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Standley Lake football holds off Monarch’s late rally to beat Coyotes for first time

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

ARVADA — In a game that appeared to be all but over, the Monarch Coyotes battled back to pull within five, but ultimately fell to Standley Lake 34-22.

The win gives the Gators (1-1 overall) their first victory over the Coyotes (0-2) in the eight years that they have been playing each other.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“We’ve never scored more than a touchdown against them,” Standley Lake coach Don Morse said. “We’ve held them under 30 I think three times. They’re a great program.”

The Gators went into halftime with a 20-3 lead and appeared to have the game in hand. But a Cole Polluconi touchdown in the third quarter gave the Coyotes some momentum.

“Phil (Bravo) is a great coach at dissecting your defense,” Morse said. “We made some plays when we needed to.”

The Coyotes pulled to within five after they recovered a fumble and quarterback Anthony Beck found the end zone on a touchdown run. But the rally would end there as the Gators punched one in the end zone in the last two minutes to put the game out of reach.