Trojans’ D faces high-flying Heritage in state championship

By Gary Baines, For the Ledger

The Longmont defense would love to shut down Heritage and win the 4A state football championship that way on Saturday.

But the Trojans know it`s probably not going to work like that.

Longmont`s defense isn`t the type that routinely posts shutouts, and Heritage features one of the more formidable offenses in the state. So the Trojans aren`t going to fret if they give up some points in Saturday`s state title matchup (11 a.m. at Invesco Field) — as long as the potent LHS offense scores a few more.

“All season the defense has been looked at as not as superb as our offense,” noted senior safety Dillon Parker, who has intercepted a pass in each of Longmont`s three playoff games. “But we do what we need to do to get the job done. We hold them to less points than our offense scores, and that`s all you`ve got to do to win.”

Three times this year, including twice in the playoffs, Longmont has won games despite allowing 20 points or more.

Two weeks ago, LHS recorded a 42-41 victory over Pine Creek in the state quarterfinals. Last week against defending state champion Wheat Ridge, the Trojans allowed three touchdowns, but won the turnover battle 4-0, which helped the cause considerably. Parker, who leads the team with six interceptions, picked off a pass and recovered a fumble against the Farmers.

Longmont (11-2) managed one shutout this year, but is far from the stingiest Colorado high school football team still playing in December. In fact, of the eight teams in state championship games on Saturday (Classes 2A through 5A), Longmont ranks last in points allowed. The Trojans have given up an average of 17 points per game this year, which is good but not stellar.

Heritage (12-1) figures to put the Longmont defense to the test. The Eagles lost their season opener to Columbine, but have won 12 straight games since then. In those last dozen contests, Heritage has averaged 45 points per game. The Eagles have scored 50 points or more four times. Last week Heritage scored 36 points — eight in overtime — against a Monarch team that had shut out five opponents.

So how does Longmont keep the Eagles in check?

“You do your job and you play for your brothers and you leave it out there,” Longmont coach Doug Johnson said. “We`ve got to block, tackle and hang on to the football. At the end of the day, it`s a football game, and it`s a simple game. It`s us against them and we need to execute.”

The biggest challenge for Longmont will be stopping Heritage senior quarterback Mitch Griebel, who has passed for 1,900 yards this season, rushed for 1,123 and had a hand in 45 touchdowns (32 passing and 13 rushing).

“Griebel is one of the great runners in the state,” Parker said. “If we stop him, that will be great, but they`ve got other threats. (The key) is assignment-based and trusting your brother to do their assignment. If we do that, we`ll give ourselves the best chance of winning.”

And it won`t hurt if Longmont scores 30-plus points for the fourth straight week in the playoffs.