Pomona football grabs key Class 3A Foothills win and hands Conifer its first loss

ARVADA — In a heavyweight battle between two of the top teams in Class 3A football, Pomona junior Parker Mills delivered the knockout blow for the Panthers.

Trailing 21-19 with just under 2 minutes to play, Conifer got the ball back on Pomona’s 45-yard line. Conifer junior quarterback Charlie Ostrowski, who had given Pomona’s defense fits all night, tucked the ball and started to run upfield.

However, Mills shed his blocker and put the hardest hit of the night on Ostrowski.

“I just came off my block. Saw him running and scrambling. I had to go get him. I had to make a play,” Mills said. “It sealed the game right there.”

This hit jarred the ball out of Ostrowski’s arms and Pomona senior Daniel Canda picked up the loose ball and ran deep into Conifer territory. A few knees later, Pomona celebrated a 21-19 victory on the Panthers’ homecoming night.

“It was absolutely a great game,” said Conifer coach Matt Steinfeldt, despite it being the Lobos’ first loss of the season.

Conifer (5-1, 1-1 in 3A Foothills League) trailed 14-0 after a tremendous 15-yard touchdown catch by Pomona senior Cedric Rathbun with 4:40 left in the second quarter. Rathbun had four catches for 95 yards on the scoring drive, but on the catch in the end zone he landed on his head.

Rathbun did walk off the field on his own after being attended by trainers, but didn’t return to the game.

“That dude is legit,” Pomona senior quarterback Tucker Ingersoll said of the senior transfer from The Academy. “He is the real deal.”

Conifer answered with an 8-play, 80 yard scoring drive to close out the half that ended with a 40-yard touchdown run by junior Graham Forsythe to cut Pomona’s lead to 14-7 at halftime.

Forsythe struck again early in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard touchdown catch from Ostrowski, but the Lobos missed the extra point that sailed just wide to allow Pomona (3-3, 2-0) to keep a 14-13 lead.

The Panthers answered with their most impressive drive of the night. Pomona took nearly 6 minutes off the clock on a 15-play, 89-yard scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ingersoll to junior Isaias Sierra, who was a part of so many big plays on the night for Pomona.

Pomona took a 21-13 lead with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“Isaias brings different things to the table and his football IQ is just so high,” Johnson said. “We can throw him in at quarterback. We can have him punt or return kicks. He can do it all at a high level.”

However, Conifer answered again with a big run by junior Mckade Tracy put the Lobos in Pomona territory. Ostrowski hooked up with Forsythe for an 11-yard touchdown with 2:33 left in the game.

The Lobos had to go for a 2-point conversion to hope to force overtime. Steinfeldt wanted to get the ball to Forsythe in the back of the end zone on the 2-point conversion, but the junior receiver slipped when he made the cut toward the pylon. Ostrowski scrambled to his left and eventually threw an incomplete pass.

The Lobos’ defense did get a three-and-out by Pomona and used all their timeouts to get the ball back with plenty of time to kick a game-winning field goal, but Mills denied Conifer.

“That hit was amazing,” Johnson said of the play by Mills that sealed the win. “Danny (Canda) picking it up there was beautify. Those are the things you dream about this time of year.”

There was a big question if Ingersoll had played his final prep game of his career a few weeks ago. The senior quarterback who is verbally committed to the University of Wyoming went down with a knee injury during the Panthers’ 64-28 loss to Holy Family on Sept. 4 at the NAAC.

However, after a bye week and sitting out on the road against Palisade, Ingersoll returned to the field last week against Wheat Ridge. He was a perfect 11-for-11 passing for 165 yards and five touchdowns, along with two carries for 36 yards on the ground in a 57-14 victory for Pomona.

Ingersoll said the knee felt pretty good the week after the injury.

“It felt normal I felt good,” Ingersoll said. “It was really getting the MIR to see what was going on. The doc said nothing was torn. Everything was all good. Seriously, I broke down. You only get your senior season one. When I thought it was ending short it was really upsetting. God is good.”

Pomona hosts Kent Denver (1-4, 1-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the NAAC. The Sun Devils picked up their first win last week with a 21-17 victory over Standley Lake.

“We have talked a lot this week about how we have learned from our losses,” Johnson said referring to defeats against Monarch, Holy Family and Palisade. “Now I want us to learn from our wins.”

Conifer returns home to face Wheat Ridge next Friday night up in the foothills.

“We have a real football team. Clearly the team we played tonight was a great football team and we don’t think we are too far off,” Steinfeldt said. “We are in a good spot. That is the message we are sending home with our kids. There is a lot of football left in the season.”