If his teammates poured a bucket of Gatorade on Gustavo Hidalgo, the Rock Canyon midfielder still barely would weigh 125 pounds.

But Hidalgo landed heavyweight blows against Niwot's defense on Wednesday night to lead the Jaguars to a 3-0 victory against the Cougars in the Class 4A boys state championship game at Englewood's Pirate Stadium.

Hidalgo fueled Rock Canyon's offensive attack by breaking down the Cougars defense. Passing over and through defenders, he set up the first two Rock Canyon goals.

"That's my role," said Hidalgo, who moved to Colorado three years ago from Peru. "Set up the ball so we can score the goals. That's how we win games. Their defense wasn't the biggest that we've played.

"I kind of knew how they'd play after watching them in the semis, and we just played with heart."

With 4A scoring leader Alex Tarnoczi playing on the wing and Hidalgo directing traffic, the Jaguars (17-0-3) broke a scoreless tie late in the half.

Hidalgo lifted a pass over the defense that Jaguars forward Nick Croley shot toward the Niwot net. Cougars goalkeeper Connor Wood couldn't hold onto Croley's shot, and Tarnoczi slipped in from the keeper's left side to finish off the play, giving the Jaguars a 1-0 lead at halftime.

"The keeper misjudged it," said Tarnoczi, who finished the season with 34 goals. "It just went through his hands and I came in and tapped it in. Not a hard goal, but a goal is a goal."

Niwot's defense, which shut out 13 opponents this season, fought off Rock Canyon's drives to keep the Jaguars from opening up the game early in the second half, but Hidalgo found another crack in the defense in the 64th minute. His downfield pass caught the foot of Croley, who beat Wood for a 2-0 Rock Canyon lead.

"He's been doing that all season," Tarnoczi said of Hidalgo, the Rocky's 4A championship game MVP. "He's been the heart of the midfield, playing good balls and keeping us calm and composed. He did a great job tonight."

Niwot had few chances against a Jaguars defense led by steady sweeper Scott Branson. To make matters worse, Tarnoczi used his speed to the defensive side in the last 20 minutes. Niwot moved an extra player to offense, and Rock Canyon's Nick Graybeal took advantage by scoring the Jaguars' third goal in the 69th minute.

"In the second half we pushed a guy forward to get a goal, and it left a gap in the back," Niwot midfielder Santiago Velez said. "That's a risk you have to take."

Graybeal beat two defenders to slip a shot past Wood, and the Rock Canyon fans started celebrating the team's unbeaten season on a bone-chilling night. Just two seasons ago, the Jaguars were 1-14.

Niwot0 0 - 0

Rock Canyon1 2 - 3

Goals - RC, Alex Tarnoczi (unassisted) 6:19, Nick Croley (Gustavo Hidalgo) 64:30, Nick Graybeal (unassisted) 69:36.

Shots on goal - N, 1-2 3; RC, 5-3 8. Saves - N (Connor Wood) 3-1 4; RC (Chris Scanlan) 1-0 1 (Jacob Lissek) 0-2 2. Corner kicks - N, 1-1 2; RC, 3-2 5.