Colorado State commit shakes off an uneven start and delivers in crunch time as the Golden Eagles rally to win the Denver Sports Media Game of the Week
LITTLETON, Colo. — When Mountain Vista needed Marquise Reese most, its senior quarterback responded.
Reese shook off early mistakes, helped the Golden Eagles climb out of a hole and delivered with the game on the line Thursday night, leading Mountain Vista to a 43-39 comeback victory over Arapahoe in the Denver Sports Media Game of the Week at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
His mindset as the Golden Eagles tried to fight their way back was simple.
“My mindset was really just keep responding,” Reese told Denver Sports Media after the game.
That became the theme of Mountain Vista’s night.
Arapahoe came out aggressively, took a 12-7 lead after the opening quarter and continually forced Mountain Vista to answer. The Warriors eventually produced 297 rushing yards, while quarterback Theo Lee threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns.
But Reese and Mountain Vista never went away.
“We started out a little shaky in the first half, had a few turnovers,” Reese said. “Second half was all about just finishing, rallying together to win the game.”
For Mountain Vista coach Garrett Looney, that response mattered more than the mistakes that came before it.
Reese had thrown interceptions and made decisions he wanted back. Looney wasn’t interested in whether his quarterback had played a perfect game.
He wanted to see what Reese did next.
“Marquise is a dog, man,” Looney said of Reese. “He had a couple of poor decisions early, and he knows that.”
Then came the part that ultimately decided the game.
“In the money time, crunch time, he found a way to get us down the field,” Looney said.
Reese Takes Over When Mountain Vista Needs It
Mountain Vista entered Thursday looking for a response after traveling to Florida and falling 26-17 to Seminole in its season opener. Reese threw for 288 yards in that loss, but the Golden Eagles were held scoreless in the second half.
Against Arapahoe, Reese faced adversity again.
This time, the ending was different.
Reese acknowledged after the game that he had to settle himself down after an uneven start.
“I think I just had to calm my nerves,” Reese said. “I came in this game with a little too high of nerves.”
Once he settled in, Mountain Vista’s offense began finishing drives.
Looney said that was the biggest difference between the two halves. The Golden Eagles felt they could move the football against Arapahoe, but early mistakes and missed opportunities kept them from capitalizing.
“We knew coming into this that we were going to move the ball on them,” Looney said. “It was about finishing in the red zone.”
In the second half, they did.
And eventually Reese created the play Mountain Vista needed most.
With the Golden Eagles trying to finally move in front, Reese saw an opening and took off, scoring the touchdown that gave Mountain Vista the 43-39 lead.
The original play wasn’t designed to end with Reese running it in.
Looney said Reese had a passing option available but saw the field differently, tucked the football and trusted his athleticism.
“I always tell him, ‘Hey, you’re never wrong to take off,’” Looney said.
This time, Reese took off with the game hanging in the balance.
Looney described the touchdown as his quarterback essentially deciding, we’re going to win and I’m going to find a way to do it.
That is the Marquise Reese Mountain Vista will need as it moves deeper into the season.
The Colorado State commit has already proven he can throw the football. Thursday showed another part of his game — the ability to survive mistakes and still make the defining play late.
Reese believes that ability to create with his legs will matter at the next level as well.
“You just got to be able to move at the next level,” Reese said. “It’s huge — playmaking ability.”
Arapahoe Comes Out Firing
Arapahoe produced enough offense to win most football games.
Lee, one of Colorado’s emerging young quarterbacks, finished with 317 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception, averaging 11.3 yards per attempt.
But the Warriors weren’t simply throwing the football all night.
Junior Marcello Jaramillo was one of the most impressive players on the field, accumulating 272 total yards and two touchdowns, including 211 rushing yards and a 76-yard run. Kevan Bunton III added 65 rushing yards and another score.
Arapahoe finished with 297 rushing yards to go along with Lee’s 317 yards through the air.
That forced Mountain Vista to keep answering.
Senior receiver Brooklyn Bailey admitted the Golden Eagles weren’t expecting Arapahoe to hit them quite the way it did early.
“None of us expected them to come out like this,” Bailey said. “But we just kept playing.”
The defense also had to improve as the game went along.
Bailey pointed specifically to tackling after Arapahoe repeatedly broke through the Golden Eagles early.
“We couldn’t make a tackle in the second quarter,” Bailey said. “We started stopping them, and that’s where it all came together.”
One Final Chance for Arapahoe
Even after Reese put Mountain Vista ahead, the job wasn’t finished.
Arapahoe still had Lee, still had an offense that had moved the football throughout the night and still had an opportunity to steal the game on its final possession.
Then sophomore defensive back Aiden Quintero made the play that ended it.
Lee targeted Dahntay Kouahi downfield.
Quintero fought Kouahi for the football, took it away and secured possession before hitting the ground.
Interception.
After an evening dictated almost entirely by offense, Mountain Vista finally had the defensive play it needed.
The Golden Eagles had survived, 43-39.
Looney summed up the margin between the teams afterward.
“We had the chance to make one or two more plays, and they did it,” Looney said. “Honestly, that’s what it came down to.”
A Quarterback Matchup That Lived Up to the Attention
Much of the pregame attention centered on Reese and Lee, and understandably so.
Reese is one of Colorado’s top senior quarterbacks and is committed to Colorado State. Lee, still in the Class of 2028, has already emerged as one of the state’s most intriguing young quarterback prospects and has drawn interest from Colorado.
Thursday gave plenty of reasons to keep watching both.
Lee’s four-touchdown, 317-yard performance showed how dangerous Arapahoe’s offense can become, while Reese and Mountain Vista demonstrated something equally important: the ability to respond when a game doesn’t go according to plan.
And the quarterback battle wasn’t the only recruiting takeaway.
Jaramillo’s 272-yard performance made him impossible to ignore. The Class of 2028 running back consistently created explosive plays against one of Colorado’s top 5A programs and gave Arapahoe another major offensive weapon alongside Lee.
Mountain Vista Finds Out Something About Itself
There was another reason this win mattered to Mountain Vista.
The Golden Eagles had just returned from a physical season opener in Florida and immediately faced another difficult matchup against an Arapahoe team loaded with athletes.
Looney doesn’t necessarily want his team playing its best football in August.
He wants these games to prepare Mountain Vista for November.
“We want to be great in November,” Looney said. “We’re learning a lot about who we are and who we can be.”
Thursday taught Mountain Vista something important.
The Golden Eagles can get punched.
Their quarterback can make mistakes.
Their opponent can pile up yards and points.
And they can still find a way to win.
Reese isn’t pretending Mountain Vista is a finished product, either.
“This isn’t our final form,” Reese said. “We’re going to get better every week.”
Mountain Vista is now 1-1, with Montrose up next on Sept. 11. Arapahoe falls to 0-1 and travels to Heritage on Sept. 3.
There were plenty of stars Thursday night.
Lee showed why he’s one of the young quarterbacks to watch in Colorado. Jaramillo delivered a huge performance. Quintero provided the game-ending interception.
But the Denver Sports Media Game of the Week ultimately became a story about Marquise Reese responding when Mountain Vista needed him most.
He made mistakes.
He settled down.
He kept responding.
And in crunch time, the Colorado State commit found a way to get Mountain Vista into the end zone and into the win column.
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