AURORA | The Denver Broncos Game of the Week turned out to be a nailbiter Friday night that went in favor of the visitors.
Rangeview held an 18-7 lead over visiting Heritage going into the final quarter at frigid Aurora Public Schools Stadium, only to see the Eagles score 12 unanswered points to hold on for a 19-18 victory in the regular season finale for both Class 5A playoff-bound teams.
Sophomore quarterback Jaelin Odegard threw touchdown passes to seniors DeVante’ Wheaten and Elijah Reed and junior AJ Thomas rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, but coach Justin Hoffman’s Raiders had an extra point blocked and failed on two subsequent two-point conversion tries as they finished the regular season 4-5 overall and 4-2 in the South Metro League.
Seeding for the 32-team 5A playoffs is announced Sunday by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Heritage (7-2, 5-1) marched 80 yards after taking the opening kickoff and scored first on Tyler Zoesch’s 12 yard run, but watched Rangeview grab the momentum to reel off 18 straight points and take a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.
Odegard hit Wheaten with a precision strike in the end zone from 24 yards out in the first quarter and again hooked up with Wheaten on a 32-yard gainer that set up Thomas’ 1-yard touchdown run to cap the opening possession of the second half.
Reed couldn’t bring in Odegard’s floater into the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion, but he snared Odegard’s 6-yard pass for a touchdown minutes later to boost the Raiders’ lead to 12 points.
The Eagles got into the end zone on Chase Hansen’s 34 yard burst in the first minute of the fourth quarter and went ahead when Daejour Haynes scored from seven yards out.
Note: Arapahoe secured the South Metro League championship with a 42-0 win over Smoky Hill. The Warriors, who finished the regular season 9-0, defeated both Rangeview (14-7) and Heritage (34-21). The Raiders saw a streak of five straight seasons with a league championship come to an end.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
HERITAGE 19, RANGEVIEW 18
Score by quarters:
Heritage 7 0 0 12 — 19
Rangeview 6 0 12 0 — 18
SCORING
First quarter
Heritage — Tyler Zoesch 12 yard run (Tim Pless kick), 7:25
Rangeview — DeVante’ Wheaten 24 yard pass from Jaelin Odegard (kick blocked), 5:25
Third quarter
Rangeview — AJ Thomas 1 yard run (pass failed), 8:03
Rangeview — Elijah Reed 6 yard pass from Odegard (run failed), 5:26
Fourth quarter
Heritage — Chase Hansen 34 yard run (run failed), 11:17
Heritage — Daejour Haynes 7 yard run (pass failed), 5:13
