HIGHLANDS RANCH — In an epic rematch of last year’s epic Class 5A title game, Pomona was the football team to make a fourth quarter comeback victory that sent students decked out in red and black streaming across a colossal “V” in the middle of Valor’s home turf.
A 2,800-person crowd gathered at Valor Stadium Friday night for the Eagles’ homecoming game, where No. 1-ranked Pomona took down No. 5-ranked Valor Christian 23-16 in dramatic fashion.
The wind was rockin’ the entire stadium and rosters were flying everywhere while lightning flashed faintly in the distance. It was evident early that the wind would have some impact on this already very high pressure game when Panthers running back Max Borghi punted after Pomona’s second drive and Valor fumbled the fair catch at its own 34.
Pomona recovered, but was held by the Eagles’ defense to a 31-yard field goal. The Panthers had the first lead of the game, 3-0, with less than five minutes in the first quarter.
The second quarter was the Dylan McCaffrey show. The Eagles’ senior quarterback scored the first touchdown of the game on an 8-yard dash at the beginning of the quarter. The extra point was good, putting the Eagles up 7-3 over the Panthers.
Four minutes later, the Michigan-bound magician ran 38 yards for a second TD, but the Panthers blocked the XP attempt and the Eagles suddenly had a 13-3 lead.
With one second left on the clock in the first half, Valor snuck in a 31-yard FG for a halftime score of 16-3.
Pomona struggled in the first half with only two first downs, and Valor defense completely shut down stud Borghi, who had just 12 yards on six carries. McCaffrey shined and it seemed Valor had control of the game.
Valor linebacker coach Paul Rose said Valor dominated defensively in the first half. “Michael O’Donnell had one of his best games ever,” he said.
Until the second half started and Pomona had made a few adjustments.
“We changed our defense and went back to something we haven’t run since last year,” Panthers coach Jay Madden said. “And we played it the whole second half.”
The third quarter ended on an absolute Panthers tear though, after quarterback Ryan Marquez jetted for 30 yards and then tossed a 41-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Billy Pospisil — “an incredible catch,” Madden said. Valor had its own shot to block the XP attempt, but the Panthers had cut the lead to 16-9 when the fourth quarter began.
In that final frame, Valor sophomore Ethan Zemla intercepted a Marquez pass, but a facemask foul was called on the Eagles, which was a costly 15-yard penalty. Pomona capitalized and Marquez threw a 30-yard TD pass to Uriah Vigil. When the XP was good, the game was knotted at 16 with 4:52 left in regulation.
This is where Pomona really began to execute.
Marquez, who did an exceptional job dodging defenders when being pressured outside the pocket, threw a crucial 25-yard pass down the sideline to Borghi, who had been quiet most of the night, with less than two minutes left.
That was quickly followed by a 14-yard TD run by senior running back Cameron Gonzales that basically sealed it for the Panthers.
“Our bull, our workhorse, our guy we can always count on, Cam Gonzales, made the big play when we needed him,” Madden said.
But there was still less than one minute in regulation, and now Valor had the ball in the hands of clutch McCaffrey. Jake Moretti, a top Colorado offensive lineman from Pomona who is sitting out this season with a torn ACL, said the game was “stressful, for sure.”
Pomona defense held and just before time expired, the Panthers were already prowling to storm the field.
“It was a big win, especially because it was their homecoming and Valor had a lot of momentum, but we fought back,” Gonzales. “They had us in the first half, but we fought back and executed in the second half.”
Madden said the players never doubted themselves.
“We simplified things on defense, and if we just let them play and not think, good things will happen,” he said. “On offense, we just made a couple plays, and that’s what it comes down to. Those plays were there to be made in the first half, we just weren’t making them.”
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— Morgan Dzak (@morgandzak) September 24, 2016
More photos. (Renee Bourcier/CHSAANow.com)