Pine Creek, Montrose to clash for Colorado 4A football crown

Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) linebacker Matt List and running back Austin Schultz have many memories of the Eagles' first trip to Sports Authority Field at Mile High for a state championship game two years ago.

They're hoping to bury those Saturday morning when third-seeded Pine Creek (11-2) returns to the big stage to take on No. 1 Montrose for the 4A title at 11 a.m. The last time Pine Creek made it this far, the Eagles were steamrolled by Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch), giving up a record-number of points in a 66-10 shellacking that was over by halftime.

But there are plenty of reasons to believe the outcome could be different this time, including a stingy Pine Creek defense that didn't surrender an offensive touchdown to Monarch (Louisville) in a 21-7 victory in the semifinals. The Coyotes, last season's champions, had been averaging more than 48 points per game.

"A couple years ago is behind us," said Schultz, who ran for 189 yards and a score in the win against Monarch. "We're a great team this year and we know we can do it. We lean on our defense, black-shirt pride. Matt List and Avery Anderson are just stone-cold individuals who get the job done for us."

"It's a little bit of a memory, but it's long gone for us," said List, a 5-foot-11, 222-pound senior linebacker. "We've moved on. We know we're playing a legit team in Montrose, and we're excited for the challenge."

The Eagles have been through more than their fair share of adversity since the loss to Valor Christian, not the least being a 5-6 campaign in 2012. The community around Pine Creek also had to deal with devastating wildfires last June, and the team has rallied around an assistant coach whose wife is battling breast cancer.

Pine Creek started slowly this season, dropping two of its first three contests. But those losses were to 5A playoff teams, and the Eagles bring a 10-game winning streak into the championship game.

"You cleanse your soul after the Valor loss we had here," Eagles coach Todd Miller said. "You do a lot of reflecting, and I think our kids didn't want to have that taste again. We found ourselves at 1-2 going into conference (play), and we turned it around.

"There's been a multitude of things that brought us together. When you see people around you fighting…you want to fight a little bit harder, too."

Pine Creek rides a balanced rushing attack into the title contest, featuring Schultz (933 yards, 11 TDs), Scotty Savage (739, 6) and Anderson (360, 7). The Eagles also have a good passing attack behind junior quarterback Tommy Lazzaro, who has thrown for 1,750 yards and 21 TDs.

List anchors a defense that is surrendering just more than 12 points per contest and has racked up 24.5 sacks. Jackson Wibbels and Josh Gihring have five each to lead the way, while Josh Odom has a team-leading 90 tackles.

In Montrose, the Eagles face a team coming off a dramatic 39-38 double-overtime victory against Pueblo South in the semifinals, getting the winning points on a two-point conversion from Angelo Youngren.

"Both teams played really well and it came down to one play. Fortunately, we made it," Indians coach Todd Casebier said. "Our guys found a way to make the play."

Casebier's team has definitely proven itself as road warriors this season, as Saturday's journey to Sports Authority will be its sixth trip to the Front Range this season. Casebier, whose brother flew him in on a private plane to make Tuesday afternoon's press conference at the stadium, said travel is something teams from the Western Slope simply deal with.

"Anyone who coaches over there (Western Slope) knows that's part of the deal," said Casebier, who led Palisade to the 3A title in 2003. "If you're going to be good you have to find a way to win on this side of the hill."

Montrose also has a strong rushing attack, averaging 344.5 yards per contest. Junior Mike Rocha leads the way with 1,492 yards and 26 scores, and Youngren (995, 9) is closing in on the 1,000 yard mark despite missing four games with a broken collarbone.

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In the 3A title game, defending champion and ninth-seeded Silver Creek (Longmont) (10-2) is playing in its third consecutive state championship game, while No. 6 Coronado (Colorado Springs) (12-1) is just two seasons removed from an 0-10 mark.

The turnaround of the Cougars is particularly remarkable, considering the team had a .125 winning percentage between the years of 2006-2009 while a 4A club. Thus, it was granted the right to play down at the 3A level by the Colorado High School Activities Association's Classification and League Organizing Committee.

The move down didn't pay immediate dividends, as Coronado went a combined 7-23 during its first three years at 3A. But things clicked this year and the Cougars won their first nine games, outscoring opponents 304-53 during that stretch.

Coronado closed the regular season by falling to Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) 24-20, but rebounded to win three close contests to advance to the title game. The three playoff wins have come by a combined six points.

Coronado, which will move back to 4A next season, has a potent rushing attack led by juniors Austin Micci (1,254 yards, 13 TDs) and Isaah Duvall (1,140, 12).

“They’re a big rushing team, and so what we want to do is stop them from running the ball and hope to maybe get them into an uncomfortable place of throwing it more,” Raptors coach Mike Apodaca said.

Sam Smith and Devon Baker anchor a defense that has produced 23 sacks and 18 interceptions. Senior Corbin Bender leads the team with 6.5 sacks, while Baker and Micci both have five picks on the season.

“They play extremely hard, and to me that means they trust their coaches,” Apodaca said of the Cougars. “They have great chemistry, and I think us as coaches, we understand that if you can get kids believing in what you’re trying to do then they’re going to give you their full effort. You can see that on film.”

Silver Creek has the classification's most potent passing attack behind senior quarterback Ben Sjobakken, who has thrown for 2,620 yards and 30 TDs against only six interceptions. The Raptors have four good receivers in Zane Lindsey, Eric Machmuller, Brock Ricks and Nico Rembert, all whom have 25 or more catches on the season.

“They’re definitely a scrappy team, and I think they are going to try to do whatever they can to get to (Sjobakken),” Raptors offensive lineman Isaac Miller said. “Their (defensive) lineman might not be that big, but they’re fast and they’re scrappy.”

Andre Apodaca anchors the defense with 4.5 sacks, while the team has 14 interceptions on the year.

Of note, Saturday's game at Everly-Montgomery Field will be the first football state title game held in Longmont since the Longmont Trojans capped a three-peat with a shutout win against Pueblo Centennial in 1991.