The Keys

Turning point: After a defensive-minded first 12 minutes, Platte Valley recovered a fumbled punt return on the Eaton 17 at the end of the first quarter. The turnover set up a short drive for the Broncos' first touchdown early in the second quarter. 
Best Individual Performer: The Broncos defense was as stout as always, but it was senior quarterback Jordan Smith's hard-running and big passing plays that led Platte Valley to its second highest point total of the season.
What it means: Through two weeks of league play, Platte Valley has breezed past Brush and Eaton, its biggest rivals and the two teams — along with Weld Central — that figured to provide the Broncos stiffest competition for a league title. The Reds face another stiff challenge next week against Brush as they seek their first win.
Bobby Fernandez

By Bobby Fernandez

bfernandez@greeleytribune.com

EATON — Platte Valley was focused on not allowing the big plays in its football game against Eaton.

The Broncos didn't only prevent the big plays, they weren't too willing to allow short plays, medium plays or anything in between.

Platte Valley's defense bottled up the Reds offense, forcing five turnovers, not allowing an offensive touchdown and surrendering just 87 total yards in a 44-7 Class 2A Patriot League win on Friday.

“The defense had a great, great plan against (Eaton),” Broncos coach Mike DeWall said. “We needed to change up coverages on their quarterbacks and not give them whatever you showed them; pre-snap is not what you're going to be in post-snap. But still try to figure out a way to get a lot of pressure (on them), and I think (defensive coordinator) Troy (Hoffman) did a wonderful job of that. And, the kids, they were prepared. They worked hard.”

With the win, Platte Valley (2-0 2A Patriot, 4-1 overall) kept pace with Weld Central (2-0, 4-1) and Strasburg (2-0, 5-0) for the league lead. The Reds (0-2, 0-5), on the other hand, are likely in a scenario where they have to win the rest of their games just to have a chance at a third straight playoff bid.

The Broncos quickly put themselves in position to deny Eaton its first win.

Platte Valley took a 23-0 halftime lead behind three second-quarter touchdowns — on 7- and 16-yard runs by senior quarterback Jordan Smith and a 7-yard run by senior Seth Baladez.

Before the night was over, Smith had five touchdown runs, carrying the ball 12 times for 115 yards and completing 4-of-14 passes for 88 yards. The Broncos offense frequently capitalized on short field position, rushing 50 times for 174 yards.

Smith said, at least at times, the Platte Valley looked sharper than it has at any point through the first five weeks of the season.

“We came out in the third quarter, when we usually go three-and-out, but not (Friday),” Smith said. “We (seniors) looked at this game as our last time to ever play Eaton. We're big rivals, and we just stuck it to them. We made sure that we didn't hold anything back.”

Eaton ran the ball 20 times for just 3 yards, including minus-20 on nine carries in the first half. With his favorite target, sophomore tight end Darin Foss sidelined with a concussion, Reds junior quarterback Tony Ball completed 4-of-16 passes for just 37 yards with two interceptions before leaving in the third quarter with a neck strain.

His replacement, sophomore Jaden Olearnick, had similar struggles against the Broncos' dominant defense, completing 3-of-17 passes 47 yards.

Eaton coach Bill Mondt praised Olearnick for showing solid poise in his impromptu stint at quarterback. Still, Mondt said it was otherwise a rough day offensively for his Reds, which came in averaging 22.8 points per game.

“We couldn't move the ball, we couldn't block them very well, then we fumbled two punts, fumbled a bad snap and just gave away a lot of points,” Mondt said. “But they still played better than we did.”

Although Baladez found his way into the end zone with his second-quarter plunge right up the middle in the second quarter, he spends much more of his time and energy on the football field making sure opposing players stay out of the end zone. As a linebacker, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Baladez is one of the anchors of Platte Valley's brick wall defense.

Eaton had just three first downs and rushed for minus-6 yards and passed for just 37 through three quarters.

“We knew that the defense was going to be able to stop them and hold them,” Baladez said. “I was confident that they weren't going to score a lot. All week, we worked real hard in all our pass coverages. Our coach (Hoffman) does a great job of preparing us for all these games.”

The Keys

Turning point: With Brush driving in Platte Valley territory, Broncos senior linebacker Aaron Olson recovered a Beetdiggers fumble on the Platte Valley 26. The Broncos drove 74 yards to score on the ensuing possession to record the first points and gain the momentum.
Best individual performer: Olson was a force defensively, recovering the aforementioned fumble, piling up tackles — including back-to-back tackles for zero and negative-1 yards on Platte Valley's first goal line stand — and in general, wrecking havoc on the Brush offense.
What it means: Going into another big rivalry game against Eaton next week, Platte Valley has early momentum on its side en route to what it hopes will be its first league title. Brush lost for the fourth time in four games with three losses against top 10 teams in 2A and 3A.