CASTLE ROCK — Castle View had the running game, and its defense kept Longmont quarterback Forrest Wetterstrom on the run.
The result: The Sabercats rolled to a 42-16 Class 4A quarterfinal victory on Friday night at Douglas County Stadium and earned a rematch in the semifinals against top-seeded Valor Christian, the only team to blemish their record.
“They got the better of us,” running back Bryce Lich said of Valor, which beat Castle View 55-9 on Oct. 14. “But now they’re going to get some of us.”
If the fourth-seeded Sabercats (11-1) can punish Valor up front the way they did No. 5 Longmont (11-1), it will be an interesting game.
“They wore us out up front,” Longmont coach Doug Johnson said after Castle View pounded his defense for 419 yards. “They’re strong on both sides up front.”
The Trojans had allowed 77 yards rushing per game, and no individual had gained more than 100. But Lich, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior, gained 197 yards and three touchdowns, including a 68-yard scamper that gave Castle View a 21-3 lead late in the first half. Tyler Woodman, a 6-3, 210-pound fullback, had 83 yards, and quarterback Austin Smith, who became ill during pregame warm-ups, added 65. Smith hit Ben Miele on a 50-yard touchdown strike on the Sabercats’ first offensive play.
“Me and Tyler Woodman — Coach (Ryan Hollingshead) likes to call us a 1-2 punch,” Lich said. “We really like to take it to ’em when we’re rolling.
“We heard (Longmont’s) linebackers were pretty good. But we’ve got one of the best lines in the state, and we took it to ’em.”
“Goal No. 1 was to win the line of scrimmage, and I think we did it on both sides of the ball,” Hollingshead said.
The win marked Castle View’s second playoff win in the school’s sixth year of varsity football, following last week’s win over Green Mountain.
“This is our fourth senior class,” Hollingshead said. “We’ve really matured as a school, and we have a senior (football) class that bought in to our program and has built a tradition here.”
And Hollingshead is confident the Sabercats will give a better showing the second time around against Valor Christian.
“The first time, maybe we were a little shocked,” he said. “But we’re going to bring it this time. And we think the whole state’s going to be behind us.”
Longmont 3 6 0 7 — 16
Castle View 7 14 7 14 — 42
CV — Miele 50 pass from Smith (Coffin kick). L — FG Bergner 22. CV — Lich 9 run (Coffin kick). CV — Lich 68 run (Coffin kick). L — Fowler 1 run (pass failed). CV — Lich 6 run (Coffin kick). CV — Townsend 31 run (Coffin kick). L — Cogdill 48 pass from Wetterstrom (Bergner kick). CV — Hawksworth 26 run (Coffin kick).
