Late this summer, before Columbine began defending its Class 5A football title, senior offensive/defensive lineman DJ Ironshell summed up the Rebels’ football philosophy.
“We just run the ball and let the pads do the talking,” he said.
The Rebels’ pads talked plenty of smack Friday in their 35-14 win over Arvada West at Jeffco Stadium. But the other key in Columbine’s 21st straight victory was its penchant for big plays in big moments.
The first two drives of the game illustrated the point.
A-West, expertly guided by junior quarterback Logan Duhachek, put together an opening 16-play, 52-yard drive to eat nearly nine minutes off the clock. The Wildcats had first-and-10 at the Columbine 17-yard line, but senior linebacker Rory Marez sacked Duhachek for a 9-yard loss. On the next play, sophomore Keith Fischer sacked Duhachek for 11 yards. The Wildcats had to settle for a 52-yard field goal attempt that fell short and wide.
“I think big plays was it for us tonight,” coach Andy Lowry said. “Our defense gave up a lot of yards in between but we got the big plays when we needed them. They had a lot of long drives but came up empty a lot.”
The Rebels’ rushing attack, as it almost always does, produced from the get-go. On Columbine’s first play from scrimmage, junior Mark Snyder bounced off a tackle at the line of scrimmage, cut inside, and sailed 80 yards for a touchdown.
“It wasn’t supposed to go that way, but I just cut back and was in the clear,” said Snyder, who rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. “I’m not sure they even knew I had the ball.”
That’s the way the night went. Talented A-West, which fell to 5-2, put up plenty of yards through the air and put together three impressive long drives, but the relentless Rebels (6-0) had a big-play answer every time.
A-West tied the game, 7-7, late in the first quarter on a perfect 26-yard yard touchdown pass from Duhachek to junior wide receiver Keegean Balistreri. Duhachek finished the night completing 30 of 41 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw three interceptions.
The Rebels quickly retaliated, stinging the Wildcats with a six-play, 59-yard drive with Snyder powering in from the 3-yard line.
Two killer moments haunted A-West just before halftime.
With 16 seconds left, Columbine senior running back James Basinger pulled off a remarkable 20-yard TD jaunt — near the end zone he put a hand down to stay on his feet and pinballed off would-be tacklers — to put Columbine ahead, 21-7. Basinger rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
On the ensuing kickoff, A-West’s Caleb Gomez almost returned the ball for a touchdown, but he was dragged down at the 2 as time expired. The Wildcats were also called for holding during the return.
Snyder’s second game-buster of the night came on the fourth play of the second half. He burst through the middle for a 56-yard TD run to give the Rebels a 28-7 lead. That clinched the game for the Rebels.
“James (Basinger) and Mark (Synder) had some monster runs tonight,” Lowry said. “They’re pretty special.”
Columbine has been dealing with an assortment of bumps, bruises and minor injuries, so practice time was limited for several players this week.
“We have some pretty low numbers (of players) this year and a lot of our guys are playing both ways, so we’re pretty beat up right now,” Lowry said. “This was a next-guy-up night for us. A lot of guys got reps tonight. Right now, we’re just trying to get healthy.”
Next up is a showdown against No. 6 Ralston Valley (6-1).
“We have a big week coming up,” he said. “Last year, our win against Ralston was kind of a turning point for us. They had beaten us the previous couple of years, but last year we came out and out-hit them. That kind of turned it around and everybody kind of noticed how tough our kids were.”
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