LAFAYETTE — It was Broomfield vs. Monarch at its absolute finest.
The two Class 4A stalwarts and rivals provided a classic Friday night in the quarterfinals, ultimately decided by the right foot of kicker Jaime Falloon and his 25-yard field goal in the final five seconds that gave Monarch a 23-21 victory at Warrior Stadium.
“I saw it coming. I wanted it,” said the junior kicker, who made three field goals. “They iced me the first time, but I knew I could get it in from there.”
Second-seeded Monarch (12-0) will be on the road in the semifinals against the winner of today’s Pine Creek-Greeley West game. Broomfield finished the season 9-3.
A fast-and-furious final two minutes started with Falloon putting the Coyotes up 20-15 with a 32-yard field goal.
Broomfield, after a block-in-the-back penalty on the kickoff return, set up at its 8-yard line. The Eagles ran a screen to the left, and quarterback Angelo Perez hit running back Jose Fraire, and the senior kept his feet and went the distance to give Broomfield a 21-20 lead.
“We knew that they take a long time to drive down the field, and we definitely had momentum on our side,” said Fraire, who scored all three Broomfield touchdowns. “We were feeling good about it, but they did a great job coming back.”
The run-happy Coyotes, behind the steady running of sophomore backup Ethan Marks — 27 carries for 137 yards in relief of injured starter Jared Meschke — had their lone completion of the game, to Andrew Dorsey for 21 yards, and Monarch was in business.
“Jaime Falloon and Trevor Carver, our long snapper . . . I mean, props to those guys,” said Monarch coach Phil Bravo, whose team beat Broomfield 42-14 in Week 3. “We went (49) yards in just over a minute, and our offense has not had to do that.
“We beat a good team twice, and now we are in the semifinals.”
In a losing effort, Perez completed 14-of-19 passes for 235 yards — and one crucial interception early in the fourth quarter to senior Joe Tucker.
“I told Coach Bravo ‘great job’ by them, because that’s not what they are built for,” Broomfield coach Gary Davies said. “Kid made a clutch kick, and that’s the way it goes.”
The Coyotes finished with 315 yards rushing and completed the one pass for 21 yards.
Broomfield 7 0 8 6 — 21
Monarch 7 3 7 6 — 23
B — Fraire 4 run (Lalancette kick). M — Marks 7 run (Falloon kick). M — FG Falloon 26. M — Bata 1 run (Falloon kick). B — Fraire 45 run (Einspahr pass from Perez). M — FG Falloon 32. B — Fraire 92 pass from Perez (pass failed). M — FG Falloon 25.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
