No. 3 Columbine football moves past No. 9 Arvada West

LAKEWOOD — Long, time-consuming drives just weren’t Columbine’s style Friday at Jeffco Stadium, at least not for running back Mark Snyder.

“Tonight it kind of switched roles. “It was a little strange,” Snyder said of Friday’s fast-paced offense, which saw the junior score a 13-second, 80-yard touchdown run on Columbine’s first offensive play from scrimmage. “It should be a run to the left. I have not seen anything. I shortened it and ended up with some running room.”

Snyder had touchdown runs of 80, 3 and 56 yards as the Rebels – ranked No. 3 in the Class 5A Colorado Preps football poll – earned a 35-14 win over Jeffco rival and No. 9 Arvada West.

“I don’t care. Just go to the end zone. Right?” Columbine coach Andy Lowry said with a smile when asked about the Rebels’ first possession of a game with 13 seconds left. “Those two defenders (Snyder and James Basinger) are very special. We just have to keep them healthy.”

Senior James Basinger scored the other two rushing touchdowns of the night – 20 and 1 yard – to give Columbine (7-0, 2-0 5A Metro League) its 16th rushing touchdown of the season. Basinger has already passed for well over 1,000 yards this season, while Snyder is nearing the century mark with 13 rushing touchdowns.

“We would like to believe that. We hope so,” Snyder said when asked if he and Basigner are the best running back duo in the state.

A-West (5-2, 1-1) had an impressive opening drive of the game. The Wildcats drove inside the Columbine 20-yard line, but two consecutive sacks by A-West junior quarterback Logan Duhachek halted the 16-play drive that ended with a missed 52-yard field goal.

Senior Rory Marez and sophomore Keith Fischer picked up the two key sacks to end the drive.

“We were all very focused at practice this week,” Columbine sophomore defensive back Lijah Vialpondo said of preparing the Rebels defense for the Wildcats’ high-powered offense. “Everyone was enrolled. Everyone was calm and locked in on everything.”

The ride took almost 9 minutes and earned no points. Columbine’s first of five rushing touchdowns lasted just 13 seconds. Snyder broke out of a pile of bodies and ran 80 yards to give the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

“When Mark left, everyone knew we were going to win,” Vialpondo said. “That was a huge swing.”

A-West responded just before the end of the first quarter with a 26-yard touchdown throw from Duhachek to junior Keegen Balistreri to tie the score at 7-7.

Snyder’s second touchdown run gave the Rebels a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. Basinger extended the lead to 21-7 seconds before halftime with an impressive 20-yard touchdown run.

Snyder capped another quick scoring drive with a 56-yard touchdown run on the opening drive in a three-play drive that covered 80 yards in less than two minutes.

“It’s huge for us because we really still don’t know how good we are,” Snyder said. “Knowing we can handle a physical team like (A-West) is huge for us. It will give us a lot of confidence.”

The Rebels defense intercepted Duhachek three times and also forced a fumble.

Columbine now has a 21-game winning streak, dating back to last year’s undefeated team that won the 5A state title. The winning streak approaches the Rebels’ 24-game winning streak from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

The Rebels continue league play against No. 7 Ralston Valley (6-1, 2-0) on Friday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at Jeffco Stadium. The Mustangs earned a 47-7 victory over Denver South on Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.

A-West remains on the road and will face Denver East on Thursday, October 17th at All-City Stadium.