Football: Legend knocks Regis Jesuit from unbeaten ranks

AURORA | The number of undefeated football teams in the city dropped from two to one (Eaglecrest, now 3-0) after Regis Jesuit fell to visiting Legend Friday night in a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 10 in Class 5A.

The No. 7 Raiders averaged 38 points per game in their first two contests, but were limited to just one touchdown — a 5-yard run by senior David Dody in the final minute of the first half — in a 31-7 defeat at the hands of the 10th-ranked Titans in South League play at Lou Kellogg Stadium.

Legend scored at least three points in all four quarters and forced a variety of turnovers to put itself atop the league standings at the midway point of the coronavirus-shortened regular season.

View and purchase photos from the Regis Jesuit vs. Legend game, here. (Photo by Courtney Oakes/Sentinel Colorado)

Coach Danny Filleman’s Regis Jesuit team (2-1 overall, 1-1 in South League) got interceptions from senior Charlie Doubet and junior Dallas Macias plus a fumble recovery by junior Zavier Carroll and held the Titans (3-0, 2-0) to 14.5 points fewer than their season average, but still yielded more points than it had in any game last season.

Senior Connor Eise rushed for two touchdowns and senior Kalen Shoemaker threw for a score and rushed for an 85-yard touchdown for Legend — guided by former Cherokee Trail coach Monte Thelen — which also got three points in the third quarter courtesy of a 25-yard field goal for sophomore Caden Smith.

Doubet’s interception in the end zone turned Legend away on its first trip into scoring position, but a fumbled pitch by Regis Jesuit quarterback Andrew Kulick set the Titans up for Eise’s 1-yard score.

Legend was ready to attempt a field goal on its drive at the end of the first quarter, but decided to go for it on fourth down instead coming out of the quarter break. Shoemaker rolled to his right and threw back to a wide open Carter Helfrich for a touchdown, then pushed the lead to 21-0 with an 85-yard keeper.

The plunge by Dody (who finished with 71 yards) into the end zone in the final minute of half turned out to be all the points scored by Regis Jesuit, which had averaged 38 points per game in wins over Mountain Vista in Week 1 and Chaparral in Week 2.

The Raiders — who committed three turnovers — hadn’t scored in single digits since a 44-6 loss to Valor Christian in the second round of the 2018 5A state playoffs.

Regis Jesuit heads on the road at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 for a South League matchup at Douglas County (1-0, 1-0), which has played only one game so far.

Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports

LEGEND 31, REGIS JESUIT 7

Score by quarters:

Legend 7 14 3 7 — 31

Regis Jesuit 0 7 0 0 — 7

FIRST QUARTER

Legend — Connor Eise 2 yard run (Caden Smith kick)

SECOND QUARTER

Legend — Carter Helfrich 11 yard pass from Kalen Shoemaker (Smith kick)

Legend — Shoemaker 85 yard run (Smith kick)

Regis Jesuit — David Dody 5 yard run (Jordi de la Torre kick), 0:48

THIRD QUARTER

Legend — Smith 25 yard field goal