AURORA | In a close game befitting a matchup between the Nos. 16 and 17 seeds in the Class 5A state football playoffs, Cherokee Trail failed to convert a number of chances as its season came to an end.
The Cougars played host to Fountain-Fort Carson at Legacy Stadium and came up on the short end of a 14-7 contest that saw the Trojans prevail in the quest to move into a second round matchup with top-seeded and undefeated Cherry Creek.
Junior Nico Mavromat rushed for the only touchdown for coach Justin Jajczyk’s exceptionally young Cherokee Trail team, which learned plenty of lesson as its season came to an end at 4-7.
“We had opportunities that we missed and there were definitely things we couldn’t convert,” Jajczyk said. “That was a good team we played and we just came up a few plays short of taking advantage of our opportunities.”
While the Cougars got stopped in the first round of the 5A playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons, Fountain-Fort Carson — which evened the all-time playoff series between the two programs at 2-2 — is headed to meet the Bruins, the defending state champions.
The Trojans had two scoring drives in the contest and both came in different fashions.
Cherokee Trail worked its way inside the 10 yard line in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Fountain-Fort Carson’s defense forced a turnover on downs and its offense marched 92 yards the other way to take the lead.
The Trojans converted two third-and-longs, got a big gain on fourth-and-7 and then scored on a 12-yard run from senior Patrick Gonzales.
The Cougars went three-and-out on their subsequent drive, but the first of two muffed punt fumble recoveries by sophomore Evans Mensah gave them the ball back in prime position. On the legs of senior Logan Posey (who finished with 114 yards on the ground) and sophomore quarterback Bryson Peterson, Cherokee Trail drove down into the red zone and scored on Mavromat’s 1-yard plunge on fourth down.
Fountain-Fort Carson struck quickly on the first possession of the second half when junior leading rusher Da’Kari Releford Jr. got to the edge and jetted up the right sideline for a 76-yard touchdown.
That turned out to be the end of the scoring for the contest, as Cherokee Trail again had a turnover on downs in the red zone (after Mensah’s second fumble recovery) when it failed to convert a fourth-and-inches and it never advanced further than its own 40 on its final three possessions.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 5A STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS (1ST ROUND)
Nov. 7 at Legacy Stadium
(17) FOUNTAIN-FORT CARSON 14, (16) CHEROKEE TRAIL 7
Score by quarters:
Ftn.-Fort Carson 0 7 7 0 — 14
Cherokee Trail 0 7 0 0 — 7
SCORING
Second quarter
Ftn.-Fort Carson — Patrick Gonzales 12 yard run (Telen Sibayan kick), 5:46
Cherokee Trail — Nico Mavromat 1 yard run (Ibraheem Zuraigat kick), 0:43
Third quarter
Ftn.-Fort Carson — Da’Kari Releford Jr. 76 yard run (Sibayan kick), 10:27
RUSHING
Fountain-Fort Carson: Da’Kari Releford Jr. 17-188, Jaylen Martin 9-19, Patrick Gonzales 1-12, Myren Johnson 5-8
Cherokee Trail: Logan Posey 19-114, Nico Mavromat 4-21, Corbin Cole 1-12, Cristian Mbamarah 2-2, Bryson Peterson 11-(minus 21)
PASSING
Fountain-Fort Carson: Martin 3-11, 40 yards
Cherokee Trail: Peterson 10-19, 41 yards, 1 interception
RECEIVING
Fountain-Fort Carson: Johnson 1-28, Justyn Jordan 1-15, Releford Jr. 1-(minus 3)
Cherokee Trail: Rayshon Stanley 3-19, Evan Smith 4-17, Mbamarah 2-11, Posey 1-(minus 6)
