ARVADA — Depth and “next-man up” perseverance was on display Saturday in Pomona’s 24-7 Class 5A semifinal playoff victory over Regis Jesuit at the North Area Athletic Complex.
The Panthers — minus three 2015 All-Colorado standouts because of injuries to senior linemen Jake Moretti, junior running back Max Borghi and senior running back Cameron Gonzales — punched their half of the state championship rematch with Valor Christian by scoring 24 unanswered points.
The University of Colorado-bound Moretti has missed the entire season with a knee injury. Borghi suffered a knee injury in last week’s quarterfinal win over Columbine. And Gonzales was en route to the hospital Saturday with a broken ankle with Regis leading 7-0 early on.
No problem. Senior quarterback Ryan Marquez threw for 234 yards as the Panthers took over on both sides of the ball shortly after Gonzales left the game.
“It always hurts to lose a player like Cam. He’s the heart-and-soul of this team. He’s a great leader, but if one man goes down the next steps up,” Marquez said. “On this team, we all lift each other up.”
On facing defending state champion Valor in next week’s rematch at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Marquez said: “Nothing but excitement. It’s going to be fun. Pomona and Valor is always fun. It’s a new-era rivalry.”
Marquez ran for two touchdowns and receivers Jeremy Gonzales (85 yards), Billy Pospisil (79) and Uriah Vigil combined to catch 18 passes — a handful coming in critical third-and-long situations. Cameron Gonzales’ replacement, junior Kenny Maes, ran 17 times for 57 yards and scored Pomona’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run while Gonzales was being placed in an ambulance.
“It’s just a testament to the kind of heart our kids have,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said. “We lose three returning all-staters and still find our way back to the state championship. We’re not finished. These guys got one more thing to accomplish, but I’m proud of them right now, that’s for sure.”
With the game tied 7-7 early in the second quarter, Marquez fumbled and Regis senior linebacker Will Kulick picked up the ball and returned it to Pomona’s 10-yard line. On the ensuing play, the Raiders fumbled and Maes recovered.
“Our defense has been doing a great job all year at creating turnovers. On that one we didn’t capitalize,” Regis coach Danny Filleman said. “They’re a fast and physical defense. We just couldn’t get a good rhythm on offense. We knew they were going to grind it and that’s what they did. They spread the ball around — not very big plays but dinked it and got the yards when they could. They moved the ball and made plays. And we didn’t.”
Regis — 7 0 0 0 — 7
Pomona — 0 14 7 3 — 24
R — Jackson 12 run (Worrick kick). P — Maes 1 run (Thimsen kick). P — Marquez 9 run (Thimsen kick). P — Marquez 1 run (Thimsen kick). P — Thimsen 32 field goal.
