(Photo: Adam Hothersall)

Nick Trombetta wants to build something at Thornton. He calls it a “Trojan Spirit,” and talks about how he wants to return his Class 4A football program to relevancy.

Well, that plan got a major spark in the form of a 27-20 win over rival Northglenn on Friday night. It was the first time Thornton had beaten their rival in 14 years.

It means the I-25 Bowl trophy will be housed at Thornton High School for the first time since it was created.

And alumni have taken notice.

“It’s a big deal for our community,” Trombetta said this week.

Now, Trombetta has been named the Denver Broncos High School Football Coach of the Week.

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Nick Trombetta bio

Years as head coach: 3 ( overall)

Years at Thornton: 3 (41-18, 1-0 this season)

Previous stops: Thornton assistant (2012-15); Denver North assistant (2016); Denver North head coach (2017); Thornton head coach (2018-present).

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(Photo: Adam Hothersall)

Casey: Can you tell why you decided to become a coach and what you enjoy about it?

Trombetta: I really wanted to become a coach because I kinda had some negative experiences playing high school ball. So really wanted to make a difference in that aspect because I understand, for a lot of kids, this is it for them.

You don’t want to have the last time you coached or the last time you played to have been soured by a negative interaction with a coach or anything like that. Then initially, way back when I was in middle school, I had a coach that I had decided I was done with football and he actually had stopped me walking home from school my eighth grade year and convinced me to play youth football and like suited me up out of old equipment in his garage.

He put me out there. They put the ball on my hands for the first time as a running back and I kinda refound my love of the game. So it was like both positive and negative experiences that really drove me to wanting to coach and make a difference that way.

Casey: What do you think your players feel like it’s like to be coached by you?

Trombetta: Well I can say probably depends on who you ask. I think my passion is probably the most prevailing factor. I’m a little more toned down this year than I was last year, but I think that they can just really see my passion for them and their lives post high school.

I am really just trying to make sure that they’re going to be good citizens, dads, husbands — whatever they’re going to be after high school — to try to make sure that they’re ready to do that type of stuff. I always try to make myself the worst coach on my staff from a football standpoint.

Casey: That’s smart.

Trombetta: Yes. I mean, they’re not gonna confuse me for — you know, name of famous coach. They’re not going to mistake me for any of that stuff. But they just know that I’m the father figure for a lot of guys and I’m going to hold them accountable for things that other people in life aren’t ready to hold them accountable for.

Casey: So do you have an overarching goal or maybe mission or vision that you’re trying to accomplish at Thornton?

Trombetta: Well, being a grad there, we always have fond memories of our high schools and I really wanna try to return this back to relevance. It’s been been a really, really long time since Thornton with the relevant football program. And part of it is just trying to make it important at the school to play again.

Our participation numbers have risen slightly from last year to this year. So in order for the participation numbers to keep rising, we have to make it for kids to want be football players there. And it’s kind of where we’re at right now is just trying to make it an atmosphere that kids want to be a part of.

At the end of the day, I want to return back to 5A as a program. I think that’s important. We’re the only Adams 12 program that’s not 5A. So I would definitely like to be able to return back to 5A, be able to field three levels, and part of that is winning games so that kids are excited to come out and play.

Casey: Can you take me into your pregame locker room on Friday? What did you guys talk about?

Trombetta: I kind of flipped flop back and forth between not trying to make it bigger than it needed to be because it’s Week 1, but also honoring the tradition of the rivalry. We talked a lot about how Thornton had won nine times in the past 52 years, 53 years.

Casey: That’s crazy.

Trombetta: And we hadn’t won obviously in 14 years. So a lot of it was, “We can either concentrate on what history dictates or, we can embrace who we are in the moment.”

Casey: That’s interesting because some coaches try to avoid stuff like, “Oh, we know we haven’t beat them in 14 years,” but you guys met that head on and they were fully aware of that?

Trombetta: Oh, 100%. Yeah. I wasn’t gonna run from it because I think that it’s important.

We have some initials on the back of our helmets from some former Thornton players throughout the years that have passed away just this past year. And there was a big talk about how we don’t take what happened last year or the year before or the previous 14 years into a game. You take the spirit of all those people that played before into it.

I kind of framed it as like you have one school just trying to avoid losing and I view us as somebody that’s trying to like establish a spirit, a Trojan Spirit that we’re trying to bring to the forefront.

Casey: What’s interesting about that game though is you kick kicked the ball off and then had an hour weather delay and then didn’t you come out and fumble on your first possession?

Trombetta: First two possessions!

Casey: So how did you recover from that? That’s a really disjointed start, I imagine.

Trombetta: Our boys just don’t — we just worry about what we can control. I mean, past years, a Thornton football teams would have definitely folded up camp at that point. But this is a special group of young men and they just don’t — sometimes things for good and for bad just don’t register with them. And I don’t think that they ever felt in any true danger.

I think we worry about us. We don’t do a lot of, “Oh, we’re playing so-and-so this week.” Although we talked about the streak against Northglenn, and this week, we’ll talk about how Delta’s got a really good squad. They got a really good quarterback. But we don’t — we’ll game plan for what they do, but we kinda worry about us.

And we knew against Northglenn, watching film and with some of the weapons we have on offense, we knew that we were going to have shots. Our defense was playing well. And I think once the defense got that stop on that second fumble, we were able to settle in, and then Ethan was able to find JR on that first touchdown. We kind of knew we were rolling at that point.

Casey: Well, and then you had that spurt at the end of the first quarter where all of a sudden you’re up two touchdowns. What was it like then, and what was the halftime locker room like?

Trombetta: We went up 20-7 and we were kind of in uncharted territory. We’re all kind of looking around and we hadn’t played well, but we were still up a couple of touchdowns. We went into halftime and we gave the whole, “It’s 0-0,” like all coaches say.

I mean, you could see it in their eyes, and our boys, as much as we condition them, I was shocked: We were gassed. Boys were starting to cramp up. I think a combination of a lot of things. I think that the juices were flowing and they were going hard.

We talked about, “You guys got 24 minutes to rewrite your legacies,” and (laughs) they made it interesting.

Casey: Yes, they did at the very end there. So, what’s the reaction been like since the win?

Trombetta: The reaction has been crazy. I’ve heard from a lot my coaching mentors, like coach Marquez, coach Brothers at Holy Family. Some guys that I lean on. I heard from some of the guys that I coached with the Denver North. I heard from guys at Prospect Ridge.

The outpourings of, “Way to go,” it’s been really, really awesome. The school is on cloud nine right now. I mean, that trophy only exists because it has all that red on it because Northglenn made it. We didn’t make the trophy.

Casey: Is that right?

Trombetta: The trophy has never actually been at Thorton High School before. It has never been there. I just dropped that off this morning. It was like the Stanley Cup and it’s spent the weekend at my house.

I mean it’s a cool feeling. I think the boys are — I gave him Monday off to kind of refuel and relax. It’s all kind of a whirlwind. I mean just the alumni the kids rushing the field.

I think my favorite moment of the whole thing is I was probably the first one onto the field and then I turned around, I was just like a wave of humanity.

And people started hugging me and I didn’t even know who anybody was. And then my daughter who is a senior at Thornton came running and hugged me and she was sobbing and it was just like this whole — I don’t want to downplay, I know it’s one game and it’s Week 1 — but when you’re talking about 10 wins in 53 years and two wins in the past 30. I mean it’s a big deal for our community.

The alumni has been very excited. I mean, the people that I don’t even know are reaching out to me. Yeah, the whole thing, it’s just been a surreal, and then this Coach of the Week honor it’s like, I’m just a guy, you know, standing on the sidelines at a 4A school in Thornton.

It’s all a little bit surreal and it’s all because the boys refused to be No. 15.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Heading into the 2018 season, only two 8-man football programs in Colorado had ever won four consecutive state champions.

That list grew this season when Sedgwick County won its fourth-straight title, defeating Hoehne in November to claim title No. 4. It meant the Cougars joined Hugo (1968-71) and Stratton (1992-95) as the only two 8-man teams to do so.

The run is more remarkable considering that from 2004-14, Sedgwick County — which is a co-op between Revere and Julesburg high schools — had just two winning seasons. in 2012, they were 1-7. In 2013, they were 3-5.

Then Chris Michel, who had been an assistant at both Sedgwick County and Merino, took over. His first team, in 2014, was 5-5. They’ve won at least 11 games in each season since — including the four championships.

A graduate of Merino, Michel is no stranger to 8-man football. He played in three championship games from 2003-05 with Merino, winning two for coach John Barber.

Michel was voted the 8-man coach of the year by his peers as part of the All-State teams. Now, he has been selected as the 2018 Denver Broncos high school football coach of the year.

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Chris Michel bio

Years as head coach: 5 (54-7 overall record)

Years at Sedgwick County: 5 (54-7, 11-1 this season)

Previous stops: Merino High School assistant coach (2010-11); Sedgwick County assistant coach (2012-13); Sedgwick County head coach (2014-present).

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(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Question: Well, how easy is it to win four state titles in a row?

Michel: (Laughs) Well, it’s not easy to win one. It’s definitely a difficult thing. You can’t look at it as, “Let’s go win four in a row.” It’s gotta be, “Let’s make our goal this year to win a state title.” You really have to try to clear the last one out of your mind, and you definitely can’t look forward to the next one. I even try to not reference things from years before, other than things we need to improve upon.

Sometimes you’ve got to be lucky to win a state title: getting to the end of the year healthy, and have some things fall your way. It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think I fully have a scope of what we did yet, and I probably won’t appreciate it until I’m done coaching and look back and see how incredible that was.

It’s a difficult thing, and every year, you try to reset, but the target definitely gets bigger and bigger every year, and you can see the teams preparing more and more, and everybody wants to beat us. Luckily, our kids love that. Our kids love having that target, and they really embrace that type of thing, but it definitely gets more and more difficult.

(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

Q: Did you do anything when you took over the program as far as culture? What was your first move as coach?

Michel: My first year out here at Sedgwick County [as an assistant in 2012], the coaching staff had essentially left that year. The head coach retired, and one of the assistants had left and taken a job in Nebraska, and there really was only one guy left on staff — and he was a wrestling coach, he was really a football coach to help out. So my first year, he was the head coach and I was the assistant. He did a really good job of letting me come in and change things.

I figured out very quickly you can’t go 0-60 in one year. We had to change things slowly. So our first couple of years, we kind of just changed how we did practice, went back to the basics, and did a lot of fundamental stuff with those kids. You know, we struggled for a while, but I think it’s kind of the change in culture, and we kind of got kids to buy in.

My first year as the head coach [in 2014], we made the playoffs by the skin of our teeth, and we lost in the first round to Granada. It really kind of left a sour taste in those kids’ mouths, and the next year we came back and went 13-0. That’s kind of what really started it.

We ended up with a great group of seniors, we had eight seniors that year — which is a lot for us, we’ve had about four to five seniors every year after that — but they really did all the work, they paved the way and set the tone and made this culture of hard work in practice. Getting kids to buy in was kind of just the thing.

And you’ve got to have success. Success breeds success. After we got kids to buy in, it’s not easy, but the kids understand the expectation, so from that aspect, it gets a little easier, I guess.

I don’t know if there was any one thing I did — maybe going back to the basics. And then after I became a head coach, I just kind of went out and found some coaches that I thought could fit our program, some guys from the area that were on some successful teams. Now, I’ve got a kid on my staff who was actually a player on that first championship team. So it’s cool to see him come full circle from a player to a coach.

Really, I just try to surround myself with guys that know more than me.

(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

Q: Is there a challenge of playing as a co-op? You know, combining two schools and bringing those kids together?

Michel: I think one of the biggest challenges is there’s a lot more red tape. You have two administrations, you have two schools. So it’s figuring schedules, logistics and things like that — two leave times, two everything. That poses some sort of challenge.

And the other thing is a lot of these kids don’t see each other all day. You don’t have the luxury of kids are in class and they’re here. But I think athletics, and success of all of our sports — football, basketball, baseball, track — have really kind of lessened the divide between the two schools.

I think before I got here, there was some growing pains between the two schools and the two groups of kids. Because you go from being cross-county rivals to sticking them on the same team, obviously people have the same goal, but when you reach adversity, fingers start to get pointed, things like that. With our success, it’s really helped not only our co-op, but I think our community in general.

Luckily, and I think that’s an advantage for me: I’m not from here, I’ve never been here when it was separate, so I don’t know anything different. If you ask our kids now, they would be like, “What are you talking about? There’s no difference.” They don’t say, “Oh the Revere kids do this” or “The Julesburg kids do that.”

So, according to our kids anymore, there really is no difference. And these kids are kind of that first generation that don’t know any better. 2006, I think was the first of the co-op. They can’t even remember when there were two separate schools. So that makes it nice.

We kind of make it work out here. And you have to, you’ve got to adapt or die out here in these small communities.

(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

Q: What did you learn from your playing days at Merino, and have you brought anything to your time as a coach now?

Michel: Obviously, I played for coach Barber, and he’s a legend. He’s the guy. I don’t know how long he coached, maybe 13 years, and he played in 10 title games? Obviously I learned a lot from that. Some of the aspects we do in practice, and things like that.

8-man football is a very different game now than it was then. Back then, you could count on one hand the amount of teams that threw the ball more than five times a game. It was I-formation, line up and smash against each other, and whoever did that the best was going to win. So the game has changed.

The one thing I took is the amount of work that my coaches put in. Like Rocky DeSanti, he’s still at Merino, and that guy has probably forgot more about 8-man football than I’ll ever know.

I did my student teaching there for two years, and I actually coached with those guys, with the exception of Barber — he had retired before that — so I was on that staff. I got to see the other side of it. I went to the coaches meetings and I saw how much film they watched, so I guess just the hard work, the amount of work and film and prep and things like that that those guys put in. That’s the biggest thing I took.

And just what it takes to win. The hard work and the things I try to instill in my kids are things that we did — maybe not Xs and Os, but the mental preparation.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Q: Is it any different when you guys play Merino? What’s that like?

Michel: As far as the kids go, you’ve got to treat it like any other game. Everybody in our league is essentially a rival. Our league is so tough that every week is a rivalry game.

Their coaching staff consists of a guy that coached me, and a guy that I played with, so I definitely have some personal connections. But the weeks that we don’t play them, I talk to Rocky, and we talk about different teams and stuff like that.

Obviously, you never want to lose, ever, but you definitely don’t want to lose to the school you went to. But that school and that community has still been great. A lot of times, win or lose, a lot of people tell me after the games, you know, “nice job” and “congratulations” and things like that.

It’s just like any other small town: Good people, good kids.

(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

Q: In talking to people about you in terms of the type of coach and person you are, they said one thing that struck them was that after a championship game, you went and talked to your kids, and you didn’t talk to them necessarily about winning the title. You were talking to them more about life.

Can you tell me a little bit about that approach and that philosophy, and why in those moments you use that opportunity to talk about stuff other than football?

Michel: As an educator and as a coach, I think you have an ability to hopefully influence somebody’s life. You get to play football for four years, and then you’ve got to go to school and get a job, and be a husband and be a father.

You hope that they take some of those lessons, the hard work, the appreciation of things, and you hope that they take that on. Football is a sport that exemplifies all of that.

At least I hope, as a coach, that some day they’re either going to look back and say, “Wow, this isn’t near as hard as our two-a-day practices or our hard practices were, I can do this,” or, “This is what coach was talking about what it means to be a good man.” That’s one of the things that I got out of high school football, was how those things translated into being a good man, a good husband and father.

So I think when you win, and more so even when you lose, that those are great opportunities to talk to those kids about how that’s going to relate to the rest of their lives. That’s why people teach, and why people coach, is to help young men and young people.

I think those are just opportunities to look at how that’s going to affect the rest of their lives, and that’s the way I can hopefully do a little bit of good in this world.

(Photo courtesy of Dan Sutter)

In Dan Sutter’s first year as the head coach of Merino, he made sure turnabout was fair play. A year ago, the Rams entered the 8-man state playoffs as the No. 3 seed and played their first game on their home field.

They walked off that field in defeat. A 42-32 loss to Soroco ended a hopeful championship run for Marino.

It’s safe to say the sting has worn off for the players this year. As the No. 15 seed in this year’s bracket, the Rams were more than convincing in a 40-0 over No. 2 Mancos.

Because Holly also grabbed an upset win over Sargent, the Rams must hit the road again this week but there is certainly reason to believe that traveling isn’t necessarily so bad. A win over the state’s No. 2 seed certainly has a way of boosting some confidence.

It also has a way of receiving honors. With that win over Mancos, Sutter has been selected as this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

When informed of the honor, the first thing Sutter wanted to clarify was that he was accepting on behalf of the Merino staff.

“There is no way we would be in the playoffs if I did not have Nathan Schmidt, Rocky Desanti & Joe Frank on the sidelines with me, period,” he said.

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Dan Sutter bio

Years as head coach: 1 (6-4)

Years at Merino: 1 (6-4)

Previous stops: Assistant coach Merino (2016-17).

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Question: What made coaching a desirable job for you?

Sutter: I suppose it’s a corny answer, but it’s true. I love the game of football and I love being around kids. I have three daughters so I get to see a lot of high school volleyball. My wife is the head volleyball coach here at Merino so I get to see a lot of volleyball, but I missed the game of football.

That’s why I started volunteering a couple of years ago. It was a way to stay involved with the sport and be around the kids as well.

Question: You guys went through a rough stretch losing four out of five games, including one to Mancos, what was it like watching your boys bounce back and get to the point where you are today?

Sutter: It’s been very rewarding. I’ll say this, I think a lot of those losses are on me as a rookie head coach. I think we’ve evolved over the season and I was very thankful that we got that win over Sedgwick County a couple of weeks ago so that we could continue on into the playoffs.

I think if we don’t win that game we don’t make it into the playoffs. I was super proud of the kids for standing tall and coming away with that win.

Question: Coaches always talk about what can be learned from losses, what did your guys learn in that loss to Mancos that helped generate a different result in that rematch?

Sutter: I think they learned we were a team of very few kids. We traveled with 16 kids this past weekend to the playoff game. The first loss to Mancos, we lost our starting tailback in the first quarter and we kind of had to shuffle kids around to different positions.

I think they learned more about every position as the year went on. We dealt with injuries throughout the year, especially through that five-game stretch you mentioned earlier. They learned to play multiple positions and to be mentally strong and mentally tough when the chips were stacked against them.

Question: What’s the difference between taking a week-to-week approach during the regular season then facing a win or go home situation when you’re in the playoffs?

Sutter: I’ll be honest, I don’t know that our approach is any different. I think we got to the point that night before we took the field against Sedgwick County that I gave a heartfelt message to the boys before the game to not take anything for granted and it could be their last game.

You never know when it’s your last game. The next thing you know, you could be a 40-year-old grey-haired guy that’s playing scout team quarterback for his boys at practice wishing he could be out on the field and playing the game.

I delivered a message there that I think rang through them and they went out and played their hearts out that night. Now, you can see that fire in their eyes every weekend and they know this could be the last game they play.

Question: Once again a perceived underdog this week, what’s your message to the team as you work to duplicate last week’s success?

Sutter: Just go out and play to the best of your ability. I know I’m giving you stuff you hear week in and week out at every level, but that’s really all you can do. Just go out and play your best and I truly believed in every game that we played in this year that if we played to the best of our ability we could come out winners.

We still believe that every week. It’s nothing special. I wish I could give you a special recipe, but that’s it.

Question: Regardless of the result this week, what can you take away about yourself and about your team after this season?

Sutter: We’ve learned how to persevere in tough situations. What I’ve learned about myself is that sometimes as a coach this year, you have to call the shots in tough situations. Sometimes you have to take a step back and even if you think you know the answer of how to win a game, but if you’re willing to swallow your pride and see that maybe your game plan was not correct going in and maybe we have to switch it up. I learned how to do that this year for myself.

As far as my boys, I think they’ve learned that they’re capable of so much more than they believed at the beginning of the season. Now they’re starting to believe a little bit more as each game comes and goes.

(Photo courtesy of Ponderosa High School)

Jaron Cohen might be doing more with less this season. A year ago, he had a standout quarterback in Sterling Ostdahl and a 1,000-yard rusher in Jevon Glover.

This year, sophomore Jack Hannenburg has done an admirable job running the offense and Koby Kercher has done a good job giving the Mustangs consistency in the ground attack.

The main reason for Ponderosa’s success, though, has to be attributed to the defensive side of the ball.

Ponderosa opened the regular season with losses against Legend and Valor Christian. In today’s scoring bonanza that has blanketed high school football, the most points the Mustangs gave up in those losses is 30.

Since then they’ve won seven games in a row and have given up more than 10 points just twice in that span. After a 21-9 win over Class 4A No. 4 Montrose on Friday, the Mustangs are 4-0 in the 4-0 Metro League and can wrap up a league championship this weekend.

After losing senior contributors from last year’s team, a lot of people wrote Ponderosa off. But Cohen believed in his kids. That belief has them playing at a high level and has made Cohen this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Jaron Cohen bio

Years as head coach: 14 (77-68)

Years at Ponderosa: 5 (39-15, 7-2 this season)

Previous stops: Assistant Spackenkill High School (N.Y.) (2000); Assistant coach Windsor High School (Conn.) (2002-04); Head coach Rockville High School (Conn.) 2005-07); Head coach Liberty High School (2008-12); Head coach Hinkley High School (2013); Head coach Ponderosa High School (2014-present).

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Question: What got you into coaching?

Cohen: I always played football and baseball my whole life. I played football in college and got injured.

I was a student-teacher and my cooperating teacher was the head football coach there and he got me on as a JV coach as a way to stay around the game and hopefully give back a little bit.

From there it’s all been coaching and teaching.

Question: What’s been the best overall part of this journey for you?

Cohen: When kids come back five or 10 years down the road or even two years down the road and you’re seeing kids that hopefully you’ve made a positive impact on. It’s great when you see their parents around town or get invited to the wedding or get a baby announcement and all that stuff.

Also being a competitor and be active (in the game) even if I can’t play anymore.

Question: Think back to your first year at Ponderosa when you guys went 5-6, what’s different about the school and the culture of the team now?

Cohen: Definitely higher participation. When I got there we had about 65 kids in the program and now we have about 105. We have tremendous leadership with our principal Tim Ottmann, who was an AD forever. Our current athletic director Corey McNellis does a great job. He’s kind of been in the fire as a wrestling coach.

It’s just a standard of work that was already in our kids from previous coaches. As far as the culture goes, I was lucky to come into a program where the kids work really hard and are really committed. We’ve been able to expand on that and get more kids out playing football and putting them in a position to succeed.

Question: What was the message you gave your kids after starting this season with two losses?

Cohen: One thing our players know is that we’re going to be better at the end of the year than the start of it.

Our first game we had 15 kids who had never played varsity football before. We had a really tough loss in a great high school game to Legend. It’s just a fun game to play because the stands are packed and the kids know each other.

Then we went out and played Valor and it was 16-6 heading in the fourth quarter and our kids started realizing that even though we are young and inexperienced, we can play.

It was tremendous after the Valor game. You’re never happy after a loss but we were proud about their effort and preparation and I had a feeling we could get on a run. It was just believe in what we’re doing and keep getting better and this thing will turn in the win/loss column.

And it has.

Question: What has the success since then told you about the character of the kids on the field?

Cohen: We just have kids who won’t quit. I’m extremely fortunate to have a tremendous selection of assistant coaches. Our players know that what our coaches are going to install and do in practice is going to give them a really good chance at success.

It’s kind of a trust that our players have in our coaches and our coaches have done a great job this year kind of modifying our scheme to our players. The last few years we’ve been scoring close to 50 points a game running no-huddle. This year we realized we didn’t have that.

When we modified it our players didn’t question it they just knew the coaches were going to do what they could to help them and they believe in us and it’s really nice as a coach to have that trust with your players.

Question: How has your coaching style evolved in your career? Does the rookie head coach at Rockville in 2005 have this team at 7-2?

Cohen: Probably not. The main thing that I’ve taken away is that you have to modify your system to your players. I think back in the day you get married to the idea of there’s this one way to play football and as you get older you figure out what you need to do for your players this year.

There are some non-negotiables as far as how you’re going to practice, how you’re going to prepare, how hard you’re going to work in practice and in the weight room.

As far as what type of schemes and even what kind of tempo you’re going to run, I’ve learned you have to be extremely flexible. If you saw film of this year on offense and defense and film from last year, you’d think they were two completely different programs.

You would notice in both years that the kids play very hard and are incredibly disciplined and have fun out there.

Question: Beyond the field, what has become the most important part of coaching for you?

Cohen: Just trying to find balance in my life. I have a wonderful family and two young boys that I want to make sure I’m home for. I keep trying to find ways to work smart. I might work less hours than before but I think we’re productive with them.

We try to have that same effect on our players by not having three-hour practices, the all day Sunday staff meetings. I’m just trying to be good in all aspects of my life; be a good dad, be a good husband, led my kids have that time with their families and make sure their keeping up with their studies and finding that balance.

(Steve Oathout)

A league football championship at Frederick seemed far fetched just two years ago. The Warriors finished the year 1-9, including a nine-game losing streak to end the year. Overall, Frederick had gone 2-28 over three seasons.

Then Travis Peeples took over as head coach.

In his first year as the coach of the Warriors the team went 6-4, finishing with their first winning season since 2013. This year has been even more remarkable as the team has gone 7-1 through its first eight games.

The only loss came to Class 3A No. 1 Erie back on Sept. 7. Since then, Frederick has scored an average of 50 points per game and surrendered a total of 42 in that span.

The Warriors climbed to No. 7 in this week’s football rankings and currently sit at No. 10 in the RPI.

The playoffs appear to be on the horizon and as a result, Peeples has been selected as this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Travis Peeples bio

Years as head coach: 4 (23-12)

Years at Frederick: 2 (13-5, 7-1 this season)

Previous stops: Running back coach Miami Killian (Fla.) (1995); Pine Ridge High School (Fla.) (1996-2005); Interim head coach Pine Ridge High School (Fla.) (2001); Defensive coordinator Greeley West (2013); Defensive Coordinator Greeley West (2014); Head coach Aurora Central (2015); Offensive coordinator Cheyenne South High School (Wyo.) 2016; Head coach Frederick (2017-present).

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Question: At what point did you know that you wanted to be a high school football coach?

Peeples: Growing up, both of my parents were physical education teachers. My dad went to the University of Miami on a track scholarship and he was actually on the coaching staff in 1968.

I knew from a young age watching my dad coach football and watching him be a high school P.E. teacher that it was the path I wanted to take.

Question: The turnaround for these last two seasons has been remarkable, what has been the primary reason for it?

Peeples: Coming in as a head coach at a school, I set the highest goals possible. Our goal is to be the last man standing and the best team in the state.

We set a plan for the kids to work really hard and we challenge them along the way. For 12 months out of the year, we challenge them to work hard, play other sports, lift weights, do great in school and we hold them accountable throughout the whole process.

I think the turnaround is a combo of setting high goals, challenging kids to be their best, you work really hard, you reward good work and you build great relationships with kids and the community.

Question: Coming into a program that hasn’t seen a lot of recent success, how difficult is it to get kids to buy into your vision, at least at first?

Peeples: It wasn’t that difficult. Kids have been hard working in Frederick for a long time. They had a great work ethic when I stepped in, they had a great knowledge of football and we just pointed them in a direction and said let’s get going.

Like I said, we challenged them to work 12 months out of the year and get stronger, bigger and faster. We had a great base when we came in and the kids have bought into what we’ve sold and worked really hard and I’m really proud of our success.

Question: Did the energy feel different this year after having success last season?

Peeples: Yeah. We’ve talked about being coach-motivated or player-motivated. Coach leadership and player leadership.

Where we are now, we show up to practice and coach, but all the energy and all the excitement comes from the players and all the accountability comes from the players. I think that’s the highest level of a program when you have player accountability with each other and you have player excitement and the coaches come in and just coach.

Coming into this year, our expectations are to be really good for a long time. So I think we have turned the table in that our kids expect to be good and compete every week to win.

Question: With the playoffs seemingly in sight, do you feel the need to approach those games any differently than what you’ve this year?

Peeples: Every game we approach, we leave no stone unturned as coaches and players. We do everything necessary to make sure we’re prepared. We’re not locked into the playoffs yet, so this game this week is a playoff game for us.

We talk about performing to our highest ability and going out and being ready to go. That’s what we’ve done every week and the kids have met the challenge. I’ve coached for a while and I can tell you that the practices we’ve had here at Frederick High School have been some of the best practices and the most focused kids I’ve had in my career. I’m privileged to be a part of that kind of program.

Question: Is there a point when you get to take a step back and appreciate how much fun these kids are having this season?

Peeples: This is a tight community from the teachers, to the community, to the parents of my kids. It’s really been a family atmosphere.

Sure we’re celebrating success and we’re happy and we celebrate on Friday nights and Saturdays after big wins. But then we get back to work on Monday and it’s business. Frederick is a great place to be. It’s kind of a dream spot for me to be here on the front range in a beautiful community where people are passionate. That’s what we have here.

It’s exciting to be here and it’s an exciting feel that we have with the football program and actually all our sports are kind of on the rise right now.

(Steve Oathout)

Doug Nisenson is having a rebound year to remember. After going 3-7 in his first year as the head football coach at ThunderRidge, he has the Grizzlies playing at level not seen at the school since 2015.

At 7-1 overall, ThunderRidge has gotten gritty wins over teams like Fairview and Highlands Ranch which is good enough to come at No. 8 in the Class 5A CHSAANow.com poll. The Grizzlies are also sitting at No. 14 in the RPI.

Giving up just over 14 points per game is a vast defensive improvement from last year. In 2017 they gave up over 23 points per contest and finished with an overall record of 3-7.

After more than doubling their win total from last year, Nisenson has the Grizzlies rolling and is this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

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Doug Nisenson bio

(Steve Oathout)

Years as head coach: 2 (10-8)

Years at ThunderRidge: 2 (10-8, 7-1 this season)

Previous stops: Assistant O-line coach Tempe High School, Tempe, Ariz. (2008); Offensive/defensive assistant Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Phoenix, Ariz. (2009); 2010 O-line coach Northern Durham, Durham, N.C. (2010); Assistant coach Millbrook High School, Holly, N.C. (2011); ThunderRidge defensive coordinator (2013-16); ThunderRidge head coach (2017-present).

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Question: What got you into coaching?

Nisenson: It was coaches that I had in the past and experience I had. I played at ThunderRidge, I played for Joe Johnson and he and several other coach who were on staff then, and actually a couple who still coach for me now which is a really cool experience, they really just made a difference in my life.

It was a great experience for me that helped become a better person when I was a kid. What got me into it was missing the game wanting to have that kind of impact on other people, or maybe create a culture and environment where people got to say, “I’m so happy I got a chance to be a part of that.”

Question: What is it about your coaching style that you think the kids respond to the best?

Nisenson: I have a lot of passion and a lot of energy. Today in this day in age, kids need to know that you care. They need to know that you care about them as people before you care about them as football players.

I really think that they feed off the energy and they need that a little bit. I think they need the reassurance that they can go do the things you’re asking them to do. That’s been the thing here is building a culture of belief, of putting the work in.

I shouldn’t say building it, I should say get back to it. Obviously this school has had a lot of success in the past and it’s fallen off a bit but we’re getting back to that now.

Question: Did you change anything about your approach after last year?

Nisenson: No. We really didn’t. Even at 3-7, we felt things going in the right direction. One of the things I was really proud of last season was going into our last game and we were 3-6 and out of the playoffs. If you had come to one of our practices and not known anything about us, you wouldn’t have known that.

That’s what I was so proud of. In years past we were very intrinsically motivated. We had kids asking how many games did we think we had to win to get into the playoffs, things like that.

The focus that I’ve tried to put our team on is how do we make sure that we’re competing against ourselves every day. It doesn’t matter what are record is. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Our goal every week is to compete against ourselves and make our best better. That’s the foundation of our culture.

Question: You’ve had a balance of comfortable wins and a few dogfights this year, do the kinds of wins matter when it comes to getting your team ready for the postseason?

Nisenson: Absolutely. It always helps to have an opportunity to be in close games. We played really poorly against Doherty. We had over 500 yards of offense, we just turned the ball over five times. You would’ve liked to get that poor game experience with a close win, it just didn’t turn out our way.

But it was a great experience for our kids because we haven’t had a ton of success the last couple of years. You remember the ThunderRidge of 2013 and prior. You’re talking about multiple state titles, several semifinal appearances, always fighting for a conference championship. That’s not what this team knew of the last couple of years.

I think it was important for us to be 4-0 and have people talking about us and not go out and play to our capabilities. Then we could understand and learn that you have to do that all the time. It’s really easy to focus on having to do better when you’re losing because you’re losing. You have to do better.

You have to focus on how to do better when you’re winning as well. It’s just as important. I think that was an important experience for us.

Would we have liked to get the two-point conversion at the end of the game and learned that lesson on a 29-28 win? Absolutely. But the other thing we always talk about is that the scoreboard doesn’t matter and what’s already happened doesn’t matter. It’s all about responding to what’s happened and how do we do our jobs so that the scoreboard and the win/loss columns work themselves out if we do those things.

That’s really been our message. We’ve gotten to experience that in large wins, in tight wins and in one tight loss. It hurt our kids bad because we feel like it shouldn’t have happened and it’s been a motivator for us.

Question: We’re very close to talking about you being an 8-0 team. What does it say about your players in the way they responded to the Doherty loss?

Nisenson: One of the most valuable things was that we had not been in that situation where we were being talked about a lot, where we were ranked highly and all those types of things. We had to experience that a bit.

And our kids have come back out and recommitted. I felt like that week specifically, we didn’t practice at the same level. We just didn’t. It wasn’t the same. We didn’t have the same energy.

I think our kids got caught up in that we were 4-0, they were 0-4 and they got beat down by a team that we beat. They thought they could go out there, put it in cruise control and beat them. It was a good experience to get in that anybody can get you if you don’t put your best game out on the field.

Since then we’ve gotten back to high energy at practice, much better focus and getting back to the roots of what we’ve talked about going back to the beginning of last year when I took over. As you can see, it’s kind of paid off for us again.

Question: Have you found yourself in a position (either this year or in previous years) where you can almost see the impact you’re having on a kid, especially from a life mindset rather than a football one?

Nisenson: Absolutely and I don’t think it’s just me. I think it’s our entire coaching staff. One of the things I’m most proud of since I’ve been here is the improvement of the academics in our players.

Not just how they’re performing in terms of their grades, but how they are in class. I’m starting to get emails from teachers about how awesome the kids are, how they’re sitting in the front of the room, how they’re participating and asking questions.

There was a lot of cleaning up that had to be done on that side of things. There is still work to be done, but we’ve had a lot of improvement. I’m really proud of that because I believe you can’t sit in class and have no discipline and no effort and expect yourself to give it on Friday night when you’re exhausted and need something.

If you haven’t practiced that discipline and that effort all week in everything you do, you’re not going to be able to do it.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

To the surprise of many, Brett Mertens has the Montrose Indians rolling this year. Sitting at No. 3 in the Class 4A football rankings (and No. 1 in the RPI), Montrose came away with a 54-28 win over Heritage on Friday night to improve to 6-0 on the season.

And it feels like he’s just getting started.

Mertens played his high school football at the 8-man level where he won a state title at Merino.

He knew at that point that football was his future. He made sure his track in college would lead him back to the high school ranks where he could have the same positive impact on kids that his high school coach, John Barber, had on him.

When Mertens talks about his players, one gets the sense that he is successful in that arena.

The Indians will play three of their four remaining games at home and with the way the season has unfolded through six games, have a legitimate shot at being a top seed when the 4A state football playoffs begin.

Mertens is this week’s selection as the Broncos coach of the week

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Brett Mertens bio

Years as head coach: 5 (29-22)

Years at Montrose: 2 (13-4, 6-0 this season)

Previous stops: Offensive coordinator Crean Lutheran (Calif.) (2009-12); Crean Lutheran head coach (2013-15); Montrose offensive coordinator (2016); Montrose head coach (2017-present).

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Question: What got you into coaching?

Mertens: I had a really good experience as a high school football player. My head coach (at Merino) was John Barber who is kind of a legend in 8-man football back in the day.

He just had a way with kids and inspired us to be good. And we had a good experience. I just fell in love with football and we ended up winning a state title and through that process I just fell in love with the game of football so I knew I wanted to stay involved in it. Obviously that led to coaching.

I knew pretty young. I knew in high school that my goal was to be a high school coach. I chose a school that I could get a degree in teach and pursued that path.

Question: You had someone who was great for you in that role, so what do you think it’s like for your players to be coached by you?

(Photo courtesy of Brett Mertens)

Mertens: Oh man. I hope they see someone that is passionate about them as people as well as football players.

I want them to know that we care about them as individuals and the No. 1 goal is not winning. I hope they also see that we are passionate about football and that we want to do the best we can.

Hopefully they see someone who is energetic and loves what they do and wants them to have a great experience.

Question: In a situation like last Friday where you’re playing a top team and you come away with a convincing win, does that help them feel like you’re as invested in them as much as you want them to be invested in you?

Mertens: I think they see that. We spend a lot of time breaking down film and that stuff. It’s a fun job. We ask them to give their full effort and as coaches hopefully they see that we give our full effort too.

I hope they understand that we care a lot about it and we want to help them be successful and it’s not something we take lightly.

I think our whole staff (takes it seriously). I think I have the best staff in the state of Colorado. Hopefully my players see that all the way through and not just with me, but with all our coaches.

Question: In a season where you’re undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the RPI, people might not talk about you as much as other teams. Do you guys like being that team that flies under the radar and has a chance to really surprise some people?

Mertens: We were really flying under the radar early in the year. Now it seems like (we’re noticed) a little bit more.

Loveland and Pine Creek deserve to be ranked one, two. That’s who I voted for.

We’ve had a great season and we’ve won some close game. I think our kids have surprised me with how well they’ve played. We’re pretty and inexperienced and to start the year I wasn’t too sure how we were going to do.

If you had said that we’d be 6-0 and No. 1 in the RPI I would’ve told you that you were crazy. It just goes to show that our kids this year, and I truly mean this, this is the best group of kids I’ve ever had in terms of attitude and effort and just a teamwork standpoint.

I think it shows that when they buy into that, they can achieve more than people thought they could and they can work together and accomplish some pretty cool things.

Question: Heritage coach Tyler Knoblock told me after the game on Friday that he was surprised how strong your team looked after losing a lot of seniors last year. What is it about this group of kids that its able to perform at such a high level?

Mertens: I think the biggest thing is that our leaders, our true leaders who are the kids that the team looks up to, are the most unselfish kids on the team. They’re also some of our best players.

When you get that kind of leadership, it spreads and everyone strives to be like that.

I’ll give you one example. Our two guards on our offensive line were both running backs when they were freshmen. I asked them to move to the offensive line this year. Their attitude has been unbelievable about that. There has been zero hint of selfishness. They just do what’s best for the team. And they’re two of our captains.

It’s that kind of stuff right there that has me encouraged about this particular team. It’s how unselfish they are. They don’t care who scores a touchdown, they just want to be successful as a team.

Question: Do you think a lot of that comes from the culture that you and your staff have built there?

Mertens: I can’t take credit for those kids. We preach all those things, I think every staff does.

I’m the lucky one who gets to coach those kids, that’s the truth.

Some of the kids we have in our program are some of the best young men I’ve ever coached from a character standpoint.

I can’t take credit for the quality men that they are. We preach those things, but that’s a credit to their families and them as people more than our staff.

Question: What’s the ideal ending for this team’s story this season?

Mertens: I don’t want you to give anyone any bulletin board material. It’s been kind of cool because we haven’t really talked about that.

I know every coach says that, but our motto is to go 1-0 this week. So we’re just trying to go 1-0 again this week.

Things take care of themselves when you take care of the little things each week. Everyone’s goal at the beginning of the year is to win a state title, but we haven’t talked about that.

We’re just trying to take care of what we need to do this week.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

To say there’s some history within the Limon football program would be quite an understatement.

The Badgers are the most successful football program in the history of the state, having won 16 outright championships, and tied for another.

It’s under that microscope that Limon exists: The expectation is to win.

That’s something current coach Mike O’Dwyer knows a little bit about: He graduated from the school in 1980, and was part of three state championship teams.

“Coach (Lloyd) Gaskill, obviously, set that expectation, and we’re trying to do the best to follow that,” said O’Dwyer, who is now in his 17th season leading the elite program.

So far, so good this season.

Limon, currently ranked No. 1, has three top-10 wins on its resume so far this season, including two weeks ago against two-time defending champion Strasburg.

O’Dwyer is this week’s selection as the Broncos coach of the week

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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Mike O’Dwyer bio

Years as head coach: 17 (156-31)

Years at Limon: 17 (156-33, 5-0 this season)

Previous stops: Limon junior high coach (1985-87); Limon assistant (1988-2001); Limon head coach (2002-present).

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Question: Why did you decide to get into coaching? What drew you to it?

O’Dwyer: Well, it was actually by accident. I had played football at (Northern Colorado). I came back here, back home — because I graduated from here — and I was working and the superintendent at the time, he said, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you’re our new junior high football coach, and practice starts on Monday.”

That’s kind of how I got into it. It had never really crossed my mind to be a coach, so I kind of feel into it by accident. I coached junior high for three years, and then I was an assistant for 14. Dave Grimes had been the head coach for quite a few years. They asked me if I wanted to be the head coach in 2002. It kind of started from there.

Question: Was there something that made you want to stick with it? What’d you enjoy about it?

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

O’Dwyer: For me, it was the kids. It’s a kids game, and I think it’s the greatest game created for boys, to help boys turn into quality young men. It teaches them that aspect of physical play, and sometimes you’re a little sore and a little beat up, and everyday, you have to go out there and have to overcome some of that. As you do in life: You have to overcome some of those little aches and bruises and you’ve just got to suck it up and go. And I think that the game really helps that transition.

Question: You guys this year are off to a 5-0 start, and are No. 1 in both the RPI and the poll. Not that rankings mean a whole lot right now, but I think it’s because of what you guys have done that people are recognizing that this is a team to beat.

Have you talked to your guys about expectations and handling expectations?

O’Dwyer: We always set up our long-term goals, and really our long-term goals don’t seem to really change. We always talk about we need to win our first game, and that doesn’t mean the first game of the year. That means at some point, you have to win your first game.

And homecoming here is such a big deal, so we have to win our homecoming game, or that’s the expectation. We want to be North Central Conference champions. And then we need to win our first playoff game, because if you don’t win your first playoff game, you’re not going to get a second one.

And then, obviously, to be a state champion.

I think that expectation level is just what is set up here. And I’m sure it is everywhere else, too, but here it’s difficult with those expectations sometimes. Especially from the coaching aspect, because everybody wants their kids to be part of something really special.

We’ve been really fortunate over the years to have that success. Even with our numbers. I think we’re the second-smallest school in 11-man football. That gets really difficult at times when you play the Strasburgs and Florences and Yumas and Burlingtons, and all these schools who are going to have 45-50 kids. I think we have 33. That makes it even more tough for us to do it.

Question: How much of those expectations has to do with the fact that Limon has won the most state championships of any program? Does the community expect that excellence?

O’Dwyer: I think that that’s kind of put into a lot of these young kids. These are kids of parents that went through the program when the expectation was to be a state champion. You know, back in those times, we were probably one of the bigger schools in 11-man football. Coach (Lloyd) Gaskill, obviously, set that expectation, and we’re trying to do the best to follow that.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

I always get teased by some good friends of mine about my assistant coaches. They say, “The first question on your application is: Did you graduate from Limon High School? If you didn’t, don’t go to Question 2.”

(Laughs) Now, that’s not exactly true, but I’m pretty fortunate with the assistants I have. I’ve got three Division I football players that are on my staff. And all four of played college football. One played at CU, and two played at CSU. So I’m very fortunately to be in a situation where I have those assistant coaches that understand that expectation.

Question: What are you expecting out of the North Central League? It’s probably one of the toughest in the state.

O’Dwyer: I really think so, especially this year. It’s always been very tough at the top because you have Burlington and Wray, and now you have Holyoke, who is sitting 5-0 as well.

If you go through what we did in our non-conference schedule, we played Crowley, who was (ranked No. 7). and Meeker, where I think was No. 5 at the time, and we obviously played (two-time defending champion and current No. 2) Strasburg.

Yuma is a much-improved ball team. And then we get Burlington and Wray back-to-back, and then Holyoke. Those three teams are probably going to be top-10 teams. You don’t put a lot of stock in all the rankings, but obviously those are all very good football teams.

That’s going to be the hardest thing, is just to be able to go week-in and week-out to make it through the North Central Conference, because it’s a fairly physical conference. With our numbers, you definitely get beat up just trying to get through your own conference. I really think that the North Central this year … is the toughest conference out there.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Derrick Martin is no stranger to a championship atmosphere. The 2003 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School has been to the very top of the highest mountain when it comes to football.

Among his collection of memorabilia from his time in the NFL are two Super Bowl rings. One with the Green Bay Packers and one with the New York Giants.

Martin’s last season in the NFL was 2013 and it was in March of 2016 that he was chosen to revitalize his alma mater.

This year, his efforts have paid off as he has the Spartans sitting at 4-0 after a 44-0 win over Northfield on Friday.

His path through high school football, a Division I college program and the NFL has been one that he feels fortunate enough to be able to share with kids once stood in his very shoes.

“I can say that most of my (learning) experiences are from high school,” he said. “It’s crazy because not too much has changed at Thomas Jefferson in terms of the hallways so I can put myself in their same environment and guide them and tell them things that I didn’t do that I wish I would have.”

Having the chance to offer up life lesson is just as valuable to Martin as being able to pass on football lessons. He buys into his kids as human beings and not as football players. They’ve rewarded him by taking care of what he asks them to on and off the field.

For that reason, Martin was selected as this week’s Denver Broncos coach of the week.

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Derrick Martin Bio

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Years as a head coach: 3 (20-5 overall record)

Years at Thomas Jefferson: 3 (20-5, 4-0 this season)

Previous coaching stops: None.

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Question: Why do you coach?

Martin: I coach for the kids. I like being out there with the kids just to be out there and drop some knowledge on them and hopefully some lifelong lessons that they can pick up as human beings.

Q: What do you think it’s like for your players to be coached by a former D-I standout and Super Bowl champion?

Martin: I think it’s hard. I have high expectations for my guys and I’ve been in the same situation as a lot of them so I can put myself in their shoes. They know I’m telling the truth. Anything that comes out of my mouth is first-hand experience.

Q: What are your favorite coaching memories?

Martin: Oh man, I don’t know. It was fun to beat (Denver) South this year. South has been a powerhouse in the DPS for several years. To play them for the first time in a long time and beat them was pretty awesome.

Q: Does this experience, especially starting 4-0 this year, let you go back and remember just how much fun the high school football world is?

Martin: Yeah, it’s funny, I was actually talking to one of my former coaches kind of about that. We’re playing a (Class) 3A schedule and I feel like we have the same number of kids that we had back then (when Thomas Jefferson was 4A).

For me, it puts things in perspective of the atmosphere of the 3A, 4A, 5A landscape.

Q: From a football standpoint, how does it feel emotionally when you’ve accomplished something like winning a Super Bowl compared to having a kid grow and develop according to the plan you’ve built for him?

Martin: It’s crazy. I have a running back who I think is the best in the state in Daveon Hunter. He just turned 16. He’s just a kid. We had to tell him his freshman year that he had to workout, he had to watch film and to see that he’s done that and now that he’s on the field and he’s not supposed to be there is an accomplishment.

You give these guys the potion and once they figure it out, it’s astonishing to see how it changes their passion for the game.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Sedgwick County is outscoring its opponents by nearly more than a 10-to-1 margin in the 2018 football season.

The 144 points scored by the Cougars ranks third overall in the 8-man classification, yet head coach describes his team as defensive-minded.

“We don’t change a lot of what we do offensively, but we pride ourselves on stopping teams and getting the ball back,” Michel said. “Part of the reason we’ve scored so many points is we have a short field and we get the ball back quickly.”

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Sedgwick County is on the hunt for a fourth-straight state championship. That’s not too bad for a guy who is in just his fifth year as the head coach of the program.

The players change, but his expectations don’t and when his guys take the field every weekend, they stick to the formula that Michel and his staff have crafted. When the result of the formula is championships, it’s hard to veer too far off the path.

“Over the past however many years that we’ve been successful, we’ve always had good defenses,” he said. “I think that’s really the key. We have players and a system in place that can be successful and can score points, but you can’t do that without the ball and you have to score a lot more points if your defense doesn’t keep them out of the end zone.”

The Cougars beat Akron 42-6 on Friday night. They currently own the longest winning streak in the state at 26 games in a row. On Monday, Michel was the choice for this week’s Denver Broncos high school coach of the week.

The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Chris Michel bio

Years as head coach: 5 (46-6 overall record)

Years at Sedgwick County: 5 (46-6, 3-0 this season)

Previous stops: Merino High School assistant coach (2010-11); Sedgwick County assistant coach (2012-13); Sedgwick County head coach (2014-present).

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Question: Why do you coach?

Michel: Really, I just enjoy being around the kids most of all. Obviously, I love football and I had a high school coach that instilled the love of football and coaching into me, but most of all I just love to be around the boys.

Q: What do you think it’s like for those boys to be coached by you?

Michel: It probably depends on which day you ask them. I think that as a staff overall, we have high expectations of everything both on and off the field. They might say I’m a little intense at times, but like I said we have high expectations for what they do.

They know that I’m extremely competitive and that I want them to be the best person, the best football player that they can be and I’m pretty demanding of that.

Q: What are your favorite coaching memories?

Michel: It’s hard to say. There was one season where we had a couple of firsts for our program at Sedgwick County. It’s existed since around 2006 and I think in 2015 we beat Merino in Merino for the first time ever. That year there were a couple of other firsts like that. So I’d say 2015 because we had those firsts for our program. It was also the first year that we won a state title.

Really though, aside from games and stuff like that, I love to camp with the boys in the summer. Just hanging out and being a team, things like that are what’s most important. I have more stories and memories from road trips and camp than I do from winning games.

Q: What’s the biggest myth about 8-man football?

Michel: I guess the biggest myth is that it’s not real football. We hear that sometimes. We kind of like that people don’t think as highly of what we do. I would take the work ethic and the way our kids do things over a lot of other schools.

There have been years where we’ve scrimmaged an 11-man team and been successful in doing that. Any time you can do that it’s great for us and for 8-man football as a whole. We can show that 8-man teams can compete, we just don’t have the numbers to field an 11-man team at the varsity level sometimes.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Q: What’s the toughest part about maintaining the consistency in your program that has allowed you to win three straight championships in a row?

Michel: Once we got kids to buy into what we’re doing and believe in what we’re doing, we just tried to be consistent on what we do throughout the week. That’s the biggest challenge is getting high school kids to stay focused on what we’re doing day to day with everything else they have going on, whether it’s classes or girls or whatever else they’re dealing with.

That’s the toughest part every time is getting kids to be consistent every day. We don’t have a lot of problems with kids thinking we’re going to win because we show up and because of what we’ve done in the past. We really have kids bought into this idea that we have to work every day.

We’ve had 40-point victories and then the next week had a ton of stuff to work on in practice and they buy into that and they believe that. They don’t rest on what we’ve done in the past. I guess I’m fortunate enough to have to good kids.