More photos from the game. (PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)
Ponderosa quarterback Jack Hanenburg threw touchdown pass to Kolton Miller with 38 seconds left to lift his No. 4 Mustangs over No. 10 Montrose in a big Class 4A football matchup on Friday night.
With the game tied at 14, Hanenburg found Miller from 20 yards out to lift his team to a 21-14 win.
“Montrose is one of the best teams in the state,” Ponderose coach Jaron Cohen said. “It was truly a game that could have gone either way.”
Hanenburg opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cael Porter in the first quarter, giving Ponderosa a 7-0 lead.
Montrose responded with a 22-yard score from Trent Blundell, tying thing at 7-7.
But Ponderosa retook the lead following a 96-yard drive. Again, it was Hanenburg leading the way, and his 1-yard touchdown made it 14-7 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth, Montrose evened the game at 14-14 when Briger Kirtz threw a 20-yard touchdown to Blundell with 2:23 remaining.
That set the stage for the game-winning drive from Hanenburg and Ponderosa.
“We had some big stops on defense and had a game winning drive that showed tremendous poise,” Cohen said. “I am incredibly proud of our program.”
Ponderosa’s defense held Montrose from scoring in three trips to the red zone, including two stops on fourth-and-goal.
Said Montrose coach Brett Mertens: “Proud of our kids. They played extremely hard. The game could have gone either way and things didn’t go our way at the end.”
(Mark Motichka)