Fountain-Fort Carson senior Mario Jiminez (3) heads up field Friday night at Jeffco Stadium after slipping a tackle by Columbine senior Jake Tagita (16). The Trojans got a pair of second-half touchdowns by senior Charles Tigner to take a 12-7 victory against No. 5 Columbine. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Fountain-Fort Carson senior Charles Tigner made a good case Friday night at Jeffco Stadium for getting his hands on the ball a few more times in games down the road.
Tigner scored a pair of touchdowns on just four offensive touches from the line-of-scrimmage in the non-league Zero Week game against Columbine, ranked No. 5 in the CHSAANow.com preseason poll. The speedy back and slot receiver led the Trojans to a 12-7 victory to open the season.
“(Coaches) just told me it would open up for me,” said Tigner, who scored on a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and 22-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. “I got my touchdowns.”
After a scoreless first half Columbine (0-1) took a 7-0 lead with 7:08 left in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by junior Brevin Fields that capped off a 61-yard scoring drive. However, it was the lone points the Rebels could muster.
“We were our own worst enemy,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry said. “We had some decent drives going in the first half and just couldn’t finish anything.”
Columbine senior Keith Huck (11) closes in on Fountain-Fort Carson junior quarterback Stock Chenault (12) late in the second quarter Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. Huck injured his knee on the eventual tackle and didn’t return. (Dennis Pleuss)
Columbine drove into Fountain-Fort Carson territory three times in the first half, only to fail to convert on fourth down on each drive. The Rebels had a few opportunities in the fourth quarter to regain the lead, but a turnover inside Trojan territory with under four minutes to play ended another promising drive.
First-year starting quarterback Stock Chenault came up huge for Fountain-Fort Carson with a 40-yard run after the Rebels’ turnover. The Trojans eventually turned the ball over on downs on Columbine’s 8-yard-line, but the Rebels had just over a minute to attempt a game-winning drive.
Columbine drove near the 50-yardline, but the final two long pass attempts by junior quarterback Jake Lowry fell incomplete.
“It was a real hard-fought game. A lot of our kids had to grow up tonight,” Fountain-Fort Carson coach Mitch Johnson said. “We are kind of in a new scheme and trying to do some different things. Our defense set the tone early for us. Our offense made a few plays and we got out of here with a win.”
Fountain-Fort Carson returned both their leading rushers from last season in seniors Drew Harris and Tigner. Harris, who already has offers from Wyoming and Colorado State according to Johnson, was the workhorse Friday night. Harris finished with 11 carries for 69 yards and also had three catches for 32 yards.
Tigner clearly made the most of his touches after a quiet first half where he had just one carry for no yards.
“Charles made the plays. He is electrifying. He can make some moves,” Johnson said. “He is the ‘Cutback Kid’. He had a great game for us.”
On Tigner’s touchdown catch he broke several tackles after cutting back and finding the end zone.
Columbine junior quarterback Jake Lowry gets off a pass during the first half Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss)
Columbine vaunted running game was hit hard by graduation. Bernard McDondle and Jeremy Aparicio combined for 346 carries for 2,758 yards on the ground, along with scoring 39 touchdowns during their senior seasons in 2013. Another loss is last year’s starting quarterback Michael Tait. The multi-sport athletic decided to focus solely on golf his senior season after having issues with concussions.
Senior Austin Norton and sophomore Mikey Griebel were two offensive standouts for Columbine in the loss. Norton had 12 carries for 84 yards. Griebel had 10 carries for 52 yards and also had three catches for 33 yards.
It appeared the Rebels might have lost a key two-way player in senior Keith Huck. The fullback/linebacker went down with a knee injury late in the second quarter after making a tackle.
“We lost a really, really good player tonight in Keith Huck,” Lowry said. “He has been all world for us all summer long. That’s a tough one for us.”
The Rebels will have a short week head as they travel to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida next week to play Melbourne Central Catholic on Thursday, Aug. 28.
“We have our work cutout for us,” Lowry said. “We have to rally up tomorrow, learn from what we are doing and get better.”
Fountain-Fort Carson will get another taste of 5A Jeffco when the Trojans host Lakewood at 7 p.m. Aug. 28.
Columbine senior Austin Norton (6) finds a hole to run through during the Rebels’ 12-7 loss Friday night to Fountain-Fort Carson at Jeffco Stadium. Norton led Columbine offensively with 12 carries for 84 yards. (Dennis Pleuss)