Golden breaks 19-year playoff curse to reach second round

The Golden High School football program ended a 19-year drought deprived of a postseason victory last week.

The Demons aren’t done yet. “Our kids rose to the occasion,” said Golden coach Jared Yannacito, following a 47-6 blowout win last week over Cheyenne Mountain. “It was pretty awesome.”

The ninth-seeded Demons advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs on Friday night at No. 8 Fountain-fort Carson. Golden junior starting quarterback Jazel Riley IV is a big reason why after he accounted for 42 total touchdowns over 11 games this season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound signal caller has 1,975 yards through the air and 953 on the ground.

“I don’t want to call myself a dual-threat because that kind of demotes my passing ability,” said Riley, a Bear Creek transfer who played JV last season due to CHSAA rules. “But I feel like I’m a pocket passer that can run really well.”

Riley’s exploits aside, the true source of Golden’s football rejuvenation dates back to January 2017. The school had just completed a 1-9 season — with an overall scoring differential of 327-74 — and a change was made at head coach. Yannacito, a longtime Pomona assistant, embraced the challenge.

“It was a program that was in a bad spot,” Yannacito said. “The biggest thing I saw when I came in was that I saw kids who weren’t confident. They were great kids. But they didn’t know how to win. … I had a really good mentor in coach (Jay) Madden and some other great coaches on the staff at Pomona. It kind of helped me see how a program should be run and how to replicate that.”

In year one, Yannacito established the mantra of “close the gap” as a first step in bringing football relevancy back to Golden. The Demons exceeded all expectations with a 7-4 record. Their next hurdle as a program was the postseason. Golden had not won a playoff game since 2002.

Riley made it his mission to change that.

“I always wanted to be the leader of a team. That’s the quarterback,” Riley said. “I’ve always had a love for the game.”

Golden started the regular season 7-0 before stumbling in consecutive games to Chatfield and Dakota Ridge. Demons senior Dalton Summers, a starting running back and safety, called a team meeting that helped right the ship.

“It always starts with the players,” Yannacito said.

Golden scored at least 40 points in its previous two games to establish the Demons as a dark-horse candidate to claim state in Class 4A. Winning a playoff game is just the first step.

“Knowing that in 19 years we’re the first to do it? That feels really special just with the way we’ve built our foundation,” Riley said. “We’ve come a long way. It’s starting to finally show.”