Columbine snaps Cherry Creek's 5A title streak to claim first football state championship since 2011

The streak is over.

No. 2 Columbine ended Cherry Creek's run of four straight Colorado 5A state football championships with a 28-14 win over the Bruins on Saturday in the 5A title game at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.

This was a monumental win in the 5A football landscape.

No. 1 Cherry Creek came in as four-time defending champs, with just two losses against in-state competition since 2018.

The Bruins (13-1) started the run against the Rebels in the 2019 5A title game before beating Valor Christian in the last three championship games.

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But this was Columbine's time.

Time for the Rebels' sixth state championship and first since 2011. Time for an unbeaten 14-0 season. And ultimately time to deny history, as legendary coach Dave Logan's team aimed for a big-school record fifth straight title.

Josh Snyder was named Most Outstanding Player, tallying three touchdowns and 128 yards rushing while breaking several big plays.

Behind Snyder's big day, the Rebels' physical rushing attack controlled the ball and kept Creek's dynamic attack from getting into a rhythm.

"He's like Secretariat, we rode him all night long," Columbine head coach Andy Lowry said of Snyder.

"He can do every single thing you ask him to do. I just hope colleges take notice and he can continue playing hard."

Columbine opened up an early 14-0 lead on two Snyder scores, but Creek bounced back with a Jordan Herron's one-yard scoring run.

There was Snyder, though. He took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, his third in the first half.

Columbine would still need its defense, though, and the unit delivered after a Creek score made it 21-14 at halftime.

The Bruins had a chance to tie it late in the third, driving inside the 10-yard-line before the Rebels stopped Brady Vodicka's QB rollout on 4th down.

The Rebels' defensive front was disruptive all night, tallying six tackles for loss and a sack. James Cillessen led the way with six tackles (two for loss) and the lone sack.

"Our guys battle so hard everywhere,," Lowry said. "I just love this team."

Columbine added the final offensive dagger on James Basinger's 2-yard touchdown dive to cap off a time-consuming drive.

After the Rebels' defense stopped another 4th down with three minutes left, the party was on in Canvas Stadium.

Columbine students leaped from the stands, joining a raucous sideline celebration after the game as the Rebels lifted the trophy.

A state championship is always sweet. But this one was a seminal moment for the Rebels, a dominant return to the Colorado 5A mountaintop.

Not to mention an unbeaten season.

"Going undefeated, you never expect it," Lowry said.

"Right now, it's our best (win) ever."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado 5A football championship: Columbine ends Cherry Creek's title streak