How sweet it is: Erie ends magical season with storybook ending; winning 4A title
Dec. 2—FORT COLLINS — Clad in orange and black, Erie's fanbase went into a frenzy as the final seconds slipped away in the Class 4A title game Saturday.
More just black and blue, its hobbled quarterback joined them soon afterward — well, as best he could.
Blake Barnett, despite injuring his left ankle in the third quarter, led one last touchdown drive in the fourth — literally, on his last leg. Then a defense long felt to be in its own offense's shadows finished it off, capping one of the great state championship performances in a 20-6 win over Palmer Ridge at Canvas Stadium.
The ending was perfect, Barnett said.
"It's a fairytale ending. Truly," Barnett said. He paused, smiled, "We did it."
Barnett — known often as 'Mr. How'd He Do That?' because of the wow factor that comes with some of his electric and off-script plays — defied more logic as he finished his high school career on just one leg. Unable to put weight on his injured ankle, the Kansas State commit managed to complete a pair of passes to move the Tigers past midfield before Braylon Toliver's 32-yard run pushed the lead back to two touchdowns with 6 minutes, 54 seconds remaining.
Fittingly, the defense finished in the spotlight. It was a unit seen by many as the team's weakest link over the previous two seasons and in losses in the 2021 finals and 2022 semifinals, but this year, it'd been great. And to finish, it held the classification's leading offense to one score, three turnovers and another turnover on downs in the title game.
A group led by Carson Hageman and Jackson Cowgill harassed Palmer Ridge star QB Derek Hester all game. And in the final minutes, Noah Garcia had an interception and Kaveh Meredith, in at safety for Barnett, sealed it with another.
"It's a great feeling," said Washington State defensive lineman commit Cowgill, whose defense allowed less than 9 points per game in the playoffs. "In the past, our defense was kind of our weak point. But this year we improved so much."
Barnett and the defense led the way in a dominant opening half. The QB scored via his arm and legs and was also at the center of the biggest defensive play, picking off Hester in the end zone in the final minutes before the break.
From the start, Barnett showed off all the tools that'd made college scouts' mouth water during his recruitment. His decision-making with the ball in his hands — the big throws and runs often set up by a little improvisation — all of it was present as he marched the Tigers on a pair of touchdown drives to open the game.
The Tigers got the ball after Palmer Ridge's kicker narrowly missed a 48-yard field goal against the wind on its opening drive, and Barnett completed all four of his passes and ran for 48 yards on an 80-yard march going the other way.
The QB bought himself some extra time with a long scramble to his right, finding Josh Levine in the top corner of the end zone to make it 7-0. Not long afterward, he finished the team's second drive with his trademark, head-first leap across the goal line.
But of course, his high school finale will be better remembered for what he did when most of those gifts were stripped away. Injured and with Erie's lead down to just seven points in the fourth, Barnett threw consecutive completions to extend the drive. His teammates did much of the heavy lifting from there.
"I think it was justice the way it happened," said coach Jeff Giger, who won a title in his third year at the helm. "He couldn't quite be him at the end but everyone else stepped up. And he's cheering them on and counting on them and that's this group. He gets a lot of accolades and rightfully so, but there are so many guys out there that play so hard. It was a team."
