LAKEWOOD — An interception by Green Mountain’s multi-skilled quarterback Trey Towndrow turned the tide Friday night at Jeffco Stadium.
“When Towndrow took that to the house we knew this was our game,” Green Mountain senior Trey Corkin said after the Rams celebrated its opener and homecoming with a 42-14 victory over Harrison.
Green Mountain seniors Trey Towndrow (5) and Matthew Bowden (23) combine to tackle Harrison junior Kahli Dotison on Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Towndrow erased what was generally a less than stellar first quarter and a half for the Rams against Harrison (0-1 record). Green Mountain turned the ball over three times and trailed 7-0 midway through the second quarter, but an interception by Towndrow that he returned 75 yards for a touchdown gave the Rams a much-needed boost.
“That 6-pick I really thought got us going and changed the momentum,” Towndrow said. “It gave us some drive to let us do what we wanted to do.”
The Rams — No. 6 in the CHSAANow.come Class 3A football rankings — eventually scored 42 unanswered points to avenge a season-opening loss to the Panthers last season.
“It took us awhile to settle in for some reason, but Trey kind of got us the momentum there,” Green Mountain coach Jesse German said. “Then we were able to get some scores together and some (defensive) stops.”
Towndrow wasn’t done after his pick-6. The three-year starting quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes to Corkin in the final two minutes before halftime to take a 21-0 lead into the locker room.
Harrison senior running back Timmy Evan (21) looks for running room against the Rams’ defense Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Senior Quinn Meinert set up Corkin’s first touchdown catch. Meinert broke off a 58-yard run to set the Rams up deep in Harrison territory. Corkin grabbed a 3-yard touchdown catch to push the lead to 14-0.
A poor punt by Harrison gave Green Mountain the football with a minute to play in the second half. Towndrow hit Corkin for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Rams their third touchdown in less than six minutes.
Corkin’s third touchdown was a 91-yard catch and run early in the fourth quarter that gave Green Mountain a 35-7 advantage.
“I didn’t necessarily envision scoring three touchdowns,” said Corkin, who led the Rams with 735 yards receiving and seven touchdowns last season. “I envisioned me doing my job and my teammates doing their jobs and coming out with the win.”
A nine-play, 85-yard touchdown drive by Green Mountain to begin the second half pushed the Rams’ advantage to 28-7. Towndrow capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior Braydon Schulz.
Senior Jacob Chavez hauled in a 16-yard touchdown to finish off the scoring for the Rams. Towndrow finished with five touchdown passes on the night.
Harrison’s two scores bookended the 42-point run by the Rams. Junior quarterback Jaseim Mitchell had a 4-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the first quarter. Senior Romero Wells capped off the game with a 3-yard touchdown in the final minutes.
“Those guys have been playing together for two and three years now,” German said of his skilled position players. “We have high expectations of those guys.”
Green Mountain returns to action next Friday night on the Western Slope. The Rams travel to Palisade to face the Bulldogs. Palisade, ranked No. 2 in 3A, took a 25-18 victory over Durango on Friday night in its opener.
Green Mountain junior Allen Ortiz, left, isn’t able to haul in a pass during the first half Friday night against Harrison. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)