Can a first championship game qualify as a classic?
Mountain Vista’s thrilling 32-21 victory over Arvada West on Saturday night in the Class 5A flag football title game sure is a contender.
The Golden Eagles finished their season with a perfect 18-0 record. A-West, which won the pilot program title last season, finished 15-3.
The Golden Eagles took an early lead, but A-West stormed back to take a 21-20 lead in the third quarter, utilizing the potent combination of senior quarterback Saylor Swanson and senior receiver Sara Walker.
But then Ariana Akey, Mountain Vista’s junior Energizer Bunny, took over the game.
She scrambled for a long TD to put the Golden Eagles back on top, 26-21. Next, Akey intercepted Swanson’s pass to end a promising A-West drive in Vista territory with 6:42 left in the game.
Mountain Vista Golden Eagles player Isabel Vaillant (15) celebrates her touchdown catch against the Arvada West Wildcats with teammates in the first half of the inaugural 5A Girls Colorado State Flag Football Championships at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood, Colorado Saturday, Nov. 02, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Then Akey engineered the game’s key drive, hitting senior Braelynn Looney with key passes en route. On a third-and-goal play, scrambled, stumbled and somehow found Isabel Vaillant for a 7-yard TD. Vista led 32-21.
And Key wasn’t finished. She picked off Swanson, again, this time in the end zone with 1:20 remaining to seal the Golden Eagles’ victory.
Vista came out of the gate sizzling and looked like it might put the game away early. Akey found Vaillant in the corner of the end zone for a first-quarter score and a 7-0 lead.
An interception by sophomore Lauren Culebro set up the Golden Eagles’ second TD. The speedy Akey turned the corner for a 2-yard scoring run. Vista missed the extra point but still held a 13-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.
But the Swanson-to-Walker connection couldn’t be stopped for long. Walker leaped high to snare a 10-yard pass from Swanson and then added a catch for the one-point conversion, putting A-West on the board and cutting Vista’s lead to 13-7.
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