SPORTS
Valor to play familiar foe for title Brogan’s field goal gives Eagles semifinal victory over Creek
Lions to honor late hoops legend
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BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Freshman kicker Brian Brogan made sure Valor Christian took care of business in the Class 5A semifinals. Brogan kicked a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the game to lift Valor to a 10-7 victory over Cherry Creek on Nov. 26 at the Stutler Bowl, propelling the Eagles to their eighth straight state championship game. Brogan had missed a 35-yard attempt in the second quarter but was clutch when it counted most. “I could feel my heart kind of dropping and this was kind of a must-do kind of kick,” Brogan said. “I just went on the field, put my head down and drove through it.” Defending champion Valor Christian (10-3) will be seeking its seventh title in three different classifications when the Eagles challenge another familiar foe in Pomona (12-1) in the championship game, which will be at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. Pomona, runner-up to the Eagles in the state title game last season, defeated Regis Jesuit, 24-7, in the other semifinal game. Valor used a fumble recovery to set up a late drive to come from behind to edge the Panthers 29-26 in the 2015 state title game after the Panthers had won an early season contest last season. Pomona once again downed the Eagles 23-16 in a regular-season encounter earlier this season. “They’ll probably talk about revenge about how we won the state championship game last year,” Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman said. “We’re not going to talk about revenge from our earlier game. We want to come out and play as hard as we can. God gave us one more week with
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LOCAL
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Valor Christian’s Luke McCaffrey (2) leaps to pull in the interception away from Cherry Creek’s Nick Williams (10). The Eagles prevailed over Cherry Creek by the score of 10-7 on Nov. 26 at the Stutler Bowl in the 5A state semifinal. PAUL DISALVO our team and we want to enjoy that. “Hopefully we will be battle tested after the Creek game and be ready.” Sherman was quick to emphasize to his team, which got off to a slow start this season, that this is different than the seven other state title game appearances. “This feels as good going into the championship game as I can ever remember because of how we battled through some tough times this year,” Sherman said. “At 1-3, you remind the kids to stay on course and that
allowed us to teach them the lessons using the analogy that in marriages these days it seems like when the going gets tough society says ‘go find a new wife.’ What scripture tells us is to dig deep, stay the course and continue to grow. “Who knows what will happen next week. I hope our kids will be able to look back and say there was joy in the process and there was success in the journey.” SEE FOOTBALL, P33
KEEPING SCORE WITH... JP MARINARO What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy because I enjoy an action/ thriller that keeps me on the edge of my seat every time. What is your favorite pre-competition meal? Over-easy eggs on toast because I just like eggs. Why do you participate in sports? I participate in sports for the challenge to win and beat the other opponent and also because I love competition.
What is your favorite type of music and who is your favorite artist? My favorite favorite types of music are rap and classic rock. My favorite band is Led Zeppelin. What is your favorite subject in school? My favorite subject in school is biology because I love learning more about the world we live in. Do you have any pre-competition superstitions or rituals? I do. My pre-game ritual is when I get into the car, I put on my music and look out the window until I get to the rink, then we go out for team warmups once we are all at the rink.
KEEPING SCORE WITH... is a Q&A with high school athletes in the south metro area. Email sports writer Jim Benton at jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com if you or some you know would llike to participate.
ittleton High School will honor the memory of former standout basketball player Brooks Thompson at its home-opening game between the Lions and Kennedy at 4 p.m. Dec. 3. Thompson, who helped Littleton win OVERTIME the 1987 and 1989 4A state championships, died June 9 at the age of 45 from multiple organ failure. Thompson’s wife, Michelle, mother Sue, brother Chip and aunt Jan will be at the game for the Jim Benton halftime tribute that will have a commemorative Littleton jersey unveiled. Ron Vlasin, Thompson’s coach, will take part in the halftime ceremony. Thompson averaged 28.5 points and nine assists a game as a senior and was the 1989 Colorado High School player of the year. Thompson played college basketball at Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. He played for four National Basketball Association teams, including the Denver Nuggets, and was head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 2006 until March of 2016. “It’s a privilege for our team, our school and our whole community to have a chance to honor Brooks Thompson and his family,” said current Lions boys basketball coach Ryan Fletcher. “His contributions as an athlete and person are an inspiration to our current players and the entire Littleton family.”
Running strong Mountain Vista’s girls cross country team finished second to Broomfield in the Class 5A state cross country meet in October. However, the Vista girls haven’t stopped running. Competing under the moniker of the Vista Nation Cross Country Club, the girls captured the Nike Cross National Southwest Regional team title Nov. 19 at Grande Sports Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona, and qualified to race in the Nike Cross Nationals Dec. 3 in Portland, Oregon. Vista Nation beat favored Desert Vista by 12 points in the regionals while Broomfield finished third. Six of the seven Vista girls who took part in the state meet ran in Arizona, with freshman Sarah O’Sullivan leading the charge. She was 15th overall with a time of 18:17, but was fourth among the runners competing for the team title. Freshman Jenna Fitzsimmons was seventh and Caroline Eck, recovering from a lower-leg injury, was ninth among the athletes in the team competition. “Hard to say what our chances are SEE BENTON, P32