On Friday, Oct 4 the Wheat Ridge Farmers took on the Liberty Lancers for the Farmers’ homecoming game.

Students, parents, and other fans piled into Jeffco Stadium after the tailgate ready to watch a great game. Wheat Ridge made a spectacular comeback in the second half to win 21-14. This marks the Farmers’ fourth win on the season to improve their record to four and one. Fans were cheering and rooting for Wheat Ridge the whole time, even when they were losing.

The Farmers kicked off their homecoming game with a tailgate at Jeffco Stadium. There was music, food, and fun. It got everyone pumped up and ready to win the game!

The first quarter did not start out in the Farmers’ favor. The Lancers got the ball and ran it all the way down to score a touchdown leading by seven right out the gate. 

“I was in the game and I knew it was rough, but I also knew it was just lucky for them,” said junior Riley Payne about the kick return for a touchdown. 

Wheat Ridge just couldn’t get the start that they wanted. After making a big play on their first possession, they missed the field goal when they couldn’t get it into the endzone. After holding the Lancers to punt, Wheat Ridge got the ball back and marched down the field. Tragedy struck the Farmers again when they threw an interception and that resulted in Liberty putting another seven points on the board to end the quarter 0-14

Farmers had the ball to start the second quarter but still couldn’t seem to get the ball rolling on offense. The defense was strong and got it going. They caused a fumble and then recovered it for their first fumble recovery of the game, but the offense was forced to punt it off again after not being able to find the endzone. The clock was running down on the half and Liberty still lead 0-14. Farmer Fans were getting nervous but then senior quarterback, Max Christensen found junior Sam Mcdonough deep for the catch to put them in range to score with less than a minute left. This resulted in Christensen sneaking into the endzone for a touchdown! The crowd roared as a result. This got everyone back into it. The Lancers lead 7-14 at the end of the half. 

At halftime, the fans got a show from the Wheat Ridge Poms team and then the Wheat Ridge marching band followed. Both put on great performances that got everyone ready to go into the second half pumped up and ready!

The Farmers received the ball to start the third quarter. Each team couldn’t seem to find the endzone, that was until the Wheat Ridge defense came out explosive and caused another fumble and recovered for the second time. With that, sophomore Francisco Munoz received the ball and got a 20-yard gain to put them in scoring range. After penalties and multiple attempts later, senior Nick Von Feldt scored the touchdown. After missing the two-point conversion, the Lancers still lead 13-14 going into the fourth.

The start of the fourth was just like the last two quarters, each team struggling to score with missed field goals and punts back and forth. Just as Wheat Ridge was getting back into the game, Christensen got banged up and his brother, freshman Sam Christensen, had to come in for a couple of plays. But once Christensen came back from injury, he scored another rushing touchdown leaving them with two and a half minutes left to answer back. 

“The game-winning touchdown felt so surreal. It felt like we could come back from anything that life gives us.” said junior Julian Sisneros about how it felt when the Farmers sealed the victory. 

Wheat Ridge then led 21-14 after successfully getting a two-point conversion. Liberty got close to scoring, but the Wheat Ridge defense held them off long enough to get the win!

For a lot of the people at the game, it was going to be the last homecoming game of their high school career, and they thought it was a great way to end it. Senior Sam Stahl said, “It was a lot of fun to watch our team come back and win.”

The Wheat Ridge defense played a huge role in this game, not allowing the Lancers to score again after the first quarter. “We got our game together, regrouped and played as a team,” said Payne, who is a linebacker for the Farmers defense squad. 

“We are more than ready for Chatfield this week,” Payne added with determination. “We’ve been waiting for this rematch since the heartbreaking loss last year.”

The Farmers are ready to kick butt in the upcoming game against the Chatfield Chargers on Thursday at Trailblazer stadium. After coming off such an amazing win, they have high hopes for this game to go how they want it. Good luck with the rest of the season Farmers!