FORT COLLINS – Like a heavyweight prizefighter mid-fight, Cherry Creek football reminded the state that there is only one way to beat the Bruins on the big stage: you have to knock them out.

Columbine did that last year, snapping Cherry Creek’s streak of four straight titles. But Legend couldn’t deliver the final blow Saturday at Canvas Stadium, where the Bruins erased a 10-point halftime deficit with a 13-10 win over the surging Titans.

The comeback gave Cherry Creek its fifth title in the last six years and 14th title overall. And it strengthened Dave Logan’s Colorado coaching record with the head coach’s 12th state championship and his sixth with the Bruins.

“Two really good teams, a hard-fought game and I’m just glad we were able to hang in there and find a way to win in the second half,” Logan said. “I would like to express my gratitude to (head coach) Monte Thelen and his staff at Legend. Everyone was talking about us being prohibitive favorites and I thought that was just nonsense. They were a really good team.”

Cherry Creek’s defense kept the Bruins in the game despite being shut out in the first half, while freshman running back Elijah Cromwell’s two rushing touchdowns in the second half made the difference, giving Legend one of the biggest upsets of the season denied a recent Class 5A championship.

“Eli came in and ran with power, he protected the football and gave us what we needed in the run game,” Logan said. “As a freshman, I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

The Titans opened the game with an impressive drive, aided by a weak squib on the first kick that placed them at the Legend 39-yard line. They continued to push deep into Bruins territory before settling for a 30-yard field goal from senior Carson Flowers to take a 3-0 lead.

Then the Legend defense started to give in. Cherry Creek scored just one first down on its two drives in the first quarter without even sniffing Legends territory, and things didn’t get much better in the first half as the Titans continued to control the game.

The Titans offense took advantage of Cherry Creek being stuck in neutral. Midway through the second quarter, Legend extended its lead to 10-0 when senior quarterback Nick Farley threw a 33-yard TD pass to junior Ryken Banks. Farley was mobbed by several defenders during his throw, but a perfect lob to Banks sent the running back into a corner near the goal line.

En route to the Titans, who were in control in the first half, Cherry Creek was penalized heavily (seven times for 68 yards). One of those flags nullified a botched punt that the Bruins recovered in Legend territory, and another turned a batted pass in the backfield into a rough call by the passer.

“We beat ourselves in the first half,” Cherry Creek junior quarterback Brady Vodicka said. “Penalties, missed alignments, missed assignments.”

After Farley’s TD pass while in possession, Cherry Creek’s top receiver Jeremiah Hoffman failed to intercept a deep pass from Vodicka. The pass hit the senior’s hands right near the goal line. But he couldn’t hold on to what likely would have been a touchdown, and the Bruins were stopped on fourth down on the next play.

As the first half came to a close, Cherry Creek got deepest into Titans territory on the final play of the second quarter when junior tight end Ty Goettsche caught a pass and carried it to the 47-yard line as time expired the legend put forward.

Frustration was high on the Cherry Creek sideline as the Bruins jogged to the locker room and players barked at each other after the error-prone start. Meanwhile, Legend’s play in the first half was best recognized by the orange banner with white capital letters that hung outside the Titans’ student section, blaring: “WHY NOT US?”

“Two years ago we were down in the half of the championship against Valor Christian and then we came back and won the game,” said senior edge rusher Keegan Perea. “We had the same feeling tonight that we had to come out and get the momentum back. And that’s what we did.”

The teams exchanged punts in the third quarter before the Bruins took advantage of a short field to finally get on the field. Cherry Creek marched 39 yards in five plays, capped by Cromwell’s 2-yard TD run. That made it 10-6 with 5:24 left in the third period after the extra point was blocked.

Then there was a series of mistakes that ultimately led to the Bruins taking the lead for the first time.

Cherry Creek parried a punt downfield, which the Titans recovered at the Bruins’ 27. But on the next play, Banks’ fumble was recovered by Ashton Shepardson, who passed the ball back to the Bruins. Cherry Creek scored a three-pointer on that takeaway, beat a punt and then recovered a botched punt by the Titans’ Payton Aukland.

That led to the Bruins taking a 13-10 lead on Cromwell’s 9-yard TD run with 39 seconds left in the third. The deciding factor was a spectacular catch by Hoffman. The wideout shot the ball down the field in double coverage for a 42-yard grab, putting the Bruins in the red zone and making up for his earlier drop.

“We needed a big play to really get us going, and that pass to (Hoffman) was it,” Vodicka said. “I have so much faith in him. We don’t call him “Head Top” for nothing. He had that big meltdown earlier, but he doesn’t let it go to his head. I put him there and let him work, catching the ball off the defender’s head.”

Cromwell was named the game’s most outstanding player. Cherry Creek turned to him exclusively in the second half after suffering an ankle injury to starting running back Jayden Fox, who was initially injured in the Bruins’ playoff opener a few weeks ago. Cromwell finished with 102 yards rushing on 17 carries.

“When I scored my second touchdown, we knew we weren’t going to give the lead back,” Cromwell said.