FORT COLLINS — Right player, right place, right time. Time after time.
In every momentous moment of their perfect season, the Dakota Ridge Eagles had a playmaker in place, never more so than on Saturday afternoon at Canvas Stadium on the Colorado State Campus.
Powered by a nearly flawless performance from senior quarterback Kellen Behrendsen, the top-ranked Eagles (14-0) overwhelmed Palmer Ridge, 38-14, to win the Class 4A state championship. It was the first state football title in Dakota Ridge history.
“I can hardly find the words to describe this,” said teary-eyed senior free safety Jack Offerdahl. “This is a brotherhood. We have worked for this every single day. We make plays because of that, but our coaching staff is the best in the state — period. I believe that.”
Now, about those playmakers.
Start with the game’s first drive when Behrendsen hooked up with senior running back Landon Kalsbeck for a 44-yard touchdown pass. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Kalsbeck broke three tackles and left two other defenders clutching air on his electrifying score.
It was the first of four TD passes thrown by Behrendsen, who completed 14 of 16 passes for 259 yards en route to being named the game’s MVP.
Palmer Ridge, for a brief moment, got back in the game on its first drive.
On a fourth-and-four play, Derek Zertuche faked a punt and threw to Carter Charron for 17 yards and a first down. But on the next play, Offerdahl made a diving interception of quarterback Cole Harris’ pass at the Dakota Ridge 16-yard line. It was the first of five interceptions by the Eagles.
On the next play, Behrendsen threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to wide-open senior Jaxson Arnold for a 14-0 lead. Two plays later, senior Seth Gregory picked off Harris’ pass. Six plays after that, Behrendsen threaded a 6-yard TD pass to junior Leo Lukosky. It was 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, and the game was essentially over.
“Our strength all year has been the ability to spread the ball around,” said Kalsbeck, who’s headed to Kansas State.
Kalsbeck rushed for 60 yards on seven carries, including a 33-yard rumble early in the third quarter. However, Kalsceck injured his left ankle at the end of the play and didn’t carry the ball again, though he did play on defense, despite his gimpy ankle.
Senior Landen Stubblefield took over for Kalsbeck and rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries.
“This is such a special group of kids, and we really thought it would come together this year. We have been building toward this,” said coach Jeremiah Behrendsen, who was the offensive coordinator for the freshman team when the Eagles played in their only other state championship game, a 35-29 loss to ThunderRidge in 2004.
The Bears gained a bit of momentum in the third quarter when Harris found a wide-open Eli Stewart for a 65-yard TD, cutting Dakota Ridge’s lead to 28-14. And when the Bears forced the Eagles to punt on the ensuing drive, a bit of drama was building.
The drama ended on the Bears’ next drive when they went for it on a fourth-and-one play at the Dakota Ridge 46. Senior Jackson Mabe plunged into the line but was stonewalled for a 1-yard loss by Offerdahl.
Offerdahl, the younger brother of former University of Colorado running back Charlie Offerdahl, suffered a torn MCL in his knee in Week 6 vs. Heritage and didn’t return until last week’s semifinals.
“Getting Jack back was huge for us,” Jeremiah Behrendsen said. “Jack studies film so much. He studies tendencies, and he probably knows what (the opposition) is running 80% of the time. He just does. That’s why he’s in the right place.”
Five plays after Offerdahl’s defensive stuff, Kellen Behrendsen aired out a 46-yard touchdown pass to senior Nathan Rodriguez, who made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone to put Dakota Ridge ahead 35-14. Behredsen threw the ball 50 yards in the air.
“When we start making plays like that, it’s awesome,” said Behrendsen, who completed his first nine passes. “You don’t even think about stats, you just really know you are going to be able to do something special.”
The Eagles’ defense made plays all afternoon. Blake Bishop and Offerdahl led the way with six tackles each. Coby Stewart had two interceptions, and Brady Palladino, Offerdahl and Gregory combined for the other three.
“We knew we were the best team in 4A this year, even when we were hurt earlier (in the season),” Offersdahl said. “I was so confident coming into this game. We just needed to prove it, and we did.”
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