The number 13 may carry an ominous tone, but it could ring true more for the opponents of the Falcon football team than for the Falcons themselves.
As the 13th seed in the 16-team Class 4A state playoffs, the Falcons (7-4) have taken on a bit of a spoiler role the past two weeks. They’ve taken down Vista Ridge (No. 9 seed) 60-18 in the regular-season finale and Denver South (No. 4) 28-13 in the first round of postseason action.
“The last two weeks have been obviously big for our team, big for our program,” second-year Falcon coach Brian Green said. “Going in, we were the underdog in both those games, but we’re seeing our team just really gel.”
Coming into the season, Green said he knew he was going to have a strong strength of schedule. Four of Falcon’s five nonconference opponents made the 4A playoffs. But with the exception of a 42-14 blowout loss to Longmont, the team’s losses were by 10 points or fewer.
“It was intentional. All those teams we scheduled were perennial playoff teams,” he said. “We just thought it was our advantage to schedule tougher competition in our nonconference schedule, and I think we’re seeing the benefit of that.”
Losing All-Colorado selection and current Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage to graduation in the spring, the Falcons have relied on a variety of backs to fill the void behind their experienced offensive line.
“At least offensively, we would have to divide what he was doing among a bunch of different players. And that’s what happened,” Green said.
Leading that charge is junior tailback Matt Bastian, who has rushed for 1,066 yards and 14 touchdowns — including 100-plus yards the past three games. Fullback Kennieth Lester (616 yards, six TDs), quarterback Ty Murphy (469, five) and running back Wyatt Aaberg (304, seven) also have provided a punch.
But the real strength of this team?
“It’s on the defensive side of the ball where we’ve really made our mark and created an identity,” Green said.
The Falcons are not the biggest team in 4A, Green admitted, but “it’s speed, it’s heart, it’s football IQ.”
He added, “We talk about every day, just playing faster than everybody else.”
Falcon will host No. 5 Pueblo South at 7 p.m. Friday. The Falcons lost to the Colts 24-21 this season in Pueblo.
“I think revenge is for our fan base,” Green said. “We know we’re going to play a high-quality football team … but we sure are looking forward to playing them at home for a change.”
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or
