Pueblo East defeats Severance on last-second field goal in football playoffs
· Yahoo Sports
The Pueblo East Eagles hosted the Severance Silver Knights on Friday, Nov. 13, at Dutch Clark Stadium in the second round of the CHSAA Class 3A football playoffs.
East and Severance battled it out on a cold night on the gridiron. It was mostly a defensive battle all night long with both teams forcing several turnovers in the game and multiple punts.
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Severance got on the board first in the first quarter with a Max Yahn touchdown. East answered back in the second quarter with a passing touchdown from Dion Alsworth to Brayden Diaz to tie the game 7-7. It would remain the same score until halftime.
In the third quarter, both teams exchanged drives and turnovers and were locked into a big defensive standoff. Neither team could really move the ball down the field.
The score stayed the same until late in the fourth quarter, when the Eagles mounted a drive. They went down the field with less than three minutes left on the clock to get into the red zone.
On 4th and 15, Eagles kicker Dylan Cooper stepped up and drilled about a 35-yard field goal to put East up 10-7.
Severance, with less than a minute left on the clock could not convert on 4th and long and the Eagles would come away with a 10-7 victory.
Eagles head coach Tony Valdez was ecstatic after the game, saying, “We needed this one.”
This was Valdez’s first playoff victory as the head coach of the Eagles, and the program's first playoff win in nine years.
Valdez spoke after the game about what a fight it was for the Eagles to pull this one off.
“It's a testament to this team and this program in the last few years,” Valdez said. “We might get down, but we're not out. These guys stick together. They're resilient. They're a true family, and they will never quit on each other. And we won't quit 'til the fat lady sings.”
He also talked about what it was like during that final offensive drive that won the game for the Eagles.
“Honestly, we got down there, we wanted to get six naturally, and then we got kind of down behind the chain. So it's like, don't make a mistake,” Valdez said. “We got a high-quality All-State field goal kicker, and we trust him with the game on the line. He knocked that sucker home.”
With the team ready to set out on the road to face a tough Palisades team, Valdez in the Eagles are ready to take on the challenge.
“Love is the strongest emotion. If we continue to love each other, love this game, love our program and community, we will continue to win ball games,” Valdez said.
Pueblo East will be on the road next Friday, Nov. 20, at Palisade High School.
In other local events, Pueblo West defeated Lutheran 38-35 to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face off against the winner of Montrose and Air Academy.
Pueblo County dropped a heartbreaker to Conifer 28-27 as the Hornets went for a 2-point conversion at the end of the game to win it but came up short. Pueblo South was on the road against the No. 1-seeded Palmer Ridge. The Colts’ season would end 49-14.
Rye High School will play on the road in the quarterfinals of the Class 1A playoffs against Limon on Saturday, Nov. 14.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo East defeats Severance on last-second field goal in football playoffs