ARVADA — Defense was the name of the game from start to finish Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Dakota Ridge’s goal-line stand in the final seconds preserved a much-needed 14-7 victory over rival Wheat Ridge in the non-league football game.
“That was just exciting. We let them drive and we bent, but we didn’t break on the goal-line,” Dakota Ridge senior linebacker Anthony Salvi said of the final drive of the game. “We had great energy on the sideline and we just erupted on the field. It was a great way to end that game.”
The Eagles (2-3 record) ended their 2-game losing streak. The Farmers (1-4) weren’t able to muster up an offensive score in their third straight loss.
Dakota Ridge junior Jered Garcia (1) weaves through Wheat Ridge defenders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We needed this. We needed something positive to happen for us,” Dakota Ridge coach Ron Woitalewicz said. “This was a typical Wheat Ridge/Dakota Ridge game. They are always going to come down like this. It’s always a 7- or 3-point game.”
It was a nail-biter in the final minutes after Dakota Ridge failed to ice the game late in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were stopped on Wheat Ridge’s goal-line and a 21-yard field goal attempt failed with 3:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Wheat Ridge quarterback Anthony Tate nearly single-handedly guided the Farmers from their own 15-yard line to Dakota Ridge’s 2-yard line. The junior had six runs for 42 yards and also had a 31-yard completion to senior Payton Dietrich on the game-deciding drive.
“He (Tate) is probably the smallest kid out here. He plays like the biggest guy out here,” Wheat Ridge senior Dominic Trujillo said. “I have so much respect for that kid being 5-foot-6 and playing like he can go to college and be a quarterback.”
On fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line in the waning seconds, Tate tried to cap of an 85-yard touchdown drive to tie things up and send it into overtime. However, Dakota Ridge senior safety Landen Nordbrock had the hit of the game tackling Tate at the 3-yard line as the quarterback attempted to sprint toward the far pylon near the Eagles’ sideline. The stop turned the ball over on downs to Dakota Ridge.
“We figured (Wheat Ridge) would have to spread it out and put it in (Tate’s) hands,” Woitalewicz said. “We tried to have enough guys on the perimeter. My one concern was he would run back the other direction.”
Nordbrock was able to come up and make the hit on Tate to keep him out of the end zone.
Wheat Ridge’s Dominic Trujillo (1) returns an INT for a touchdown against Dakota Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Wheat Ridge’s defense also played well and provided the lone score for the Farmers. Trujillo picked off a deflected pass from Dakota Ridge quarterback Drew Dominic on the Eagles’ first drive of the game. He returned it 40 yard to the end zone.
“We came in confident and when that happened our confidence went way up,” Trujillo said of his pick-6 that started the scoring.
Dakota Ridge took advantage of a special team miscue by the Farmers to tie the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter. A punt by the Eagles hit a Wheat Ridge player and Dakota Ridge recovered on the Farmers’ 33-yard line. Two plays later junior running back Jered Garcia scored from 15 yards out.
The only other scored of the game was a 14-yard touchdown pass from Dominic to junior Justin Sanchez midway through the second quarter to give Dakota Ridge a 14-7 lead. It capped off an 80-yard, 11-play drive.
Dakota Ridge’s Tyson Demgen (17) and Wheat Ridge’s Dominic Trujillo (1) try to come down with the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“That’s really big,” Salvi said of the win before the start of conference play. “We were kind of dragging a little bit. This will give us a nice push going into league next week. I’m excited to build off of this for sure.”
Dakota Ridge and Wheat Ridge both have their homecoming games next week.
The Farmers square off against George Washington on Thursday, Oct. 5, at Jeffco Stadium. It will also be Wheat Ridge’s conference opener in the 4A Mountain League.
“It’s time to get going now,” Trujillo said. “We need to prove our doubters wrong.”
The Eagles face Gateway on Friday, Oct. 6, at Jeffco Stadium in what will be the 4A Plains League opener for Dakota Ridge.
Dakota Ridge junior Jered Garcia (1) dives into the end zone in a 14-7 Eagles’ victory over rival Wheat Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)