LONGMONT — Coming off a sloppy loss, one the Monarch football team believes should have never happened, the Coyotes were angry and poised to regroup.
Niwot ran into that buzzsaw.
Exhibiting renewed focus, the No. 2 Coyotes walloped the Cougars 53-12 Thursday night at Everly-Montgomery Field in a Class 4A nonleague contest.
“They caught us really grumpy,” Coyotes coach Phil Bravo said.
For Monarch, this represented step one in putting last week’s turnover-plagued 12-7 loss to Wheat Ridge in the rearview mirror. Considering the Coyotes scored so frequently that a running clock was instituted midway through the second period, it appears the mission was accomplished.
“Our kids were very, very upset about that Wheat Ridge game,” Bravo said. “They took it to heart and we had the most incredible week of practice.”
Buoyed by swarming defense and special teams, Monarch (2-1) produced a mind-boggling 40 points in the second quarter. The Coyotes scored on a blocked punt (recovered by Travis Gamblin) and two interception returns for touchdowns, one apiece by Colin Hart and Jake Hummel.
The Coyotes also took advantage of a botched snap on a punt, which gave them possession at the Niwot 1. Quarterback Cole Watson plunged into the end zone on the next play. Watson also connected with Kyle Billingsly on a 30-yard TD in the quarter.
“After the loss, we actually practiced Saturday and busted our butts,” Monarch two-way lineman Austin Beswick said. “We were pretty pissed off coming into this game because we knew we could do better.”
Coyotes top running back Ethan Marks was limited to two carries as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury suffered in the opener. Marks, who rushed for 249 yards against Wheat Ridge, was ready to go, but the Coyotes mostly went with sophomore Philip Bubernak (118 yards, two touchdowns) and junior Harrison Leachman (50 yards, one TD).
Last week, the Coyotes were a downtrodden bunch. This week, the public address announcer repeatedly called them “the Monarchs,” but it couldn’t curtail the positive vibe.
“We’re going to enjoy it tonight, but it’s all about moving on to next week,” Beswick said. “Next week is Kennedy and we’re going to be ready for them.”
For Niwot (0-3) and first-year coach Josh Brewer, this was a tall task — and that’s before considering that Monarch entered with the extra incentive of retooling from a tough loss.
Brewer believed the Cougars’ catastrophic second quarter skewed the outcome.
“The toughest thing is people are going to read the paper and see the score, not realizing that there wasn’t a super-dominant thing that happened,” Brewer said. “We throw two interceptions when our receiver goes the wrong way twice, then we snap one over the head and they block one.
“Like I told my guys, if I have 100 bucks in my hand and I put it out, you’d take it. That’s what happened.”
Niwot (0-3) got on the board late when offensive lineman Brandon Slepicka picked up a fumble by teammate Michael Philips and fought his way into the end zone. Cougars quarterback Nathan Merriman connected with Lorne Jenkins for a 10-yard TD on the final play.
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MONARCH 53, NIWOT 12
At Longmont H.S.
Monarch (2-1) 7 40 6 0 — 53
Niwot (0-3) 0 0 0 12 — 12
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Monarch — Philip Bubernak 5 run (Jamie Falloon kick).
Second Quarter
Monarch — Harrison Leachman 27 run (Falloon kick).
Monarch — Cole Watson 1 run (Falloon kick).
Monarch — Travis Gamblin recovered blocked punt in end zone (kick failed).
Monarch — Kyle Billingsly 30 pass from Watson (Falloon kick).
Monarch — Colin Hart 24 interception return (Falloon kick).
Monarch — Jake Hummel 31 interception return (kick failed).
Third Quarter
Monarch — Bubernak 28 run (kick failed).
Fourth Quarter
Niwot — Brandon Slepicka 5 fumble recovery (pass failed).
Niwot — Lorne Jenkins 10 pass from Nathan Merriman (pass failed).
Mon Niw
First downs 13 9
Rushes-yards 30-206 10-28
Passing yards 30 164
Comp-Att-Int 1-1-0 14-26-2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 2-10 3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Monarch: Bubernak 12-118, Leachman 8-50, Marks 2-19, Pape 3-7, Glazer 2-5, Sloan 1-3, Stephens 1-3, Watson 1-1; Niwot: Philips 6-29, Thramann 4-(-1).
PASSING (comp-att-int-yards) — Monarch: Watson 1-1, 30 yards; Niwot: Merriman 14-26-2, 164 yards.
RECEIVING — Monarch: Billingsly 1-30; Niwot: J. Slepicka 3-46, Jenkins 3-31, Noterman 2-23, Lee 2-20, Meek 1-29, Thramann 1-14, Kelleghan 1-3, Caruso 1-(-2).
