Week 7 Recap: Bruins Squeak by, Titans Complete Frantic Comeback

The 2021 Colorado high school football campaign is chugging along as we inch closer and closer to the whole enchilada: The 2021 state playoffs. The grand tournament for both 4A and 5A classifications will be taking place Dec. 4th at the home of the Denver Broncos Empower Field at Mile High, and teams from all over the Centennial State will be trying to bolster their resume come December. Who will be the top seeds? Which teams will sneak in and play the role as Cinderella? As we approach the last month of the regular season, the next few weeks are vital for schools trying to prove their worth. &nbsp; <strong>Grandview 13 @ Cherry Creek 21</strong> In a nail biter on Friday night, the second ranked Bruins had their hands full, as the pesky Grandview Wolves gave Cherry Creek all they could handle. Although only scoring 21 points throughout the night, the Bruin’s second lowest point total of the year, it was the defense that remained stingy all night. It appeared that Creek would dispose of Grandview rather quickly after a quick moving drive resulted in a one yard rushing touchdown by junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="43802" first="Christian" last="Hammond"] during the opening frame. However, 13th ranked Grandview showed its resiliency, equalizing the score with an 80 yard touchdown strike from Wolves QB Liam Szarka to talented wideout [player_tooltip player_id="153695" first="Evan" last="Johnson"] just a few moments later in the early stages of the 2nd quarter. After a 42 yard rushing touchdown by junior ball carrier [player_tooltip player_id="22757" first="Carlson" last="Tann"], Cherry Creek never looked back. The grind out win proved that even when things are not clicking on all cylinders, the Bruins should be viewed as one of the favorites to hoist the state championship trophy by season’s end. <strong>Regis Jesuit 41 @ Legend 42</strong> There are few words to describe the roller coaster of emotions that a packed EchoPark Stadium in Parker, Colorado felt through out the night between 5A giants Legend and Regis Jesuit. Coming into the game, Legend’s record stood at an impressive 5-1, and with the 3rd overall ranking in the state, a hotly contested showdown against Regis Jesuit was exactly the kind of test that needed to be passed. Despite the success that the Titans have encountered thus far this season, the depths of defeat reared its ugly head and was looking at Legend dead in the face. The Red Raiders jumped out to a 35-13 lead early in the third quarter thanks to the one-two punch of explosive running backs [player_tooltip player_id="22730" first="Zavier" last="Carroll"] and Albert Medina, who combined to rush for 230 yards and three touchdowns. It is what happened next that came straight out of a Disney fairytale. Down three possessions, the Titans battled back in one of the gutsiest performances of the high school football season. Legend went on to score nearly 30 consecutive points to take a 42-35 lead, absolutely decimating any ounce of momentum that Regis Jesuit had prior. The instigator of the massive comeback had to do with the stellar play of Titans QB Colton Warner, who averaged an absurd 32.5 yards per pass on the night. When the dust settled, Warner finished the day 13/25, 422 yards, and four scores. The Titans needed every one of those touchdowns from their senior signal caller. The Red Raiders even tried to mount a comeback of their own, scoring a touchdown with under a minute to play in regulation. However, the PAT that would’ve tied it and sent the game into OT sailed wide of the uprights, thus completing one of the largest come from behind wins in recent Legend High School memory. <strong>Arvada West 35 @ Mullen 14</strong> Not many teams during the Week 7 slate of games looked as impressive more than the Wildcats of Arvada West. After a 52-21 loss back on September 17th against Cherry Creek, Arvada West has now strung together a trio of impressive wins, including victories against Columbine and Fossil Ridge. Junior QB Ethan Cook showed off his arm in a big way by dissecting the Mullen defense repeatedly, finishing the game with 14/25 on 274 passing yards and four TD’s through the air. Cook’s offensive counterpart WR Brady Witherspoon also had quite the impressive day, reeling in a whopping 174 receiving yards on four receptions and finding pay dirt twice. It was an encouraging display of football by the Wildcats, who definitely believe that they have what it takes to make some noise come playoff time. As for Mullen, their season has been quite the opposite, as the loss to Arvada West puts them at 2-5 on the season. Despite the tough loss, WR Nick Carje was a lone bright spot for the Mustangs, as he was able to repeatedly find the soft spots in the defense and capitalize on it with 5 catches, 79 yards, and a single TD. The Mustang football program has seemed to struggle since legendary coach Dave Logan’s departure, as they have not had a winning season since 2016. <strong>Palmer Ridge 35 @ Ponderosa 28</strong> After a humbling 42-0 opening day loss to the hands of their arch nemesis Legend, the Ponderosa Mustangs have climbed their way back into contention by rolling to the beat of five consecutive wins, inching themselves into the 9th ranking in the recent 4A polls. Their next test came at the hands of Palmer Ridge on Friday night in a top 10 slugfest. Despite the hot streak and even a 21-0 lead, the Mustangs could not fend off the ferocious play of Palmer Ridge. The Bears went on to outscore Ponderosa 35-7 the rest of the way, impeding their physicality with five different running backs getting at least one carry and totaling 220 rushing yards on the night. Senior tailback Connor Cook led the attack of the five-headed monster that is Palmer Ridge’s backfield with 89 yards on 12 carries and was able to break the plane three times. Speedster Orlando Arande also made a major contribution on the ground with 17 attempts for 84 yards. Ponderosa indeed had its moments, and playmakers like the behemoth 6’7 WR Alex Tongren, and LB Brady Porter kept the Mustangs in it for the majority of the time. Tongren recorded nine receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Porter did his best impersonation of a ballistic missile and brought down ball carriers to the turf a stupendous 17 times throughout the contest, including two tackles for a loss. Both teams should be tough outs in the 4A state playoff tournament, and who knows, we may see this matchup again later down the road. <strong>Heritage 12 @ Montrose 56</strong> A season ago, the Montrose Indians were merely a slightly above average team with a knack of occasionally beating a top ranked team, and many could see that the talent was there to set up a successful 2021 campaign. Despite the optimism towards the football program, few expected the Indians to be undefeated halfway through October. In a home league game against Heritage, they proved that they are the real deal. The 56 points scored against the Eagles were a season high thus far, and it demonstrates that Montrose is starting to truly gel at just the right time. Even though they’ve played against smaller schools so far and have yet to face their biggest challenge, upcoming games against Air Academy and Ponderosa will give us an idea of how special of a team Montrose can be. There is no sugar coating it, it was a contest that is a difficult pill to swallow for Heritage, as the defeat drops them to 1-6 on the year. One of the more bright spots for the Eagles has been the play of WR Zach Siegler, who does have 224 receiving yards on 21 catches to go along with two TD’s as well. Obviously, Heritage needs a few more playmakers on both sides of the ball in order to be competitive again. As of now, it’s Montrose’s world, and we all just happen to be living in it.