Guess Who’s Back: Recap of the 2019 5A Colorado High School State Football Championship
By Jimmy Pallotto
It is a place where both teams should have had familiarity, Empower Field at Mile high, the site that would claim the 2019 Colorado High School state champion in the 5A class. The teams hadn’t met in over a year, Columbine high school and Cherry Creek high School, they last played in the 2018 semi-finals. Cherry Creek walked away victorious and got to play at the stadium losing to eventual champions Valor Christian. Now they meet again, this time with more than just an opportunity to play for a championship on the line, a champion was going to be crowned in the next 48 minutes. The teams’ success mirrored that of the coaches who lead them, for Columbine coach Andy Lowry has coached in this championship game and won it with the Rebels five times before with his most recent being in 2011. Cherry Creek is coached by one of the most recognizable figures in Colorado high school football history, and voice of the Denver Broncos, Dave Logan who had won the championship seven times prior to the contest on Saturday. Unlike his coaching opponent, Lowry has brought and continued to cultivate success at Columbine High School dating all the way back to before the turn of the century when the Rebels hoisted their first State title after defeating who else but Cherry Creek. Logan has been successful everywhere he has manned the sidelines dating all the way back to 1997 and leading the Arvada West Wildcats to their only championship in school history, from there he won the Chatfield Chargers their only title in 2001. He is best known for his time coaching the former powerhouse Mullen high school which under his tutelage won four state championships including a three-peat from 2008-2010. Then of course he transitioned from Mullen in 2011 and it only makes sense that the most successful (and hated) head coach would start anew at the most successful (and hated) high school in the state, Cherry Creek. In a two-year span Logan had taken Creek from “once great dynasty” to Championship contender again winning his seventh and breaking a 17-year drought for the Bruins. That success has continued as the Bruins, minus the 2017 season, have been among the final four teams in Colorado and making the state championship game both this past weekend and of course last season.
So, we knew that the coaches were prepared to be here, the teams were in similar positions as well. Cherry Creek, despite early season trepidation about the talent drain losing 30+ seniors from a team who played in the championship already, was loaded tearing through their schedule onto a number one seed in the playoff tournament. The fact that Creek’s closest margin of victory was 17 points in the regular season against future semi-final opponent Pomona proved the doubters of the Bruins, which included their head coach, to be wishfully thinking that Creek would fall off. The playoffs did not stray very far from the regular season as Creek’s physical and emotional dominance over their opponents seemed to grow along with their record which two weeks ago sat at 12-0 when preparing for their re-match with what has developed into quite the in state rivalry with Jay Madden and Dave Logan. The teams disdain that night were in full effect and it was a stingy defense coupled with some offensive explosion that propelled the Bruins to a 14-7 victory and set them up for the showdown at Mile High.
Columbine had a little rougher of a time making it to Saturday thanks to some mid-season struggles. After seven straight victories, including a 24-21 game against Olathe North high school from Kansas, the rebels seemingly lost focus and lost two heartbreakers in a row to intra-league rivals Pomona and Ralston Valley. Coach Lowry righted the ship and along with solid senior leadership Columbine would finish the season and playoffs with a four-game winning streak that even saw the Rebels knock the defending champion Valor Eagles out in the quarterfinals (for that the state would like to thank you). In the semis fighting through a tough snowstorm during the Thanksgiving holiday the Rebels out lasted their JEFCO league rival and ending Ralston Valley’s bid for an undefeated season.
That brings us to Denver, Colorado in early December with what could only be described as beautiful weather to decide who in fact was going to be taking home the Colorado State Championship trophy, would Columbine give their coach and school its sixth championship, or would the Creek Mystique rear its head and add a tenth football trophy to their records moving them only behind Fort Collins who has 11 with the last coming in 1953.
The Rebels are known, especially under coach Lowry, as the epitome of toughness. They never have the greatest team talent wise, but they buy in as a group and play “rebel ball”, which has the reputation of playing on both sides of the ball and using an outdated offense but running the plays and wrinkles perfectly to bludgeon opponents to death. This is further emphasized by the 3,557 yards rushing Columbine had posted on the season coupled with 51 touchdowns on the ground. Compared to their passing totals of 1,019 yards and 16 touchdowns it was very clear offensively where the Rebels held sway. Defensively the Rebels boasted solid numbers in sack totals at 51 on the year, however that figure is a tad conflated since 35 of those sacks were against inferior competition. Individual leaders came in the form of their senior quarterback Jadon Holiday who compiled 863 yards on the season throwing with 12 touchdowns as well, he also started at safety during the season and recorded 13 total tackles and an interception. The other dangerous senior on both sides of the ball was Tanner Hollens who amassed 1,667 yards rushing in 13 games and 28 touchdowns while throwing for one as well. Defensively Hollens totaled 33 tackles and also had an interception of his own. Those two Rebels had the tough task of matching the production of Creek’s three headed monster of Jaylee Stacks, Myles Purchase, and Chase Penry.
Stacks, a returning senior who had felt the pain of defeat in the previous year’s championship game, was on a mission to prove that himself and Creek were still the cream of Colorado’s crop and he made a very convincing case that included 1,155 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns rushing and another five receiving to make him responsible for 120 points on his own. The workhorse in the Bruins backfield Stacks also blocked for fellow running back James Walker II from the fullback position leading Walker to post an 884-yard total on the season. Chase Penry, the standout junior, was quarterback Julian Hammond’s security blanket on the outside from the receiver position averaging 54 yards per game and totaling 10 touchdowns. Then came the most athletic and dynamic player on either side of the ball for the Bruins, Myles Purchase. The cornerback also played heavily in the bruins’ offensive backfield as both the tailback and wildcat quarterback, but his most important contribution to the team would come from his special teams resume. Purchase averaged 22 yards per punt return totaling 505 on 23 chances and housing 2, as well as returning kickoffs with a long of 94 yards and 2 house calls that way too. But his main position was to shut down half the field for the opponent’s quarterbacks and that might be his most elite skill, on the season Myles intercepted 4 passes and returned every single one of them. Now with the stage being set the game was about to start.
The coin toss was the first win, for what would turn into a host of others to follow, for the Cherry Creek Bruins who deferred their choice until the second half electing to send their dominant defense out first to contend with the eclectic Rebel offense. A deep kickoff with great coverage stuffing the returner at the Columbine 16-yard line. The defense then forced a punt which gave Purchase a chance to give his offense great field position. The Creek offense began to drive down the field and methodically broke the scoreless tie on a big run by James Walker II diving for the front pylon after breaking a couple tackles. Creek would hold the seven-point lead for the rest of the quarter after stuffing the Rebels on the follow up drive and would run out the clock into the second quarter once they got the ball back.
The second quarter was much of the same with Creek controlling one drive that they were able to score on, this time a tough run by Jaylee Stacks giving the Bruins a 14-0 lead at half. The one area where you could see the clear cut advantage, cause Columbine had some good plays and got into field goal range but missed the kick, that coupled with poor punts gave Creek short fields much of the first half.
The third quarter began and Creek received to begin the half and had a decent drive stalled with penalties, and it was starting to feel like Creek was going to struggle just like they had the week prior after having to hold on an early lead to beat the Pomona Panthers. Columbine just like everyone though held tough even though it was clear they were over-matched so far in the game, that toughness paid off near the middle of the third quarter when Julian Hammond made a bad mistake floating a ball over the middle late and the Rebels picked off the bad pass and set up a struggling offense with a short field and that offense responded by scoring and cutting the lead in half. 14-7 late into the third quarter and the momentum firmly on the side of the Rebels, they kicked off to the Bruins and the man who had provided the spark all season did it once more. Myles Purchase caught the ball and took off taking it out nearly 45 yards to Cherry Creek’s 40-yard line, swinging part of the momentum back in favor of the Bruins. From there they developed another drive, aided by some Columbine mistakes and penalties, found themselves 1st&10 at about the Columbine 10 yard line, Purchase lined up behind center Carson Lee and took the direct snap fought through three tackles and punched in another hard fought touchdown just as the fourth quarter began, Bruins lead 21-7.
The touchdown refocused the defense and why not make it ugly as Holiday tried to throw an out route to the far side of the field and Mr. Purchase stepped in front of the receiver taking that pass 22 yards back to the house pushing the lead to 21 once again. The Bruins went onto score another garbage time touchdown and Columbine was able to scratch out a late field goal to make the final score 35-10. The win makes eight total in the Hall of Fame career of Dave Logan and tenth in the storied history of Cherry Creek football, the second of this decade. All signs seem to point towards the possibility of a repeat performance with stars like Chase Penry and Julian Hammond returning and not much returning anywhere else in the 5a landscape, but as an alumni it was awesome to see Creek not only win but dominate.
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