Valor pastes Fountain-Fort Carson 40-0

HIGHLANDS RANCH • Under the lights, in front of cameras, NFL players and coaches, Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey ran for forever on No. 2 Fountain-Fort Carson.

And that was just by halftime.

“In my opinion, they are without a doubt the best team in the state,” F-FC coach Mitch Johnson said after his team lost 40-0 at No. 6 Valor Christian. “I want to phrase it like that, they are definitely the best team we’ve played.”

Weeks ago the Trojans (4-1) knocked off then-No. 1 Columbine, but Friday Valor was hitting on all cylinders.

McCaffrey, the former Bronco Ed McCaffrey’s son, had 199 combined yards after 24 minutes, ending with 251 yards and four touchdowns.

The junior ran for scores of 97, 3 and 2 yards and tacked on 3-yard touchdown reception from Luke Del Rio, son of Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

“I felt great,” McCaffrey said, “really great actually.”

Hold on though.

While it might seem like a season ago, the Trojans came out firing on defense. They were the more physical team, the faster team and the team that was coming up with big plays.

In the first 12 minutes, the swarming Trojans’ D forced two turnovers on Valor’s side of the field.

Fumble after fumble, F-FC had its chances.

“But it’s tough because then we had to punt both times,” Johnson said. “Great punts (both inside the 10-yard line), but still we needed to score to spark us a bit.”

“It was definitely deflating,” added the Trojans’ own speedster, Anthony Davis. “Our defense was strong, but, yeah, our offense couldn’t do anything. I applaud their defense.”

After one it was scoreless.

After two though, it was disbelief.

Without a doubt, McCaffrey was far-and-away the best player on the field. He broke tackles, breezed past sprinting defenders and took control of the game as single-handedly as a game can be.

“The offensive line was great,” he made sure to include.

Forty points later, it was finally over.

Johnson’s team amassed only 130 yards — 93 on the ground. Both season lows. It gave up 425 yards — 267 on the ground. Both season highs.

But in the end, it wasn’t about the score or stats.

Guys like Davis had already moved on.

“It was just one of those nights,” Davis said. “I’m glad this happened now instead of in the playoffs. It showed us what we’ll have to face and when we do. We’ll be ready next time.”