LAKEWOOD — Chatfield football coach Bret McGatlin put trust into his offensive line and running backs Malcolm Boyd and Hunter Barnes with the game on the line Friday night at Jeffco Stadium.
Boyd scored on a 13-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play to cut Wheat Ridge’s lead to 28-27 with 36.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Instead of kicking the game-tying extra-point, McGatlin kept his offense on the field to go for a 2-point conversion.
“I was just trusting my linemen and they did their job,” said Barnes, who ran in the 2-point conversion to give Chatfield a trilling 29-28 victory in a Class 4A Jeffco League opener.
Chatfield junior Malcolm Boyd (5) scores on a 33-yard touchdown run in the first quarter Friday. Boyd had three touchdowns in the Chargers’ dramatic 29-28 victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Wheat Ridge had taken a 28-21 lead with 5:58 left on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Anthony Tate. However, the Farmers (3-3, 0-1 in league) couldn’t stop Chatfield from marching 73 yards on 15 plays.
The Chargers ran the ball 11 times on their final drive. Chatfield went to their signature single-file offensive line up that McGatlin’s father Don McGatlin used to use when he was the head coach up at Green Mountain.
“I thought about going to it earlier, but I did that against Greeley West and they shut it down,” Bret McGatlin said. “I wanted to make sure we had time left to run those plays late in the game.”
Chatfield converted on three fourth-down plays and new starting quarterback Matthew Canino completed a huge pass to senior Charlie Wildermuth to get the Chargers’ down to the 13-yard line before Boyd scored his third touchdown of the game.
“A couple of penalties and we jumped offsides,” Wheat Ridge coach Stacy Coryell said of the Farmers unable to stop the Chargers on the eventual game-winning drive. “We just have to be more disciplined. I loved the spirit of the kids.”
The Farmers fell behind 14-0, but battled back to tie things up 14-14 thanks to a 41-yard touchdown run by junior Nick Von Feldt and 75-yard scoring run by sophomore Rocco Tate.
Wheat Ridge senior quarterback Anthony Tate (4) scrambles for yardage while being chased down by Chatfield senior Anthony Johnston on Friday at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Von Feldt came into Friday’s late afternoon tilt after back-to-back 200-yard games on the ground. Von Feldt also found the end zone eight times in the two victories over Centaurus and Liberty.
“I’ve seen Wheat Ridge a lot and they are getting better and better,” McGatlin said. “They have some tough players. It’s Wheat Ridge. I think that area just has players that are football tough. I knew it would be a battle.”
Anthony Tate completed a pair of long passes to Bryce Shutto and his younger brother Rocco in the final seconds, but after the catch by Rocco at Chatfield’s 15-yard line, time expired.
“It hurts, but well regroup,” Coryell said. “Got to get ready for Bear Creek now.”
Chatfield (4-2, 1-0) came into the start of conference play not only with a 2-game losing streak, but the Chargers also lost their starting quarterback — senior Zack Yanda — for likely the remainder of the regular season. Yanda went down last week in the overtime loss to Greeley West.
“It’s one of those years where we are just going to have to find ways to win,” McGatlin said.
The Chargers head up to the North Area Athletic Complex to face Golden at 4 p.m. next Friday night.
Wheat Ridge sophomore Rocco Tate (2) attempts to weave through Chatfield’s defense in the first half Friday at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)