Valor Christian overcame an early 7-0 deficit and rolled to a 30-14 win over Pomona in the Class 5A state football championship game Dec. 3 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.
It was the seventh win in eight state championship games in three different classifications for the Eagles, which beat Pomona, 29-26, in the 2015 title game.
Valor, which started the season 1-3 with the third loss being a 23-16 setback to Pomona, finished with an 11-3 record. Pomona, the top-seeded playoff team, ended at 12-2.
"One thing as a coach that you want is to be better at the end of the year than you were at the beginning of the year," Valor coach Rod Sherman said. "If I was the athletic director, I'd probably ask myself why we can't start playing better at the beggining of the year.
"I felt we have come a long way, more than anything phyically. Every single position we are a lot better now than we were at the beginning of the season. Pomona was a very, very good team. This title was special through the perservence and diligence in which we had to show this year."
Dylan McCaffrey, Valor's senior quarterback who has committed to play at Michigan, completed 8-of-19 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He led the team in rushing with 72 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.
Valor Christian's defense intercepted three passes and limited the Pomona rushing attack to 29 yards in the game.
Pomona quarterback Ryan Marquez was 20-of-31 passing for 180 yards, and he scored one of the two Panthers touchdowns on a 3-yard run.
Valor went three-and-out on the first possession of the game and Pomona responded with a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive capped by a 2-yard TD plunge by Kenny Maes. Tyler Thimsen's point after touchdown kick gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 7:01 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles quickly regained the momentum by scoring twice in 2:11 to take a 13-7 lead before the initial period was completed.
After an interception by Valor's Jack Walley short-circuited another Panther scoring drive, McCaffrey hit Christian Elliss with a 61-yard TD pass to get Valor on the scoreboard with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT attempt was blocked but Elliss then intercepted a Marquez pass on Pomona's ensuing possession and returned it to the Panthers' 5-yard line.
Dylan McCaffrey lofted a 5-yard scoring pass to younger brother Luke with 34 seconds left in the quarter to push Valor ahead.
Brian Brogan kicked a 28-yard field goal and Joshia Davis scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter as the Eagles grabbed a 23-7 halftime lead.
Dylan McCaffrey's 9-yard scoring run helped propel the Eagles to a 30-7 lead with 1:28 to play in the third quarter, but Pomona, helped by two Valor personal foul penalties, pulled to within 16 points at 30-14 after 3-yard TD run by Marquez with 11:19 still to play in the game.
Pomona was at the Valor 32-yard line and had a chance to make the finish interesting but the sixth sack of the game by Valor, this one by Mitchell Howell, resulted in a 10-yard loss. Then Marquez, under heavy pressure, had his pass intercepted by Hayden Courier with 5:41 remaining, which sealed the victory.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Valor-defeats-Pomona-for-seventh-state-football-title,239976
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