Comeback kids: Broomfield rallies by Montrose to win 4A football title

FORT COLLINS – In the locker room at halftime, with his team down 14 points, Broomfield football coach Robert O’Brien didn’t feel that a whole lot of on-field adjustments were necessary.

He just needed his team to believe a little bit more.

The Eagles had surrendered a touchdown on every possession in the first 24 minutes of the game, but they wouldn’t give up another point as they rallied in the second half to beat Montrose 35-28 to win their second Class 4A football state championship in three years.

“We just had to find our heart,” O’Brien said. “There weren’t a whole of game plan changes to be honest with you. We just came together as a group and decided that we’re not going down without a fight.”

The comeback start with an Elliot Less 18-yard touchdown run. Then the Eagles (13-1 overall) forced a Montrose punt for the first time all day.

Momentum had officially shifted and Broomfield only lost grip for a moment before snatching it right back.

It was a tale of two halves as the Montrose offense moved methodically down the field on each possession in the first half. Aidan Grijalva scored the first touchdown of the game and added another later in the half. Sophomore quarterback Cade Saunders, playing in the place of injured starter Chris Mock, threw touchdown passes to Chase Mehan and Wyatt Berry.

Even as the Red Hawks (12-1) were forcing the Eagles off the field a few times, there was never any panic on the Broomfield sideline.

“I had the same mentality going into everything,” Broomfield quarterback Darien Jackson, the game’s Most Outstanding Player, said. “First downs win games. That’s what I did. Check downs were always there and when I needed to throw deeper, I was able to.”

Jackson ended his day with a 181 passing yards and two touchdowns.

But the biggest key of beating the Red Hawks was being able to run the ball outside the tackles. Broomfield targeted the edge all day which was how Less found success.

“That was the game plan,” Less said. “We had to get outside and beat them with our speed. Make them run 50 yards each play going down the field.”

A pass interference call on Montrose set the Eagles up at the 6-yard line and it was Joseph Larsen who broke through to tie the game.

A big momentum shift finally felt like it was going Montrose’s way as they forced a Less fumble as the Eagles were driving to take the lead. With 6:14 left on the clock and the way the Red Hawks offense had chewed clock all day, it felt like Broomfield may have possessed the ball for the last time.

Until they just took it right back as Ty Lacrue ripped the ball out of Elijah Womack’s hands on the very next play.

The Eagles took the lead as Jackson scored from two yards out.

Montrose’s final drive of the game ended as Gio Toledo picked off Saunders. On 3rd down, Jackson found Mikhail Benner on a deep pass down the middle to move the chains and place the state championship back into the possession of the Eagles.

“Part of our culture is that we’re never going to stop fighting,” O’Brien said. “We’re going to work our butts off as hard as we can. That was the message at halftime and these kids are going to take that message for the rest of their lives.”