Raiders win battle of Class 5A unbeatens
PREP FOOTBALL: REGIS JESUIT 39, LEGEND 21
Darker» Like an autumn wind, No. 6 Regis Jesuit blew away No. 9 Legend, taking home a 39-21 victory in Friday night’s battle of Class 5A unbeatens at EchoPark Stadium.
Bolstered by the arm of sophomore quarterback Nicco Marchiol, Colorado’s top QB prospect for the Class of 2022, the Raiders aired it out early. But it was the legs of David Dody that carried the load for Regis, with the junior running back rushing for five touchdowns.
“It was just a coming-out party for him,” Regis head coach Danny Filleman said of Dody’s performance. “He’s been on the brink; he’s worked his tail off in the offseason and here’s the payoff.”
After connecting with Bryce Sloan through the air for the game’s opening touchdown, Marchiol faced adversity against a ballhawking Legend defense. Defensive back Bryce Kubasta came up with two first-half interceptions, one of which set up a scoring drive for the Titans.
Legend answered the Raiders’ opening score with 3-yard rushing TD from Conor Eise, capping a 50yard drive and knotting the game up at 7-7.
“We picked off some balls, we were happy with that,” Legend coach Monte Thelen said. “But we really just couldn’t find a rhythm.”
Following the interceptions, Regis leaned heavily on the run. Dody closed out the half with his first two touchdowns, giving the visitors a 19-7 halftime lead.
Legend added a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, as Kalen Shoemaker connected on a 22-yard pass play to Blake Doud, cutting the Regis lead to 19-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, a 72-yard return by Pyreese Miller set up a short field for Regis, and the Raiders capitalized with Dody’s third score, extending the advantage to 26-14.
Legend’s defense couldn’t find answers for the Raiders’ ground game after that as Dody added two more scores, ballooning the Regis lead to 39-14.
“We thought we could run the ball well on them,” Filleman said. “Our line up front did a good job and Dody did a fantastic job running the ball.”
The Titans kept plugging away on offense, however. Shoemaker connected with Garrett Womack on a long pass play, closing the deficit to 39-21 with five minutes remaining in the game.
But that was the final score of the game as Regis ran out the remaining time on the clock to close out the win.
“Give a lot of credit to Regis, they’re a diversified attack,” Thelen said. “We just made too many mistakes to stay with a really good team like them.”
Regis (7-0) will host Doherty next Friday at 7 p.m. Legend (6-1) will travel to Castle Rock to face Douglas County the same night at 7 p.m.