(Photos: Renee Bourcier/CHSAANow.com; Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
DENVER — Nobody could blame Pomona junior quarterback Ryan Marquez for wanting to stay warm as wore his letter jacket during the indoor press conference Tuesday morning at Mile High Stadium.
There is definitely a chill in the air as the prep football season comes to a close Saturday with the Class 5A state championship game between Pomona and Valor Christian. However, Marquez has been on fire leading the top-seeded Panthers back to the title game.
“(Marquez) makes plays when we need them,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said Tuesday. “He can throw two bad balls then throw the best 25-yard seam route you have ever seen on 3rd and 16.”
The junior has come up big combining for 507 yards passing in Pomona’s state quarterfinal and semifinal wins. Marquez had a career-best 285 yards passing and three touchdowns against rival Columbine in the quarterfinals.
Marquez proved he can be productive on the ground in the semifinal victory over Regis last Saturday, rushing for a pair of touchdowns. Valor coach Rod Sherman is well aware of the problems defending the dual-threat quarterback.
“(Marquez) hurt us a lot with is legs,” Sherman said, talking about Valor’s 23-16 loss to Pomona during a regular-season meeting back on Sept. 23. “We lost some contain in the pocket and our rush lanes. The thing with Ryan is he can buy you three first-downs in a game with his legs in crucial plays, that’s killer.”
Sophomore Billy Pospisil has been Marquez’s favor target. Pospisil had seven catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns against Columbine in the quarterfinals. The sophomore is over the 900-yard mark receiving on the season.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I’m not that surprised,” Pospisil said of the passing numbers Pomona has put up. “We worked hard all summer and worked hard consistently throughout the season.”
Pomona, historically a run-heavy offense, has had to look to the air during the postseason with the loss of its two returning all-state running backs.
Junior Max Borghi and senior Cameron Gonzales both suffered season-ending injuries in the first quarter during quarterfinal and semifinal victories.
Borghi and Gonzales has accounted for 2,610 yards of total offense and 35 touchdowns this season.
Valor’s senior quarterback Dylan McCaffrey made it clear Tuesday that the Eagles aren’t taking the Panthers lightly despite Pomona’s losses due to injuries.
“A big emphasis this week in practice is Pomona is full of tough guys who has talent across the board,” McCaffrey said. “They are going to hit you in the mouth.”
When it comes to Pomona’s running game, junior Kenny Maes has be thrust into the spotlight heading into the championship game scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Mile High Stadium. (It’s the first rematch in the biggest classification since 1955.)
Madden admitted that the Panthers must have a run game Saturday against Valor. He added if Pomona has to pass on every play it’s going to be “a long game” for the Panthers with Valor’s strong defensive line.
“I honestly think Kenny is one of the best running backs in the state,” Pomona senior Brandon Micale said. “He just happens to be behind Max and Cam. I think he can get it done.”
Micale, who leads Pomona with eight sacks on the season, knows the Panthers’ defensive priority will be similar to Valor’s defensive emphasis — slow down the quarterback.
“It’s the focus,” Micale said of McCaffrey. “If you give him time in the pocket he’ll hit a guy that is double-covered. You have to get him moving and out of his comfort zone. We have to keep him contained on the option and obviously make the pocket a little more hectic for him.”
McCaffrey, headed to the University of Michigan next season, was instrumental in the Eagles’ fourth-quarter rally against Pomona last year in the state title game. McCaffrey downplayed his individual performance in the 29-26 win.
“A lot of people think the quarterback does everything, makes all the decisions, but you can’t do anything without the team around you,” McCaffrey said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can make some plays and a defense that is really stout.”
Not surprisingly, McCaffrey has led the way for the Eagles offensively. McCaffrey will start in his third straight 5A title game. Has thrown for more than 2,642 yards and 29 touchdowns. He has also rushed for more than 500 yards and nine touchdowns.
(John Priest/CHSAANow.com)
“Obviously, (McCaffrey) is the best (prep) quarterback in the country,” Madden said. “That is our No. 1 focus, but they do so many different things that if you spend all your time looking at him, Luke McCaffrey is going to get you or Christian Elliss is going to get you around the edge. The key is we need to control the ball so (McCaffrey) doesn’t have it.”
Sophomore Joshia Davis is Valor’s leading rushing the season with 811 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns. Davis burned the Panthers in the title game a year ago with 84 yards rushing and two touchdowns as a freshman.
“We thought he had his best game last year in this game (state championship),” Sherman said of Davis. “We’ve been pretty balanced in a run-game. We want to maintain balance and take what the defense gives us.”
Valor’s deep receiving core is led by the youngest of the four McCaffrey brothers. Sophomore Luke McCaffrey has 695 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Making it a low scoring game is what Pomona’s defense would like to see Saturday.
“My mindset coming into this game is if they (Valor) don’t score they can’t win,” Micale said. “That’s what we are going to put on our shoulders. It’s a tall order with playmakers like McCaffrey and Joshia Davis, but that’s the beast in front of us — hold them to zero.”
McCaffrey just wants to walk off the field Saturday night with Valor’s seventh state football trophy in hand in his final high school football game.
“Obviously, I’d like to go out with a win. I think that’s every game for me,” McCaffrey said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m playing chess or football. I want to win.”