Thompson Valley and Broomfield win titles

The first is the sweetest.

No. 1 Thompson Valley capped a perfect 14-0 season with a late fourth stop to beat No. 2 Mead 16-14 and win the school’s first state title in the Colorado 3A high school football championship game Saturday in Fort Collins . Canvas Stadium.

Fitting that it all came down to a defensive stop.

An Eagles defense that dominated all year once again made the difference.

After Mead grabbed an interception and drove to the TVHS 30-yard line in the final minutes, Thompson Valley forced three incompletions and a four-yard loss, stopping the Mavericks in their tracks.

When a 4th-and-14 pass fell to the turf with a minute left, the Eagles group found themselves just 13 miles north of the school’s Loveland campus.

“We couldn’t write a better story than this,” said Finley Lucas, the Eagles’ freshman quarterback.

The first 3A title game at Colorado State’s home stadium was a defensive but entertaining slugfest.

The Eagles won with just six first downs, less than 200 total yards and one offensive touchdown, forcing two turnovers and scoring on defense while adding a field goal by Eli Metzger.

“Our defense absolutely won the game for us,” Lucas said.

The first-year QB scored on the first drive with a 41-yard touchdown run. However, that only happened because Metzger turned a punt snap over his head into an incredible pass to extend the drive.

“I asked myself, ‘What just happened here?’ “I don’t understand how it happened, or how this whole season happened… Just remarkable,” TVHS head coach Jamie Steele said.

Of course, the biggest play came on defense.

Just before halftime, 9-7 veteran Dane Gray intercepted a deflected pass from Christian Hiner near the line of scrimmage and rumbled 20 yards for a pick-six touchdown.

Those were the last points Thompson Valley scored. Mead threatened frequently in the second half and even scored when Hiner dodged a sack and hit Noah Vroman for a 30-yard touchdown.

Hiner ultimately earned 3A Most Outstanding Player honors by making some great throws but also throwing two picks for 132 yards on 7 of 16 passes.

Landry Suarez and Ryan Case led Thompson Valley with 17 combined tackles, five of them for a loss. CJ James grabbed an interception in the first quarter and had a whirlwind day with five tackles.

“We had to get to the point,” Gray said. “We made a few mistakes, but we can’t get those big plays. We have to be a strong defense.”

“Powerhouse” might be too mild a description for this group.

Mead became just the third team to score in double figures against TVHS this year. The Eagles only allowed 89 points (6.4 per game) and threw five shutouts.

Yes, this was a team and defense for the ages, historic for Thompson Valley. It was the school’s first football state championship since opening in 1976.

Second place in 1989 was close, and that meant a decisive victory for this year’s team.

Several players on this year’s Thompson Valley team had parents on the 1989 squad.

“I just feel great for these kids,” Steele said. “I told them that their parents can sleep now. We got one for her too.”

Broomfield goes 2 for 3

What a day for the Eagles at Canvas Stadium.

No. 5 Broomfield (13-1) joined Thompson Valley as champions and captured its second Colorado 4A state football title in three years with a furious 35-28 comeback win over No. 2 Montrose.

Darien Jackson threw for two points and ran for another, turning an early 28-7 deficit into a dramatic victory for the Eagles.

Montrose (13-1) used scoring to build a 12-0 lead and opened a three-point lead midway through the second quarter.

But Jackson found Mikhail Benner for a gutsy 10-yard touchdown just three seconds before halftime. That cut the lead but, more importantly, gave the Eagles legitimate hope as they headed to the locker room.

Elliott Less and Joseph Larson scored rushing touchdowns on Broomfield’s third-quarter possessions, and things were suddenly close heading into the fourth quarter.

The defense also recognized Montrose’s ball-controlling Wing-T rushing offense, which dominated the first half with 246 total yards. The Red Hawks gained just 74 yards and did not score in the final 24 minutes.

Midway through the final quarter, the teams made critical errors on consecutive plays. Montrose’s proved more costly, putting Broomfield at the Red Hawks’ 20-yard line.

Jackson ran from two yards out for the go-ahead touchdown and Gio Toledo found Montrose quarterback Cade Saunders to seal the ball two minutes late.

The Eagles are now clearly one of Colorado’s strongest programs. Since 2016, they have played four championship games and won twice under two different coaches, most recently under second-year head coach Robert O’Brien.

And they steamrolled through the 4A playoffs this season, averaging 40 points per game and beating three of the top four seeds en route to the school’s sixth all-time football title.

Cherry Creek reclaims the 5A crown

It didn’t take long for No. 1 Cherry Creek to return to the top of Colorado 5A football.

The top-seeded Bruins (13-1) edged the No. 6 seed 13-10 in a championship game Saturday night, vying for their fifth state title in six seasons.

Columbine defeated Creek last season, but legendary coach Dave Logan’s team wouldn’t be able to give up in 2024.

However, it was anything but easy.

The Titans jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held in check a productive Bruins offense that had averaged 40 points per game compared to its in-state competition.

Freshman running back Elijah Cromwell got Creek’s offense rolling, rushing for 100 yards with two touchdowns in the second half. Junior Jayden Fox played for 96 yards on the ground due to injury.

Legend (12-2) came close to winning the school’s first football title during a special playoff run.

The Titans beat No. 11 Arapahoe, No. 3 Ralston Valley and No. 7 Fairview and had Colorado’s outstanding program on the line for much of this game.

But after a hot start, Cherry Creek’s defense came hard and limited Legend to just two first downs in the second half.

The Bruins needed it, as the Titans also held star Creek QB Brady Vodicka (11 of 20, 110 yards) and top receiver Jeremiah Hoffman (2 catches, 50 yards) in check.

But as Cherry Creek regained control of this game, the outcome felt familiarly inevitable.

The win marked Logan’s 12th state championship and sixth at Cherry Creek since 2014.

This was also the Bruins’ 14th state football title, following Limon’s 22nd in Colorado history.

Colorado 6-Man, 8-Man, 1A and 2A Football Championship Results

The small school soccer championships were held last Friday and Saturday (Nov. 29-30) at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo.

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Thompson Valley and Broomfield win titles

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