Hail Mary helps Standley Lake football edge Green Mountain

ARVADA –; A tip on the final play of the first half Friday, Sept. 23, helped Standley Lake football snag a victory against Jeffco rival Green Mountain at the North Area Athletic Complex.

With 2.4 seconds left in the second quarter, the Gators (3-1 record) had the ball on Green Mountain’s 27-yard line. Senior quarterback Jake Foutz heaved a pass into the end zone. Standley Lake senior Beck Halbiesen and Green Mountain senior Emery Schattinger battled for the jump ball. Halbiesen was able to tip the ball up in the air. Standley Lake senior Ty Webber caught the deflection in the back corner of the end zone to give the Gators a 13-6 lead at halftime.

“I saw the ball and everything stopped,” Webber said about the Hail Mary catch. “I didn’t hear the crowd or anything. I was so surprised.”

Webber said Halbiesen told him before the snap of the ball to be prepared for a tipped ball.

“That wasn’t the plan,” Standley Lake coach Don Morse said after the Gators’ third straight victory. “I just said throw it to the end zone and see what happens.”

What happened in the end was Standley Lake taking a 20-12 victory. Foutz actually connected with Webber in the final minute of the third quarter on more of a conventional touchdown pass of 18 yards to give the Gators a 20-6 lead.

The Gators’ other touchdown came on a 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter by sophomore Brady Kizer that erased Green Mountain’s early lead.

“Football is a game of inches. Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” Green Mountain coach Matt Pees said. “You’ve got to overcome those things and I think our kids did in the second half.”

Green Mountain took advantage of a Standley Lake turnover with less than four minutes to play. Rams’ senior quarterback Dylan Jacob hit senior Justin Booher for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 20-12.

The Rams were able to get the ball back with 1:59 to play and on Standley Lake’s 38-yard line, but a pair of sacks on Jacob eventually turned the ball over on downs to the Gators to seal the win.

“It was a shock. It was pretty stressful,” Standley Lake defensive end Jack Anderson said of Green Mountain getting the ball back late with a chance to tie things up. “Any win is a big win. You have to take them when you can get them.”

Anderson was in on a number of plays in the Rams’ offensive backfield. The Gators sacked or held Jacob to zero yards on eight plays.

“I really think our defense played outstanding,” Morse said. “We got a lot of pressure on Jacob.”

Green Mountain jumped out to an early 6-0 lead when Jacob hit senior Kyle Clabaugh for a 74-yard touchdown on a slip-screen on the Rams’ first offensive possession. Jacob finished 11-for-19 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

“That screen really opened our eyes. We had prepared for it, but we didn’t read it,” Anderson said. “We changed it up and we figured out how to beat it.”

Clabaugh had four catches for 104 yards, along with 64 yards rushing to pace Green Mountain (2-2).

“We’ve got a lot to clean up before playing Battle Mountain,” Pees said. “Our goal is still there to win a conference championship. That is what we’re aiming for.”

Green Mountain has its final non-league game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood against Battle Mountain.

Standley Lake is back at NAAC next Friday for another late-afternoon game against yet another Jeffco school. The Gators get a shot against Class 5A’s Arvada West at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

“You like to see your team progressing so once you get into league hopefully you’ve worked out some of those kinks,” Morse said. “Each week you just kind of piece it together and see what you can do.”

Dennis Pleuss is a communication specialist for Jeffco Public Schools with a focus on athletics and activities. For more Jeffco coverage, go online at CHSAANow.com/Jeffco.

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