Pueblo West football advances to 4A second round thanks to special teams scores

The Pueblo West football team took down the Standley Lake Gators 32-22 to open up the Class 4A state football playoffs on Saturday.

On a gusty day in Pueblo West, the Cyclones' special teams helped carry the team to an opening-round victory. The Cyclones will face off against Ponderosa High School next week in the second round.

Sophomore standout Garrett O'Brien had two special team touchdowns, and starting quarterback Gavin Lockett chipped in with two touchdowns of his own, including a 69-yard scramble for a score in the third quarter.

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Keys to the game

The wind was a major factor, especially early on, as both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half.

In fact, the first touchdown came late in the second quarter as Standley Lake recovered a muffed punt deep in Pueblo West territory and eventually would score on a two-yard rush to take a 6-0 edge.

On the kickoff, O’Brien scored his first touchdown of the game, a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. However, that would be it for the first half. The Cyclones and the Gators both struggled early in this game because of the wind. The passing game was just about nonexistent in the first half.

“We just had way too many mistakes with the fumble and the muffed punt,” Cyclones head coach Clint Buderus said. “In the playoffs, you just can't do something like that. We just didn't play very sharp or very well in the first half”

In the second half, the Cyclones played much better.

They were able to run the football and played decent defense. Even though the Gators would score first in the third quarter, the Cyclones would answer back with a two-yard rushing touchdown by Gavin Henderson to make it a 14-12 game. Then on their next possession, the Gators would end up punting the ball back to the Cyclones and O’Brien did what he does best: returned it for a 67-yard touchdown to take the lead back 18-12.

“Garrett is a stud,” Buderus said. “We are excited about him. He's a great kid and he works hard, but really, it's all those dudes up front. Don’t get me wrong, he's a great player and showed his speed there, but they blocked for him and we worked really hard at the special teams and (that) was a big difference today.”

O’Brien felt the same when asked about his two-touchdown performance.

“Blocking,” O’Brien said. “It was all just good blocking up front; they do their job and we take it to the house, it's all them. It's all the blockers and all the team who did it. It wasn't me, it was the team.”

Lockett would then have his longest run of the day on the Cyclone's next possession to stretch the lead 26-14. He would end up scoring one more time later in the fourth quarter on a keeper up the middle to make the score 32-22, which would end up being the final.

In what was a closer game than the Cyclones would have liked, their defense stepped up at the end and was able to seal the win for the home team and allow them to advance further along in the playoffs.

“We just weren't feeling it in the first half and in the second half we came out firing,” O’Brien said. “All we had to do is shut down the run and force them to start passing. We're really good stopping the pass and at the end of the day we shut them down.”

Reactions and predictions

Buderus was happy his team won a close one on Saturday but knows his team is still capable of doing more on the field.

“That's a very good team over there,” Buderus said. “We didn't play our best game, that's for sure, but we'll get to play again next week. That's all (that) matters.”

He was happy his team was able to get back on track in this game as they are without some of their key players, including starting running back Jacob Trader, who was out of this one due to injury. Nonetheless, it was the next-man-up mentality for this team and it showed out on the field in this one.

“It's great feeling just going to the second round,” O’Brien said. “That's all we wanted to do is make the playoffs and win the first game and go to the second round.”

As far as their opponent next week, Buderus, O’Brien and the rest of the Cyclones team know exactly what’s in front of them and what they have to do to win.

“It’s all about preparation,” O’Brien said. “We got to prepare for next week. They are a better team than what we faced in the first round. They are the number three team in the state, so we got to get prepared all week.”

When asked what the team needs to do to earn a victory against a tough opponent in Ponderosa, O’Brien was straight to the point.

“We got to play on all cylinders,” O’Brien said. “Offense, defense and special teams. We got to win at all levels and that's what's going to help us.”

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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West football advances in 4A playoffs with special teams scores