Greeley West takes Trojans’ title hopes away

By Michael Kelly, For the Ledger

LONGMONT — Things looked so promising for Longmont late in the first half.

With the Trojans leading 14-10, Greeley West watched its starting quarterback limp off the field with what seemed like a devastating blow to the top-ranked Spartans. But instead of folding, Greeley West exploded.

The Spartans showed why they`re No. 1 in Class 4A, riding the arm of backup quarterback Jordan Gomez and the legs of tailback Steffen Bunting to a 48-24 win over Longmont on Thursday.

The loss ended Longmont`s hopes for a Northern League title.

“Honestly, we thought after (Blackmer) went out, that most of their offense would have relied on Bunting,” Longmont defensive lineman Scot Coyle said. “But they had a lot of depth at quarterback, and they proved it.”

Gomez stunned the eighth-ranked Trojans with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Rockwell to put Greeley West (8-0, 6-0) ahead 20-17 at the half, and then Bunting took over. The senior ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns and simply dominated the second half.

“We couldn`t stop him all night and that was the difference maker,” said Longmont quarterback Jake Johnson, who had 297 yards of offense and three touchdowns.

The Trojans couldn`t stop Gomez or Bunting. Gomez came on after Blackmer suffered a left knee injury and was 14-for-18 for 192 yards and two touchdowns and Greeley West`s offense never missed a beat.

“He was outstanding,” Longmont coach Doug Johnson said. “We got pressure in his face and he made some fantastic plays.”

The Trojans (6-2, 5-2) couldn`t keep up with Greeley West`s offense. After Joey Cinea kicked a 49-yard field goal with 1:40 left in the first half, Longmont led 17-13. But Gomez needed just five plays to take the Spartans 65 yards and give them the lead at halftime.

Longmont has two more games to secure a spot in the 4A playoffs, and the players want a rematch with Greeley West.

“We`re going to bounce back and we`re going to do great next week and the week after that, and I believe we`re going to make a great run in the playoffs,” Coyle said. “That`s a team I want to play again, for sure.”

Greeley West 48, Longmont 24

GW LG

First downs 28 15

Rushing yardage 232 213

Passing yardage 259 146

Passing 18-27-0 11-23-1

Total offensive yardage 491 359

Punting 1-36 1-31

Fumbles-fumbles lost 0-0 2-0

Penalty yardage 4-25 1-15

SCORING SUMMARY

Score by quarters:

Greeley West 7 13 14 14 — 48

Longmont 14 3 7 0 — 24

Longmont — Jake Johnson 21 run (Joey Cinea kick).

Greeley West — Steffen Bunting 2 run (Antonio Olivas kick).

Longmont — Jake Johnson 3 run (Joey Cinea kick).

Greeley West — Antonio Olivas 27 FG.

Greeley West — Antonio Olivas 24 FG.

Longmont — Joey Cinea 49 FG.

Greeley West — Jordan Rockwell 27 pass from Jordan Gomez (Antonio Olivas kick).

Greeley West — Steffen Bunting 11 run (Antonio Olivas kick).

Greeley West — Steffen Bunting 14 run (Antonio Olivas kick).

Longmont — Jake Johnson 54 run (Joey Cinea kick).

Greeley West — Steffen Bunting 3 run (Antonio Olivas kick).

Greeley West — Jordan Rockwell 17 pass from Jordan Gomez (Antonio Olivas kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Greeley West: Bunting 27-183, Morgan 7-34, Blackmer 2-15; Longmont: Johnson 18-151, Knaus 9-42, Gunderson 4-19, Lipford 1-5, Finley-Garcia 1-1, Cole 1-(-5).

PASSING — Greeley West: Gomez 14-18-0-192, Blackmer 4-9-0-67; Longmont: Johnson 11-23-1-146.

RECEIVING — Greeley West: Rockwell 4-71, Ghent 5-65, Morgan 3-66, Bunting 3-16, Johnson 2-18, Sogge 1-13;Longmont: Cole 3-44, Finley-Garcia 3-28, Edwards 2-23, Gunderson 1-27, Knaus 1-15, Lipford 1-9.