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Hornets Conquer Summit 34 - 7

Pueblo County vs. SummitPUEBLO - Pueblo County held up its end of an all-South Metro League Class 3A state championship game with a dominating 34-7 semifinal win against Summit on Saturday at Hornets Stadium.The Hornets (11-2) will travel to Alamosa to face the undefeated Mean Moose (13-0), a 21-20 winner at Florence, next Saturday in the title game.Summit's season ended at 12-1.Pueblo County won the war in the trenches, which fueled both a stifling defense and a pounding running game. As the Hornets broke to a 21-0 halftime lead, they outgained Summit 295-50 in total yards during the first 24 minutes."I can't say enough about our linemen; they're the heart and soul of our team," Pueblo County coach Jeff Wilson said. "We don't have the speed to out-talent people, we have to be able to handle people up front. That's our game."Myles Martinez and Zach Martinez each scored two touchdowns and ran for 120 and 81 yards, respectively. Joe Pullara rushed for a game-high 133 yards with a touchdown, and quarterback J.T. Greenhood kept the Tigers honest by completing 5-of-6 passes for 76 yards. The Hornets rushed for 375 yards overall.The Hornets three defensive linemen also crushed the Tigers up front, allowing the five linebackers to pressure Summit quarterback Talon Roggasch into a nightmarish 2-for-21 passing day with two interceptions. Summit avoided the shutout by returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the game.Pueblo County gave Alamosa its toughest test of the regular season on Oct. 20. The Hornets scored with 18 seconds remaining in that game and went for a game-winning two-point conversion. The Mean Moose stuffed the running play and escaped with a 21-20 win on the Hornets' home field.Pueblo County 34, Summit 7 Summit 0 0 0 7 - 7 P.County 6 15 6 7 - 34PC - Zach Martinez 4 run (kick failed) PC -Myles Martinez 33 run (Z.Martinez pass from J.T. Greenhood) PC - Z.Martinez 7 run (Garrett Hannafious kick) PC - M.Martinez 13 run (kick blocked) PC - Joe Pullara 45 run (Hannafious kick) S -Drew Crangle 15 fumble recovery return (Braden Shoop kick) TEAM STATISTICS Summit P.County First downs 9 17 Rushes-yards 27-118 47-375 Passing yards 31 99 Comp-Att-Int 2-21-2 7-8-0 Punts 6-40.8 3-36.3 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-1 Penalties-Yards 5-55 8-78INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING - S, Crangle 11-29, Jordan Sitkoski 5-4, Tim Henning 3-22, Scott Campbell 2-(minus 2), Stephen Ike 3-38, Talon Roggasch 3-27. PC, M.Martinez 10-120, 2TDs, Z.Martinez 14-81, 2TDs, Pullara 14-133, TD, Greenhood 4-28, Gio Rider 2-12, Levi Quandt 2-0, Frank Molinaro 1-1. PASSING - S, Roggasch 2-21-2, 31 yards. PC, Greenhood 5-6-0, 76 yards, Quandt 2-2-0, 23 yards. RECEIVING - S, Sitkoski 1-9, Ryan Eberhart 1-22. PC, Zak Maes 1-12, Z.Martinez 1-6, Myles Meserve 1-19, Pullara 1-21, M.Martinez 1-18, Travis Keys 1-10, Marshall Stout 1-13. A - 3,000 (estimated).FLORENCE - Jason Espinoza's 7-yard reception on a swing pass and following conversion kick with 36 seconds remaining gave Alamosa a classic 21-20 victory against Florence in the Class 3A state football semifinals.Alamosa advances to the title game against Pueblo County, a team it defeated 21-20 in South Metro League action during the season. The undefeated and No. 1-ranked Mean Moose will host the championship, their third title appearance under coach Manny Wasinger.They won at Fort Morgan in 2001 for the second state football crown in school history."With about two minutes left (against Florence), the coaches called time out," Espinoza said. "We were scared and they just told us to settle down. That we were going to win this game."Eight plays later, Espinoza caught a 7-yard swing pass from quarterback Clay Garcia for the tying touchdown and then the two teamed again for the winning conversion.Florence traveled to Alamosa on the Saturday after Thanksgiving last fall and pounded the Mean Moose 26-12 en route to the state title.Saturday, it was Alamosa's turn but the Huskies didn't go without a fight.Florence appeared to have won the game with a minute remaining when Frank Morelli intercepted Garcia near the Huskies' 20-yard line. It appeared to preserve a 20-14 Florence advantage but the play was overturned on a roughing the passer call. Alamosa then made the most of its opportunity and drove for the winning points."That's the whole season right there," Garcia said when he thought he had cost the Mean Moose a shot at the title. Instead, Alamosa was awarded the ball on the 13-yard line after the penalty and moved in for the winner.Garcia, the top passer in the state in all classifications, threw for 315 yards on 20 completions, 10 to Espinoza.Alamosa 21, Florence 20 Alamosa 0 7 7 7 - 21 Florence 0 7 0 13 - 20 A - Dustin Bolt 44 pass from Clay Garcia (Jason Espinoza kick) F - Frank Morelli 9 run (Bryce Buderus kick) A - Sonny Yohn 80 pass from Clay Garcia (Espinoza kick) F - Todd Mair 9 pass from Buderus (Buderus kick) F - Buderus 4 run (kick fail) A - Espinoza 7 pass from Garcia (Espinoza pass)STATISTICSAlamosa Florence First downs 13 22 Rushes-yards 13-4 56-168 Passing yards 315 216 Comp-Att-Int 20-36-0 11-18-1 Punts 4-35.3 4--31.5 Penalties-Yards 8-55 3-35 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING - A, Garcia 7-(minus 11), John 6-15; F, Buderus 22-30, Garrett Wilson 21-72, Morelli 12-68. PASSING - A, Garcia 20-36-0 315; F, Buderus 11-18-1 216. RECEIVING - A, Bolt 3-68, Richie Meyers 1-11, Nick Rogers 3-35, Espinoza 10-103, Elarlo Rickey 1-6, John 3-92; F, Mair 2-18, Morelli 1-11, Jared Crussell 2-28, Adam Nish 5-138, Michael Madrid
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