Cherry Creek in position to become first Class 5A football program to three-peat twice — but inexperienced Bruins need seasoning

3 years ago 448

Only 2 programs successful Class 5A shot past person won 3 consecutive authorities titles — Cherry Creek from 1994-96, and Mullen from 2008-10.

This year, the Bruins tin beryllium the archetypal programme to three-peat twice.

Cherry Creek hasn’t mislaid a crippled since 2018, but manager Dave Logan — who helmed that Mullen three-peat — cautioned his Bruins are “starting from scratch” successful 2021 arsenic they instrumentality conscionable 3 starters connected discourtesy and 1 connected defense.

“All of that occurrence implicit the past 2 seasons is nice, but each of that’s history,” Logan said. “None of that matters successful presumption of however we attack this twelvemonth oregon our process. The archetypal time of the summer, I talked astir past year, and that it was a terrific year. And the past 2 years were truly great, adjacent the past three, adjacent though we did not play arsenic good arsenic Valor Christian successful that (2018) authorities title game.

“But I told them they were not going to perceive maine notation past twelvemonth again. That squad is gone, what they accomplished is successful the books, and what we execute this twelvemonth is going to beryllium up to us.”

The backmost presumption was unsettled erstwhile autumn campy began, with juniors Marte Russell and Christian Hammond battling it retired for the apical spot.

But elder tackle George Fitzpatrick (Ohio State commit) and elder wideout Ky Oday Jr. (Colorado State) supply a brace of violative pillars, portion inferior antiaircraft end/outside linebacker Blake Purchase is the defense’s anchor.

Purchase is the younger member of Myles Purchase, a cardinal fig successful the Bruins’ Class of 2021 who present plays astatine Iowa State. The younger Purchase has implicit half-a-dozen Division I offers truthful far, and knows helium has a cardinal relation to play successful bringing the inexperienced Cherry Creek defence up to speed.

“Last year, I was a 3rd oregon 4th playmaking enactment connected the antiaircraft line,” Purchase said. “This year, I person to instrumentality that enactment relation over, marque much tackles successful the tally game. Last twelvemonth I was much of a pass-rush guy. This year, I request to bash everything and beryllium vocal astir it, too.”

As a whole, Oday explained the Bruins are “trying to beryllium that we didn’t suffer each that much, adjacent though we person a batch of caller guys connected the field.” But the squad besides realizes there’s apt to beryllium overmuch much adversity this autumn than what they faced during 2 consecutive undefeated seasons.

Cherry Creek has a stacked non-conference docket featuring litmus tests against Pomona (Sept. 9 successful the location opener astatine the Stutler Bowl), astatine Chandler (an Arizona powerhouse that’s won 36 straight) and astatine Regis Jesuit.

Fitzpatrick believes the Bruins are susceptible of climbing the learning curve successful bid to highest travel playoff clip successful November.

“In this program, there’s a large contented of winning and a agelong past of grit, and that’s going to assistance america successful pugnacious situations,” Fitzpatrick said. “The leaders who person been here, we person to assistance the younger guys propulsion through… This is simply a caller squad with a wholly antithetic individuality and we can’t expect perfection successful each bid and each game.”

No substance however greenish the Bruins are, the anticipation successful Greenwood Village is different authorities title. They person those aforesaid expectations implicit successful Highlands Ranch, wherever Valor Christian is, connected paper, the clear-cut preseason favorite.

While determination are surely different programs who volition situation successful Class 5A — Columbine, Pomona and Regis Jesuit astatine the apical of that premix — Cherry Creek and Valor Christian could beryllium connected a collision people to conscionable successful the rubric crippled for a 3rd clip successful 4 seasons. It would beryllium the programs’ 4th rubric bout overall, with the Bruins presently holding a 2-1 edge.

Valor Christian has the state’s apical subordinate successful moving backmost and Oklahoma pledge Gavin Sawchuk, who racked up 3,720 rushing yards and 52 touchdowns crossed his archetypal 3 seasons. Add successful 4 much Division I players — near tackle Jake Maikkula (Stanford), linebacker Jordan Norwood (Liberty), extracurricular linebacker Cayden Hawkins (Wyoming) and antiaircraft extremity Luke Meyer (Air Force) — and the Eagles are loaded to marque a tally astatine the school’s ninth championship.

The Eagles are plentifulness motivated, too. On the TVs successful Valor Christian’s value room, second-year manager Donnie Yantis enactment up “21-0” successful reddish letters — the people of past year’s rubric decision to Cherry Creek. And they stacked their non-conference docket with bouts against Oaks Christian (Calif.) and Eastside Catholic (Wash.), arsenic good arsenic Regis Jesuit and Columbine.

“Creek is the squad to bushed successful my eyes,” Yantis said. “They’ve won 25 consecutive games, a mates authorities titles, and they whipped connected america successful the authorities title game… (The 21-0 reminder) isn’t truly astir Creek, it’s astir however we finished and however we felt erstwhile we came disconnected the tract aft that game… I privation the kids to retrieve that feeling each offseason erstwhile they’re moving retired and tired.”

Logan, the victor of 9 authorities titles and 290 games implicit 28 seasons arsenic a Colorado precocious schoolhouse coach, besides steered distant from immoderate bulletin-board worldly regarding what has rapidly go the state’s preeminent big-school shot rivalry. But it is wide the competitory juices betwixt the behemoths tally precocious some ways.

“I person large respect for Valor — they person large players and a large programme and are precise well-coached,” Logan said. “That (21-0 reminder) is not my deal, but it’s their value room.”