Broomfield begins Class 4A title defense with blowout of Longmont – The Denver Post

LONGMONT — The moment that Robert O’Brien took the reins of Broomfield’s football program, months after the Eagles were minted Class 4A’s state champion, he shifted their focus immediately toward the future.

“Nothing about the state championship. Absolutely nothing,” O’Brien said. “Our goal is to go 1-0 every week. That’s really the only thing that we’re focused on is Longmont today and nothing else. That’s the last thing on our minds. We don’t talk about it. We’re not concerned with it. We’re in a new year and we’re pushing forward.”

On Thursday night at Everly-Montgomery Field, after hiccups plagued both teams in a rainy debut rife with penalty-laden rust, the Eagles won their first week in a 42-14 showing over Longmont.

Junior quarterback CT Worley, who stepped up to replace top gun Cole LaCrue — now at Wisconsin — finished his night with 148 passing yards in addition to three scores on the ground, as he seemed to gain more confidence with each passing throw. The Eagles behind him responded in kind, namely junior running back Colin Torres, who ended his night with three touchdowns and 171 offensive yards.

“We’re still working on meshing as a team, but I promise you next week is going to be a lot different,” Worley said. “I haven’t played a full varsity game in like a year and a half, so I’m just glad to be able to step back in and lead my team.”

On the other side of the ball, LHS junior quarterback Kolby Holmes passed for 141 yards while using his own two feet to score a touchdown. The other came from a short run at the hands of senior running back Cole Gaddis.

While Holmes, who spent his sophomore season learning the ropes as a varsity quarterback, certainly took his lumps, he found ways to break through, especially in the second half. His growth followed a linear pattern similar to that of the rest of the Trojans, who spent the spring and summer coalescing behind their leading man.

“It’s his work ethic,” Longmont head coach Doug Johnson said. “He showed up every day this summer. He led by actions first and by his voice second, really worked on his craft and spent a lot of time with Warren McCarty getting better by throwing in some leagues.”

With every new possession, the Eagles broke off a piece of rust to further reveal the armor that lied beneath. Torres was the first to clean off a sizable chunk, a 7-yard score to put the Eagles up 7-0 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter, then let his quarterback polish off the rest of it.

Worley added his name to the scoreboard with his own 5-yard run midway through the second frame before finding the end zone once more with less than a minute to go in the half.

The Eagles led 21-0 at the half, but Longmont had found a way to polish off its own game during the break.

When the clock began ticking down in the third quarter, the Trojans began their hunt. It presented itself with a 31-yard pass from Holmes to Mason Hendricks, then culminated in a 10-yard running touchdown from Gaddis with 8:25 shining bright on the scoreboard.

Holmes, in response to another Torres touchdown, found his legs when he sprinted 38 yards into the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter. It was a matter of time before his athleticism sprang to the forefront.