Niwot Football ends the year with loss to Denver North

The Niwot High School football season is officially over. Niwot played its final game Thursday, Nov. 2, against Denver North High School, which was also Niwot's Senior Night. The Cougars lost the game, 24-14, dropping to 3-7 on the year.

Niwot struggled early against the Vikings as they went scoreless in the first three quarters before mounting a near comeback. The Cougar defense played a strong game throughout, giving Niwot a chance to wi

Niwot started the game with the ball, but an errant pass resulted in an interception. The Vikings moved down the field with a deep pass right away, but back-to-back sacks by Garrett Eker prevented a score.

Niwot got a drive going off of quarterback Chad Volf's rushing efforts, but eventually faltered after another interception. But the Cougar defense was quick to make a stop, routing Denver North on fourth down to get the ball back.

Niwot once again struggled to move the ball, running four times but failing to get 10 yards for a first down, turning the ball over on downs. Denver North completed two deep passes to start the second quarter, scoring through the air to go up 7-0.

Niwot got a bit of a drive going on the next possession, mostly on the ground through running backs Haden Shaw and Jesus Rosas, but eventually faltered around the 40-yard line, turning the ball over on downs. Niwot's defense stuffed Denver North with the help of a sack from Ashton Karch. The Cougars forced Denver North into a punting situation, but the Vikings faked the punt, to no avail, as Niwot stopped short of a first down.

Niwot took over on the 40 yard-line, but struggled to move the ball on offense once again, going three and out and punting the ball away. Denver North didn't do much with the ball, but ended the half up 7-0.

The Vikings started the second half with the ball, where Nico Kemp quickly made a tackle for a loss. The play didn't do much to stop Denver North's drive in the long run as they slowly drove down the field for a touchdown, going up 14-0. Niwot slowly drove down the field, mostly on the ground with some help from the receiver Mats Lehan, until the end of the third quarter.

Niwot opened the fourth quarter with a bang as Chad Volf ran over 30 yards for Niwot's first score, putting the team down 14-7 after Paris Lee's PAT. Denver North responded to Niwot's score, marching down the field, mostly with a run game, and sealing the drive with a short touchdown run that put the Vikings up 21-7 after the PAT.

Niwot ran with their newfound momentum, with Sergio Pimentel breaking off a kick return to Denver North's 30-yard line. Niwot broke a long run inside the five yard-line, but fumbled, giving the ball back to Denver North. The Vikings started to march down the field when Wyatt Volf made an acrobatic interception to put the Cougars back in the game.

Niwot took just one play to get into the endzone as Volf connected with Lehan to score on a 40-yard pass. Lee connected on the PAT, putting Niwot down 21-14. Denver North was able to run out the rest of the clock, knocking down a short field goal as the game ended, winning 24-14.