Loveland dominates in championship game versus Palmer Ridge

Brandon Boles

December 4, 2020 @ 11:09 PM

[player_tooltip player_id="58946" first="Zack" last="Rakowsky"] and the Loveland defense had a big night in the Class 4A state championship game Friday night. The Loveland defense created havoc all night long against the Palmer Ridge aerial attack, whether it was getting pressure on quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="22533" first="Luke" last="McAllister"] or intercepting five of his passes in the game. An explosive offense that averaged over 41 points per game entering the state final was held to a season-low six points and Loveland put together a dominant performance to win 42-6 for its second state title in three years. Rakowsky shined the most in the game, picking off McAllister twice in the secondary and rushing for 183 yards and three touchdowns in the win. His play also contributed in the special teams with his punting and a blocked extra point in the second half. Tyson Williams, Jaydn Tafoya and Hudson Voggesser had the other three interceptions for Loveland as they showed they could cover a talented receiver core. Voggesser also had the forced fumble and recovery in the second quarter. When it was not the turnovers, Loveland was getting stops from [player_tooltip player_id="22729" first="Ian" last="Loomis"], who was coming off an impressive defensive game versus Dakota Ridge in the previous round, and others all night long. As for the Loveland offense, it chose to play smashmouth football, running the ball on every single play. They were led by Aiden Hokel, Brandon Reid, Joe Morris, Conrad Raymond Dixon-Agnew and Levi Gunn on the offense line creating the running lanes for their backs. They excelled in the trenches and were able to move the line of scrimmage throughout the night for one of their most dominant games this season. It resulted in big runs and scores for Rakowsky, Tafoya and Joe Killian. The lone touchdown for Palmer Ridge came in the third quarter when McAllister was able to hit [player_tooltip player_id="22560" first="Marcellus" last="Reed"] in the end zone for a jump-ball reception for 15 yards. His touchdown reception was the sixth of the postseason. You can catch the highlights of the game from the Colorado High School Activities Association <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaBXykFBGmE">here</a>.