Football fans must be careful what they say sometimes.
I might not have been 100 percent alert Saturday night at Stutler Bowl covering my third high school football playoff game in nine hours, but I could have sworn I heard the words, “You throw like your dad!” yelled from the Arvada West stands.
Cherry Creek junior quarterback Jack Elway had just fired a pass toward the sideline several feet over his intended receiver. Rocketing a pass over an open receiver is something that I saw hundreds of times growing up watching his father quarterback the Denver Broncos for 16 seasons.
Of course, John Elway normally redeemed himself by making one of his 47 game-winning or game-tying drives in the fourth quarter. It was Jack’s turn Saturday.
With a minute left in the fourth quarter and the Bruins down 21-20, Jack marched Cherry Creek down to A-West’s 8-yard line with five seconds left on the clock. That fan was right — he does throw like his father.
A 24-yard field goal by Creek senior Kaylee Boryla (yes, the Bruins’ field goal kicker is a girl) as time expired ended A-West’s season.
It’s not every day that you lose to the son of an NFL legend while a girl kicks the game winning field goal, but A-West handled it well. It’s not easy to talk to the media after a tough loss like that, but nobody turned down an interview.
While the majority of the first-round games in the new 32-team tournament were snoozers, Cherry Creek-Arvada West was the reason why the new format makes sense.
Bizarre ending
I’ve never witnessed a crowd being able to dictate who is out on the field at the end of a blowout game until Friday at Jeffco Stadium.
Bear Creek had the game well in hand 47-16 with under four minutes to go. As expected, Bear Creek coach Tom Thenell put in the backups, and Heritage coach Mike Griebel did the same.
A few Heritage parents started yelling to put the seniors back into the game. Griebel obliged and the Eagles scored two touchdowns on several Bear Creek freshmen. Is that the way to go? Beating up on freshmen? I think not.
Big numbers, no playoffs
Speaking about beating up, D’Evelyn won its final four football games by a combined score of 232-7. Whipping up on first-year programs and a winless Jefferson squad didn’t count for much, though.
Losses to Summit, Valley and Rock Canyon prevented D’Evelyn from making the playoffs with a 7-3 record. It would have made more sense seeing what the Jaguars, who went 1-9 last season, could’ve done in the more competitive 3A North Metro League. D’Evelyn quarterback Mark Schaffer finished the season with 3,224 yards passing and over 1,000 yards rushing. Junior receivers Anthony Baldassari and Jordan Kehoe both went over the 1,000-yard mark. D’Evelyn probably would have traded its gaudy offensive numbers for a playoff berth.