5A State Football: Cherry Creek wins the State Title
The Cherry Creek High School Bruins are the 2024 5A Football State Champions. The Bruins defeated the Legend Titans 13-10 in a close, tough contest at Canvas Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University on Dec. 7. The title is the 14th in program history and the sixth with Head Coach Dave Logan at the helm.
“Two really good teams, a hard-fought game, and I’m just pleased that we were able to hang in there and find a way to win this game,” Logan said. “I want to credit Monte (Legend Head Coach Monte Thelen) and his staff and those kids at Legend. Everybody else talked about us being prohibitive favorites; I thought that was just nonsense. They were a really good team, and I’m proud of my kids for finding a way to come back and hang in there, hang in the game and get a win.”
The Bruins struggled in the first half with penalties and were held scoreless by the Titans. Senior tailback Jayden Fox aggravated a previous leg injury and was slowed during the game. Legend carried a 10-0 lead into the halftime break.
The second half started with the injured Fox breaking a 33-yard gain which seemed to ignite the rest of the Creek charges. Enter freshman Elijah Cromwell, who scored the Bruins' first touchdown, a two-yard plunge to get Cherry Creek on the board. The point-after failed, and it was 10-6. With less than a minute to go in the quarter, it was Cromwell again, this time from nine yards out, and Creek took a 13-10 lead. The Bruins defense held off Legend in a nail-biting fourth quarter and emerged as State Champions.
Cromwell was awarded The National Football Foundation Player of the Game Award, finishing with the two touchdowns and rushing for 102 yards on 17 carries.
“It’s amazing,” Cromwell said. “My Dad and I have been up early mornings working on things that I need to work on, going to the gym, getting stronger, so I could be prepared for moments like this, prepare for moments when my name is called.”
Coach Logan agreed.
“I thought Eli came in and just ran with power, protected the football and I couldn’t be more proud of him,” he said.”
The Bruins defense played well throughout the game, but allowed points early.
“First half, we kind of came out slow,” said four-year letterman defensive back Aiden Knapke. “We weren’t being as physical. We went to the locker room at the half and told each other we have to play as a team, we have to play our game. We needed that wakeup call in the first half, and then we were ready.”
Coach Logan said the win was much tougher than anyone could have imagined, and team chemistry contributed to the title.
“Every year is different,” said Logan, who has led his teams to 12 state titles with four different schools. “I think the thing that stands out most about this team is it is a really close team, and that varies from year to year. And this team was resilient. We had been in close games before, and I was just proud that the resiliency of these kids came to the forefront.”
Congratulations to the Cherry Creek State Champion Football Team!
5A State Spirit: State Championships scheduled for Dec. 12-14
Spirit teams from across the district will compete in the 2024 State Spirit Championships starting Dec. 12 at the Denver Coliseum. Disciplines include Gameday Cheer, Cheer and Co-Ed Cheer, Pom, Hip-Hop, and Jazz.
You can get schedule and ticket information here.
State Esports: State Championships start Dec. 10
Cherry Creek Schools Esports teams will participate in the Fall Esports State Championships, and competition will take place at Localhost Gaming Center in Lakewood on Tuesday.
Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek will have teams in attendance. There will be competition for state supremacy in Rocket League, League of Legends and Splatoon gaming disciplines.
You can get more information from CHSAANow here.
Posted 12/9/2024.
