Conifer’s defense grabs five interceptions in victory over Standley Lake at NAAC

ARVADA — Conifer made is a successful and productive trip down from the foothills on Friday night.

The Lobos remained undefeated on the season with a dominating 61-7 victory over Standley Lake at the North Area Athletic Complex. It was the Class 3A Foothills League opener for both Conifer (4-0, 1-0 in league) and Standley Lake (2-2, 0-1).

“We are looking for some good competition in league,” Conifer junior Graham Forsythe said. “To draw first blood. It is good to get that first win in league.”

Conifer scored touchdowns on its first three offensive possessions, which included cashing in on back-to-back interceptions on Standley Lake’s first two offensive drives.

The Lobos opened the scoring with junior quarterback Charlie Ostrowski connecting with Forsythe with a 22-yard touchdown pass with 8:13 left in the first quarter.

Saim Rana set up the second touchdown when the Conifer junior defensive back intercepted Standley Lake senior quarterback Xander Colm. Ostrowski hooked up with senior Liam Van Airsdale for a 16-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter to put Conifer up 14-0.

“We feel like our defense has a lot of energy,” Conifer coach Matt Steinfeldt said. “They fly around and are very aggressive in creating turnovers. They have given our offense short fields. That maybe makes us look a little bit better than we are.”

The Lobos have outscored their first four opponents 215-26.

“We are still young and figuring things out,” Steinfeldt said of his team that is loaded with juniors. “It has been nice to win games and win them comfortably. We are trying to build as much depth as we can.”

Forsythe made a play on the defensive side picking off Colm. Junior Mckade Tracy made good of the second forced turnover with a 22-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-0 with 3:17 left in the first quarter.

Ostrowski tossed his third touchdown of the first half on a 44-yard strike to senior Silar Washer for the lone score of the second quarter to give the Lobos a 28-0 lead at halftime.

Conifer picked up its first defensive score of the night with a pick-6 by Tracy. The junior returned the interception for a touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage of the second half to make the score 35-0 just 15 seconds into the third quarter.

“That is a tool for us,” Tracy said of the aggressive defense for the Lobos. “We needed our defense to step up and they did that.”

The Lobos’ defense ended the game with five interceptions on the night.

“We were looking to get more turnovers. We haven’t had many the last few weeks,” Forsythe said. “Today we really got a lot. Five picks is big.”

Standley Lake did end the shutout bid with an impressive 65-yard touchdown run by junior Jaden Epps. It was the fifth touchdown of the season for the Gators’ running back.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Conifer junior Nathan Gulmantovicz with 10:03 left in the third quarter was the third touchdown is less than two minutes to start the second half.

The second interception of the night by Rana sent up an eventual 12-yard touchdown run by Washer to give the Lobos a 49-7 lead with 8:40 left in the third quarter. The 40-point lead induced a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Both teams had to endure a couple of lightning delays during warmups. The first game of a doubleheader at NAAC started about 50 minutes late with a 4:50 p.m. kickoff.

The Lobos are coming off a strong 9-2 record last season. Conifer was knocked out of the opening round of the 3A state tournament by Pueblo South.

“There is defintely a chip on our shoulder,” said Tracy, reflecting back on the playoff loss a year ago. “Our goal is always to get deep into the playoffs and be competitive. That wasn’t a competitive game for us.”

Conifer will dip out of conference play next week with a trip to Eagle Valley on Friday, Sept. 25. Standley Lake will also hit the road. The Gators have a Saturday afternoon game at Kent Denver. The Sun Devils are the lone non-Jeffco school in the newly formed 3A Foothills League.

“I really do like it. When we get an almost an all-Jeffco league it feels a lot better,” Steinfeldt said of the new conference. “The travel is a lot nicer and there are a lot of familiar faces. I think that is good for us too. It’s a great league.”