Demons tree Mountain Lions

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — The wind was whipping and the sun had dropped beneath the mountains on a late November Saturday in Colorado. Not an ideal time for a Gatorade dousing.

But Glenwood Springs head coach Rocky Whitworth, admittedly a little cold, didn’t mind one bit.

That’s because the dousing came with good reason. His football Demons had just punched their ticket to the Class 3A state title game with a 47-14 semifinal rout of visiting Mountain View.

“It felt great,” the veteran coach told a pair of fans offering post-game congratulations.

Whitworth’s Demons (13-0) secured their first state title game appearance since 1980 — and the right to douse their coach — by showing Mountain View little mercy.

Glenwood took a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, went up 24-6 by halftime time and then responded to a dose of third-quarter adversity by putting up 23 unanswered points.

Behind all that were some eye-popping offensive statistics.

Senior quarterback Dakota Stonehouse tossed for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-17 passing while running for 62 and two scores.

Senior running back Michael Hudson legged out 56 yards and a score on the ground and caught three passes for 60 yards and a TD.

And, of course, there was senior receiver Kevin Screen, who hauled in a team-high five receptions for 143 yards in the absence of fellow senior wideout Connor Riley, who’s out for the playoffs with a broken foot.

On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker Nick Ciani came up with easily the biggest play of his young high school career, intercepting a third-quarter pass by Mountain View quarterback Logan Moore and returning it 22 yards for a TD that all but put the game away.

“I read the pass and the guards didn’t come at me,” Ciani said. “I stepped back and caught it. It was amazing. I just did it for my teammates.”

Ciani and his teammates were in no way interested in showing the Mountain Lions mercy, particularly after the visitors’ Joey Hlushak scored from 15 yards out on his team’s opening drive in the second half. The play capped an 80-yard scoring drive that sliced Glenwood’s lead to 10 at 24-14.

“When they went down and scored that got us fired up,” Stonehouse said. “We needed to get that momentum back.”

Stonehouse and the Demons did all that and more, responding with an eight-play, 65-yard TD drive of their own. Hudson provided the capper, taking an option pitch into the end zone from 6 yards out. It was a march that senior receiver Bennett Nicola kept alive with a 12-yard catch on third-and-10 from Glenwood’s own 35-yard line.

One play later, Ciani delivered the defensive score that made it 38-14 with 5 minutes and 29 seconds to go in the third.

The sequence killed any chance of a Mountain View comeback and showcased the Demons’ steely resolve.

“The game could have unraveled right there and been very close,” Whitworth said of the Mountain Lions’ scoring drive. “Then for Nick to go and get the defensive interception. The swing was enormous.”

A safety and another TD later and the Demons were officially bound for next week’s state championship at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. There, it’ll be the No. 1-seeded Demons against No. 2 Fort Morgan, which defeated D’Evelyn in the day’s other semifinal. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

“They’re just so powerful,” Whitworth said of next week’s opponent. “They have some great players, I know. They’re still undefeated, same as us. We’re different in ways but, I mean, they’ll obviously be the most formidable foe we’ll see.”

Glenwood Springs last won a state championship in 1980 when it beat Fountain Fort Carson 21-6 to take the Class 2A crown.

While Glenwood celebrated, Mountain View watched its season conclude at 11-2, a mark that reflected quite the turnaround for a Mountain Lion team that had won just three games combined the past two seasons.

“We were definitely the underdogs out of it,” said Mountain View running back Steve Ryan, who finished with 121 rushing yards and a TD. “We fought all the way to get here.”

Added Mountain Lions head coach Bart Mayes: “I can’t fault our kids. They played their butts off but Glenwood was just the better team today.”

Breaking it down Turning point: Responding to a Mountain View touchdown to open the second half, Glenwood Springs scored 23 unanswered points to put the game away. Included in that outburst was a 65-yard TD drive and a 22-yard interception return for a score by sophomore linebacker Nick Ciani. Offensive player of the game: Dakota Stonehouse, who tossed for 235 yards and two TDs on 12-of-17 passing. He also ran for 62 yards and two scores. Defensive player of the game: Ciani, whose 22-yard interception return iced the Demons’ win. Special teams player of the game: Screen, who returned the opening kickoff 32 yards and a second-quarter punt 45 yards. Both set Glenwood up with prime field position that led to TDs. Play of a the day: A 57-yard strike from Stonehouse to Screen up the left sideline in the second quarter. Stonehouse put the ball way out in front of Screen, who put his head down and motored his way under the ball to make the catch. Big crowd: The Demon faithful came out in droves on Saturday. A paid attendance of 2,349 took in the 3A state semifinal contest. Next up: Glenwood will face 13-0 Fort Morgan in next Saturday’s 3A state title game at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.