AURORA | Even with a sophomore in his third varsity start at quarterback and with one of its main ballcarriers down, the Eaglecrest football team steadily stayed the course in the key moments of Friday night’s contest against Chatfield at Legacy Stadium.
Bolstered by the play of a defense that pitched a shutout and scored itself on a fumble return touchdown by senior Cameron Bell, the Raptors put the ball in the hands of sophomore William Brinkman repeatedly in key situations and he came through every time in a 27-0 victory over the Chargers.
Brinkman racked up 226 yards of total offense (118 rushing, 108 passing) and rushed for touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters, set up another short scoring run by senior Sterling Dufour in the third quarter and picked up a variety of fourth downs in short yardage to help coach Jesse German’s team improve to 2-1.
In the process, Eaglecrest avenged a 23-16 loss last season to Chatfield, which dropped to 1-2.
A scoreless contest swung in the very late stages of the second quarter, when junior Cooper Shaw pounced on a fumble to set up Eaglecrest near midfield. The Raptors got into the end zone a few minutes later when Brinkman rushed for the first of his touchdowns, which came on a 2-yard plunge with 1 minute, 43 seconds, remaining in the second quarter.
The Chargers tried to move down the field in the final minute, but the final play of the half turned disastrous for them as Bell scooped up a forced fumble and took it back untouched to the end zone with all zeroes on the clock.
Eaglecrest came out of the lockerroom and immediately built on the momentum, as it took the opening kickoff and launched a 65-yard drive that included two 4th-and-short conversions from Brinkman. A 19-yard run by Brinkman took the Raptors to the 1-yard line, where Dufour scored on the next play to boost the lead to 20-0.
With a three-score lead, Eaglecrest’s defense continued to fly around and got an interception from junior Cy White. The Raptors went 70 yards on that possession with more crucial conversions to keep the clock running, while Brinkman again found paydirt with 5:41 remaining to full seal the result.
Eaglecrest returns to action in Week 4 with a 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 contest against Denver East (0-3) at All-City Stadium. It will be the Homecoming contest for the Angels, who the Raptors beat by 10 points in 2024.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Eaglecrest 27, Chatfield 0
Score by quarters:
Chatfield 0 0 0 0 — 0
Eaglecrest 0 14 6 7 — 27
SCORING
Second quarter
Eaglecrest — William Brinkman 2 yard run (Brinkman run), 1:43
Eaglecrest — Cameron Bell 58 yard fumble return (kick failed), 0:00
Third quarter
Eaglecrest — Sterling Dufour 1 yard run (kick blocked), 6:11
Fourth quarter
Eaglecrest — Brinkman 5 yard run (Trey Patton kick), 5:41
RUSHING
Chatfield: Emerson Lakra 6-29, Ryder Hoffschneider 5-20, Cash Williams 5-15, Jaden Zellar 1-9, Kaden Litrell 1-5, Kaden O’Neil 1-(minus 4)
Eaglecrest: William Brinkman 21-118, Sterling Dufour 15-52, Josiah Asibbey 4-11, Alexander Hurtado 3-3
PASSING
Chatfield: Williams 6-14, 28 yards, 1 interception
Eaglecrest: Brinkman 13-20, 108 yards, 1 interception
RECEIVING
Chatfield: Zellar 3-12, James Gold 1-10, Donny Runyan 2-6
Eaglecrest: Javon Jones 5-50, Quincy Clayton 1-16, Jack Steiner 2-12, Jordan Morelli 1-12, Dylan Kim 2-11, JayAnthony Green 1-8
