Thorston Balmer runs Boulder City by Sunrise Mountain

Boulder City head football coach Chris Morelli didn’t mind doubling down Friday night.

His Eagles scored on the final possession of the first half and — deferring the opening kickoff — started the second half with a quick scoring drive, opening up a one-possession game as Boulder City cruised to a 48-12 victory over Sunrise Mountain.

The win clinched the Sunrise League’s No. 2 seed in next week’s Class 3A Southern Region playoffs, ensuring the Eagles (6-3, 3-1 Sunrise) get one more game at home this season. Senior running back Thorston Balmer rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries.

“I worked really hard in the offseason to get stronger and not allow myself to go down on first contact,” Balmer said. “I hold myself to a high standard and try not to let people bring me down on first contact. My goal is to get as many yards as I can and keep moving forward.”

Boulder City used a seven-play, 60-yard drive at the end of the first half to reestablish a two-possession lead prior to halftime. A pair of completions from Parker Reynolds to Deavin Lopez moved the ball inside the red zone. Balmer scored his third touchdown of the half three plays later from 5 yards out.

The Eagles needed just 1:24 to open the second half scoring and make it a three-possession game. Reynolds found a wide open Jimmy Dunagan down the right side for a 41-yard touchdown pass.

“Usually we’re on the receiving end of that,” said Morelli of the touchdown possessions to finish the first half and start the second half.

Boulder City scored on all four of its second-half possessions. The Eagles capitalized twice on short starting field possession, scoring on consecutive drives of 45 and 35 yards. Balmer had three runs of 10 or more yards in the series. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark with his final touchdown of the game, capping the Boulder City offense with over 350 yards.

“I’ve got the beast No. 20 (Balmer) running the ball and he had to break a few extra tackles when he shouldn’t have had to,” Morelli said. “Our goal was to give him the ball about 30 times and do whatever we could to tire their defensive line out and I think we did a pretty good job of that.”

Boulder City will host Del Sol in the opening round of the playoffs.

Sunrise Mountain (3-6, 2-2) also qualified for the postseason and will visit Cheyenne on Thursday.