Green Mountain flag football completes the sweep to win 4A Jeffco League title

LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain flag football left no doubt that it has the top team in the Class 4A Jeffco League this season.

The Rams dominated their league foes outscoring their opponents 598 to 32. The result was a perfect 11-0 conference mark for Green Mountain to go along with the 4A Jeffco League title that was presented to the team after a 67-0 victory over Bear Creek on Monday at Trailblazer Stadium.

“It means so much. I love this team. I love these girls,” Green Mountain senior Ella Cockrum said. “We have just become a family. It is so great to experience this with them.”

Green Mountain (12-2 record, 11-0 in league) finished off conference play Monday with its third straight shutout victory. The Rams took advantage of Bear Creek (1-11, 0-10) being without its starting quarterback in senior Elsa Johnson, who was out due to injury.

The Rams’ defense had four interceptions in the first half to set up Green Mountain’s high-powered offense in prime scoring positions with short fields to work with.

“This is one of those games that you can’t be complacent,” said Cockrum, who had a pair of interceptions in the first quarter as the Rams jumped out to a 34-0 lead before the end of the opening quarter to induce a running clock. “We have A-West next week, so we have to keep working on our skills. We came out strong, which is what we wanted.”

Junior Lexi Amolsch and senior Amelia Goyden had the other two inceptions for the Rams. Green Mountain has a total of 32 interceptions on the season.

“We know this is a passing game,” Green Mountain coach Joshua Newman said. “You have to be aggressive attacking the ball. You need to have defensive backs that think every ball is their’s in the air. That has been a big focus. Keep attacking the ball. If it is 50/50 it is our’s.”

Green Mountain’s offense has averaged over 54 points per league game. Sophomore quarterback Savannah Plumley has put up some crazy numbers throwing for over 3,500 yards and 87 touchdowns so far this season.

“We just wanted the win overall. Nothing about points,” said Plumley after she tied her season-high with nine touchdowns passes in a single game. “We wanted to spread the ball around with it being our last league game together as a group. We went out there, had fun and played our best.”

Senior Kate Poley, along with sophomores Maya Gutierrez and Charleigh Cagle had a pair of touchdown catches. Senior Stella Kragenbrink, junior Marissa VanGuilder and sophomore Beth Guenther all had a touchdown catch. Plumley had a touchdown run, which was her 9th rushing touchdown on the season.

“It is super big for us because we lost it last year,” Plumley said about bringing the league title back to Green Mountain after Pomona won it a year ago. “It is great to get it back.”

Green Mountain closes its regular season at noon Saturday, Oct. 10, back at Trailblazer Stadium. The Rams face 5A Jeffco League champion Arvada West (12-1, 7-0 in 5A Jeffco). The Wildcats clinched their three-peat with a 33-0 shutout victory at Valor Christian on Sept. 26.

“A-West has a really good quarterback and is going to sling it around against us,” Newman said. “We need to have that focus to compete and attack the ball in the air.”

The Rams got a taste of 5A teams during non-league play early in the season. Green Mountain lost to Legend (10-2), but shut out Ralston Valley.

“I’m a very competitive person, so I’m excited to have a competitive game,” Plumley said of the match-up against A-West on Saturday. “It will show us where we stand going into playoffs. I’m super excited.”

Green Mountain is currently No. 3 in the CHSAA 4A flag football rankings powered by MaxPreps. Only defending 4A state champs (The Classical Academy) and 4A state runner-up (Mountain View) are in front of the Rams heading into the state tournament that begins next week.