A football season can be a long slog, one bruising battle after another. Saturday unfolded the same. They clawed and plodded, with a 3-yard run here and a 5-yard pass there. It multiplied.
And a long, drawn-out drive to open the second half snowballed Pine Creek to a patient but dominant 36-14 victory over Broomfield to win the Class 4A Colorado championship Saturday at Sports Authority Field.
“It’s eye-opening,” Pine Creek senior Pete Isais said. “Two rock-solid football teams. And when it’s going back and forth like that, you’re thinking, ‘Oh wow.’ We just had to band together.”
Even if Pine Creek’s 75-yard campaign ended with only a field goal in the third quarter, the gates swung open. It broke a halftime tie at 14. Three more scores quickly followed. And Pine Creek, a team that has dominated the Colorado Springs scene for four years, restarted its dynasty.
Pine Creek won its third state title since 2013. The Eagles (12-2) have won 49 of their past 52 games. An upset loss to Loveland in last season’s 4A semifinals was the only hitch in a four-year run.
“Our kids never flinched,” Pine Creek coach Todd Miller said.
Brock Domann’s pass to the flat connected with Peter Isais with nine minutes remaining and Isais jived around a Broomfield cornerback, then dived past the pylon for a 17-yard touchdown. It put Pine Creek ahead 23-14. A 32-yard touchdown sprint from Thomas Dantzler three minutes later put Pine Creek ahead by 15. And Doman’s 60-yard quarterback dash for a score with 2:30 remaining was an exclamation point.
David Moore III churned out a game-high 196 yards rushing on 26 carries to lead Pine Creek, including a 73-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Domann threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 76 yards and another score.
But Pine Creek’s title trek was never predetermined. In the first quarter, Creek drove to about two feet from Broomfield’s goal line. But in four plays, Pine Creek got stuffed. Broomfield’s defense held strong, with Jaxon Pallone and Mason Keeler stopping a final Pine Creek dive try on fourth down.
Broomfield got a 7-yard touchdown run from Jalon Torres and a looper of a 29-yard pass down the right side from Steven Croell to Keeler in the second quarter that helped keep the game even at halftime. Croell led Broomfield with 152 yards passing on 10-of-18 completions.
Broomfield (11-3), behind first-year coach Blair Hubbard, was looking to restart its own legacy. Broomfield won three 3A titles in the 1980s, but is title-less since 1984. And Hubbard arrived after helping 2A Faith Christian to three championships.
“All year long we’ve had close games at halftime and we’ve been able to come out and play well,” Hubbard said. “Just a few things we didn’t convert on in the second half. Against a solid team across the board in Pine Creek, if you don’t take advantage of opportunities when you have them, those things come back to bite you.”
Pine Creek … 0 – 14 – 3 – 19 — 36
Broomfield … 0 – 14 – 0 – 0 — 14
Second quarter — PC: Wyatt Wieland 20 pass from Domann (Cameron Brungardt kick). BRO: Torres 7 run (Luke Coffman kick missed), 2:32. PC: Moore III 73 run (Brungardt kick). BRO: Keeler 29 pass from Croell (Ryan Mazzola run). Third quarter — PC: Brungardt 22 field goal. Fourth quarter — PC: Isais 17 pass from Domann (Brungardt kick blocked). PC: Dantzler 38 run (Brungardt kick missed). PC: Domann 60 run (John Lewis kick).
MVP
Pine Creek freshman David Moore III
Pine Creek’s three titles in four years says something about its seniors. But if the Eagles’ legacy is to continue, Moore’s rise is promising. The freshman averaged 7.5 yards per touch for 196 total yards against Broomfield.
Pine Creek’s dynasty
The Eagles’ near-total dominance of Class 4A in recent years was capped by another state championship Saturday in Denver:
PC … W-L … Pts +/- … Final game
2013 … 12-2 … +302 … Championship, def. Montrose, 49-14
2014 … 14-0 … +427 … Championship, def. Longmont, 45-20
2015 … 12-1 … +381 … Semifinals, lost to Loveland, 26-14
2016 … 12-2 … +311 … Championship, def. Broomfield, 36-14
