Battling Monarch High School’s relentless rushing attack for 48 minutes was simply a task that the top ranked Broomfield H.S. Eagles were not up to. The Eagles attempted to stick with the Coyotes powerful offense, but ultimately provided little resistance.
The experienced offensive line of the Coyotes, featuring four seniors, eventually wore down the defensive front of Broomfield and opened up gaping running lanes for junior running back Ethan Marks. Marks finished the night with 253 yards. Marks followed his offensive line into the end zone for three scores and led the Coyotes to a 42-7 victory.
Marks said, “We really executed our game plan well, feels really great to knock off a team like Broomfield.” Marks had been banged up for most of the season with shoulder and back injuries but showed his true colors in the biggest game of the season to date for the Coyotes.
After an impressive opening drive, which included five consecutive carries by Marks, junior Braden Pape punched in an 11 yard touchdown and put the Coyotes up 6-0.
Despite a plethora of injuries that were hampering Broomfield the team looked strong in the first quarter behind quarterback Angelo Perez. Perez led consecutive drives into Monarch territory but costly mistakes halted any Broomfield scoring opportunity. Perez was picked off twice by senior defensive back Geoff Clary, with both picks coming at a time when the Eagles looked poised to make a run at Monarch’s end zone. Perez finished the game with 77 yards.
The floodgates broke open for the Monarch offense just before half with a 14 yard Logan Soole touchdown. Soole rejoined the team after sitting out the first half of the season to focus on his main sport, baseball. Since his return he has been an impact player for the Coyotes with five touchdowns in three games.
Up until this point the Eagles had been somewhat successful in stopping the run and had even forced the Coyotes to punt, a rare occurrence for Monarch’s potent offense. The Coyotes headed into halftime after this touchdown with renewed confidence and a commanding 21-0 lead.
Head coach Phil Bravo obviously had some inspiring words to say at halftime because the Coyotes came out in the second half with the purpose of making a statement to the 5A football world. Ethan Marks continued his physical running from the first half and had added two more touchdowns to the Coyote lead, before Broomfield could put together any sort of convincing drive of their own.
Soole also added a touchdown late in the second half. The Monarch student section was raucous for most of the game, and had plenty to cheer about with six total Monarch touchdowns. The students rushed the field following the victory against their cross-town rival.
The Coyotes stand at 8-1 on the season and 4-0 in league play following the win. Marks also noted that the victory gives the Coyotes confidence heading into their last game of the regular season against Standley Lake.
