Niwot trounces Riverdale Ridge for homecoming win

The Niwot offense got off to another slow start in its Sept. 17 matchup against league foe Riverdale Ridge, scoring just six points in three quarters, despite success moving the ball on the ground. But for the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Ben Classen had some late-game heroics up his sleeve, and four touchdowns later, the raucous homecoming crowd was rewarded with a 34-20 victory.

"If you sit in the stands, you can see why Ben Classen has such a huge impact when he's playing both sides," second-year head coach Nik Blume said after his team's second win of the season. "You come here and watch number two, he is going to affect the game on both sides of the ball. And we've missed that these last two weeks, and to have him back was massive. Yeah, huge."

The athletic junior has been hampered by a knee injury since before week two, but was back to full strength against the Ravens. He then went on to make the most of it, with 178 yards rushing, two rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown, and an interception. He was also one of the team's lead tacklers, taking pressure off seniors Thomas Carnagie and Bryce Nemec.

(See more photos from the homecoming win over Riverdale Ridge here.)

"I can start playing defense again, which helped me personally," Classen said. "I think we beat ourselves in the last game and this game, we didn't let ourselves down, and then we came back and won it."

But even the Niwot defense seemed off to a slow start, after Riverdale Ridge receiver RJ Holliday caught a 34-yard touchdown pass on the Ravens' first possession, an unwelcome reminder of the prior week's game against Eagle Valley.

As was Niwot's lack of scoring through the rest of the half, despite some time-consuming drives, and a string of long runs from Carnegie and Classen, at least one of which was called back for a penalty. Going into the half, Niwot trailed 6-0.

"We had to get out of our own way," Blume said of his halftime advice to his team. "It's a 6-0 game, and they scored on what clearly should have been an interception. And we just mishandled it, and those things happened."

Niwot perked up to start the third quarter, after an interception by Carnagie in the opening minutes turned into a long rushing touchdown by Classen four plays later, tying the game at 6-6. The teams traded scoreless possessions for the rest of the quarter, until Riverdale Ridge got a lucky break to start the fourth, after busted coverage gave Holliday a wide open path to the end zone, putting the Ravens ahead 13-6.

But not much went right for Riverdale Ridge after that. On the ensuing kickoff, senior Easten Leatherwood returned the ball to the Ravens' 14-yard line, setting up a Carnagie touchdown two plays later, with an extra point by kicker Matthew Hansen, tying the score again. Then Classen helped himself with an interception, and, from the other side of the line, drove the Cougars to their third touchdown, a 15-yard throw to senior Craig Wright.

Wright, who also doubles as a Cougar safety, then returned the favor with an interception on the following possession. That again resulted in a Niwot touchdown, after a confusing play at the goal line ended up with junior lineman Matthew Duncan on top of the ball in the end zone, with just under five minutes to go in the game.

Riverdale Ridge finally struck back with a long touchdown, making it 27-20, with less than four minutes left. That ended up being plenty of time for Classen and company to complete one last scoring drive, making the final score 34-20.

While Niwot's offense took "a big step forward," Blume said, it was Niwot's solid defensive effort that made the win possible. Led by Classen, Nemec and Brad Bair, the defense kept the Ravens' offense off-balance while the Cougar offense continued its search for the elusive end zone through the first half.

"We did what we know we can do," Blume said. "Defensively, we bowed up a lot again tonight, when we had to have it. We just didn't give them options to put points on the board."

Blume was also happy with his team's ability to put aside the distractions of homecoming week and tune out the cheering from the enthusiastic student section during the tense third quarter.

"It was a great week of practice and the focus was better," Blume said. "The big thing was that we got out of our own way this week. The penalties on us, we still had some, that's going to happen. Every game can't be played perfectly. But in the second half, we just essentially got out of our own way."

The Cougars ended the game with 434 yards in total offense, with Classen accounting for 203. Carnagie added another 150 yards and a touchdown, bringing his season total to 434 in four games.

With the win, Niwot improved to 2-2 on the year, with six games to go in 2021. The Cougars have a bye week to wrap up September, and will be back on the field on Oct. 1 against Skyview.