AURORA | There wasn’t a lot drama for the city’s two teams seeded in the top 10 of the Class 5A state football playoffs, as No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 6 Cherokee Trail cruised to lopsided victories on their respective home fields.
At Lou Kellogg Stadium, Regis Jesuit scored 28 points in the first quarter and 42 in the opening half to spark a 49-7 victory over visiting No. 29 seed Fort Collins in the teams’ first meeting since the Lambkins won a playoff game at Regis Jesuit in 2005.
Junior quarterback Matt Houghtaling rushed for a game-high 169 yards, more than half the Raiders’ 319-yard output for the game, and also threw a touchdown pass to Jarod Marien as Regis Jesuit advanced to an all-Aurora second round matchup against No. 20 Grandview.
Three first-half turnovers made things a little difficult early for Cherokee Trail against visiting No. 27 Arvada West, but the Cougars eventually got on track in a 41-20 dispatching of the Wildcats.
Junior running back Cameron Smith piled up 134 yards rushing and continued a late scoring binge with two touchdowns, while senior quarterback Aric Johnson overcame two interceptions to throw three touchdown passes — two to Dominique Grady — and junior Izaiah Lottie also scored for Cherokee Trail.
The victory put coach Monte Thelen’s team — last season’s 5A state runner-up — into the second round, where it will take on No. 11 Mountain Range (9-1), which beat No. 22 Heritage in the first round.
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.
(4) REGIS JESUIT 49, (29) FORT COLLINS 7
Score by quarters:
Fort Collins 0 0 0 7 — 7
Regis Jesuit 28 14 7 0 — 49
(6) CHEROKEE TRAIL 41, (27) ARVADA WEST 20
Score by quarters:
Arvada West 14 6 0 0 — 20
Cherokee Trail 7 7 19 7 — 41
RUSHING
Cherokee Trail: Cameron Smith 28-134 yards, 2 touchdowns; Aric Johnson 6-47; Izaiah Lottie 4-36; Jason Thompson 2-9; Cameron Currington 1-4
PASSING
Cherokee Trail: Johnson 12-20, 134 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
RECEIVING
Cherokee Trail: Dominique Grady 3-33 yards, 2 touchdowns; Thompson 2-32; Isaiah Kaiser 2-26; Lottie 2-20, 1 touchdown; Evan White 1-15; AJ Johnson 1-8; Smith 1-0
