Homecoming is always a big event, and on this night the
Littleton High School football team obliged with big plays.
The host Lions scored four touchdowns during the first 12
minutes of play and went on to rout Thornton, 49-14 in a North
Metro League game Oct. 10 at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
Jessen Kirchner led the way for the Lions’ offense, getting 17
carries for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 79-yard
outburst that put Littleton up 28-0 in the opening quarter.
“If we didn’t put up that many points I would have been
disappointed. We have that type of offense,” Kirchner said. “I have
to give credit to the line tonight. Our line showed up to play; I
just read the holes and ended up with a good game.”
All told, Littleton (4-0 North Metro, 7-0 overall) gained nearly
500 yards of total offense with 396 coming on the ground. In
addition to Kirchner, David Yang had 10 carries for 51 yards, all
during the second half, while Ryan Ezzedine had 36 yards on six
carries – four of which went for touchdowns.
“We’ve got pretty good team speed. Thornton plays hard, but we
just had more speed on the field than they did and that was a
difference early,” head coach Chad Koepke said. “That’s what we do;
we try to use our speed.”
It was evident from the start as Kirchner took the first play
from scrimmage for 30 yards. Four plays later, the Lions were in
the end zone on a seven-yard run by Ezzedine.
Two minutes after its initial score, Littleton had regained
possession and struck quickly. On third and 16 from his own 15 yard
line, quarterback Blake Buder used a play action fake to
perfection, freezing the defense long enough to find Noah Gaumer
wide open on the right side. Gaumer hauled in the pass and then
jaunted into the end zone for an 85-yard, putting the Lions up 12-0
with 6:35 on the clock.
It was 20-0 two minutes after that. The Lions started at the
Thornton 47 following an interference penalty during a punt and
needed just two plays to find paydirt. Kirchner received both
carries, first going for 29 yards and then scoring on an 18-yard
run. He also converted the two-point attempt.
Kirchner was the lead man again during Littleton’s final
possession of the first quarter, breaking a 79-yard run on the
first play from scrimmage. Gaumer then ran in for two points on a
faked extra point attempt, making it 28-0.
An interception by Alex Keiderling set up Littleton’s fifth
touchdown. Keiderling snagged the ball just over midfield and
returned it all the way to Thornton’s eight yard line. The ball
then went to Ezzedine, who immediately scored for a 35-0 advantage
after the extra point.
Ezzedine made it 42-0 with 4:08 remaining in the half, scoring
on a two-yard plunge to cap a 10-play, 83-yard drive.
Littleton’s final touchdown came with 8:05 left in the third
quarter, again by Ezzedine on another two-yard burst.
Ezzedine nearly had five touchdowns for the night, but a 28-yard
scamper late in the first half was called back because of
holding.
Thornton (1-3, 3-4) broke the shutout with 3:42 remaining in the
second quarter on a 46-yard pass from Joe Trujillo to Eddie Macias.
The Trojans scored again with 9:30 showing in the fourth quarter,
this time on a 22-yard return of a blocked punt by Akeem
Norris.
David Yang, a junior, had 10 carries for 64 yards during the
second half.
