Cherry Creek pulls away from Regis Jesuit in 34-14 win as young team takes “big step”

AURORA — The No. 2 ranked Cherry Creek Bruins showed wherefore they’re a menace to three-peat successful Class 5A adjacent with a young squad aft dropping fifth-ranked Regis Jesuit 34-14 astatine Kellogg Stadium.

“I thought we took a mates of steps successful the close direction,” Bruins caput manager Dave Logan said. “We’ve got a batch of respect for Regis. Regis is simply a bully shot squad and we knew this would beryllium a dogfight honestly. And truthful I thought our young guys stepped up connected some sides of the ball, made immoderate plays and I was truly arrogant of the effort.”

The Bruins got disconnected to a blistery commencement scoring successful the archetypal 5 minutes and ne'er looked back.

The defence made immoderate plays to support the momentum successful the archetypal half, including a fumble betterment precocious successful the archetypal 4th from Blake Purchase that turned the tide and allowed the Bruins to instrumentality a 17-0 pb into halftime. Purchase, a junior, is simply a four-star enlistee connected 247Sports and already has 8 assistance offers. including from Colorado, Iowa State and USC.

The 2nd fractional was played overmuch tighter, with Regis establishing their tally crippled with moving backmost Zavier Carroll, who scored 2 touchdowns. But successful the end, the Bruins were excessively overmuch to overcome.

Many radical mightiness admit a Creek backmost wearing No. 1 with the past sanction Hammond down halfway for the Bruins. After all, Julian Hammond III won 2 authorities titles and ne'er mislaid a crippled arsenic the starting backmost astatine Creek.

This is simply a antithetic Hammond. Sophomore Christian Hammond, the small member of Julian, is trying to carve retired his ain way arsenic Creek’s QB.

“I’m getting a batch much comfortable,” the younger Hammond said. “Not playing and past getting thrown retired there, the archetypal fewer weeks were pugnacious but you get utilized to it.”

He showed connected Friday nighttime wherefore he’s acceptable to travel successful the footsteps of his older brother. Early successful the 3rd quarter, helium completed a onslaught to Cooper Pollard implicit the mediate that went for an 80-yard touchdown and 24-0 lead. And Hammond did it with a Regis Jesuit subordinate close successful his grill.

“Coach Logan called the play. And that was the go-to guy,” Hammond said. “So I started to play fake, I looked down and I spot (Pollard) but besides spot idiosyncratic coming to maine and I’m similar I conscionable got to get this retired and springiness him a chance, and I got it up there.”

This whitethorn not beryllium the aforesaid Creek squad that won 23 consecutive games and 2 consecutive authorities titles the past 2 seasons. But it’s a squad that is starting to travel unneurotic connected its own.

“What (we) had to bash is for young guys to measurement in,” Logan said. “But they don’t measurement successful and it’s not conscionable a continuation of however the squad past twelvemonth played, there’s a learning curve. There’s experience, there’s playing with the lights on, there’s playing against bully teams.”

A triumph implicit Regis Jesuit connected the roadworthy is the nonstop connection they needed.

“I deliberation contiguous was a large measurement for us,” Logan said. “… I thought we played hard, which this squad has done each azygous game. And I thought we were efficient, I thought we played good connected some sides of the shot and you ever gauge that against the prime of the hostile and I deliberation Regis is an fantabulous team.”