Class 4A Playoffs: Loveland defense stops Dakota Ridge to advance

On paper, it looked to be a matchup of the Dakota Ridge offense versus the Loveland defense. Going into their Class 4A semifinal matchup, Dakota Ridge was averaging 54.8 points per game and Loveland was allowing 13.2 points allowed per game. The battle would be won by the Loveland defense in the semifinal game. They allowed just one offensive touchdown and defeated Dakota Ridge 20-14 to remain undefeated and advance to the state championship game, looking for a second state title in three years. From the very beginning it looked like it would be more of an offensive shootout unfolding with three touchdown drives to start the game. Loveland drove down the field and had <strong>Tyson Williams</strong> score on a 12-yard run to take a 6-0 lead to start. Dakota Ridge answered with its own lengthy drive that ended with <strong>Ben Gultip</strong> finding a diving <strong>Cavica Wilkerson</strong> in the end zone for a short touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal, and the extra point was good to put Dakota Ridge in front 7-6. Loveland’s second offensive drive, which spilled into the second quarter, was capped with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="62223" first="Garrett" last="Harstad"]</strong> punching it in on the power run to go back in front 13-7. A couple of big tackles from linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22729" first="Ian" last="Loomis"]</strong> resulted in a Dakota Ridge punt, and Loveland hit the biggest offensive play of the game with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58946" first="Zack" last="Rakowsky"]</strong> taking the handoff, finding a seam and bursting through for a 73-yard touchdown run. The explosive run gave Loveland a 20-7 lead with just over seven minutes to go in the half. It would end up being the last score for Loveland in the game, but it would be enough thanks to the defensive performance. <strong>Austin Bierhaus</strong> sniffed out an outside run for a stop on a fourth down from his cornerback spot for Loveland that kept the game at 20-7 going into the halftime break. Loomis and <strong>Joe Killian</strong> then stuffed a couple of runs and forced another punt on the first drive of the second half. Dakota Ridge thought it had a big play from wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22632" first="Mason" last="Galbreath"]</strong> winning a 1-on-1 jump ball for a big completion near the end zone, but he was called for pass interference and Dakota Ridge was forced to punt on another drive. In need of a spark, Dakota Ridge finally got it on special teams at the midway point of the fourth quarter. <strong>Dante Capolungo</strong> fielded a punt near the sideline and turned on the jets, breaking an arm tackle and finding room to run for a huge return that went more than 80 yards and ended with him in the end zone to cut the deficit to 20-14. They would get the ball back shortly after the return thanks to<strong> Spencer Hardy</strong> getting a tackle for loss and Capolungo stopping a jet sweep to force a punt with just over four minutes remaining. The final offensive drive started with Gultip finding Galbreath for a nine-yard strike near the sideline, a play that Dakota Ridge hit frequently throughout the game. A couple of runs from <strong>Noah Triplett</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56027" first="Charlie" last="Offerdahl"] </strong>got them get past midfield, but it would fizzle out with Bierhaus sniffing out a short pass on third down and Loomis sneaking through the offensive line to record another sack on the next play to get the ball back for Loveland. Rakowsky picked up a first down on the ensuing drive that sealed the win for Loveland to advance to the state championship game. Loveland advances to its 15th state championship game and will look for its eighth state championship win in program history, per CHSAANow.com. They will face the No. 2 seed Palmer Ridge Bears after they knocked off Fountain-Fort Carson 28-11 in the other semifinal game in Class 4A. Palmer Ridge has won three consecutive state championships in Class 3A and will look to win a fourth straight title and its first in Class 4A. The game will be played at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl on the campus of CSU-Pueblo on Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.