LAKEWOOD >> It was a runway to the end zone for senior defenders Mikhail Benner and Maverick Scarpella in the opening half of their Class 4A semifinal on Saturday afternoon. A runaway victory into next weekend’s championship game for Broomfield.

Two days after Thanksgiving and 4A No. 1 Dakota Ridge again found itself stuffed — this time, on fourth down and inches from scoring on its opening possession. But while Broomfield’s goal-line stand could be calculated in blades of grass early on at Jefferson County Stadium, its resulting 45-7 win turned out to be the largest margin of victory in a 4A semifinal since 2018.

Now take that distance, add the difference and you get Broomfield back in the 4A finals, where it’ll look to win its second title in three seasons. The fifth-ranked Eagles face No. 2 Montrose at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins on Dec. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

“Everybody counted us out after the close game with Legacy and the loss to a good Erie team (in September), but we got each other,” Benner said after a semifinal blowout that was 38-0 at half and had a running clock by the third quarter. “We all believe in ourselves.”

Broomfield (12-1) started its first possession with the nose of the football about touching its own goal line, then marched nearly 100 yards the other way for the opening score.

“Let’s just set a record here,” Broomfield senior quarterback Darien Jackson said of his mindset on it. The “longest drive in 4A” … well, it had to be.

Jackson ran behind his center to get his team a few yards off the edge of its own end zone on his first touch and scored on the same play later in the half.

After Elliot Less broke free on a 17-yard run to make it 7-0 with 3:25 left in the first quarter, Benner added to it moments later with a pick-six. With nobody in front of him, he ran unimpeded for 38 yards and the score.

Benner, who said he is signing his letter of intent to the Air Force Academy in the next few days, now has 16 career interceptions. Five of those are in the postseason, with four of them coming during Broomfield’s 2022 title run.

“Our preparation paid off,” Benner said as he turns his attention looking forward to another championship game. He had a pick in the Eagles’ 24-14 title win over Loveland two years ago. “A hard week of practice. Loving on each other. Screaming at each other and getting on each other at practice. It’s amazing to see it pay off on a Saturday afternoon in an away game.”

Benner’s fourth career pick-six made it 14-0 in the first quarter. Then after Jackson’s QB sneak and score, Scarpella had a clear path of his own to the end zone on a fumble he took back for 22 yards to push the lead to four touchdowns. “That’s the best thing I felt playing football in my career,” Scarpella said of his score. He raised the ball in celebration as he crossed the goal line. “A semifinal game, being able to do that. Our whole defense just came together.”

Broomfield went to its ‘closer’ from there. Senior back Colin Torres delivered the final touches for a second straight week after finishing off Palmer Ridge with a dominant fourth quarter in the Eagles’ 32-23 quarterfinals win.

His first of the semifinals — a 15-yard run late in the half — was set up when Benner stripped the ball carrier to give the Eagles a short field. His second, and 15th of the season, came from a yard out to make it 45-0 with 5:03 left in the third. That kicked into effect the state’s mercy rule (a running clock when a team goes up by 40 or more).

Next: Broomfield heads into the finals on an eight-game winning streak in which it has outscored teams on average 45-8.

“It’s another game. Our last game together,” Benner said. “We got to play it like we did today. A better level. Come out, start fast and finish strong.”