Behind Lincoln Hageman, Erie football stuns Broomfield in thriller

ERIE — In the three years leading up to Erie football’s home rivalry matchup with Broomfield on Friday night, Lincoln Hageman hid in the shadows behind his older brother, Carson.

It was Lincoln’s time to shine in the Tigers’ 26-25 victory over the Eagles.

First, the senior caught a wide-open 49-yard pass from junior quarterback Jack Arnold to tie things at 13-13 at the start of the second half. He followed that up with a sack on Broomfield junior quarterback Matthew Merilatt a few minutes later, then handed the Tigers their first lead of the game with a 30-yard pick six at the end of the third quarter.

A blocked 22-yard field goal attempt was the final nail in the coffin for Broomfield as time ran out.

“Last year, it was just being on the side of my brother Carson Hageman,” Lincoln said. “He was the best linebacker. I just learned everything from him and then this year, I get to execute by myself. He taught me everything — during film, during practice, game. That’s where I get it from. Nothing else to say but we beat Broomfield. That’s the highlight of our season.”

Carson, who now plays at Air Force and was the Times-Call defensive player of the year in 2024, racked up 371 tackles and 13 sacks in his three years on varsity with the Tigers. Lincoln had 35 tackles through his first four games of the season prior to meeting with the Eagles, but he didn’t have an interception to his name.

Might as well make the first one count a little extra.

“I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes and then he passes it straight to me,” Lincoln said. “I almost fall down, but I keep my balance and I go to the house.”

Prior to Lincoln’s emergence in the second half, the Eagles had all the momentum, leading 13-6 midway through. His two consecutive scores in the third quarter shifted that energy briefly toward the Tigers, but Broomfield still had a trick up its sleeve.

His name is Kashus Clarvoe.

Following Erie’s 20-13 berth heading into the final quarter, the freshman wunderkind took over, running first for a 5-yard score before blitzing 70 yards to hand the Eagles a 25-20 lead with 5:08 remaining. Their 2-point conversion failed, the fourth such occurrence in a cursed game for PATs.

Clarvoe scored three times and added 234 yards to his already impressive stats through the first four games. He now has 745 total yards to his name.

“I was in the stands all games last year watching Broomfield, getting ready to play high school ball last year,” Clarvoe said. “I think my speed just came from working hard when I was younger. My dad always brought me out to the field and he always tried to work with me on my speed to get faster, because he knows that’s one of the things that could dominate in the game of football. Second of all, it’s God’s blessing to me that he gave me this type of speed and this dedication to the game.”

The Tigers deflated the Eagles’ hopes for a victory when Braylon Toliver punched in a 13-yard touchdown with 2:33 remaining — and the Tigers again missed the 2-point conversion. They destroyed those hopes completely when they blocked Max Marchi’s field goal attempt in the final seconds.

With the win, the Tigers moved to 3-2 while the Eagles suffered their first loss at 4-1. The Tigers entered the week ranked No. 10 in Class 5A while Broomfield held the top spot in 4A in the Colorado Preps media rankings.

“We just took down the No. 1 team in 4A, so it just builds that confidence after losing two games to the start of our season,” Lincoln said.

Erie will now hit the road to Rangeview next Friday, while the Eagles return home to take on Longmont.

View a list of Prep sports and high school teams we cover.