(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
ERIE — The Erie Tigers are headed back to the Class 3A football semifinals for a second straight season.
Erie used a strong start, and a strong defense, en route to a 34-0 win over Green Mountain in the quarterfinals. However, their enthusiasm was tempered by an injury to star running back Noah Roper, who had continued to climb up the career record book on Friday night.
Roper injured his left leg with 7:20 to play in the third quarter, and was carted off the field to the locker room. He gave the crowd a thumbs up on his way out of the stadium.
Roper returned to the sideline on crutches in the fourth quarter, sans shoulder pads, with his lower left leg in an air cast.
“Obviously Noah gets all the well-deserved credit for where we’re at right now, but we’re not a one-man team,” said Erie coach Chad Cooper. “We have a lot of guys, we have 20 seniors that row the boat. I told them after the game: ‘Hey, everyone needs to just row a little bit more.’
“If we can do that, and our defense does exactly what they did tonight, we’ll win another football game and be in the state championship.”
Erie will know more about Roper’s status for next week on Saturday.
(Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)
Roper finished the game with 140 yards rushing, and two touchdowns. He now has 94 total touchdowns in his career, which ranks 11th all-time. His 6,343 career yards also rank 11th-most all-time.
“Everyone just needs to do a little bit more,” said Erie senior Jaymeson Nelms. “We had a good player go down, so we all need to pick up the pace and just do a little bit extra work.”
Said Erie senior Tyler Gardner: “Having Noah out isn’t going to stop us. Everyone thinks we’re a one-man team, and we’re not.
On a night that started with a nearly six-minute pregame fireworks display, Erie’s offense followed suit. Roper scored from 31 yards out on their second play from scrimmage. He added a 36-yard score on their next drive.
The Tigers’ defense, too, was impressive in holding Green Mountain at bay. They forced a number of drives to end on downs, and Green Mountain only crossed midfield once before halftime. Erie led 17-0 at the break.
In the third quarter, after Roper’s injury, Gavin Mendoza continued to lead the Erie offense down the field. He capped a long drive with a one-yard quarterback keeper to push the Tiger’s lead to 24-0.
Julian Custine hit two field goals for Erie, including a 35-yarder, which tied his season long.
With 4:51 to go, Erie’s Ian Vera added a seven-yard touchdown run to make it 34-0. He had an interception on defense to give the Tigers possession minutes earlier.
Erie’s defense hasn’t given up a point all postseason.
“We all just try to focus on doing our own specific job, and when plays need to be made, we make those plays,” Nelms said.
Erie will be on the road next week, no matter who wins Saturday’s quarterfinal between Discovery Canyon and Pueblo East.
Discovery Canyon would get to host due to having a fewer amount of home playoff games, and Pueblo East would host by virtue of having a higher seed.
But Erie is undaunted by that fact.
“It’s no different than playing on this football field,” Gardner said. “We dominate the football field, and we’re going to do it again.”
Erie is looking to return to the 3A title game. The Tigers finished as runner-up last season to Palmer Ridge.
“We talked about leaving a legacy. They’re 16-2 on this home field,” Cooper said. “Now we’ve got to take it to the next level to win a state title, that would be the final step for this program. We have two more games, and whoever we play next week is going to be extremely good.”