Following a win and a loss on the road, the Summit High School football team returned to Breckenridge on Thursday, Sept. 7, determined to even its record to 2-2 overall against Conifer High School.

In the game between the two, Class 3A football opponents, Summit dominated the Conifer Lobos for the majority of the 48-minute affair. In the end, the Tigers satisfied the Summit fans with its first home win of the season, defeating Conifer 24-10.

With the opening kickoff fielded by Summit, the Tigers started the game from its own 37-yard line and immediately started driving the ball down the field with speed and vigor.

Following several large carries by Summit senior Ben Elam, Summit opted to swing the ball out to senior Jackson Archambault, who carried the ball to just outside the 20-yard line.

Summit managed to bring the ball within the red zone with several running plays and reached the 10-yard line with a quarterback sneak from senior Hank Chabot on fourth down and 2.

With the end zone in sight, Summit clawed for yards, but the team was forced into another fourth-down scenario, which resulted in a turnover in downs when Elam was held short of the end zone.

With the Summit sidelines angry about how the team’s first drive of the game ended, the Tigers defense stepped up to stop Conifer after its first three downs from the line of scrimmage. 

Chabot and the Summit offense attempted to rectify its first drive by putting points on the board and began its pursuit of a touchdown with a huge fourth-down conversion where senior Emilio Jain brought in a bullet of a pass from Chabot.

Chabot and Jain continued to connect and brought the ball into the red zone for the second time of the game. This time, Summit successfully found the back of the end zone when Chabot threw a tight spiral to Archambault, who fought his way into the end zone for the 7-0 Summit lead. 

On Lobos’ second drive of the game, the Summit defense continued to play lights out and once again stopped Conifer from getting the ball over midfield.

With eight minutes remaining in the half, Summit looked to extend its lead but fumbled the ball on a run play, which gave the Lobos the ball back on its own 44-yard line. 

Despite the ideal field position, Conifer soon gave the ball back to Summit after a pitch from senior quarterback Wyatt Nichols went awry. 

With another successful fourth down conversion, Summit entered the red zone again and legnethed its lead when Jain snagged a pass in the left corner of the end zone. 

Looking to cut the deficit in half, Conifer concluded the half by bringing the ball over midfield before taking several looks at the end zone. 

Thick coverage from the Tigers and a sack brought the game into halftime with Summit leading 14-0.

Failing to produce much offense in the first half, Conifer began the second half by steadily marching down the field. An offsides penalty by Summit drew Conifer closer to the end zone, but Archambault came up big with a huge tackle for a loss, which forced Conifer to settle for a field goal.

With a successful field goal, Conifer brought the game to 14-3 with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Summit’s first drive out of halftime was hindered by penalties, but the Tigers still managed to claw its way down the field. Another strong quarterback sneak from Chabot pulled Summit within the 15-yard line, which set Elam up for a 3-yard rushing touchdown.

In the final quarter of play, Summit continued to produce on both sides of the ball. Senior Ronen Marsteller came up with huge tackles, and Chabot continued to connect with Elam and Archambault on offense.

Sophomore kicker Henry Eslich ultimately sealed the game for the Tigers with a successful 25-yard field goal. Summit defeated Conifer 24-10.

“It feels great,” Chabot said of the win. “We have been working towards this all week. Ever since we lost last week to Thompson Valley, we have just had this hunger in us that we wanted to get this W. We have been working for it all week — everyone on the team, not just the starters.”

Summit will have the next week to recover and regroup before it hosts Wheat Ridge High School on Friday, Sept. 22, for the Tigers’ homecoming football game. Wheat Ridge is currently 0-2 overall on the season and is poised to face Denver North High School on Saturday, Sept. 9, and then Sand Creek High School on Thursday, Sept. 14. 

“There won’t be any slowing down going on,” Chabot said. “This is a really big stretch coming up. We need to get a couple more W’s to get back where we want to be back in the playoffs again. That is our main goal. The whole team is just all together and ready to do whatever it takes.”

Summit’s homecoming game against Wheat Ridge is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Breckenridge.

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