 yards. Broomfield’s defense limited the Indians’ Bret Helton, who was second in the state in passing, to 17-of-37 for 151 yards and a touchdown.
(9) Wheat Ridge 19, (8) Widefield 13
Wheat Ridge jumped out to a 19-3 lead, then held on for a wild 19-13 win over Widefield.
With Widefield threatening to tie the game at the 14-yard-line with four minutes left, things got crazy.
A Wheat Ridge defender took away what looked like a touchdown grab, and the meltdown began for Widefield.
Wheat Ridge running back Nick Swanson, who ran for 173 yards on 33 carries, took the ball on the first play after the pick in the end zone and ran for 40 yards to the Widefield 40. There was a personal foul on the play by the Gladiator defense, and it was just the beginning.
Before the final drive would end with the Farmers taking a knee inside the Widefield 10, the Gladiators would rack up two more personal fouls, and defensive lineman Niko Nardo was ejected to throwing what the referees deemed as a punch.
But things were also fiery early.
Wheat Ridge fullback Josh Brake was ejected in the final minute of the first half after he threw a punch that struck a Widefield player in the helmet. Brake scored the Farmers’ first touchdown of the game.
(2) Monarch 53, (15) Durango 3
Monarch’s Trevor Carver had an 81-yard interception return for a touchdown, one small part of a 53-3 romp over Durango.
CLASS 3A
(3) Silver Creek 28, (14) Palmer Ridge 24
LONGMONT — Raptors quarterback Austin Apodaca, who had an interception returned for a touchdown on the second play of the game, threw the game-winning scoring pass with about 1 minute remaining to upend the Bears (7-4). Silver Creek (10-1) led 21-10 before Palmer Ridge took a 24-21 lead on Winn Haward’s short touchdown run with about 5 minutes left.
CLASS 2A
(1) Brush 41, (16) Lamar 12
Led by quarterback Mitch Tormohlen’s four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing), Brush advanced to the second round of the 2A playoffs. “Every win gives you a confidence boost heading into the next week,” said coach Randy Dreitz.
— Dave Krause, Ryan Casey, The Post; Craig Harper and Jerel Sangster, Special to The Post; , ,
Top performers from Friday night
Swanson a workhorse. Wheat Ridge’s Nick Swanson, the state’s ninth-leading rusher, gained 173 yards on 33 carries in the Farmers’ Class 4A win over Widefield. Swanson boosted his season total to 1,704 yards.
Hitting paydirt. Joe Hansley of Highlands Ranch ran 22 times for 189 yards and three touchdowns in the Falcons’ 28-14 win over ThunderRidge in 5A.
Ground, air show. Cherry Creek quarterback Luke Papilion had 351 yards total offense in the Bruins’ 51-31 loss to Grandview in 5A. Papilion ran 11 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns and was 17-of-34 passing for 187 yards and a score.
One-man show. Grandview running back Isaiah Jackson rushed for four touchdowns and 159 yards as he led the Wolves to a 51-31 romp that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Friday night number
321. Number of points scored by Valor Christian in its last six games – all more than 50 points – after Friday’s
56-0 win over
Pueblo West.
Next up for Class 4A’s top-seeded and
unbeaten Eagles: ninth-seeded
Wheat Ridge.
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Top 10: How they fared
Class 5A
1. Grand Junction beat Durango 41-6
2. Columbine beat (4) Mullen 24-21
3. Grandview beat Overland 41-12
4. Mullen lost to (2) Columbine 24-21
5. Pomona beat Legacy 40-7 (Thursday)
6. Horizon beat Mountain Range 30-0
7. Ralston Valley beat Fairview 14-6 (Thursday)
8. ThunderRidge beat Douglas Co. 42-21 (Thursday)
9. Lakewood vs. Central (G.J.), today, 1 p.m.
10. Fountain-Fort Carson beat Pueblo South 36-6
Class 4A
1. Valor Christian beat Ponderosa 50-0 (Thursday)
2. Monarch beat Green Mountain 42-0 (Thursday)
3. Pine Creek beat Sand Creek 35-8
4. Longmont beat Loveland 32-6 (Thursday)
5. Montrose beat Fruita Monument 27-21
6. Castle View beat Littleton 52-13
7. Wheat Ridge beat Prairie View 42-20
8. Broomfield beat Greeley Central 48-7
9. Widefield beat Pueblo West 35-33
10. Cheyenne Mountain beat Mesa Ridge 49-28
Class 3A
1. Cañon City beat Palmer Ridge 19-14
2. John F. Kennedy at Skyview, today, noon
3. Silver Creek beat Skyline 54-7
4. Vista Ridge at Mitchell, today, 1 p.m.
5. Rifle beat (7) Palisade 36-33
6. Windsor beat Fort Lupton 47-3
7. Palisade lost to (5) Rifle 36-33
8. Battle Mountain beat Steamboat Springs 61-22
9. Holy Family lost to D’Evelyn 17-14
10. Roosevelt beat Erie 41-12
Class 2A
1. Brush beat Weld Central 51-7
2. Bayfield beat Alamosa 35-14
3. Kent Denver beat (8) Bennett 28-14
4. Florence beat La Junta 31-14
5. Eaton beat Valley 35-7
6. Faith Christian at B. Machebeuf, today, 7 p.m.
7. Trinidad beat (10) Lamar 34-20
8. Bennett lost to (3) Kent Denver 28-14
9. Pagosa Springs at Centauri, today, 1 p.m.
10. Lamar lost to (7) Trinidad 34-20
Class 1A
1. Burlington beat Ellicott 47-0
2. Hotchkiss beat Meeker 47-0
3. Lutheran vs. Denver Christian, today, 6 p.m.
4. Lyons beat Clear Creek 29-7
5. Limon beat Peyton 45-14
6. Akron beat Yuma 42-12
7. Resur. Chr. at Cornerstone Chr., today, 7 p.m.
8. Wray beat Holyoke 54-27
9. Byers, bye
10. Wiggins beat Highland 58-0
Class A 8-man
1. Hoehne beat Holly 65-0
2. Dayspring Christian vs. North Park, today, 1 p.m.
3. Norwood vs. Sierra Grande, today, 1 p.m.
4. Simla beat Miami-Yoder 53-0
5. Fowler beat Granada 24-22
Class A 6-man
1. Fleming beat Idalia 56-0
2. Deer Trail beat Weldon Valley 50-20
3. Cotopaxi vs. South Baca, today, 1 p.m.
4. Otis beat Pawnee 52-24
5. Hi-Plains beat Arickaree 54-12
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Three games for next week
The best of next week’s playoffs. Times and dates are to be determined.
Mullen at Pomona. A rematch of the 2009 title game, Pomona knows the way to joining the state’s elite goes through the three-time champions.
Valor Christian at Wheat Ridge. Another rematch, this one of last year’s 4A championship, Wheat Ridge will try to end Valor’s dominance.
Broomfield at Monarch. And yet another rematch, of a Week 3 Monarch win (42-14), which Broomfield seeks to avenge.
— Ryan Casey, The Denver Post
