Broomfield senior Nate Knowles (25) breaks off a long run as Dakota Ridge defenders Jackson Abeyta (30), Brandon Braun (41) and Chris Naviaux (20) attempt to bring him down Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. Broomfield took a 27-17 road victory in the first round of the Class 4A football playoffs. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Broomfield might have preferred higher than a No. 11 seed for the Class 4A state football playoffs, but the Eagles had no issues when they left Jeffco Stadium in a driving rain Friday night.
“You are never satisfied with a low seed, but we made the best of it,” Broomfield senior defensive back Shane Watzel said after a 27-17 victory over No. 6 Dakota Ridge. “It turned out alright.”
21-unanswered points by Broomfield propelled the Eagles to a 24-3 lead late in the third quarter. The big turning point was a span of less than four minutes in the second quarter where Broomfield turned a 3-3 game into a 17-3 lead.
Broomfield junior Noah Dohm (87) bottles up Dakota Ridge junior running back Jeremy Lujan (1) during the second quarter Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss)
Dakota Ridge kicker Zach Barwick tied the game with a 23-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Broomfield quickly responded on the next play from scrimmage with a 74-yard touchdown run by sophomore Jalon Torres with 8:45 left in the second quarter.
“We kind of took the momentum back and never gave it back to them (Dakota Ridge),” Broomfield coach Gary Davies said of the Eagles’ 14-point barrage in less than four minutes.
Broomfield intercepted a pass on Dakota Ridge’s next offensive drive. Senior Jack Sherwood scored on a 20-yard touchdown run with 4:51 left before halftime to extend the lead to 17-3.
“We knew coming in the run game was going to be big for us,” Broomfield senior quarterback Logan McCormick said. “Dakota Ridge manned us up and made us throw the ball a little, but it was all our run game. Our (offensive) line did a good job. That was key.”
McCormick got into the running action himself with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:38 left in the third quarter to make the score 24-3.
Broomfield was able to control the line-of-scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
“We don’t do a lot very well, but we will play physical,” Davies said. “That’s what we try to do. We were pretty physical tonight.”
Dakota Ridge junior Jeremy Lujan has been unstoppable for most of the season. The tailback had an 8.5 yards per rush average while racking up 1,714 yards on the ground coming into Friday’s playoff opener.
“I’m totally please with how the defense played,” Davies said. “It was awesome.”
Dakota Ridge senior Mark Hall (8) is tackled by Broomfield senior Dante Panicucci (4) during the first half Friday at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss)
Broomfield was able to bottle up Lujan for the most part. The tailback had a 25-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and a touchdown catch from junior quarterback Adam Clary in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough for Dakota Ridge.
“We knew Broomfield was going to be physical and they are a senior-laded team. They are going to do some damage in the playoffs,” Dakota Ridge coach Ron Woitalewicz said. “We’ve got good some good players coming back, but it just sucks right now for these seniors. We had a great group of seniors.”
Following a 28-16 loss to Ponderosa on Oct. 2, Dakota Ridge rolled to four straight victories entering the postseason. The Eagles outscored opponents 188 to 13 in the four-game stretch.
After a 0-2 start, Broomfield racked up a six-game winning streak before suffering a 30-21 loss to undefeated and No. 2 seed Fort Collins.
Broomfield will now host the winner of No. 14 Coronado and No. 3 Montrose next week in the quarterfinals. Coronado, last year’s 3A state champion, and Montrose, last season’s state runner-up in 4A, square off at 1 p.m. Saturday on the Western Slope.
Davies said he would leave around 7 a.m. Saturday morning to make the trip to Montrose to scout his quarterfinal opponent.
Dakota Ridge junior quarterback Adam Clary (3) attempt to escape the pressure of Broomfield seniors Cooper Gardner (57) and Blake Whitsell (50) during the first round of the Class 4A state football tournament Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss)