With a quick two-touchdown deficit and a youthful running back with an early case of fumble-itis, Kent Denver’s chances of escaping the Class 2A quarterfinals were akin to Saturday’s temperatures.
They were dropping by the minute.
A short time later, the Sun Devils were celebrating a dramatic 31-22 comeback win over Faith Christian at Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field, a contest in which they led for only 3 minutes, 45 seconds. Thankfully for Kent, it was the final 3:45.
“When Faith and Kent meet, it’s never an easy game,” Sun Devils receiver Collins Gantz said. “The big thing was to dig deep. I can’t exaggerate that enough.”
The Sun Devils (11-1) took their first lead, 24-22, on a 21-yard field goal by Sawyer Petre at the 3:45 mark. After stopping Faith Christian on downs near midfield just shy of the two-minute mark, freshman running back Jaden Franklin darted 52 yards for the dagger.
Franklin had fumbled twice, one of which set up a Faith Christian touchdown on the next play. The youngster redeemed himself by finishing with 182 yards on the ground and by throwing a halfback pass for a TD to Bailey Tills, cutting the deficit to 22-21 early in the fourth.
“My teammates kept telling me to keep my head up,” said Franklin, who started for the injured Jackson Givens. “They said don’t worry about it and focus on the next play.”
Faith Christian (9-3) had taken a 15-0 first-quarter lead when quarterback Alex Buchmann threw two touchdown passes in a span of 20 seconds, one to Nathan Rindels and the other to Isaac Henry after Franklin’s first fumble.
“We had some bad luck and some things not go our way,” Kent coach Scott Yates said. “But we talked all week about having resolve.”
The Sun Devils did, as quarterback Matt Florence connected on TD strikes to Gantz and Tills to get back in the game.
“I’m just proud of the whole team because I really do feel like we left it all on the field,” Faith Christian fullback-linebacker Daniel Graves said.
Faith Christian 15 0 7 0 — 22
Kent Denver 0 7 7 17 — 31
FC — Rindels 31 pass from Buchmann (Knoerr kick). FC — Henry 29 pass from Buchmann (Von Rentzell pass from Rindels). KD — Gantz 30 pass from Florence (Petre kick). KD — Tills 38 pass from Florence (Petre kick). FC — Tool 8 run (Knoerr kick). KD — Tills 7 pass from Franklin (Petre kick). KD — FG Petre 21. KD — Franklin 52 run (Petre kick).
