Recap
On friday, Broomfield faced their toughest test yet. The Eagles hosted Fruita Monument, who’s only losses came to a top 5A team in Grandview and Heritage.
Fruita posed a tough matchup for Broomfield. Behind their run-heavy offense, Fruita looked to keep Cole LaCrue (‘23) and the high-powered Eagle offense on the sideline.
However, despite the Wildcats getting the ball first, it wasn’t long before LaCrue got his opportunity.
The Broomfield defense got off to a great start, and kept Fruita out of any rhythm to start the game.
In the Eagles’ first opportunity to take a lead, Fruita’s defense also came up big to start the game.
The rest of the first half was a lot of the same. Neither offense could get anything going, and the score sat at 0-0 going into the break.
In the third quarter, it was Broomfield’s offense that struck first.
Coach Blair Hubbard’s halftime adjustments worked well against Fruita’s defense, as the first score of the game was a Brent Harris (‘24) rushing touchdown off the edge.
The official with eyes on the play threw a flag for a potential block-in-the-back on Broomfield, but the flag was picked up, and the Eagles went up 7-0.
Now that Broomfield’s offense had gotten some rhythm through the ground game, Fruita needed to put points on the board. And, just when they needed it, the Wildcats made a big play.
Fruita’s coach dialed up his trick play at just the right time, and had the Eagle defense fooled.
The entire Broomfield defense followed the playfake to the right side, while the quarterback lept it the whole way, and scored a long touchdown for the Wildcats to tie the game.
Fruita had made the biggest play of the game, and had all of the momentum, but LaCrue and the offense remained steady.
Kaelan Frey (‘23) and Luke Francis (‘23) were both key pieces to a long, efficient Broomfield touchdown drive that was capped off by a touchdown pass by LaCrue to Anthony Cobb (‘24).
Up 14-7, with the offense rolling, the defense just needed to make one more stop for the game to be over, and they did just that.
Broomfield didn’t allow another big play from Fruita, and gave the offense a chance to put the game away.
Coach Hubbard’s offense made quick work, and Cole LaCrue rushed for a touchdown to seal the deal.
Fruita scored a garbage time touchdown to make the score look a little bit close, and the game ended in a 21-14 Broomfield win.

Analysis
Coming into this game, many viewed it as a bad matchup for Broomfield. The worry was that Fruita’s offense would keep LaCrue on the sideline along with the fact that the Eagles hadn’t faced any real tests.
But, despite any doubts, Broomfield proved it’s a top team, and it started with the defensive front.
Against a high-level rushing attack, it was Broomfield’s defensive line led by Devin Furuiye (‘23) that decided this game.
The interior of the defense did a great job neutralizing the inside run game. Taking away what Fruita wanted to do the most forced the Wildcats to try running outside of the tackles, which favored the athletic Eagle secondary.
Outside of the touchdown run, Fruita ran for only 104 yards on 32 attempts. The relentless pursuit all game long by the Eagles defense was very impressive.

The Broomfield offense didn’t perform like they typically do numbers-wise, but it still proved something.
This was LaCrue and Hubbard’s first time facing adversity, and they were able to make adjustments to win a hard fought game.
Come playoff time, points won’t be as easy to come by. Making in-game adjustments will be critical, and it was great to see Broomfield prove that they can do just that.
Another interesting thing to take from the offense in this game was the usage of Canon Juarez (‘23). Juarez didn’t see many offensive touches until Ryland Boehmer (‘23) got hurt, and proved in this game that he’s a threat with the ball in his hands.
Juarez totaled 92 yards on eight total touches, and it will be interesting to see how he is utilized going forward, and how coach Hubbard manages the offensive weapons when Boehmer returns.

Next week, the Eagles will look to finish the season undefeated, and earn a playoff bye, at Heritage. Fruita was Broomfield’s toughest opponent yet, and Heritage beat Fruita on the road.
Heritage’s only losses have come to top 5A teams, and Broomfield will need to be efficient in every facet of the game to win on the road.