AURORA | Valor Christian has begun to make the Class 5A state football playoffs look like the previous ones it had in lower classifications.
Winners of three consecutive state championships — one in 3A and the past two in 4A — the fourth-seeded Eagles claimed another victim on their first crack at the 5A postseason as they rolled past No. 20 Regis Jesuit 44-3 on Saturday at frigid Lou Kellogg Stadium.
Daryl Hawkins and Alex Ulmer scored two touchdowns apiece for Valor Christian, which beat Regis Jesuit for the second straight season and moved into a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Arapahoe, which took out No. 21 Horizon 17-14 on Friday. The Eagles also got 144 yards and touchdown passing from Luke Del Rio and 104 yards rushing from Christian McCaffrey as they improved to 9-2 overall.
Regis Jesuit, which upset No. 13 Gateway 15-14 in the first round, was plagued by a variety of turnovers and managed just a second-quarter field goal against a Valor Christian defense that held its opponent to single digits for the ninth consecutive contest.
The Raiders finished the season 5-6 overall.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
(4) VALOR CHRISTIAN 44, (20) REGIS JESUIT 3
Score by quarters:
Valor Christian 0 24 13 7 — 44
Regis Jesuit 0 3 0 0 — 3
SCORING
Second quarter
Valor Christian — Interception return (Brandon Spencer kick); Valor Christian — Christian McCaffrey 10 yard run (Spencer kick); Valor Christian — Spencer 20 yard field goal; Valor Christian — Alex Ulmer 5 yard pass from Luke Del Rio (Spencer kick); Regis Jesuit — Field goal
Third quarter
Valor Christian — Ulmer 30 yard run (2 point conversion failed); Valor Christian — Daryl Hawkins 5 yard run (Spencer kick)
Fourth quarter
Valor Christian — Hawkins 5 yard run (Spencer kick)