(Andre Lyseight/CHSAANow.com)
LITTLETON – Saturday night, the last two teams left to play in first round of the Class 5A football playoffs faced off with No. 1 Columbine waiting in the wings for the winner. The No.4 Heritage Eagles beat No. 5 Cherokee Trail Cougars 19-14 in a win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
The Heritage (8-2 overall) defense came to play as they dominated Cherokee Trail forcing five turnovers. The Eagles defense prevented the Cougars (5-5) from gaining any type of momentum by forcing four interceptions and one fumble.
“They went back to playing how they did early in the season,” said Heritage coach Tyler Knoblock. “We started out great and faced some really good football teams early. We’re starting to find out it’s all about pursuit. I love watching what they do. Turning the ball over was really the big difference in the game. They did it several times and we didn’t do it.”
Heritage got off to a good start with a defensive stop and scoring on their first offensive drive. Sophomore running Tyler Zoesch ran the ball for 20 yards giving his team great field position leading to the score.
The Eagles decided to take a chance on 4th and 7 and it paid off with a 15-yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Chase Hansen to senior receiver Tim Pless putting the first points on the board and giving Heritage a 7-0 lead.
Cherokee Trail struggled offensively when junior quarterback Conner Nantkes threw back-to-back interceptions. The second interception was the most crucial, coming after a very progressive running drive that was leading towards the end zone.
The Eagles took advantage of the Cherokee Trail mistakes and scored on a six-yard touchdown run from senior running back Daejour Haynes increasing the lead to 13-0.
“I feel like we came out here aggressive,” said Haynes. “All the seniors were fired up and we came here to dominate. O-line and d-line is what wins games.”
Desperately looking to climb out of the hole they had dug, the Cougars tried to put points on the board before half but came short after losing a fumble forced by the Heritage defense.
Despite the Eagles’ defensive impact, the game was still within reach in the second half for Cherokee Trail to make a comeback.
But the Cougars still struggled to put enough positive plays together to get them in the red zone. Heritage continued to control the momentum of the game and took a comfortable lead after they made their way down the field giving Zoesch another chance to punch in for touchdown, increasing the lead to 19-0.
Cherokee Trail couldn’t catch a break and again threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions, putting them in a hole too deep to get out of. They had their best drive of the game late, and were finally able to get on the board with a rushing touchdown from senior running back Quincy Voss.
They added a garbage time touchdown with seconds left in the game making the final score 19-14.
“We told the kids that November football is won a certain way and I think they answered the call,” Knoblock said. “Really darn good Cherokee Trail football team there. Felt like it was a tough draw for the first round, but you learn to win against teams like that and it gives you a better shot as you advance.”