BROOMFIELD — As the ball continued to slip away from reigning 4A football king Broomfield Friday, so too did its chance of securing the few things that were on the line ahead of next week’s start to the postseason.
Eventually, the Eagles woke up — very much to the relief of their bundled-up home fans at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium — and their 28-19 comeback victory over Heritage clinched their second straight league title and home-field advantage likely through at least the quarterfinals.
Of course, the Eagles know that this performance was spilling over in turnovers and penalties and won’t be confused for what will be needed to repeat. And they themselves probably won’t be mistaken for the big-bad heavyweight who entered last year’s playoffs undefeated.
It did show plenty of mettle, though.
“It shows a lot of growth,” said Broomfield first-year coach Robert O’Brien, whose Week 10 victory mirrored his team’s season in a sense, as it was stunned by 3A Holy Family and blown out by 4A No. 2 Erie in the early weeks of the season before finishing strong. “Early in the season, I don’t think we come back against a really good team like that in the second half. We’ve grown together. We’ve come together as a team, as a coaching staff and kids are starting to really believe in each other.”
Broomfield (8-2, 4-0 4A Metro 2) shook off turnovers on its first two drives and rallied from two-touchdowns back to take a lead into the fourth quarter. Mikhail Benner, on the same night as Game 1 of the World Series, followed it up with his best impersonation of a closer.
The touted junior defensive back stopped Heritage short of the goal line on a two-point-conversion run that would’ve tied the game at 21 with 8:18 remaining. A couple minutes later, he pushed the lead to two scores on a 46-yard TD reception he burned his cornerback on.
“It’s a big thing. Our first-year head coach, he really proved himself tonight. And that was a statement win. League champs,” Benner said. “I hope that people take us a little bit more seriously going into the playoffs. We hope that ultimately we get where we want and put in the work next week and the week after that, and hopefully the week after that.”
The finish came after Broomfield trailed 13-0 until starting quarterback CT Worley ran for a short score late in the first half. Backup QB Darian Jackson went on to toss scores to Anthony Cobb and Brody Judd in the third to go up 21-13, then dropped the sealing TD into the arms of Benner to make it 28-19 with 6:04 left.
Broomfield’s CT Worley stiff arms Heritage’s Tanner Guthrie on October 27, 2023.(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
Broomfield made stops on Heritage’s final two drives to end things.
In the win, Cobb had five catches for 155 yards and a score and Brent Harris nabbed his second pick of the season.
Looking ahead, Broomfield shouldn’t fall after coming into Week 10 ranked 4A No. 4 in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, which dictates playoff seedings. Meanwhile, Heritage (6-4, 3-2), fifth, is still in a strong spot to earn one of the bracket’s eight first-round byes.
