4A championship preview: Bloomfield and St. Pius to collide

This much, Mike Kovacs and Curtis Flakes agree on:

“Looking at playoff film,” said Flakes, the St. Pius football coach, “it’s like looking in the mirror.”

“I think,” said Kovacs, the Bloomfield football coach, “they’re a lot like us.”

It is from this perspective that Kovacs and Flakes, and perhaps also their teams, approach their much-anticipated clash at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Class 4A state championship game. No. 1 Bloomfield (11-0) is hosting, and chasing a second blue trophy in three seasons. No. 2 seed St. Pius (10-2) is in the final for the first time since the Sartans won it all in 2016.

Bloomfield isn’t a No. 1 seed by accident. The Bobcats have won their 11 games by an average of 43 points, and nobody on their schedule has played them closer than 13 points.

The Bobcats’ fantastic defense has yielded only 61 points all year.

“They’ve got a phenomenal defense. They’ve been lights out,” Flakes said. “For us, we have to minimize our mistakes. I do feel like the opportunity is there to make some big plays.”

The burden falls to St. Pius’ group of gifted sophomore skill-position athletes, starting with big quarterback Isaiah Carpenter (2,844 passing yards, 32 touchdown passes) and elusive tailback Hershul Olloway Jr. (1,653 yards, 21 scores).

“It means a lot to us, especially because we’re young. Because I know we have a lot of time, but for these seniors, I’d be like to able to do it for them,” Carpenter said.

Another 10th grader, Cayl Cox-Liggins (63 catches/1,074 yards/12 TDs) is Carpenter’s favorite target, and a player Kovacs said Bloomfield must account for, but Bryan Thomas (48738/10), a senior, is an extremely valued asset in the St. Pius aerial attack.

“They’ve got multiple weapons, a great quarterback, they can push the ball down the field,” Kovacs said. But his defense, sparked by the linebacking group, has met every challenge.

“Our defense has been the staple of our team this year,” he said. “They’ve done so many great things.”

Kovacs knows a little about great quarterback play. His guy, senior Blake Spencer, has been a stalwart for multiple seasons, and was a part of Bloomfield’s championship team two years ago.

“He’s become a great quarterback. Blake Spencer is a stud,” Flakes said. “... He’s a field general, rarely makes terrible throws.”

Spencer has thrown for over 2,900 yards, with 43 touchdown passes versus just five interceptions. His average completion goes for 20 yards.

Junior running back Peyton Duncan has been one of the state’s most versatile backs. He has accounted for over 1,900 rush/receiving yards, and combined for 19 touchdowns for Bloomfield. Spencer has many options when he drops back; the Bobcats don’t have a receiver who can match the numbers of a player like Cox-Liggins.

St. Pius doesn’t have quite the scoring defense that Bloomfield has, but Flakes was nevertheless feeling good about that unit’s chances to somewhat keep the Bobcats in check. The Sartans, whose two losses both came to 6A teams (West Mesa, Organ Mountain), want to win the turnover battle and find a way to pressure Spencer.

“We have to be disciplined,” Flakes said. “Those yards after contact with their wide receivers, we have to be disciplined, we have to stay in coverage. And we have to limit their big plays.”

One other area Bloomfield could have an edge is with the number of players who’ve been through multiple, pressure-packed playoff environments.

“They know what the expectation is,” Kovacs said. “And how to handle that.”

And for the Sartans, this might just be the start of something huge.

“We’re a close bond team. We’ve been able to build a family and strong relationships throughout this season,” Carpenter said. “... And for us young kids, it’s really great just to be able to start building our legacy so young.”