FORT COLLINS — Wake up the echoes, Pomona is back in the championship game.
It hasn’t been an easy road for the proud Panthers, who were a big-school state powerhouse less than a decade ago, only to see declining enrollment at the Arvada-based school chip away at the football program.
“It’s been a challenge for sure,” coach Nate Johnson said earlier this week. “We had a lot of kids transferring, but I give a lot of credit to those seniors who stuck it out. A lot of them had to play a ton as freshmen, but it’s paid off.”
Saturday afternoon, those freshmen-turned-seniors get a chance to hoist a trophy if they win the Class 3A title game against top-ranked Windsor (13-0) at Canvas Stadium on the Colorado State campus. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
As a 5A school, Pomona won the state title in 2017, beating Eaglecrest 56-49 in the highest-scoring Class 5A title game in state history. The Panthers were state finalists in 2015 and ’16 but lost to mighty Valor Christian both times. Pomona managed to win back-to-back 5A Jeffco League titles in 2020 and ’21, but the inevitable slide was coming.
The Panthers had a combined 3-17 record in 2022 and 2023 in 5A before dropping down two classifications last season and reemerging as a state contender.
Luis Santana was a 5-foot-8, 155-pound freshman in the late summer of 2022 when the Panthers lined up for a preseason scrimmage against Class 5A powerhouse Cherry Creek. It was David vs. Goliath, but that time the little guys didn’t fare too well.
“Going against schools that are bigger than you, better than you, can be difficult … make you a little anxious,” Santana admitted.
Now he’s 15 pounds heavier and rushed for 1,025 yards (7.1-yard average) and eight touchdowns for a multidimensional offense that helped lead the Panthers to a 12-1 record. Their lone defeat was a 45-14 loss to Dakota Ridge, the No. 1 seed that takes on Palmer Ridge in the 4A championship on Saturday.
“Ever since the beginning, when I was a freshman, I saw how much talent this team had,” Santana said. “A lot of us played in middle school together and then went on to Pomona. I knew what we had on the table.
“I would see some guys transfer, and I’d think, ‘They didn’t really believe in Pomona, they didn’t believe in our system, they didn’t believe in Coach Johnson.’ But talking to my other boys, I knew they were really loyal. We would work together and grind together. Iron sharpens iron.”
Senior Emmitt Munson describes his position as “athlete.” He’s rushed for 391 yards and seven touchdowns, has 18 receptions for 44 yards and six touchdowns, and is credited with 85 tackles as a linebacker. Like Santana, he endured the two miserable seasons before the Panthers turned things around last year, going 9-4 before their season ended with a loss in the 3A semifinals to Mead.
But Munson knows about championships. He won a 5A state wrestling title at 175 pounds last season as a junior. As a team, the Panthers won their seventh straight 5A championship. Senior wide receiver/linebacker Maddux Najera, junior free safety Rylan Berger, and junior lineman Leon Abbott will wrestle for the Panthers this winter.
“I think the wrestling (program) helped build our football foundation, helped build our house,” Munson said. “We’ve been there before — to the semifinals and the finals. We have lived those big moments. We understand the pressure.”
Pomona has outscored its opponents 482-183 behind an offense run by junior quarterback Tucker Ingersoll. The 6-2, 190-pound junior has thrown for 1,800 yards and 26 TDs while rushing for 475 yards and seven touchdowns.
“We run a spread offense,” Ingersoll said. “I’d say we’re really explosive. Our O-line is the best in in 3A, in my opinion. They are the biggest, strongest and meanest in 3A. We can run the ball and throw at a high level.”
If the Panthers beat Windsor, it will give Pomona its third championship, to accompany titles won in 1988 and 2017.
“We’re aware of the history, but we want to make a name for ourselves,” Santana said. “We want to create our own legend.”
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