Cougars open football season with 22-16 victory

The Niwot High School Cougars opened their football season under the Friday night lights at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont in a back-and-forth game against the Greeley Central Wildcats, coming away with a 22-16 win in a hard-fought contest.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and brought it back to their 20-yard line. The Niwot offense produced a solid drive up to the Wildcat 20-yard line, with a combination of dives into the line and screen passes. But the drive would be cut short in the end as Niwot's junior wide receiver Paris Lee was hit hard and fumbled after catching a screen pass.

Disaster struck quickly again as Greeley Central sophomore running back Carlos Cardoza would take the very next play 90 yards for a touchdown. Cardoza also carried the ball for the two-point conversion, leaving the Cougars in an early 8-0 hole.

Niwot would start their next drive down by eight less than one minute after their last drive ended. Lee bounced back and returned the kickoff to Niwot's 40-yard line. The Cougars stuck to their offensive strategy from their first drive but would integrate their triple option into the play calling. The triple option would also be the play that put Niwot's first points of the season on the board as quarterback Chad Volf kept the ball on the option and was hit short of the goal line, but was able to reach the ball into the endzone. Running back Hayden Shaw tied up the game as he powered through the defensive line for the two-point conversion.

Niwot's defense stepped up their next time on the field as they forced the Wildcat offense to go 3-and-out, forcing a punt before they got the chance to do anything. Greeley's center would over-snap his punter, leading to Niwot starting inside the Greeley Central 10-yard line.

Niwot's first three downs were all runs that failed to punch in the football. On the fourth down, Niwot went to the air, but the pass from Volf to Lee fell incomplete. Greeley was unable to take advantage of the turnover on downs, as they went 3-and-out again, thanks to Niwot's defensive line led by juniors Garrett Eker, Harrison Van Selus, and Rhett Davis, and senior Kevin Chen who were able to stuff runs and put pressure on Wildcat quarterback Zjhonoah Trujillo. The Wildcats successfully punted the ball, leading to Niwot's final possession of the first half.

Volf was then able to connect with senior Raiden Stahly for a big gain through the air, which led to another rushing touchdown by Volf, and a two-point conversion pass from Volf to Lee, giving the Cougars a 16-8 lead at the half.

Niwot's offense struggled when the third quarter rolled out, failing to get anything going for the next 12 minutes of the game. Between 1- and 2-yard runs, and incomplete passes, Niwot's offense gave Greeley plenty of chances to score. But the Cougar defense came out to play, shutting down almost every drive that occurred, with most possessions ending with a 3-and-out. But before the third quarter ended, Greeley Central put a drive together that ended with a screen pass that led to a touchdown, and the two-point conversion tied the game at 16-16.

Niwot coach Nik Blume gathered his players before the fourth quarter started, and they seemed to play with a new fire in crunch time.The defense remained solid, shutting down any attempt at forward progress while Niwot's offense came alive, starting with victories in the trenches. Niwot's offensive line won almost every exchange they had, giving Volf plenty of time in the pocket, and letting the rushing game break through for 5- and 6-yard gains consistently. The Cougars scored a touchdown on their first drive of the quarter, as Volf connected with Weston Domich for a 9-yard touchdown, giving the Cougars a fourth-quarter lead at 22-16. Greeley's offense was shut down on their next possession, and Niwot ended the game in the victory formation.

Volf led Niwot in passing statistics (122 yards, 1 touchdown), Domich led in receiving (4 catches, 36 yards, and a touchdown), and Shaw led Niwot in rushing (27 carries for 145 yards). The Cougars had 355 yards of total offense to Greeley's 187. Niwot also got inside the 10 yard line three times without scoring, so the margin of victory could have been even greater.

Niwot's next game is an away game on Friday, Sept. 2 against the Thornton Trojans at 5-Star Arena, with a 6 p.m. start time.