Palmer Ridge had 23 points in last year’s semifinal game against Broomfield. This time, it had 28 points in the first half and went on to upend the 4A defending champions.

A stout Bears defense helped No. 3 Palmer Ridge gain a 28-7 lead in the first half on Saturday. And its momentum continued for a dominant 45-27 win over No. 6 Broomfield in the 4A quarterfinals at Don Breese Stadium to move onto the semifinals next week.

The home win comes one year after the Eagles defeated the Bears 32-23 in the quarters before moving on to win state. Palmer Ridge (12-0) continues its undefeated season, and will face unbeaten No. 2 Montrose (12-0) in the semifinals on Saturday.

“I think our whole team did a great job executing across the board,” Bears head coach Zach Carlton said. “It was a team effort today and every phase of the game picked up pieces that were missing that we needed.”

Despite Broomfield outscoring Palmer Ridge in the second half 17-20, it wasn’t enough to stop the Bears, who punted once during the entire contest and had one turnover, an interception in the fourth quarter.

Palmer Ridge’s Zak Crisler opened scoring with a 55-yard touchdown run on the Bears’ first possession of the game, but Crisler missed the PAT for the Bears to go up 6-0. Crisler, a junior, is a receiver, kicker and defensive back for Palmer Ridge and had two touchdowns Saturday.

“Zak always does a great job for us,” Carlton said. “He impacted the game in all three positions today.”

Broomfield quickly responded on the next drive with a touchdown from quarterback Slater Saunders, and the Eagles’ PAT was good to take the lead at 7-6 early in the first quarter.

That was the last time Broomfield led, as a touchdown and successful 2-point attempt by Palmer Ridge quarterback Cole Harris was followed by another touchdown by Crisler. That put the Bears up 21-7 after the first quarter.

The Bears punted for the first time in the second quarter, but scored one more touchdown before the half while forcing two turnovers on downs.

“Broomfield challenges you in a lot of ways defensively, where you have to stay disciplined against them,” Carlton said. “Obviously we have some things to clean up, but that’s a great offense we just went against, and they did a good job in the first half against them. Overall just did great in playing physical and disciplined football on the defensive side.”

In Palmer Ridge’s first drive of the second half, senior running back Jackson Mabe ran in for a Bears touchdown and the PAT was good to give Palmer Ridge a 35-7 advantage, despite two flags (holding, false start) during the drive.

After Broomfield’s Saunders threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to cut the Bears’ lead to 35-14 after the PAT, a touchdown by Magnus Newman on the next drive was called back for a holding penalty. Palmer Ridge settled for a 41-yard field goal by Crisler, the first he has made all season.

“The kicking comes from soccer,” Crisler said. “I played club my whole life and that experience helped me today. It feels great.”

Saunders ran in another touchdown to end the third quarter. But the Bears’ Jake Coyle had a 79-yard touchdown run on the next drive to push the lead to 45-21 with about six minutes remaining in the game.

Broomfield’s Brody Reidle ran in for a touchdown with about three minutes left, followed by a failed two-point attempt. But it wasn’t enough to catch up.

Carlton’s first message to the team after the game was, “We get seven more days.” The team isn’t taking anything for granted, and knows the biggest challenges are ahead. Still, revenge is sweet, especially when it puts them one step closer to the title game.

“Broomfield is a physical team, a great program, so to beat a team like that is playoff football and you kind of need that week in and week out,” Carlton said. “To get things done is a good thing for us.”