Silver Creek senior Josh Quiroz (22) follows the lead block of senior Logan Phillips (50) during the first half Saturday at Trailblazer Stadium. Quiroz had 27 carries for 221 yards and two touchdowns. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Josh Quiroz was the perfect option at running back for the defending Class 3A state football championship Silver Creek Raptors on Saturday afternoon at Trailblazer Stadium.
With Silver Creek’s 1,000-yard rusher Anthony Kasper sidelined, Quiroz got the bulk of the carries in the first-round playoff game against No. 8-seeded Evergreen. The No. 9-seeded Raptors scored a 47-14 road victory to advance to next week’s quarterfinals.
“Josh was a 1,300-yard rusher last year and made a great sacrifice to go to the other (defensive) side of the ball,” said Silver Creek coach Mike Apodaca, who added that Kasper would be ready to play next week. “Josh will be back there with Anthony and hopefully it will be a good one-two punch for us.”
Quiroz racked up 221 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns on 27 carries. The senior had 444 yards rushing this season coming into the game.
Silver Creek seniors Andre Apodaca (5) and Collin Gibbs (33) tackle Evergreen junior Keenan O’Hearn for a loss Saturday afternoon at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood. The defending 3A state champions cruised to a 47-14 victory against Evergreen in the opening round of the playoffs. (Dennis Pleuss)
“These are all my senior brothers and I’ve been playing with them for a long time. I just wanted to make a statement with them,” Quiroz said. “We knew Evergreen was a good team and we had to come out hot or they would take advantage.”
Silver Creek’s offense was solid, posting 412 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Ben Sjobakken was 8-for-16 passing for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Silver Creek seniors Eric Machmuller and Nico Rembert had the touchdown catches.
The Raptors jumped out to a 23-0 lead at halftime and limited Evergreen to less than 75 yards of total offensive in the first half.
“We are really going to hang our hats on our defense the whole year,” Apodaca said. “They are really good.”
The Cougars did have two touchdowns in the second half. Senior Ryan Hays scored on a 47-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to get Evergreen on the board. Hays caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jack Curtis for the Cougars’ second touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Curtis was in-and-out of the lineup during the game after suffering a hard hit on a run in the first half.
Silver Creek quarterback Ben Sjobakken gets off a pass Saturday afternoon in the first-round playoff game. Sjobakken tossed a pair of touchdowns in the 47-14 win. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We tried to fight hard,” Evergreen coach Rob Molholm said “We had some injuries with Jack being in-and-out. That was rough.”
Evergreen finished the season with an 8-3 record. It’s the fourth straight winning season for the program. The Cougars’ group of seniors have also experienced three playoff appearances and won two league titles.
“It’s a special group,” Molholm said. “They overachieved and I’m really proud of that. Silver Creek is just on a whole other level.”
No. 16-seeded Pueblo East will be next up for the Raptors (8-2 record). Top-seeded Discovery Canyon lost to Pueblo East 47-13.
The focus is clear for Silver Creek. The Raptors lost in the 3A title game to Windsor in 2011 before winning it all last year in the championship game against Rifle.
“We want to win state again because it’s the best feeling ever,” Quiroz said.
Evergreen junior Tanner Cassin, right, attempts to escape the tackle of Silver Creek senior Andre Apodaca on Saturday afternoon in Lakewood. (Dennis Pleuss)