Monarch made a statement to rest of 4A football on Friday night: Yep, they’re still a force in the classification.
The third-ranked Coyotes handled hard-charging and eighth-ranked Broomfield, 48-12, behind an onslaught of points in the first half.
“We feel pretty good about beating those guys,” Monarch coach Phil Bravo told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show. “They have such a good team and a good program with a rich tradition. When you get a chance to beat ’em, it feels real good.”
Senior running back Ethan Marks had well over 200 rushing yards, while quarterback Jay MacIntyre and Kidd Soole also got heavily involved in the offense.
“We were getting them from all different vantage points and executed real well offensively,” Bravo said.
Four weeks ago, Monarch also had a big halftime lead against Montrose, but surrendered 33 second-half points in a 39-34 loss.
This time around, at halftime, “I wrote on the board, ’33 second-half points.’ That’s what we gave up to Montrose,” Bravo said. “I said, ‘I don’t want that in the second half.’ Our kids played really, really well in the second half defensively. We got ’em three-and-out, we got the ball and went up and scored and then held ’em again. We got that clock running early in the fourth quarter, and it felt really good to play well in that second half with a big lead at halftime.”
Elsewhere, No. 5 Pueblo South beat Pueblo West 31-21.
“They’re a good football program and they’re well-coached,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told the Scoreboard Show. “They play a brand of football that’s physical and they like to get after you. Our kids, they wanted that challenge and they stepped up to it.
“They had an opportunity to get back to where we want to be — and that’s well known around Pueblo as far as the football program is concerned. Hopefully, now, we’ll get a little recognition around the state level, too.”
4A’s top-ranked team, Montrose, rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 6 Durango 14-10.
In 5A, No. 1 Valor Christian rolled Rock Canyon 56-6. Quarterback A.J. Cecil threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. Five different Eagles scored on the ground, including Christian McCaffrey, who carried just three times for 76 yards. He was also on the receiving end of two of Cecil’s scoring passes.
Quarterback Anders Hill threw for five touchdowns — all in the first half — as No. 2 Fairview handled rival Boulder 69-3.
No. 4 Cherry Creek had to stave off a late rally from Eaglecrest to seal a 41-34 win.
In 3A, No. 8 Silver Creek took care of No. 5 Mead 45-13 in a highly-anticipated game. Mead had been unbeaten going into the contest, but Ben Sjobakken threw two touchdown passes to pace the Silver Creek offense.
Tenth-ranked Rifle beat No. 7 Delta, 52-27.
1A’s No. 2 team, Limon, finished the regular season a perfect 9-0 with a 42-13 win over Crowley County. Kerigan Kappel had more than 200 yards, and Gavin Liggett added 115.
“I was really pleased with the balance we had with different guys carrying the ball,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show.
Winners in 8-man’s crossover games included No. 4 Simla, No. 5 Caliche and No. 8 Sargent.
Peetz upset No. 2 Arickaree in a 6-man crossover, while No. 5 Otis beat Briggsdale.
Playoffs begin next week for 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man teams. Brackets come out Sunday.