Since coach Mike Schmitt took over the Eaglecrest football program a decade ago, he has maintained a steadfast rule: If the Raptors get the ball last in overtime, they always go for two.
It’s a mantra that’s easy to live by in the regular season, but it took a lot more guts to stick to Saturday at Legacy Stadium, when the Raptors converted a two-point conversion in double-overtime to outlast Columbine 32-31 and book the program’s first state championship appearance since 1993.
“We’ve lost a few doing that, and we lost one right in that same end zone in 2012 doing that,” Schmitt said. “But we executed on it today, and I credit our kids for playing hard right up until the very last play.”
Senior quarterback Jalen Mergerson connected with senior wideout Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez for a 10-yard touchdown to set up the winning play, when Mergerson again found Sandoval-Jimenez — this time on a 3-yard jump pass — to cement the victory.
“Before the play, Jalen said, ‘We’re calling your number again,’ ” Sandoval-Jimenez said. “There was a lot of traffic in the end zone, but I was ready for it.”
The two-point conversion capped a wild back-and-forth game that had the makings of a blowout early on. On Eaglecrest’s first drive of the game, a big passing play from Mergerson to senior wideout Victor Garnes set up a 17-yard touchdown run by senior Kenny Wantings.
Sr. WR Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez: "Every defense keys off of Vic Garnes," although TSJ ended up coming up with game's most crucial catches in OT with Garnes limited by shoulder injury in ' 2OT win
— Kyle Newman (@KyleNewmanDP)
Then in the second quarter, Eaglecrest used a safety and a Sandoval-Jimenez touchdown grab to take a 17-0 lead. The Rebels got back in it on junior quarterback Logan DeArment’s 24-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-7. That, along with a shoulder injury to Garnes, seemed to momentarily knock the wind out of Eaglecrest heading into halftime.
“We were really playing well in the first half, and Vic was having a great game — then he got hurt,” Schmitt said. “He popped his shoulder out of his socket and he finished the game in the second half, toughly, but we tried not to use him too much. That put a damper on us and took away from our momentum.”
Columbine capitalized on Garnes’ absence, as the Rebels locked down their defense throughout a scoreless third quarter littered by penalty flags, several of which were of the unsportsmanlike variety.
The Rebels finally found the end zone again via DeArment’s 17-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Justin Lohrenz that made it 17-14 with 9:29 to play, and several more defensive stops enabled Columbine to tie the game on DeArment’s 27-yard field goal with less than a minute to play.
And though Columbine’s offense continued its roll into overtime, scoring two touchdowns with ease, it was the Raptors who claimed the final swing in momentum with the deciding two-point conversion.
“We knew they weren’t going to let up,” Garnes said. “Columbine’s a great team, so we didn’t expect anything to be handed to us. We knew they were going to fight until the end, and that’s what they gave us.”
Columbine (11-2) fell in a semifinal thriller for the second time in three seasons, while Eaglecrest (13-0) takes on the winner of Pomona vs. Grandview next Saturday at Sports Authority Field.
