Print
E-mail
Comment
Eagles seek higher ground
  
|
By Ryan Boldrey
With one game to go in the regular season, Pine Creek is just days away from its second consecutive perfect season.
Fresh off a 26-0 victory over 5A Rampart on Oct. 30, the Eagles—ranked No. 2 in 4A—sit at 9-0 on the year and hope to make a deeper run into the postseason this fall than they did last year.
Last year’s team, which was the first from Pine Creek to ever make it as far as the semifinals, watched their season come to an unruly end in Greeley, something they’d like to soon forget.
“We need to show we are a better team that that. We know we are, but we have to prove it,” said Taylor Lopez earlier in the year after the Eagles whitewashed Pikes Peak Conference rival Fountain-Fort Carson 35-0, handing the Trojans just one of their only two losses on the season.
And with more weapons offensively such as sophomore running back Shomari Cousar and junior quarterback Kris Kentera, along with the return of seniors Josh Chance and Connor Stevens in the backfield— plus an even stingier defense to boot— the Eagles figure to have a legit shot at going deeper this fall.
According to head coach Todd Miller, though, aside from the Pueblo West game a few weeks back in which the Eagles won 18-7, Pine Creek is yet to be truly tested.
“Great teams are [judged] by what happens in the playoffs, so we’ll see,” he said. “I hope we get in the right mental frame work and we get going, and it’s something we can do. I hope we are in the right direction.”
Pine Creek’s defense has been giving all the signs that it is, having held the opposition to 49 points on the year and holding them to negative total yards on multiple occasions.
Led by six interceptions from Lopez as well as multiple sacks from Dallas Fields (six), Matt Mechtley (six), Clay Hildenbrandt (five) and Kenny Klein (three), the squad has pitched four shutouts and held the opposition to a lone touchdown on three separate occasions.
Meanwhile, this year’s offense has been much more diverse, and with as much time as has been given to the second string in the second halves of the ’09 season, they should be entering the postseason well rested.
Chance leads the way with 734 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, but he’s done it on just 65 carries, averaging 11.3 yards per rush. Cousar, meanwhile, is averaging 12.9 yards per rush, racking up 413 yards and four touchdowns on 32 touches, while Stevens has chimed in with 312 yards and three scores on 41 touches, good for 7.6 a carry.
Kentera, in his first year as starting quarterback, has thrown seven touchdowns, while rushing for nine more and totaling 228 yards on 50 carries, just under five per rush.
Kentera, who has missed the past two games due to injury, is expected to be back for the Eagles this week when they close the season Nov. 6 at Sand Creek (2-6, 2-4 Pikes Peak).
And then there’s senior Nick Markowski, who has been a do-it-all kind of player for the Eagles, scoring twice on punt returns, three times on the receiving end and four times on the ground. He and tight end Jess Roberson (four touchdowns) have definitely opened up the run game.
With a different attitude, and different end goals in sight, these Eagles appear to be all business, and know their best football still has to be ahead of them if they want to be playing at Invesco Field in a few weeks.
“I don’t think we played the football we thought we could’ve,” Chance said after the recent Rampart win. “We’ll come back stronger next week. We’re playing great as a team. We just need to cut down on the mistakes. We play good defense and we hold them up.”
Defense is, after all, what wins championships.
Pine Creek victories
Air Academy 53-14
@ Liberty 42-7
@ Rock Canyon 49-20
Fountain-Fort Carson 35-0
Coronado 52-0
@ Pueblo West 18-7
Widefield 52-0
Mitchell 69-6
@ Rampart 26-0
Fresh off a 26-0 victory over 5A Rampart on Oct. 30, the Eagles—ranked No. 2 in 4A—sit at 9-0 on the year and hope to make a deeper run into the postseason this fall than they did last year.
Last year’s team, which was the first from Pine Creek to ever make it as far as the semifinals, watched their season come to an unruly end in Greeley, something they’d like to soon forget.
“We need to show we are a better team that that. We know we are, but we have to prove it,” said Taylor Lopez earlier in the year after the Eagles whitewashed Pikes Peak Conference rival Fountain-Fort Carson 35-0, handing the Trojans just one of their only two losses on the season.
And with more weapons offensively such as sophomore running back Shomari Cousar and junior quarterback Kris Kentera, along with the return of seniors Josh Chance and Connor Stevens in the backfield— plus an even stingier defense to boot— the Eagles figure to have a legit shot at going deeper this fall.
According to head coach Todd Miller, though, aside from the Pueblo West game a few weeks back in which the Eagles won 18-7, Pine Creek is yet to be truly tested.
“Great teams are [judged] by what happens in the playoffs, so we’ll see,” he said. “I hope we get in the right mental frame work and we get going, and it’s something we can do. I hope we are in the right direction.”
Pine Creek’s defense has been giving all the signs that it is, having held the opposition to 49 points on the year and holding them to negative total yards on multiple occasions.
Led by six interceptions from Lopez as well as multiple sacks from Dallas Fields (six), Matt Mechtley (six), Clay Hildenbrandt (five) and Kenny Klein (three), the squad has pitched four shutouts and held the opposition to a lone touchdown on three separate occasions.
Meanwhile, this year’s offense has been much more diverse, and with as much time as has been given to the second string in the second halves of the ’09 season, they should be entering the postseason well rested.
Chance leads the way with 734 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, but he’s done it on just 65 carries, averaging 11.3 yards per rush. Cousar, meanwhile, is averaging 12.9 yards per rush, racking up 413 yards and four touchdowns on 32 touches, while Stevens has chimed in with 312 yards and three scores on 41 touches, good for 7.6 a carry.
Kentera, in his first year as starting quarterback, has thrown seven touchdowns, while rushing for nine more and totaling 228 yards on 50 carries, just under five per rush.
Kentera, who has missed the past two games due to injury, is expected to be back for the Eagles this week when they close the season Nov. 6 at Sand Creek (2-6, 2-4 Pikes Peak).
And then there’s senior Nick Markowski, who has been a do-it-all kind of player for the Eagles, scoring twice on punt returns, three times on the receiving end and four times on the ground. He and tight end Jess Roberson (four touchdowns) have definitely opened up the run game.
With a different attitude, and different end goals in sight, these Eagles appear to be all business, and know their best football still has to be ahead of them if they want to be playing at Invesco Field in a few weeks.
“I don’t think we played the football we thought we could’ve,” Chance said after the recent Rampart win. “We’ll come back stronger next week. We’re playing great as a team. We just need to cut down on the mistakes. We play good defense and we hold them up.”
Defense is, after all, what wins championships.
Pine Creek victories
Air Academy 53-14
@ Liberty 42-7
@ Rock Canyon 49-20
Fountain-Fort Carson 35-0
Coronado 52-0
@ Pueblo West 18-7
Widefield 52-0
Mitchell 69-6
@ Rampart 26-0
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. |
