Liberty quarterback Hunter Wierenga (12) looks for a running lane during Friday’s game against Cheyenne Mountain. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — The return to the football field for the Cheyenne Mountain Indians was a welcome sight for many. But the result of their first game back since canceling the end of their 2014 season was not.
The Indians were outmatched by Liberty as the Lancers rolled to a 27-0 win Saturday afternoon at District 20 Stadium.
“It feels great, the kids played really hard,” Lancers coach Marc Sites said. “We’ve been working hard and we have a lot of new coaches on the staff so we’re getting to know each other and the kids are working hard each day.”
The Lancers came out of the gate looking to show what they could do on the offensive side of the ball. They took a few early shots down the field and hit pay dirt when quarterback Hunter Wierenga found Ryder Cuppett for 39 yards.
They continued the march into the Indians’ territory and eventually made their way to the 15-yard line, facing 4th and 1. On week one and with their first possession, there was no way the Lancers weren’t going for it. They handed the ball to their power running back Cole Pelt who bulldozed through every in of those 15 yards put the Lancers up 7-0.
“We want to be as balanced as we can (offensively),” Sites said. “We weren’t anywhere close to 50/50 today, we ran the ball primarily in the second half. When opportunities are there for us to make plays, we’re going to try and make football plays.”
The Indians weren’t able to respond on their first drive, going three and out to give the Lancers the ball back. The Lancers also stalled and the teams continued to trade possessions into the second quarter.
Cheyenne Mountain started moving the ball thanks to the versatility of quarterback Matthew Betterson. But a third down sack of the junior pushed the Indians out of field goal ranged and forced them to punt yet again. During the punt, a small scuffle broke out and a personal foul penalty was called on Liberty Jake Felton, pushing the Lancers inside their own 10-yard-line to start the drive.
They were able to work their way out of it, getting the ball into Cheyenne Mountain territory. On third and 3, Wierenga was nearly sacked for a loss of eight, but evaded the Indian defenders and scrambled for 17 yards and a first down.
An offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Lancers back 10 yards, but Wierenga found Matt VonSprecken with a ball that was thrown perfect over the receiver’s shoulders. VonSprecken made an outstanding catch, giving the Lancers a 14-0 lead that held until halftime.
Liberty’s Jake Moore carries the ball during Saturday’s game against Cheyenne Mountain (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“That was a big momentum shifter,” Wierenga said. “I didn’t see it. I got hit after I threw it, but everyone told me it was really nice.”
The second half started the same way the first did for the Cheyenne Mountain offense. The Indians went three and out in their first possession and put the ball back in the hands of the Lancers. Liberty once again drove down the field and Wierenga added a rushing touchdown to his stat line, giving Liberty a 21-7.
The Lancers did face a bit of a scare in the third quarter though as Wierenga went down with an ankle injury that kept him out of the rest of the game. Both Sites and Wierenga said he was fine and that he would play next week.
“I went out at a bad time,” Wierenga said. “We were around the goal line and about to score again. I think (my teammates) coped pretty well and really meshed together. They said they were playing for me.”
In the fourth quarter, the Lancers added a defensive touchdown to bring the final score to 27-0, getting Liberty off to the start they wanted for this season.
For the Indians, they are now faced with trying to rebound from the loss and get back to learning lessons on the field after an offseason of learning them off the field.
“We have very little room error,” Indians coach Willie Roberts said. “We can’t have missed executions and missed alignments. We have to do the little things that make the big differences in the games.”
Cheyenne Mountain will look to bounce back when next week when they host Air Academy on Friday.