Palmer Ridge and their opponent bore various similarities.

Both have a similar color scheme and are dominant football programs. Palmer Ridge and La Cueva, their opposition from New Mexico, even have the same mascot: a bear.

During their tilt Friday at Weidner Field for the Pikes Peak Kickoff Classic, however, Palmer Ridge showed La Cueva their bear is the gold standard. Palmer Ridge improved to 2-0 and forced four turnovers in a dominant 29-10 victory against La Cueva in the finale of the inaugural event.  

“Like I said during media day, we just have to trust in our coaches,” Palmer Ridge’s Zak Crisler said. “They put in the work and we just go out there and play.” 

Palmer Ridge’s Bears appeared sharp from the start of their de facto home opener and kept La Cueva’s offense in check.

On the opening drive, Palmer Ridge’s defense clamped La Cueva on fourth and 2 to gain possession. Shortly afterward, Josh Schrock burst past La Cueva’s defense and up the gut for a 35-yard run that gave the Bears a 7-0 lead.

Late in the first on fourth and goal from the 3, Knox Tinlin faked a handoff, bolted to his left and reached the end zone for the score. Tinlin also converted the two-point try to give Palmer Ridge a 15-0 lead with 1:42 on the clock.

Palmer Ridge didn’t score again until 40 seconds remained in the half and after Tinlin ran a quarterback keeper 22 yards to put the Bears at the La Cueva 9. On first and goal, Tinlin used play action to fool the defense and fired a pass to Tayden Levier for a nine-yard touchdown that gave Palmer Ridge a 22-0 lead.

“Our coaches prepared us pretty well for this game and we had a ton of practice,” Tinlin said. “Glory to God. This was a good, hard game and we like to have that sort of game out here.”

La Cueva’s Bears scored on a field goal with 7:45 left in the third to trim Palmer Ridge’s lead to 22-3, but Micah Nocita, who earned offensive player of the game, broke free from La Cueva on the ensuing possession and scored on a 52-yard run to make it 29-3.

“This was all about our linemen and blockers,” Nocita said. “They create the gaps that I can run through. Without them, I’d be getting killed every time I tried to run. We practice how we play and we have high intensity practices. Every practice we have feels like it’s a game.”

The Bears thwarted nearly all La Cueva’s efforts to get on the board, especially in the second half. Crisler, who earned defensive player of the game, had two interceptions, including one in the end zone to keep La Cueva from scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth, after a Palmer Ridge interception, Crisler swiftly followed with his own pick to give the ball back to his squad.

“We practice everything at game speed. We treat everything like it’s a game,” Crisler said. “We go 100 percent all the time at practice so we can stay consistent with everything we do. We still have stuff to work on but hopefully we can keep this going.”