The downpour at the NAAC should have made the conditions ideal for Fountain-Fort Carson’s rushing attack. That turned out to be the case, but only in the second half.

The Trojans were held scoreless in the first 24 minutes of the game but that run game could only be stifled for so long. A turnover early in the second half led to the first score of the game and the ground game took over from there as the Trojans rallied to beat Pomona 28-18.

“That’s two weeks in a row that we’ve been down at halftime,” coach Jake Novotny said. “We gut-check ourselves in the locker room and we come out and play hard. We’re learning that we have guys who can fight hard for four quarters.”

Terrance Coleman, Mathias Price and Kaleb Keits all scored rushing touchdowns to lead the comeback. Keits is showing signs of mobility after taking over as starting quarterback. The Trojans lost Colton Camba to injury earlier this season and Keits has embraced the next-man-up mentality.

“Now he’s the guy,” Novotny said. “We’re doing everything we can to protect him and it’s nice to have two or three running backs that can carry the load.”

Coming into the game, Price was fourth in the state in all 11-man classifications with 189.3 yards per game. His 11 touchdowns were No. 1 in the state and he is a big reason that the Trojans are sitting at 4-0 heading into next week’s Shield Game against rival Doherty.

**

Class 5A

(1) Cherry Creek, 42, Arvada West 0

Cortlen Johnson provided an early spark with a punt return touchdown to put the Bruins up two scores in the first quarter.

Quarterback Brady Vodicka threw for three touchdowns in the first half alone and Creek rolled to the easy win to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Fairview 49, Horizon 7

The Knights took a four-touchdown lead into halftime but after last week’s loss to Valor Christian, they weren’t taking any chances. They added three more scores in the second half to rebound from their first loss of the season.

Mesa Ridge 28, Doherty 0

(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)

Quarterback Bryce Riehl scored the first touchdown of the night for the Grizzlies and it was all they needed to snap a two-game losing streak. The defense played at a high level as well, snagging two interceptions in the first half and keeping the Spartans out of the end zone all night.

The Grizzlies face Widefield in a district rivalry game next week and then move into league play.

**

Class 4A

Fossil Ridge 35, (5) Windsor 30

Colton Pawlak scored on a 77-yard touchdown to put the Sabercats ahead in the first minute and they never looked back. Pawlak finished with nearly 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead Fossil Ridge to its first win of the year.

(6) Montrose 42, Palisade 0

Less than a week after a frustrating loss to Erie, the Red Hawks started as fast as any football team can start. Austin Zimmer ran the opening kick back for a touchdown and the race was on from there.

“I had him in class today and I told him that I thought he just might run the opening kick back for a touchdown,” coach Brett Mertens said. “He did just that.”

This is the second time this season that Montrose has followed up a loss to a highly-ranked opponent with a lopsided score against an area foe. The Red Hawks get 3A No. 1 Lutheran next week.

**

Class 3A

(3) Holy Family 46, Mountain View 28

The Mountain Lions took a 7-6 lead after the first quarter but Rylan Cooney found Monte Samaras for a 50-yard touchdown pass to put the third-ranked Tigers ahead. Dom Gabriel extended the lead soon after and then it became the Cooney show. He rushed for two scores and found Jaxon Grable for two more to give Holy Family a decisive win at Ray Patterson Field.

Discovery Canyon 42, Evergreen 14

(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)

The Thunder scored on their first drive of the game and then the defense flexed its muscles and kept the Cougars out of the end zone for the majority of the game. Jacob Yousif scored Discovery Canyon’s first two touchdowns of the game.

Scores from around the state

Full scoreboard

  • 5A: (10) Rock Canyon 35, Chaparral 0
  • 5A: Cherokee Trail 35, Fort Collins 31
  • 4A: Cheyenne Mountain 62, Pueblo Centennial 0
  • 3A: Wheat Ridge 26, Sand Creek 8
  • 1A: (2) Holyoke 43, Hershey (Neb.) 6
  • 8M: (4) Lyons 48, Merino 8
  • 6M: (10) Primero 80, La Veta 64