It was billed as a revenge game for Pomona, the top-seeded team in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A rankings, when the Panthers faced defending state champion and fifth-ranked Valor Christian in a Sept. 23 game.
Valor Christian, which came from behind to defeat the Panthers in last season's state championship game, dominated for most of the game but Pomona stormed back from a 16-3 halftime deficit to notch a 23-16 non-league victory in the contest played on Valor's Highlands Ranch campus.
The victory was payback for the Panthers but Pomona quarterback Ryan Marquez claims the win was more than just for revenge.
"We proved what was supposed to have happened last year," he said. "We made a statement here that we are the best team in Colorado. And, we're going to play like it from here on out."
Key Moments
Two Valor Christian penalties helped Pomona's tying and winning touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.
Leading 16-9 the Eagles' Ethan Zemla intercepted a pass which would have given Valor the ball at the Pomona 40-yard line but a face mask penalty nullified the pick. The Panthers kept possession and completed a 59-yard touchdown drive when Marquez threw a 30-yard TD pass to Uniah Vigil. That TD plus the extra point tied the score at 16 with 3:27 left in the game.
Then, the Eagles had the Panthers backed up at their own 8-yard line but a personal foul was called against Valor. With 2:34 showing on the clock instead of a third down, Pomona was given a first down. Pomona marched down the field and completed a 92-yard, game-winning drive with 39 seconds on the clock when Cameron Gonzalez broke loose on a 22-yard scoring run.
Key players/statistics
Valor monopolized most of the statistics The Eagles had 364 total yards compared to 252 for Pomona and 151 of the Panthers yards came on the final two scoring drives. Valor Christian also had the advantage in first downs (23-11), time of possession (28:32-19:28), total offensive plays (71-51) and third down conversions (8/18-3/13).
Marquez, a junior, completed 12 of 25 passes for 176 yards and two TDs. He was also the Panthers leading rusher with 27 yards. Sophomore Billy Popisil caught seven passes that included one catch for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Garrett Zanon led the Pomona defense with 13 tackles and blocked an extra point attempt.
Senior quarterback Dylan McCaffrey was a workhorse for Valor. He was 16-31-0 for 137 yards passing and he rushed 15 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Thibault and Jack Walley were McCaffrey's favorite targets with four receptions each.
With 10 tackles Zemla lead a Valor defense that contained Pomona's talented junior Max Borghi to just 65 yards all-purpose yards.
They said it
Pomona's second half comeback started when the coaches simply let the players play.
"We were concerned about the checks and fancy stuff they did the first half," said Pomona coach Jay Madden. "We decided to keep it simple and once we did our kids showed up. We ran a defense we hadn't run since last year. We went from a 3-4 defense where we had to shift a lot for their motion to a 3-5 defense where we could just line up. Once we just lined up, you saw how great we played in the second half."
Offensively, the Panthers let Marquez throw more passed.
"We were trying to establish our run game instead of just throwing it," Madden said. "We had great pass protection all night and we decided to throw it and things turned our way. "
Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman claims the Eagles 1-3 start could be misleading because of the tough non-league schedule. Valor has won six of the past seven state titles but have a 20-12 record in the first four games of the past eight seasons. In 2010 the Eagles started 1-3 but won the state championship with an 11-3 record.
"We laid an egg against Mullen but other than that, we've played pretty good," said Sherman. "At the end of the third quarter (against Pomona) the yardage was inflated towards us and if we execute, avoid a couple penalties we'd have a chance."
Going forward
Pomona (4-1) opens Mt. Evans League play Oct. 6 in a home game against Rock Canyon. Valor Christian (1-3) travels to the Stutler Bowl Sept. 29 to test a rebuilding Cherry Creek team.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Pomona-rallies-to-avenge-Valor-loss,236451?branding=15
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