Falcon players celebrate advancing to the Class 4A football semifinals. (Courtesy of District 49)
FALCON — Another week. Another huge upset for the Falcon High School football team.
Thanks to a smash-mouth ground attack, especially in the second half, the No. 13-seeded Falcons upended No. 5 Pueblo South 38-21 Friday night in the Class 4A quarterfinals at the FHS field.
“Our guys in the trenches have been fantastic all year long, and they really come together about midseason,” said Falcon co-head coach Brian Green, whose team also upset No. 4 Denver South 20-7 in the first round of the playoffs.
Falcon improved to 8-4 overall with its fourth win in a row, thanks in large part to its 400 yards rushing. The Falcons move on to play defending state champion Pine Creek next week in the semifinals.
Matt Bastian fueled the Falcons attack rushing for a career-high 212 yards on 25 carries. The junior also had scoring runs of 31 and 19 yards.
“We just wanted to keep on getting first downs and keep on scoring,” the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Bastian said. “We are determined to run the ball and we will make sure it happens. We had great blocking and we were able to make things happen out there.”
South saw its season end with a 10-2 record, and the Colts also saw their six-game winning streak snapped. A year ago, the Colts advanced to the Class 4A semifinals before losing to Montrose in overtime 39-38 at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo.
On Friday night the Colts were in control — at least early.
South marched 65 yards in nine plays capped by Dennis Ramos’ 1-yard scoring run at the 7:46 of the first quarter.
Moments later South was business agaim when Ray Mitchell intercepted quarterback Ty Murphy’s pass, giving South the ball at the Falcon 34-yard line.
South quarterback Nathan Spinuzzi had his pass intercepted by John Lynch and returned to the Colts’ 39-yard line and then 15 yards was added on because of a Colts’ personal foul.
That was a huge momentum swing as Falcon’s Wyatt Aaberg finished his team’s drive with a 14-yard scoring run at 4:17 of the first quarter.
Aaberg stepped up again for the Falcons giving them their first lead at 14-7 with a bruising 5-yard run at 9:07 of the second quarter.
The rest of the first half was a see-saw affair with each team’s offense producing plays.
Spinuzzi tossed a pass over the middle to Mitchell who blazed in for a 59-yard touchdown at 5:24 of the second quarter.
Once again Falcon answered, this time with an 11-play 80-yard drive that finished with Bastian’s 31-yard run around the right corner with 1:07 left in the half.
Like the start of the game, South started fast in the second half.
The Colts tied the game at 21-all when Spinuzzi scampered around the right corner for a 7-yard score on 4th-down-2 from the 7-yard line.
That, however, is when the Colts’ highlights stopped and Aaberg and Bastian’s kept rolling.
Falcon answered quickly with a 70-yard jaunt by Aaberg to put the Falcons up 28-21 with 4:23 left in the third.
“I caught the pitch on the reverse from Matt (Bastian),” said Aaberg, a senior. “I just went around the corner and my line did a great job. They really handled (South) and they helped us get those touchdowns, and let us get this win.”
Bastian came up big again with a 19-yard run, capping a 12-play drive at 6:20 of the fourth that essentially sealed the victory for the Falcons as they held a 14-point lead.
“Matt is one of those very talented kids who is so fun to have around,” Green said.
Austin Toussaint capped the scoring with a 35-yard field goal for Falcon with 3:30 left.
“I don’t think you shake your head at 10 wins ever,” South coach Ryan Goddard said. “I have great appreciation for everything we accomplished this year. “They (Falcon) broke a few big plays in the second half, and that’s a credit to them.”
South’s offensive was paced by Spinuzzi who had 257 yards passing.
The win avenged a 24-21 loss to Pueblo South on Sept. 19. Falcon’s three other losses are to Pine Creek, Longmont, and Montrose. Longmont and Pine Creek have already advanced to the 4A semifinals; Montrose has a chance to do it on Saturday.