Pine Creek quarterback Tommy Lazzaro and the high-powered Eagles offense have beaten opponents by an average of 36 points the past nine weeks. The defending Class 4A state champions take on Longmont on Saturday for the 2014 title.
File photo by Jeffery Tucker
As the final weekend of the 2014 fall season approaches, the teams still together for one more game are giving thanks in more ways than one.
Just two days after Thanksgiving, Championship Saturday for Class 4A and 3A is looming large. The 4A title game pits the defending state champion against a program that hasn't won a title in 23 years. In 3A, two teams that didn't make it past the quarterfinals a year ago are battling it out for supremacy.
No matter what happens, the finale in both classifications has the makings of a tremendous last day of action. Here are five things to watch for in each title contest:
Class 4A State Championship
No. 1 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) (13-0) vs. No. 7 Longmont (10-3), 11 a.m., Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver•
The experience factor: Coach Todd Miller's Pine Creek Eagles will be playing in their third title game in the past four seasons. Pine Creek was humbled by Valor Christian in 2011 before rebounding a year ago with an impressive 49-14 victory against Montrose. The Eagles have won at least 10 games in six of the past seven seasons. Coach Doug Johnson's Longmont Trojans were the state runner-up in 2009 but were eliminated in the first round a year ago. The Trojans haven't won a state title since taking the 5A crown in 1991, something the team is eager to change.
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Pine Creek's ground game: Eagles senior
Josh Odom is closing in on 2,000 yards for the season to go along with 33 touchdowns. He is averaging 137.7 yards in three postseason games. Senior quarterback
Tommy Lazzaro has 836 yards of his own with 13 touchdowns, and as a team Pine Creek averages 274.2 yards per game. Slowing that charge is a big task for the Trojans.
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Longmont's Clint Sigg: The senior has been a force in the postseason, going 42-of-69 for 577 yards and five touchdowns through the air, and adding 129 yards and three more scores on the ground. Sigg passed for 313 yards and three TDs in a 42-35 upset of previously unbeaten and second-seeded Fort Collins in the quarterfinals. Pine Creek will be tasked with keeping Sigg in check.
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Defense, defense, defense: Both squads combine a pressure front with a ball-hawking mentality. Longmont has 28 sacks on the year (eight each from
Logan Goodner and
Nathan Dewitte) and owns 25 takeaways, highlighted by
Cooper Rothe's nine interceptions. Pine Creek allows only 9.5 points per game and has three shutouts to its credit.
Jack Wibbels has 11.5 of the team's 24 sacks, and the Eagles have forced 28 turnovers.
Jojo Domann has seven interceptions. Whichever unit rises to the top could help decide the outcome.
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How they got to this point: Since a pair of one-score victories in the first four weeks of the season, Pine Creek has won the past nine games by an average of 36 points. Few opponents have been able to keep up with the team's high-powered offense. Longmont, since a 1-3 start, has scratched and clawed its way to the title game. The team's previous two wins came by seven points each, and the Trojans withstood a pair of fourth-quarter comeback attempts to survive in both games. Those hard-fought battles could work in Longmont's favor if it can prevent Pine Creek from jumping out big early.
Class 3A State Championship
No. 4 Pueblo East (10-3) vs. No. 6 Rifle (12-1), 1 p.m., Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo•
Experience factor, part II: Rifle has the advantage when it comes to title-game experience. The Bears last won a championship in 2004, but the team advanced to this point in 2005 and 2012. Since Damon Wells took over the program again in 2011 (he coached Rifle to the 2004 crown) the team is 44-6. This is the second 10-win season for Pueblo East under David Ramirez, but the Eagles have never advanced to a title game. The closest the squad came was in 2012, when it lost to Rifle in the 3A semifinals. But East's edge comes with playing at home, whereas Rifle has a nearly 300-mile trip to make.
Rifle's Brock Clark.
File photo by Cindy Walker
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Pueblo East's 1-2 rushing punch: Sophomore running back
Bryson Torres and junior quarterback
Daniel Martin have created headaches for teams all season. Torres (1,219 yards and 17 touchdowns) and Martin (1,217 and 14) make it nearly impossible to game-plan on who to stop. Torres was a big factor in the playoff opener against Canon City, and Martin had the hot hand in victories over Palisade and Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs). Martin has also passed for 1,870 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Rifle will be hard-pressed to slow this unit down.
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Rifle's team rushing attack: If Pueblo East made it tough with two options, Rifle has taken it a step further. The Bears average 298.3 yards per game on the ground and five players have at least 46 carries. Senior
Brock Clark leads the way with 1,364 yards and 21 touchdowns, but
Blaine Vance,
Ty Leyba,
Brooks Pressler and quarterback
Layton Stutsman have combined for more than 2,100 yards between them. Pueblo East's focus will be swarming to the ball, no matter who has it.
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Defense, defense, defense, part II: Both squads get it done on this side of the ball. Rifle (30 takeaways, 18 sacks) and Pueblo East (33 takeaways, 20 sacks) are balanced and deep. The Eagles allow 14.5 points per game and limited a Discovery Canyon team averaging nearly 44 points a game to only 21 last weekend. Senior
Kevin Ribarich has seven interceptions and junior
Bruno DeRose has three picks and averages 10.9 tackles a game. Rifle allows only 8.5 points a game and has allowed one touchdown in its past two contests. Clark and Leyba have four interceptions each and senior
Austin Shepherd averages 9.2 tackles a game.
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Battle-tested squads: Both teams dealt with challenging schedules, albeit in different fashions. Pueblo East's non-conference slate was stiff, from 4A playoff teams in Longmont and Pueblo South, to defending 3A champion Coronado (Colorado Springs) and Discovery Canyon. A loss to the Thunder helped prepared the Eagles for the rematch in the semifinals. Rifle wasn't challenged outside of league, but the Western Slope schedule was a gauntlet every week. Five teams from the league made the 16-team playoff bracket, and Rifle's only loss came to Palisade. Both squads should be ready for whatever comes its way Saturday.
