So many things were different for the Colorado Springs Flames on Saturday night.

The crowd, normally about 200, was five times that, even at $7 a pop. Halftime was 25 minutes long, thanks to a dance routine, awards presentation and a youth football exhibition between the Colorado Springs Raiders and Bears.

But more importantly, the opponent, the Denver Titans, were competitive.

The Flames gave up almost as many points at Harrison High School as they’d given up all season. But fortunately for the Flames, the one common trait to their previous nine games was their side of the scoreboard.

Buoyed by a 38-point first half, the Flames outlasted the Titans 52-30 for the Colorado Football Conference championship.

“Perfect timing. Just in time for the championship game,” said Flames general manager Mark Buford, 46, who returned home Tuesday after a tour as a contractor in Iraq. “This is what we wanted.”

The Flames probably didn’t want the Titans, their archrivals, to score like they did. But thanks to two touchdowns each by Andrew Goggans and former Colorado standout Bobby Purify, the Flames improved to 4-2 in title games against the Titans.

Goggans scored on touchdown passes of 65 and 18 yards from quarterback James Everett, who ran 31 yards to score the game’s first touchdown.

Purify electrified the crowd with an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter, and scored a clutch 5-yard touchdown on a pass from Everett in the third quarter.

The Flames, who gave up just 36 points in their first nine games, were stunned by a 106-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Afton Harris. But if they were stunned by that, they were nearly floored when the Titans scored three touchdowns in roughly 3 minutes of elapsed time just before the half and the beginning of the third quarter.

Former Colorado standout Bobby Purify scored two touchdowns for the Colorado Springs Flames in a 52-30 win over the Denver Titans in the Colorado Football Conference championship game. Photo by Kevin Kreck