The scoreboard sparkled bright red, showing 3:00 remaining. Stands were packed to capacity, with fan bases split almost perfectly down the middle across both sides of the stadium.
Bellarmine College Prep traveled the 9 1/2 miles south on this night six years ago in San Jose, Calif. to play one of its biggest rivals, Valley Christian. Belleramine coach Mike Janda glanced over his play sheet searching for an answer to get a first down on third-and-15.
His eyes stop at one play. He knew it would be risky, calling a pass for his double-wing offense that relied on deception for an attack rooted on running the ball. He called a play he hadn’t run all year.
“Valley was on a roll. If we would have given them the ball back, I think they probably had a good chance to score and beat us,” Janda recalled this week. “So we had to make that play.”
It was up to K.J. Carta-Samuels, now Colorado State’s quarterback, to make the play. He grinned ear-to-ear standing inside Canvas Stadium following practice this week, looking very Californian in flip flops and shorts. The particulars of that game during his junior season are a bit fuzzy.
“I think I ran for a bunch of yards,” Carta-Samuels says with a chuckle. “Well, thatap how my high school offense was. We ran the ball so much.”
But Carta-Samuels used his arm to dash any hopes of a Valley Christian comeback on this night, connecting on a delayed pass to his running back out of the backfield to pick up the first down and run out the clock for a 38-35 victory.
On the receiving end of Carta-Samuels’ game-sealing toss was , an eventual standout linebacker for Colorado and a future Buffs teammate with then-Valley Christian quarterback , who could only look on, unable to get the ball back.
“I actually dropped an interception on (K.J.). I didn’t really drop it,” MacIntyre, who also played defensive back, said before pausing a moment. “Uh, well, I kind of did. I know I jumped in front of somebody and I didn’t know he had that much heat on the ball. I wasn’t used to catching back then. I probably should have picked it.”
Six years ago was thought to be the final time rival high school quarterbacks MacIntyre and Carta-Samuels would compete against each other. That changed when Carta-Samuels transferred to Colorado State this summer from Washington. MacIntyre had signed as a wide receiver with the Buffs out of high school. The pride of their respective communities is at stake again when they meet Friday night in the Rocky Mountain Showdown.
“Yeah, itap kind of weird because I never really thought we’d end up doing that, especially with the CU-CSU type of thing,” MacIntyre said. “Itap cool that itap come full circle for us. First a rivalry in high school and now a rivalry in college.”
MacIntyre finished his prep career in Colorado after his father, , left San Jose State to take the head coaching job at CU. MacIntyre and Carta-Samuels hadn’t seen each other since that dramatic Nov. 2, 2012 meeting until two months ago.
Visiting his sister Gabby (CU volleyball’s starting libero) in Boulder with her group of friends, Carta-Samuels finally met his counterpart in person.
Trash talk?
“Nah, not really. We definitely left that in the past,” Carta-Samuels said. “I was just trying to meet the kid, get to know him and see what he was like.”
The formal introduction was long in the making after the two crossed paths several times as youth players.
“We actually met at a San Jose (quarterback) camp, and I don’t know if he remembers this, we were actually partners in throwing drills. He was a much better quarterback than I was,” MacIntyre said with a laugh. “I remember that.”
Each scored a touchdown to help create one of the more memorable meetings between Bellarmine Prep and Valley Christian, a game the coaches at both programs fondly remember.
MacIntyre no longer controls the offense like he did at Valley and will rely on CU quarterback to throw him the ball in order to show off his athleticism while Carta-Samuels, who passed for a school-record 537 yards last week, may be called upon to keep the Rams in what is expected to be a high scoring game.
If each can spin a little more magic reminiscent of that Friday night back in San Jose, then college football fans in Colorado are in for a treat.
“It really is crazy and itap also awesome to see how that all comes together, how we play each other in high school, go through our college journeys and we meet again,” Carta-Samuels said. “We get to strap it up and face each other and compete again. Itap going to be fun.”
MacIntyre, prickled by the memories of defeat, gets the last word.
“This time, it would be nice to beat him.”
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