Bear Creek 49, Thomas Jefferson 6

LAKEWOOD - To say the Bear Creek Bears dominated the Spartans of Thomas Jefferson would not do justice to the feat. Annihilation, probably wouldn’t work either. Think somewhere in the middle and you’ll begin to get the picture of how Saturday’s second-round playoff game went at Jeffco Stadium Saturday afternoon.

On a field soaked by melted snow that became more and more sloppy as the afternoon wore on, Bear Creek played its finest game of the 2009 campaign. The result? A 49-6 shellacking that moved the Bears one step closer to a state title.

The first half was about as close to perfection as a football team could get.

It took the Bear defense a few plays into Thomas Jefferson’s opening drive to get on track. Once it did, however, it was simply dominating. The closest the Bear D would let the Spartans get to the end zone during the first half was the 29, where it stopped the Spartans cold on four consecutive attempts.

The Bears offense rolled through the Spartan defense like Patton’s army rolled through Europe. There was seemingly nothing that would stop Bear Creek.

“Other than that one drive where we had to punt, I don’t think we’ve played any better all season long,” coach Tom Thenell said.

Under gray, overcast skies, and with the weather getting chillier by the minute, the Spartans took the opening kick. Things looked promising when senior Chase Bostic fielded the ball at the five and moved it up to the 38. Two plays later senior Zach Jackson kept around right end for an 11-yard gain up to mid-field.

Extreme concern showed in the Bear Creek coaches’ faces.

“Who lost containment? Who didn’t contain?” they shouted.

Jackson hit Bostic for an 8-yard gain on the next play. The Spartans had invaded Bears territory and were on the move. On the next play, senior running back Matt Averyhart pushed off left tackle for a 2-yard gain. The Spartans had a new first down.

But the Bears stiffened. Averyhart was hit in the backfield for a 2-yard loss on first down; senior running back Jamie Redd’s first carry went for minus 1 and Jackson’s pass on third fell incomplete.

The punt left the Bears to start on their own 7-yard line. No matter, the Bears had come to play and senior Lukas Lockett showed it on the first play. He took the handoff and went 17 yards around the right end. Potential safety: averted. Team: fired up.

Zach Thenell’s first pass went to Armoni Brewington for a modest gain. A pass interference penalty pushed the Bears out to the 41. Thenell hit senior wide receiver PJ Rhoades for a 21-yard gain. Lockett carried the next two plays: a pitch for 13 and off left tackle for three. On second-and-7 from the Spartan 22, Thenell passed to junior wide receiver Nathan Burns for a gain of 16. The Bears were six yards away from the goal line.

Two plays later, and after two penalties helped push the ball to the half-yard mark, Lockett got the call and rushed around right end for the game’s first score. Senior Jessica Wingert added the point after, and Bear Creek led, 7-0.

Thomas Jefferson took over at their own 24 with 3:12 left in the first quarter. To say the drive stalled would be woefully inadequate. It, in fact, went backward. With fourth-and-9 from the 21, the Spartans were forced to punt.

Senior Dylon Chafin caught the punt deep in Bears territory on the far right side of the field. He immediately moved to his left and the Spartan defenders shifted with him. After about four steps, Chafin slipped the ball to senior Armani Brewington, who flew down the right sideline on the reverse. When he was finally forced out of bounds, the Bears were setting up shop at the Spartan 34.

The Bear Creek coaches must have thought Brewington deserved to score because they called his number on first down. Thenell faded back and hit Brewington in mid-stride. The senior cut back to the middle and breezed into the end zone. Wingert’s kick made it 14-0.

TJ got a good return on the kickoff, starting at the 39. Two plays later the Spartans were at mid-field. The drive bogged down there, however, and the Spartans punted.

Chafin fielded the ball at the 10 and the Spartans were ready for the fake. With Brewington on the move, the Spartans set their sights and closed. Only, Chafin didn’t give up the ball. Fifty yards later Chafin would finally be hauled down at the Spartan 40. Five plays later, after an 18-yard pass from Thenell to Chafin, Lockett pushed over from the five. Wingert’s kick made it 21-0 with 8:43 left in the half.

With a three-score deficit, the Spartans were up against the wall. They needed a good drive and a score to maintain morale and have some semblance of a comeback. Following the kickoff they would get one but not the other.

The Spartan drive started at the 33. They moved out to their own 45 on a couple of nice passes from Jackson to senior Armani Nunn. Senior Michael Craig carried for six and Jackson hit Billy Sprague for 11 down to the Bears 29. Four straight incomplete passes and the Spartans drive, and any hopes of a comeback were pretty much gone.

The Bears next drive was their only visit to imperfection during the half. On first down the Bears were whistled for holding. Lockett’s first carry went for four. A pass to him on the next play went for five. Another pass fell incomplete.

Enter the punt team.

TJ went four and out. They punted to Brewington, who faked to Lockett. When the play ended, the Bears had first-and-10 at the Spartan 25. Thenell hit Lockett on the first play for a touchdown. Winger’s PAT put the Bears up 28-0 and the rout was on.

The Spartan offense could not figure a way to get on track all afternoon, and the ensuing drive was no different. With third-and-10 from the 40, Jackson was sacked for an 11-yard loss by junior linebacker Jacob Harris.

Following the punt, with 2:17 remaining in the half, Bear Creek took over at its own 38. Lockett rushed up the middle for 12. Thenell kept for five, then nine. With first-and-10 at the Spartan 22, Lockett burst up the middle to the four. An illegal formation brought the play back and pushed the Spartans back to the 27, with just 34.6 seconds left in the quarter. On the next play Thenell passed to Brewington for a 16-yard gain to the 11. With just 17.9 second left, Thenell hit Burns over the middle for a score that, after the PAT, left the Spartans trailing, 35-0.

“In think, early in the season, a lot of people were ready to stick a fork in us,” Bears coach Thenell said. “I don’t think we’re done yet.

“We came in with a plan. We wanted to be good in September and better in November,” Thenell said.

The opening kickoff by the Spartans was perhaps their best play of the game. The ball came off the tee almost like a punt. It bounced once and speedy Sophomore Ledell Smith ran under it for the Spartans, giving them excellent field position at the Bears 21. On first down, however, the Spartans passed to Billy Sprague in the backfield. Senior Isaac Quintana nailed him for a 4-yard loss. Three plays later the Spartans gave up the ball when Jackson’s pass to Bostic was knocked away by sophomore Ceasar Cisneros.

The Bears needed just four plays to go the 75 yards to the end zone. On second-and-7 from the 44, Thenell passed to Brewington on the right sideline. Brewington broke one tackle, cut back to the middle, broke another and was in the clear for the score. Wingert’s kick, with 9:36 left to play in the third, made it 42-0.

With a 40-plus lead, Colorado’s “mercy” rule kicked in, where the clock does not stop.

On the next drive, a dejected Spartan team made matters worse for themselves. On third down, Jackson’s pass was intercepted near mid-field by junior Jack Karger, who raced through the right side of the Spartan line all the way down to the nine. Three plays later Thenell passed to Brewington from six yards out. The kick put the Bears up 49-0 with 3:41 left in the third.

Coach Thenell played the second team for the rest of the game. The Bears got close on another drive, but it stalled at the Spartan 15, where the Spartans took over one last time, with just 8:18 left to play.

Against a second team Bear defense, the Spartans showed some ability to move the ball. They embarked on a 13-play drive that included a 7-yard gain on fourth-and-1. Following a pass interference penalty with just 23.6 seconds to play, the Spartans finally touched pay dirt when Jackson passed to Sprague from 12 yards out. Time expired before the PAT, leaving the final score at 49-6.

“Those guys deserve a lot of credit,” Coach Thenell said. “They started slow, then won eight in a row.”

The Bears will take on the Pomona Panthers, 28-7 victors over Cherokee Trail Saturday, in the next round of the 5A playoffs.