AURORA | Cherokee Trail and ThunderRidge, two of last season’s elite Class 5A football programs, met in Friday night’s season opener and the Cougars showed why they could be back in those ranks again this year.
Behind a dominating ground game that racked up 238 yards rushing on just 29 carries, coach Monte Thelen’s Cherokee Trail team broke open a tie game after one quarter and went on to run past ThunderRidge 35-7 at Legacy Stadium.
Senior Izaiah Lottie rushed for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns and junior Quincy Voss chipped in 102 yards and a score to lead the Cougars, as the pair combined to average better than 10 yards per carry.
Sophomore quarterback Conner Nantkes threw a touchdown pass to Jason Thompson (who finished with 65 yards receiving) and Ronnie Barfield scored a defensive touchdown for Cherokee Trail.
The Cougars return to action at 4 p.m. Sept. 6 against Denver East at All-City Stadium.
Note: Cherokee Trail last played ThunderRidge in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs in the 2010 season. The Cougars posted a 27-6 victory over the Grizzlies and went on to advance to the semifinals before a one-point loss to Regis Jesuit.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
CHEROKEE TRAIL 35, THUNDERRIDGE 7
Score by quarters:
ThunderRidge 7 0 0 0 — 7
Cherokee Trail 7 14 14 0 — 35
RUSHING
Cherokee Trail: Izaiah Lottie 13-141, 2 TDs; Quincey Voss 10-102, TD; Eric Cox 4-4; Brenden Holt 1-(minus 4); KJ Sapp 1-(minus 5)
PASSING
Cherokee Trail: Conner Nantkes 6-11, 80 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception; Blake Butler 2-3, 18 yards
RECEIVING
Jason Thompson 5-65, Kamal Howard 2-25, Robert Wells 1-8
