Looking Back: 5A Fall Semifinals

Colorado has officially made it to the state championship week for every classification, and what a journey it has been. For the 5A title game, the matchup will feature the top-ranked teams in the classification. Cherry Creek, the reigning 5A state champions, will face off against fellow powerhouse Valor Christian in a highly anticipated matchup. Before delving too deep into what is to come, it is time to take a look at what has transpired leading up to the final game.   Cherry Creek (1) vs Pomona (4) The Cherry Creek Bruins and the Pomona Panthers battled it out in their semifinal matchup that ended with a 35-7 victory for the Bruins. Even though the final score shows a comfortable looking win, the first half was far from relaxing for the reigning champs. Pomona’s defense came out with a solid gameplan for Cherry Creek, a gameplan that involved junior linebacker AJ Zamora and relentless pass rush, as well as a plan to contain the Bruins’ run game. The Bruins quickly made adjustments which involved bringing Iowa State commit [player_tooltip player_id="22530" first="Myles" last="Purchase"], Prep Redzone Colorado’s third-ranked defensive back, over to the offensive side of the ball. After Julian Hammond’s first touchdown pass to Texas commit [player_tooltip player_id="22523" first="Gunnar" last="Helm"] in the first quarter, Purchase was able to score a touchdown off of a five-yard rushing attempt. Pomona managed to score off of a passing connection between [player_tooltip player_id="22554" first="Jack" last="Pospisil"] and Isaiah Alvarez with 34 seconds left in the half, cutting the Burins’ lead in half. Fast forward to the very last play in the half where Julian Hammond was able to connect with Colorado commit [player_tooltip player_id="22528" first="Chase" last="Penry"] on a 40 yard Hail Mary touchdown, going into the half up 21-7 over the Panthers. [caption id="attachment_42380" align="alignnone" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-42380" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/08/elite-camp-5_marked-300x270.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="270" /> [player_tooltip player_id="22530" first="Myles" last="Purchase"][/caption]Cherry Creek’s first third-quarter drive resulted in a 53-yard touchdown run by Purchase. The Bruins scored their final touchdown of the game in the third quarter off of another Purchase carry, giving him a total of three touchdowns. Hammond finished the contest going 14-for-18 with 163 yards and two touchdowns, while Penry finished as the leading receiver with eight receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown. When asked about Purchase during the CHSAA press conference leading up to the championship, head coach Dave Logan confidently expressed his opinion, “[player_tooltip player_id="22530" first="Myles" last="Purchase"] is the best all-around high school football player in the state of Colorado.” After an ironman performance that resulted in a hat trick by the future Cyclone and a ticket to the state final, it is hard to disagree with Coach Logan on that take.   Valor Christian (2) vs Legend (3) Second seed Valor Christian matched up against the third seed Legend in their semifinal contest that ended with a 45-0 victory for the Eagles. The first score of the game came by way of a 15-yard touchdown run by junior running back [player_tooltip player_id="22667" first="Gavin" last="Sawchuk"] early in the first quarter. With right around four minutes left in the first quarter, Valor Christian scored another rushing touchdown by [player_tooltip player_id="22680" first="Jordan" last="Norwood"]. The Eagle’s third touchdown came midway through the second quarter after Andrew Hale blocked a punt that was scooped up by Mitchell Bigelow and taken in for a five-yard score. On Legend’s very next drive, the Eagles were able to force a fumble that was recovered by junior linebacker Luke Meyer and returned for a 17-yard touchdown, giving them a 28-0 lead over the Titans. The Eagles were able to score a field goal and two more touchdowns before the end of the first half. One touchdown came by way of a 16-yard touchdown reception by Jackson Zimmermann from Sean McNair, and the other was a rushing touchdown by freshman running back Gabe Sawchuk. Unfortunately for standout players [player_tooltip player_id="46110" first="JT" last="Axelrod"] and [player_tooltip player_id="22580" first="Jaxon" last="Muma"], Legend was unable to get anything going against their Valor Christian’s powerful arsenal of talent and relentless tempo. The Eagles have arguably one of the best running back cores in the state. The older Sawchuk is PRZ CO’s number one ranked 2022 running back class and one of the top-rated junior running backs in the country. When asked about his group of running backs, head coach Donnie Yantis had a simple response, “we’re blessed.” The recent emergence of the younger Sawchuk brother is reassuring for the future of the program. “As we look forward to what we do next year, maybe we do some two-back stuff to be able to find a way to get our best players the ball,” explained Coach Yantis, “I trust him, that’s the key.” Cherry Creek and Valor Christian will face off in what is considered to be one of the most anticipated high school football matchups in recent history. Saturday night’s 5A state title game will be the final championship game played this weekend in Pueblo, bringing an end to the unpredictable 2020 fall season.