GREENWOOD VILLAGE | In the blink of an eye, the Overland football team has evened its record on the young season.
Employing the uptempo offense that suits senior quarterback Mark Thrower and the athletes around him — which led to a sizeable victory the week before — the Trailblazers racked up 22 points in the second half on their way to a 34-13 victory Thursday night at Stutler Bowl.
Thrower threw five touchdown passes, two apiece to senior Jawan Lacour and junior Kamari Brown and one to freshman Ismael Cisse, as first-year head coach DaVaughn Thornton Sr.’s team worked its way out of an 0-2 hole with one week remaining before the start of league play. Overland (2-2) won just one game last season.
Fossil Ridge (2-2) — which came in riding a two-game winning streak — got on the scoreboard right away when K.J. Janzen knocked through a 39 yard field goal and countered Thrower’s first touchdown pass to Brown with another Janzen kick to tie the score at 6-6 after one quarter.
Chris Bowerfind’s 39-yard touchdown run and Janzen extra point gave the SaberCats the halftime lead, though the Trailblazers nearly evened it up when Thrower connected with Cisse for a short score, with the two-point conversation try failing.
Overland piled up 30 points in the second half the previous week in a win over Aurora Central and came out hot again in the second half against Fossil Ridge, spreading out the defense and coming up with big plays in the pass game or chunks of yardage on the ground from senior Stephone Smiley.
The Trailblazers’ defense made a quick stop on the opening possession of the second half and the offense needed just two plays to take the lead. Thrower found Lacour on the sideline for a 40-yard gain, which he followed with a 33 yard touchdown pass to Lacour. Junior Jaheim Roper ran in the 2-point try to give the Trailblazers their first lead at 20-13.
Lacour caught a easy 15 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to expand the lead and with just under six minutes remaining, Thrower’s pass in the middle of the field found Brown, who split the Fossil Ridge defense on his way to the end zone.
Overland closes out its non-league schedule with a visit to Fountain-Fort Carson at 7 p.m. Sept. 27.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com.Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
OVERLAND 34, FOSSIL RIDGE 13
Score by quarters:
Fossil Ridge 6 7 0 0 — 13
Overland 6 6 8 14 — 34
SCORING
First quarter
Fossil Ridge — K.J. Janzen 39 yard field goal
Overland — Kamari Brown 16 yard pass from Mark Thrower (pass failed)
Fossil Ridge — Janzen 19 yard field goal
Second quarter
Fossil Ridge — Chris Bowerfind 39 yard touchdown run (Janzen kick)
Overland — Ismael Cisse 4 yard pass from Thrower (pass failed)
Third quarter
Overland — Jawan Lacour 33 yard pass from Thrower (Jaheim Roper run)
Fourth quarter
Overland — Lacour 15 yard pass from Thrower (Brown pass from Thrower)
Overland — Brown 22 yard pass from Thrower (pass failed)