Quin mighty for Sand Creek in 34-7 win over Air Academy

Sand Creek running back Daniel Quin was not originally supposed to start Friday against Air Academy. Yet an ankle injury to Dominic Reed opened the door for the sophomore transfer and the bulldozer made the most of his opportunity.

Quin muscled and dragged defenders on his way to 104 yards rushing and three first-half touchdowns to propel Sand Creek (3-3, 1-2) to its first 4A Pikes Peak league victory 34-7.

“I was like I have to show up for my team,” Quin said. “I have to do it for them. Those are my guys. Those are my family. Those are my brothers.”

The transfer from Palmer started the night off with a 14-yard touchdown run up the gut at 9:55 in the first quarter and Sand Creek never looked back. Quin then capped off the first half when he tossed aside a Kadet and hammered his way through the Air Academy defensive line for a 5-yard touchdown with 16.3 seconds remaining to make it 34-0.

“Dan did a nice job of just running hard and running through tackles, being a good, hard, physical football player,” Sand Creek coach Rod Baker said. “He was a football player tonight and that showed.”

Quin found out Tuesday he would be starting after Reed got injured in practice. Quin also suffered an ankle injury earlier this season and is not 100 percent.

“It still held me back a little bit,” he said. “But it’s getting stronger and stronger. To come out and do what I did, I couldn’t believe it.”

Sand Creek used a stifling Scorpion defense to combine with an aggressive, power rushing attack to hold Air Academy to 40 total yards in the first half during a wet and cold contest.

Quarterback Micheal DeCarmo combined for 199 total offensive yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard scamper down the right sideline and a 43-yard fade to Jordan Preston in the first half.

“It was just great preparation, that’s all it is,” DeCarmo said. “We put in the work all week and it showed on game day.”

In the second half, the playing conditions caught up to the Scorpions. DeCarmo lost two fumbles but the Kadets could not find a way to capitalize.

Air Academy (1-5, 0-3) eventually ended the Scorpions’ bid for a shutout on Alex Frey’s 18-yard touchdown run. Caleb Cuneio ran well in defeat for the Kadets, with 164 yards on 21 carries.

Regardless, Sand Creek’s defensive performance was something missing over the team’s two-game losing skid, allowing a combined 97 points to Liberty and Falcon.

“We needed to get that win so we can be in a place so we can go to the next one,” Baker said. “It was really a big week for our kids. They really overcame some adversity and did a nice job with that.”

Friday was also breast cancer awareness at Sand Creek and Scorpion cheerleaders wore pink sweatshirts to accent their pink pompoms. Some members of the football team wore pink high socks or wristbands as well.

Proceeds from the game will be going to Rocky Mountain Cancer Assistance.