Green Mountain flag football overcomes early mistake in shutout win over Dakota Ridge

LAKEWOOD — Something nearly happened Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field that hasn’t occurred all season for Green Mountain’s flag football team … trailing in a conference game.

On the first play from scrimmage, Dakota Ridge freshman Amelia Wiemeier intercepted Green Mountain sophomore quarterback Savannah Plumley. Wiemeier returned the pick to the Rams’ 2-yard line.

“It was a mistake, but proud of our defense for stopping them,” Plumley said.

Green Mountain senior Amelia Goyden returned the favor on the next play intercepting a pass by Dakota Ridge junior quarterback Ainsley Malcom in the end zone to give the ball right back to the Rams.

“It’s just about trusting our team,” Goyden said of the Rams’ defense making plays. “We all have a job to do on defense. We know we can count on everyone to be in the right place at the right time.”

Green Mountain (10-2, 9-0 in Class 4A Jeffco League) hasn’t trailed in any league games this season. After the early hiccup, the Rams looked like they have all conference play in dominating their opponents.

Green Mountain scored touchdowns on all seven offensive possessions after the turnover and got a defensive pick-6 from junior Ruby Maliska in a 54-0 victory over Dakota Ridge (4-9, 3-6).

The Rams have outscored their league opponents 486 to 32 in nine league games. Still, Green Mountain coach Joshua Newman isn’t going to be smiling ear-to-ear anytime soon.

“I’m not happy right now,” Newman said. “We know that we are going to continue to fix things, adjust things and get better. Maybe one day I’ll be happy, but I don’t ever see that happening.”

Green Mountain players can bring some joy to their focused coach this weekend in the form of a conference title.

The Rams can officially clinch the 4A Jeffco League title on Saturday morning at Evergreen High School. Green Mountain faces the Cougars at 9 a.m. A win would bring the conference plaque back to Green Mountain after Pomona claimed the league title a year ago.

“It means everything,” Goyden said of winning the conference title. “We think about last year and how we should have held on in the game to win the league title. It means everything to get it back.”

Green Mountain lost to Pomona 25-20 early in the league play. That was the lone league loss for the Rams as the Panthers went undefeated in conference play to take home the league title.

“It’s super exciting for me,” Plumley said of the Rams with the opportunity to clinch the league title Saturday morning at Evergreen.

The Rams’ offense has been more than exciting all season. Plumley went over the 3,000-yard passing mark Wednesday night. The sophomore has tossed 71 touchdowns already this season.

Junior Marissa VanGuilder already has over 1,000 yards receiving and caught three touchdowns against Dakota Ridge. VanGuilder leads the entire state with 33 touchdowns on the season.

“We have been trying to move Marissa around some more to open up other people,” Plumley said. “Teams know they have to double-team her.”

Senior Kate Poley had a pair of touchdown catches for the Rams against Dakota Ridge. Sophomore Maya Gutierrez also hauled in a touchdown. Poley and Gutierrez have combined for 31 touchdowns through the air.

While the Rams’ offense has looked unstoppable at times, Green Mountain’s defense has been just a sharp. Newman has made it a point to be very involved in coaching up his defense.

“This season is the first time where I’m not calling the (offensive) plays,” said Newman, who has offensive coordinator Kirk Jacob calling the plays this season. “I’m entirely focused on what is going on with our defense. It is allowing me to address issues first hand so we can be as steady of a defense as possible.”

The Rams have six shutout wins so far this season and have only given up double-digit points in three games.

“(Defense) has improved so much since our first three games,” Plumley said of the Rams’ defense. “I’m excited about going into playoffs, go against harder teams and seeing them shine. They are really good at attacking the ball. We have had a lot of picks and our rush puts pressure on the quarterback to create those mistakes.”

Green Mountain finishes out the regular season with its league finale against Bear Creek on Monday, Oct. 5, at Trailblazer Stadium. The Rams will have a good tune-up before the 20-team 4A state tournament begins Oct. 13. Green Mountain faces 5A Jeffco champs — Arvada West (11-1 record) — at noon Saturday, Oct. 10, at Trailblazer Stadium.

“I’m excited for a challenge like that,” Goyden said of facing A-West, who wrapped up the 5A Jeffco title last Saturday. “It will allow us to work on things that we’ve been working on in practice. It will be a good test to see where we are at before playoffs.”

Dakota Ridge was on the outside looking in when it comes to making the 4A state tournament. The Eagles were No. 25 in CHSAA 4A flag football rankings powered by MaxPreps before games were played Wednesday.