It looks like whenever the Centauri Falcons need a touchdown, it’s as easy as handing the ball off to Mason Claunch.
The junior running back has been more than impressive this season, scoring nine touchdowns on just 11 carries. He has also totaled 268 rushing yards, giving him an average of 24.4 yards per carry.
He also has two receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown. He’s touched the ball a total of 13 times and has 10 touchdowns to his name.
Of all the players in Colorado that are off to a hot start, Claunch could be off the the best. The Falcons are 2-0 on the year and head to Del Norte on Friday, hoping to remain unbeaten after three weeks.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Among other significant running backs this year is Fountain-Fort Carson senior Q. Jones (476 yards, nine touchdowns) and Erie’s Mason VeVe (460 yards, six touchdowns).
From a passing standpoint, Smoky Hill’s Leslie Richardson III is also adding to already impressive career numbers. Richardson has thrown the ball 66 times for 610 yards and nine touchdowns. Perhaps the most impressive part of his season is the fact that he has kept the ball out of opposing hands. He has yet to throw an interception and that includes in a loss to defending Class 5A state champion Cherry Creek.
Richardson is just one of two quarterbacks in the state to throw at least 60 passes and not be intercepted. Fairview’s Liam O’Brien is the other.
Summit’s Aidan Collins would be anyone’s favorite receiving target with the numbers he’s putting up this season. He’s hauled in 16 receptions for 445 yards and eight touchdowns in the two games the Tigers have played this season.
Fossil Ridge sophomore Mac Busteed is the only other player in the state with at least 300 receiving yards. He has 310 yards on 14 catches, five of which have gone for touchdowns.
A lot of players are finding ways to get to opposing quarterbacks, but Holoyoke’s Joey Beckner and Cheyenne Mountain’s Jake Boley are the only two in the state to have recorded four sacks.
Banning Lewis junior Nate Early is quickly helping the Stallions become a defensive powerhouse as he leads the state with six interceptions. Five players behind him have picked off three passes, including Lamar’s Damian Ramos.
With Week 3 games slated to start on Thursday night, more players will try to put together notable performances to help their lead their teams to a win.
Bill Forgey just sounds like a man who means business. He initially got thrown into the coaching ranks when a middle school wrestling coach was needed and he hasn’t looked back since.
Now prowling the sidelines for Walsh’s football program, Forgey is hoping to lead his team to a winning season. Despite dropping the first game of the year he steered the team back on path with a 16-12 win over Branson/Kim last week.
That win was good enough to make to him the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Walsh assistant coach 2011-15; Walsh head coach (2016-present).
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Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Forgey: It started with wrestling. I wrestled and played football in school. And then (Walsh) was needing a junior high wrestling coach. So I stepped up there and then our high school coaches left and I took over that. My kids all graduated, the last one graduated in 2013 and I was going to give it up, but nobody stepped up to take over. And then with football, I just enjoy working with the kids and basically what it is.
Q: What do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Forgey: I’m not sure how to answer that one. The kids seem to keep coming back out for me. I mean, we didn’t have an abundance of kids last year. We had seven kids playing six man football and played four games with six kids. They seem to enjoy it.
Q: With the unusual circumstances surrounding this season, how quickly when the option came up were you guys aware that you were going to choose to play in Season A?
Forgey: I was wanting to play in Season A because we’d already decided that you don’t want to play spring football out here on the plains. When you get into the spring, you get those hard, just bitter cold winds. I’d rather be inside wrestling at that time.
Q: What is it about the 6-man game that you enjoy the most?
Forgey: It’s hard. Honestly, I’d rather play 8-man, but the 6-man games give the smaller schools a chance to keep their programs. Our first year with 6-man, we were undefeated until we met Eads and we forgot the center was eligible and their center just killed us.
It’s just about learning different things. The quarterback, the first person to touch the ball, can’t run across the line of scrimmage. It’s hard to break kids in right after you’ve just come down from 8-man, but it’s a wide open game. I’m still learning.
Q: Is it safe to say it was a big adjustment for you as well as the kids?
Forgey: Oh yeah. The one-on-one tackling is you have to be good at it and because if you’re not, you get a lot of points scored on you.
Q: How important was it for this year for you guys to go out and get that first win against Branson/Kim?
Forgey: That was a big one. When we went to Mountain Valley, we didn’t play bad, but we had 12 penalties for 95 yards and we had one or two touchdowns called back. At the end of the three, they were up on us 19-8, but we were still in the game and then the fourth quarter just kind of fell apart on us. Our offense hasn’t been clicking very good.
Against Branson/Kim, they were up 12-0 on us going into the fourth and our offense finally started clicking some and we scored two (touchdowns) with our extra points and the defense played excellent. I’m starting three freshmen, two seniors and one junior and my freshmen are starting to pick it up and they’re doing a good job. All of them have done a good job.
Q: How challenging is that when half of your team is made up of kids who hadn’t seen the varsity level before?
Forgey: You know what, the freshmen I have now, I have six total on the team, but I’ve had them since fifth grade playing junior high football. They progress, but it’s a big step from junior high to high school, even though you played that game.
They’re just trying to figure it out. They’ve finally grown some and they’re figuring out their footwork and stuff like that. They’re coming along well.
Q: In this shortened season, what’s your measurement of success for this team?
Forgey: We haven’t had very many winning seasons since after our first year of 6-man. We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have Cheraw this week and right now they’re undefeated. So that’s another big game and we have some tough games coming up here, so they’re going to have to step up.
I think it’s going to be tough for us to make the playoffs because that league up north with Stratton/Liberty, Eads, Cheyenne Wells and all those teams, that’s a pretty tough league. But I’d like to have a winning record by the end of the season.
COLORADO SPRINGS — For the most part, the fall 2020 state championship season has looked very close to normal. The biggest noticeable difference is the spreading out or relocation of fans at boys tennis and softball.
The competition?
Looks the same.
The championship celebrations?
Those also look the same.
Perhaps the wildcat among the four sports originally green-lit for fall competition was going to be cross country. A preview of how state cross country will look happened back on Sept. 11 at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede. The Norris Penrose Event Center, the annual host for the state meet, put on the two-day event with officials getting a good look at how things will look on Oct. 17.
The results were encouraging.
“I think the racing piece of the event went great,” Cheyenne Mountain athletic director Kris Roberts said. “By and large, kids and coaches did a great job of working with the protocols that are in place right now.”
Those protocols will make the state meet look slightly different from any other year. To start, each race will begin with a staggered start from the competitors. They will be sent off in waves which means the winners will actually be determined in more of a time trial manner rather than simply going to the runner that crosses the finish line first.
Runners also have to wear a mask at the starting line and put it back on once they cross the finish. There will be no loitering around the finish line as the competitors will have to walk straight out of the stadium once the race is finished.
Most notably, the stadium bowl inside of Norris Penrose will be closed to spectators. The cheers that are normally directed at the runners as they near the finish will be gone. But the important thing to keep in mind is that those absent cheers mean the kids will get the opportunity to claim championships throughout the course of the day.
“The facility did a great job of limiting the people to that 250 mark at any one gathering,” Roberts said. “By and large, to the school, kids and coaches, everyone did a fantastic job doing what we have to do to make the event successful.”
Cheyenne Mountain serves as the host of the event each year and Roberts receives help from other athletic directors and administrators. He’s seen the event at its peak and now he’s seen what it will look like in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As with anything in these situations, there are certainly concerns when it comes to the event going off without a hitch, but the test run at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede helped assuage some big concerns.
“I was really interested to see what spectators would do with our restrictions and expectations,” Roberts said. “I was really pleased with the initial (Class) 4A race on Friday and how everyone saw the value in our kids getting to compete this fall. They followed those protocols and rules.”
He’s expecting the same level of cooperation this week. And should the guidelines and restrictions be followed in the same manner they were over a month ago, there should be a full day of high school athletes competing the best of their ability, which is what the event is all about.
There’s no mistaking the upward trend that’s happening in Teller County. For the last several years, Woodland Park hasn’t necessarily been a dominant football team but there has been significant growth and the team overall looks ready for a breakout season.
A big part of that reason is the consistency that head coach Joe Roskam has brought to the program. From the time he was born, Roskam has been a football guy. He grew up with an old school background, but since he’s joined the coaching ranks has grown more creative with his style of the game.
That creativity worked out in the Panthers first game of the year in which they took a road trip down to Alamosa and came away with 21-13 win over the Mean Moose.
The expectations for his boys are high this season and after getting a win in Week 1, Roskam has been named the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Harrah (Okla.) assistant (1997-99), Cripple Creek/Victor head coach (2000-03), Sierra head coach (2004-11); Woodland Park head coach (2012-present).
[divider]
Question: Why do you coach?
Roskam: The people that made a big difference in my life were my coaches when I was a kid. A lot of it has to do with my dad too. My dad was a small guy, but loved football. From the day I was born, I mean, I was 18 months old on the beach in North Carolina in a diaper playing with a football. I wouldn’t know where I would be without the game. I’m just doing my very best to instill those same desires and wants and, you know, and really turn these young people into upstanding young men.
That’s the goal, right? I know it’s cliche, but [he’d say] you want to see what kind of team do I have? He goes, I’ll let you know in 20 years when I find out we’re kind of men they are. That’s stealing it from the best, but that’s definitely a big part of it.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you coach?
Roskam: That that also comes from some of some of the situations that you grew up in. They have some coaches that were hard-nosed. They just wanted to get in there and run power all the time and you’re going to gut it out. We’ll run through a wall for you.
I was fortunate enough in my very first coaching job. I got to coach under a legend and his name was Glenn Poole in Oklahoma. He won several state championships and did it the right way. We were able to really have a lot of fun with the way that we did it. We ran our offense and the way we were in our defense and just being attacking in nature all the time. I was fortunate to be in Oklahoma the years that Bob Stoops finally took over, I was coaching in Oklahoma and Bob Stoops took over at the University of Oklahoma and Mike Leach happened to be the offensive coordinator. We got to talk with those guys a little bit and it just stuck.
That’s when we started developing our spread passing game and trying to play as fast as we possibly can. There were a lot of people that I looked up to in the coaching profession and was just fortunate enough to be under a guy that really encouraged me to learn. Challenged me as a person, challenged me as a coach and a young guy. I give it up to Coach Poole and then our next one was Coach Battle.
I learned so much from those guys on how it’s supposed to be and what our job really was. At first I thought we were just supposed to be football coaches, but the amount of time that they spent really getting to know young people and how to make a difference was huge. I can’t thank them enough, you for giving me that opportunity.
Q: From your players’ perspective, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Roskam: The expectation levels are high. Sometimes I would say that it’s fun, but it’s also challenging and that’s kind of the goal. How do we make it a practice challenging, but also want them to come back every single day and give everything that they’ve got? You have to find that balance between fun and really getting after them a little bit. So I think it’s tough but at the same time, we’re able to laugh at each other. We hug each other a lot. We say we love you a lot. We use those kinds of words and hopefully that’s what they would say.
Q: What impressed you the most about your boys’ ability to really start practice as quickly as you were able to start it and put themselves in a position to start the season 1-0?
(Photo courtesy of Joe Roskam)
Roskam: That’s really on them. We were able to do some work over the summer, we were able to lift but we weren’t able to do a whole lot more than that. I think the consistency and the proof in what we’ve been doing really helps us. We’ve been doing the same thing. For years, I actually started with this senior group when they were in fourth grade. I actually have a picture of me with this group of kids when they were just a pee wee league. The year before, our group here wasn’t able to form a team and I just said that’s never going to happen again. I actually started a club and this was my very first team. And for my son now as a senior, he was part of that group.
I started coaching these guys when they were that little, so they know the expectation. They’ve been coming up with me since they were little bitty and that’s where they learned the expectations. As soon as we walked in, we just lined up and went “Hey, we need four-right, 63.” Bam. Done. “We need three-right, 72.” That’s just how it is. We didn’t have to take a long time to install. They were just ready to go. Now we had to get them back in shape because you know, they got a little chubby over COVID. That’s been the hardest part is just getting them back in shape.
Q: Everyone talks about football being a great tool for life lessons. What are the life lessons that are going to be unique to the group of football players this year that you won’t find anywhere else?
Roskam: The level of resiliency is going to be next to none. You’re going to have to be uncompromisingly consistent right now in everything that you do. We’re seeing around the state that some teams have chosen to hang out with other people outside of school and have had their seasons not necessarily cut short because they’ll become they’ll be back, but they’re going to miss games. That idea of excellence in everything that we do, excellence in everything is going to be huge. You’re going to have to make really great choices outside of here just to protect the program. That’s going to be part of it. We’re really asking a lot of these kids to put something above themselves.
Everybody is tired of computers and they’re tired of being isolated, but they have to be able to take care of the program. They’re going to have to be extremely disciplined and still sacrificing in order for you to complete all six games. Look at the Broncos right now, they’re missing a game this week. That’s going to be one of those life lessons that everybody learns. We’re going to come out of this and see that we have kids that are even more disciplined as a result.
Q: Is it possible that once this season is over, that you and maybe more importantly, your boys get to appreciate the game of football more than maybe you ever thought you would?
Roskam: I don’t even think it’s going to be after the season. I think we’re doing that right now. I mean, we’re grateful every day that we get to get out and play, because not everybody’s able to do it. And we actually got to play Friday night and there were several teams in the state that weren’t able to, whether they’re going in the spring or due to COVID, they had their games canceled.
We’re appreciative of everything that we get right now, and I’m so thankful that CHSAA and the governor actually allowed us to play. Some of these stipulations are really, really tough and some of our travel because of the way that our leagues have to be now are just crazy.
Trying to get everybody down to Alamosa was difficult in itself. And the fact that our kids were able to overcome those restrictions and guidelines, and it took us forever because we can only dress 10 at a time in a gym to get everybody out on the field and ready before the game and then show up and actually perform just shows their aptitude for excellence right now.
They had every excuse in the world to go down there and not perform, but they did. They showed up and they played. I’m just excited that we’re getting to play and just seeing these guys grow. It’s awesome.
For what felt like the 100th time, 2020 seemed to have it in for Colorado high school athletics. With the boys golf state championships a month away, it wasn’t a global pandemic that threatened the chances of playing out the two rounds at Dos Rios Country Club.
It was the Colorado weather that reared its ugly head.
On Tuesday, Sept. 8 the weather forecast in Gunnison called for extreme wind conditions. On top of that, there was going to be snow. As the front passed through the town, the conditions were every bit as bad as any weather app or TV meteorologist said they’d be.
“We lost 40-plus trees on the golf course and thousands of branches and leaves,” general manager Al Pryor said. “It devastated the driving range. We have a line of poles that hold up the net and those poles cracked like toothpicks. It was horrible.”
Pryor was faced with a decision. He could see the amount of work that it was going to take to get the course playable again. Pryor and his course superintendent Jim Mills arrived at the course at 8:30 a.m. the next morning and Pryor began to think he was going to have to make a very tough call to associate commissioner Tom Robinson.
“I thought then that I was going to call Tom and cancel the entire event,” Pryor said. “There was no way. With the devastation I thought it was going to take two or three weeks to get it cleaned up to where it was playable.”
After considering the options, Pryor reached into his deep Texas roots and decided that rather than pass the buck, it was time to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
(Photo courtesy of Al Pryor)
Gunnison is a small community and one that is proud to host an event like the boys golf state tournament. He gathered his staff and called for a member workday to start clearing and repairing the course. It was vital that the members got to enjoy the last remaining fall days to play themselves, but Pryor also wanted to give the high school athletes a memorable experience at his facility.
“We had 25-plus people show for two days with chainsaws, lift trailers and probably got about 40 percent of the big stuff out of the playable areas,” Pryor said. “That left tons of stuff to do, but I knew we’d get it done. When you see it next weekend, it looks like nothing happened.”
When the first players step up to the No. 1 and No. 10 tee boxes at 9 a.m. Monday morning, disaster will have officially been averted in a year where disaster has been the norm.
When recounting the events that took place early last month and what had been done since then, it gives Pryor a huge feeling of pride toward his staff and the community that he has made his home.
“I’ve been the PGA for 45 years, since 1975, and I’ve never seen anything this fulfilling as a small group, a small town that came together,” he said. “Wielding a chainsaw for eight or nine hours a day when you’re not used to it is hard. I had to tell them to stop because everyone was getting tired and I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. It was fulfilling to see this group of people come together to make sure the golf tournament could facilitate a state tournament. It was wonderful.”
When Cherry Creek senior Parker Wolfe lined up on Sept. 12 for the Heritage Distance Classic, an event usually known as the Liberty Bell Invitational, he knew what he had to do to make history.
Just one year ago, 2020 Valor Christian graduate Cole Sprout lined up at the same event knowing the exact same thing and went on to set a Colorado boys cross country state record with a time of 14 minutes, 38.40 seconds. That number has been in Wolfe’s mind for the last 12 months after he finished second to Sprout last year, and he knew he could beat it.
Before attempting to break state records, Wolfe had grown up playing baseball and planned on playing for the historic Cherry Creek program when he arrived his freshman year. All he had to do was get through his first semester on a campus with over 3,800 students, perhaps avoid a “freshman fall,” and finally baseball season would arrive in the spring. Going out for cross country come never crossed his mind.
When he was left with no extracurricular outlets in the fall of 2017, his mom suggested that he just give cross country a try. He had run a few casual races during his middle school years as lots of recreational runners do, mostly on holiday weekends. He enjoyed events like the Denver Broncos annual 7k that happens every Labor Day weekend and found fun in running long distance races. He decided he’d give it a chance.
A chance is an understatement of what Wolfe gave cross country. His freshman year he not only tried out but made the varsity team at Creek. That season he went on to finish fifth at regionals and qualify for state, finishing 51st at the event. His sophomore year, he found himself at the state race again and when it was all said and done, he had moved up 47 spots in the final ranking, finishing in fourth. His junior year, he finished third at state, then qualified for the Foot Locker National Championships where he finished in 15th and earned All-American honors.
After his impressive junior year, Wolfe was ready to make his senior year his best yet and nothing, even COVID-19, was going to stop him. After contracting and beating the virus in July, the time 14:38.40 was on the top of his mind when this season kicked off. Wolfe knew he had an opportunity to beat that time when the Heritage Distance Classic came around, and it was not going to happen by chance.
“Last year, I was looking at [Cole] like maybe next year I can get that time,” Wolfe said. “About a week before the race, my coach and I sat down and tried to figure out splits I could hit to try to break it.”
Wolfe had made his game plan and was ready to execute it on a day with perfect conditions for running. As he came down the final stretch, with the entire field behind him, he knew he had a chance at breaking Spout’s time from a year prior.
“I knew I was close because coaches were yelling a time at me and I knew it was pretty tight,” Wolfe recalled. “Once I got into that final stretch, and started running up towards the finish, I knew I had it.”
Just four days before the event, Wolfe was running shirtless in below-freezing temperatures all around Greenwood Village in to prepare for the race. He’s been training full time five to six days a week since June. He even ran with Cole Sprout over the summer in preparation for breaking his record.
After Wolfe had beaten Sprout’s record by 8.3 seconds with a time of 14:30.10, which is not to mention the fastest 5k time in the country this year, Sprout made sure to congratulate Wolfe with a DM and shoutout on his Instagram, a nice touch from the now Stanford Cardinal runner.
“Running is a really tough sport to do and get better at,” Wolfe said. “If you put in the work, you’ll get to the places you’ll want to get.”
So, what place does Wolfe want to get to next?
Beating Sprout’s record at the Norris Penrose Event Center, the site of the 5A state cross country championship next month.
PUEBLO — At first glance the Manitou Mustang Invite looked like any other boys golf tournament for St. Mary’s senior Luke Calvin. He navigated his way around the course fairly efficiently.
He hit good shots and he hit some bad shots. Such is golf.
But inside, he was going through an emotional battle. When he stepped on the the tee box for the first shot of the tournament, it was his first competition since his mother passed away from her battle with cancer.
He and the other competitors in the field pinned green and white ribbons to their hats during the round. The other teams in the field might have been battling against the Pirates, but they were more than happy to stand with a colleague and show support.
“It keeps things in perspective,” Primero’s Lance Peters said. “There’s no way to know how he feels and it has to be tough to do that.”
In some ways, it’s admirable that Calvin chose to play. There would have been no shame for him to sit out and gather himself before coming back to the team and helping the Pirates make a run at the Tri-Peaks League championship.
But Calvin loves golf. And his mother knew it. While his decision was admittedly tough, he nas no doubt he made right one.
“I know my mom would’ve wanted me to play,” he said. “So I toughed it out and got out here today.”
He didn’t just tough it out. He put together a top three finish. He shot a nine-over-par 79 to finish third and as just one of three players in the field to stay under 80. Peters got the tournament win with a 76 and Calvin’s teammate Peter Stinar shot a 78.
The best part of Calvin’s game was navigating the slippery greens at the Pueblo Country Club. While many players were left confused or frustrated, Calvin had this tendency to put the ball in the cup or at least keep it within gimme range.
“My chipping and putting wasn’t so bad,” Calvin said. “I’m pretty sure my mom willed in a few putts for me to make sure I broke 80.”
The Pirates claimed the team championship at the event thanks to Stinar and Calvin staying under 80 and RJ Davis shooting 81.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
But more than his team getting a win, Calvin will remember seeing opposing players and opposing coaches pin a ribbon onto their hats and know that it was a sign of support directed at him.
“It was huge,” Calvin said. “It had me in tears this morning to see the support from everybody. Everybody that loved my mom and everybody in this community that just through golf that has always supported me. And it’s huge to see it from people who didn’t know my mom and just wanted to support me.”
As Peter alluded to, it’s also something that has helped Calvin and everyone play with a different perspective than before. The goal is always to go out, compete and hopefully win. But during Monday’s round they appreciated the opportunity to be able to do so and made sure to savor every minute.
“I definitely wanted to come out and play well because everybody was supporting me,” Calvin said. “I didn’t want to let anybody down, which I know I wouldn’t have, but I wanted to show everybody a good round.”
And that’s what he did through the course of an emotional day. He smiled when he needed to, he maintained his focus and he always kept his mother on his mind. And in some key moments on some tricky greens, his putts willed their way into the hole.
COLORADO SPRINGS — When Custer County’s Micah Zeller crossed the finish line at the Norris Penrose Event Center, he looked like one of the healthiest runners in the entire Class 2A boys cross country field.
He’s come a long way.
Born in Ethiopia, it’s a wonder he survived his journey to the United States let alone became one of the top runners in the entire state of Colorado.
“I was very unhealthy when I was young,” Zeller said. “I think my parents said when I was two years old I weighed around 14 pounds. I was not in great condition when I came over.”
Once he got to the states, he said was lucky to have a family that fed him and loved him. And eventually encouraged him to run toward his dreams.
As Zeller began his athletic career as a kid, he felt his running abilities were more suited from sprinting, not necessarily for distance. That all changed he was talked into joining a cross country team.
“I was in eighth grade,” he said. “I was thinking I was more of a sprinter but one of my really good friends at that time said he was going to coach cross country and he wanted me on the team.”
Now he’s in his senior season and has two main goals that he’s still running toward. He wants to keep improving so that he can win a state title and he wants to carry that momentum into a chance to run at the collegiate level.
“I expect to climb and succeed,” he said. “This is my last high school season and I’m hoping to win this year. That would mean a lot to me. I’ve been running on this course for four years and I think ending my high school career with a W would be awesome.”
He hasn’t made up his mind on a college yet, but he’s had conversations with West Texas A&M and other schools in the Lone Star State.
He still has hope that he can make his way to his dream school, even if he knows it’s a tall task.
“This would be way out of the blue,” he said. “I’m hoping I could run for the University of Oregon.”
Surviving a trip across an ocean and a malnourished childhood just goes to show that he shouldn’t count Oregon out. His times this year indicate that he’s more than able to compete at the next level.
And judging from the way he’s grown into a standout athlete, it’s obvious that he’s capable of whatever he wants to do.
One look through the Mead batting order and it’s tough to figure out who’s the best hitter to have up in a clutch situation.
In reality, it could be anyone from the leadoff spot to the nine-hole. The Mavericks are as consistent as can be from top to bottom and that’s a big reason that they’re currently ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A softball rankings and also a perceived favorite to make a run at a state championship.
The season opened with wins over Elizabeth and Windsor, but it wasn’t until a 12-4 win over defending champion Erie that the Mavericks truly felt like they had something special coming together this season.
“It’s all about a team-first attitude,” coach Amanda Macaluso said. “Our chemistry is amazing this year. I think part of has to do with COVID and the fact that we’re just so grateful to be playing in any way shape or form. They’re all about whatever the team needs.”
She’s not lying. Although the Mavericks lineup varies in terms of batting order, every other key stat is consistent no matter who is at the plate. No one has more than nine RBIs and six players have at least five. The team has hit eight home runs with three players responsible for two bombs a piece while two others have one to their names.
“We just have a really strong one through nine,” junior Emily Sauvageau said. “We don’t have any easy outs in our lineup. You go through the whole thing and it’s really difficult to get anyone out.”
(Steve Oathout)
That especially helps when on the defensive side when the pitching staff is led by a sophomore. Josslynn Veltien has been everything Mead needs her to be to balance out a well-producing lineup. In 46 innings she’s given up just 18 earned runs while striking out 52 hitters.
Perhaps her biggest test came just last week when the Mavericks needed 11 innings to get a hard-fought win over Silver Creek. Getting through that one and keeping their record unblemished gave the Mavericks that little extra bit of confidence that this could be their year.
“In that game we didn’t give up,” Veltien said. “We kept pushing. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. In the future we know that if we get into tight games like that, we won’t just freak out and give it up.”
Add mental toughness to the list of reasons Mead is firing on all cylinders this year. Veronica Elsis’ nine RBIs help. She shares the team lead in hits at 11 with Delaney Wilson and Savanna Griebling. Sauvageau is batting .500 and “seeing watermelons at the plate right now” according to Macaluso.
Adding in mental toughness can make a team playing so well even more unstoppable.
“In years past, our biggest struggle is that we couldn’t win those close games,” Macaluso said. “We didn’t have the confidence that if they were wearing an Erie Tigers jersey, we were already defeated. We completely overcome that panic, if you will, and we are really just confident in each and every kid and every at-bat. They trust each other.”
The Mavericks still have games remaining against Erie and Holy Family, the last two 4A state champions. But with wins against both team already, they’re hoping they can continue to show that anyone looking to claim a state title has to go through them first.
