LITTLETON | The Eaglecrest football team hasn’t gotten to 4-0 the easy way this season and Friday night’s matchup with Arapahoe was no exception.
The Raptors trailed at halftime for the third time in four games — by a single point after a pair of failed extra point attempts — then outscored the Warriors 11-0 in the second half on their way to a 23-13 Centennial League victory at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
Senior quarterback Khalil Howard’s 5-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter put Eaglecrest ahead for the first time and senior JJ Farbes’ 25-yard field goal in the early stages of the fourth quarter gave coach Shawn Marsh’s Raptors (4-0 overall, 4-0 in Centennial League) the separation they needed.
Senior JP Luketu kept his touchdown streak going with a rushing score in the second period and Howard completed an 11-yard TD pass to senior Seyi Oladipo with just over a minute to go in the opening half for Eaglecrest, which came into the game ranked No. 5 in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A coaches poll.
The Raptors trailed on two occasions in the first two quarters after they allowed a fumble return touchdown to Ethan Simpson and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Arapahoe quarterback Cole Hansen to AJ Scheckenbach.
Senior Langston Williams blocked an extra point in the first half and scooped up a loose ball and ran it in for a two-point conversion after Howard’s touchdown rush to aid Eaglecrest, which also got two sacks from senior Adrian Cordova and a clinching interception from senior Riley Lovato-Mueller.
The Raptors made a large defensive stand in the second quarter when they stuffed Hansen on an attempted sneak for a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal play.
Eaglecrest has its lone non-league contest ahead with a matchup against Prairie View (0-4) scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Legacy Stadium. The Raptors are on a collision course with top-ranked Cherry Creek (also 4-0) in a Week 6 finale.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
EAGLECREST 23, ARAPAHOE 13
Score by quarters:
Eaglecrest 0 12 8 3 — 23
Arapahoe 7 6 0 0 — 13
SCORING
First quarter
Arapahoe — Ethan Simpson 24 yard fumble return (Sebastian Pucher kick), 2:41
Second quarter
Eaglecrest — JP Luketu 1 yard run (kick failed), 11:56
Arapahoe — AJ Scheckenbach 25 yard pass from Cole Hansen (kick blocked), 2:56
Eaglecrest — Seyi Oladipo 11 yard pass from Khalil Howard (run failed), 1:01
Third quarter
Eaglecrest — Howard 5 yard run (Langston Williams run), 5:52
Fourth quarter
Eaglecrest — JJ Farbes 25 yard field goal, 7:03