COLUMBINE BEATS FAIRVIEW 35-14

For veteran coach Andy Lowry and Columbine, the recipe for success is fairly simple: Pound the rock and control the clock.

The No. 9 Rebels did both in a decisive 35-14 win over No. 8 Fairview to open Mount Cameron play Friday afternoon at Jeffco Stadium, using an obvious advantage in the trenches and a steady mix of dive, power and buck sweep to grind down the Knights.

“Our offensive line just keeps getting better,” Lowry said. “We got humbled a couple weeks ago (by Chatfield) up front, and they took that personally, and that’s showed in practice and again today.”

Columbine’s opening drive set the tone for the game, as the Rebels ate up nearly seven minutes of clock en route to a 12-play, 80yard scoring drive capped by sophomore Tanner Hollens’ 2yard touchdown punch.

The Knights, spurred by a couple big plays from senior running back Mariano Kemp, mounted a response drive that had Fairview in the Rebels’ red zone. But senior linebacker Richard Hoffschneider and the Columbine defense dug in their heels and stuffed Fairview on fourth town, turning the ball back over to their clock-eating offense.

“That was a big stop,” Lowry said, “and it gave us the momentum back after it looked like they were going to come back with a score.”

Another lengthy Rebels’ drive followed, this time capped by junior quarterback Logan Dearment’s 5-yard touchdown run. And after a Knights fumble at midfield on the next possession, Dearment found senior Andrew Terrazas for a 5-yard touchdown on Columbine’s first of just two passes in the game to make it 21-0 with 1:07 to play in the second.

The Knights managed to get on the board before leading into the locker room, thanks to a 7-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Atkinson to Kemp with less than five seconds to go, but in all, the first half saw the Rebels with the ball for over 18 of the 24 minutes while limiting the Knights to just three offensive possessions.

“That was a heartbreaker,” Lowry said of the Knights’ late score. “In the locker room, I told our kids that it’s a fight every play, and that’s how we have to approach the rest of the game and the rest of the year.”

The second half was more of the same Columbine domination in a game in which neither team ever punted.

First, the Columbine defense made another fourth-down stand in their own red zone on the Knights’ opening drive.

Then, the Rebels took over 10 minutes to score again. This time it was Dearment on a one-yard keeper on fourth down, making it 28-7 with 9:18 to play and effectively icing the game.

“He’s just a smart football player — on that fourth down, he was stopped, and it was just a secondeffort to get in,” Lowry said. “He’s so completive, and he does everything for us — kicks, punts, quarterback and he played corner today, too.”

Junior tackle Evan Durbin, senior guard Kevin Singer, senior center Kai Valentino, senior guard Ryan Lang and sophomore tackle Andrew Gentry — who, at 6-8 and 285 pounds, is the crown jewel of the Rebels’ offensive line — continued to make their presence felt during the Rebels’ final scoring drive, capped by a 9-yard Connor Snow scoring run.

Columbine (5-1) hosts Mullen on Thursday, while Fairview (5-1) hosts ThunderRidge on Friday in the Post Preps TV “Game of the Week.”