Even though Jax Lamb wasn’t even yet in kindergarten the last time Greeley West beat crosstown rival Northridge, he knew exactly how much a win Friday would mean to his Spartans football program.
Such a win was 10 years in the making.
With the victory up for grabs, Lamb took stride after stride along the left sideline toward the end zone.
With each stride, it felt like Lamb was trimming one year at a time off Greeley West’s decade of futility against its crosstown rival.
Considering how long the Spartans had to wait for a win against the Grizzlies — both within the context of the defensive-minded game and the mettle-testing 10-year losing streak — that trek toward the goal line felt like it took hours.
In reality, the speedy sophomore running back needed mere seconds to navigate past a series of would-be Northridge tacklers toward paydirt.
Lamb’s explosive touchdown to cap a dramatic Greeley West drive led the Spartans to a 7-0 win against Northridge on Friday at District 6 Stadium.
“As soon as we got that ball back, we were like, ‘This is the drive,'” said Lamb, who finished with 86 rushing yards on 16 carries. “As soon as I took that ball, I cut outside and ran in for the touchdown. It felt so good to know we had taken back the city of Greeley.”
With the win, Greeley West improved to 2-1 overall. It is the first time since the 2022 season the Spartans have had a winning record.
It’s also the first time since 2014 they have beaten the Grizzlies. Before Friday, Northridge had defeated Greeley West five consecutive times, following a handful of years in which the two teams did not meet.
For about 44 of the game’s 48 minutes, the Grizzlies (1-2) appeared just as likely to extend their win streak as the Spartans appeared likely to end it.
Before Lamb’s scamper into the end zone, the two teams had combined for 12 punts, with Greeley West having seven of those punts.
While the Spartans had spent only the briefest of moments on Northridge’s side of the field, the Grizzlies made multiple trips deep into Greeley West territory, only to walk away empty-handed.
Most notably, midway through the opening quarter, Northridge marched all the way to the Spartans’ 3-yard line and had first-and-goal only to be sent backwards by a relentless Greeley West defense.
“We had a great week of practice, we had a great game plan; hat’s off to my defensive coordinator, Mark Morehead,” Spartans second-year head coach Jakob Vargas said. “The kids were just hungry. They knew they had to fly around, and we wanted 11 Spartans on the ball on every play. And, they did that.”
After the two teams’ defenses stifled the opposing offenses time after time, Greeley West found itself with one more chance to engineer a game-seizing drive.
With 6 minutes, 43 seconds left, Northridge punted from near midfield and planted the Spartans offense back at their own 15-yard line.
Suddenly, senior quarterback Isiah Montoya and his Greeley West offense came alive.
That one, steadily-moving drive that had eluded the Spartans all game up to that point seemed to flow like water. Greeley West utilized a physical run game to march 67 yards on eight plays, in less than 3 minutes, to set up Lamb’s game-winning run.
Vargas and his Spartans squad fully trusted the young sophomore with the ball, and the game, in his hands.
“Well, Jax is the fastest person in Greeley, so I know if he’s got the ball in his hands, there’s a chance to score, no matter where we are on the field,” Greeley West senior wide receiver/safety Jed Hicks said. “I got a block for him, and I saw him go behind me. And, man, when I saw him cross that goal line, I sprinted to him and gave him the biggest hug I’ve ever given.”
But while the chance to completely take control of the game in the final minutes was in Lamb’s worthy hands, the actual realization of a win that had eluded the Spartans for so long would be in Hicks’ hands mere seconds later.
Exactly 20 seconds after Lamb’s touchdown, Hicks tip-toed the left sideline and snatched a deep Jaxon Sanchez pass from the waiting hands of Grizzlies senior running back Yael Padilla.
The game-saving interception allowed Greeley West to regain possession on its own 42-yard line.
The Spartans’ offense did just enough to milk away the final 3:26.
“I knew (Padilla) was probably going outside, so I just listened to my coaches and bit on the ball,” Hicks said of his clutch takeaway. “I didn’t even know if I was in bounds. I thought I was out, to be honest. … I can’t put it into words. I’ve been here for four years, and I feel like all I’ve done is lose. But to be able to lead my team in good hands, it’s a feeling I can’t describe. I’m holding back tears. We won. We won.”
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