Stratton/Liberty returns as the defending 6-man football champion. (Tom Bredehoft)
Any football coach will tell you that without season long on health or depth, a team’s fate can go downhill fast.
That’s why Stratton/Liberty coach Toby Kechter greets preseason practice with mounds of optimism.
Kechter, who’s in his third year as head coach for the consolidated team and defending 6-man state champions, expected 15 players for fall practice.
More importantly, “We’re really deep in the big guys,” he said.
Whether it’s 6-man, 8-man or 11-man football, it all starts up front.
Anchoring that line is 6-1, 235-pound sophomore Chase Flynn, who’s lost 40 pounds since his state-placing freshman wrestling season.
Kyle English, left, is back for Stratton/Liberty. (Tom Bredehoft)
He’ll pave the way for senior running back Kyle English, who rushed for 1,500 yards and more than 40 touchdowns in leading the Eagles to the state title, their first since winning the 8-man crown in 2003.
The 44-40 victory over Hi-Plains was even sweeter considering it was the Patriots who knocked Stratton/Liberty out of the 2012 playoffs on a Hail Mary pass.
The Eagles return three starters on both sides of the ball, including English, a solid all-around athlete who is also the defending 1A state long jump and triple jump champion.
“We were balanced (last season),” Kechter said. “We had three kids who could’ve taken over (at any time).”
That’s a good sign, considering two starters, Trent Worden and Kade Drescher, missed the playoffs with injuries. Both will be back a little hungrier.
As for the 6-man classification, “There should be a lot more parity,” Kechter said.
Arickaree/Woodlin will give the Eagles all they can handle in the East Central Conference, as will Otis and rebounding Idalia, the latter having won eight state titles in the previous 16 seasons.
Stratton/Liberty, ranked No. 1 in the preseason, has two tough nonconference opponents in Eads and Cheyenne Wells, both expected to vie for playoff berths out of the Southeast Conference.
With Walsh, Cheyenne Wells and Manzanola dropping to 6-man, Eads and Kit Carson will get plenty of challenge in the Southeast Conference. Walsh won five consecutive conference titles in its five previous seasons in 8-man.
Miami-Yoder and South Park also drop a class from 8-man, joining the Central Conference.
“The eight teams that make the playoffs should be quality teams,” Kechter said.
Hi-Plains will get a challenge from Otis and 2011 and 2012 state titlist Fleming in the East Central Conference.
Prairie and Peetz are looking to make return playoff appearances from the North Conference. The Southwest Conference will attempt to make inroads in the playoffs but faces an uphill battle.
Paonia won last season’s 1A football championship. (Eric Goold)
The nature of small town football is pretty simple when described by Paonia football coach Brent McRae.
As coach of the defending Class 1A state champion Eagles, McRae doesn’t have to look far to detail why his team won the state championship, reeling off 10 dominant wins in a row and eventually topping Centauri in the state championship.
“Everything we do starts up front,” McRae said.
The coach, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason, can again sleep better knowing that one of the toughest front sevens returns nearly everyone.
The Eagles run a double tight set, with seven guys tasked at blocking up front. Most of those guys return this year, led by returning all-staters Josh Kimball (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) and Dylan Geisler (5-11, 205).
The team also returns Joel Simianer, Tyler Denison, Chase Park and Logan Schopp up front.
There is a competition at center, but McRae has a couple of 300-pounders battling for that spot.
“They’re country boys,” McRae said. “They work hard all summer. That’s just the way they are. Put any back behind that line and you’re going to gain some yards.”
That was the case last year as Paonia averaged more than 310 yards a game. It’s low was 149 yards in an early season loss to Centauri. When the running game is working like that, the game becomes a lot easier, McRae said.
The Eagles never threw more than 13 attempts in any game and finished with 4,071 yards rushing and 44 touchdowns.
“They enjoy the time they have up front,” McRae said.
The Eagles, though, will be challenged again. Centauri, Buena Vista, Resurrection Christian, Meeker and Burlington should all be in the conversation as teams to watch.
But don’t count out Paonia, especially with the group it has up front. McRae said they’re in the conversation as a favorite because of what happens with that talented group that opens up holes.
“It’s a good group of kids that want to play football, win football games and just want to enjoy football,” he said.
Manitou Springs is ranked No. 4 in the preseason. (Courtesy of Larry Ferguson/Pikes Peak Bulletin)
The first loss for the Manitou Springs Mustangs couldn’t have come at a worse time last season.
In 2013, the Mustangs ran the table through their regular season schedule and earned the No. 2 seed heading into the 2A playoffs.
They cruised by Jefferson in the first round, then emerged from a tough battle with Kent Denver in the quarterfinals. A week later, it was on their home field that the Mustangs fell for the first time in 2013, losing 13-7 to eventual Class 2A champion Platte Valley.
While the Mustangs have a solid group of returning players in 2014, they’ll enter the season looking nothing like the semifinal team they were last year.
In January, coach Danny Gieck stepped down from the position in order to focus more on his family and overall duties to the district. After an extensive search, the Mustangs — for the first time since the retirement of longtime coach George Rykovich — hired an outsider. Former Palmer Ridge coach Monte Gutowski took the position and looks maintain the level of success the Mustangs found in 2013, but will do so with a different approach.
“I don’t think (anyone else’s expectations) matter, I think that within our team — what our team goals are and us as a coaching staff — are the things that we need to focus on,” Gutowski said. “Everybody external is going to have their own opinion and that’s rightfully theirs but that’s none of my business. I don’t care what their expectations are, I care about what my expectations are for my club.”
New Manitou Springs coach Monte Gutowski. (Courtesy of Larry Ferguson/Pikes Peak Bulletin)
The most notable difference for Gutowski’s Mustangs from those of the past will be the absence of the single-wing offense. The “wildcat” style offense was first utilized by Rykovich and carried on through the short coaching careers of CHSAA hall of famer Justin Armour and Gieck.
Gutowski is a fan of varying formations and uses a lot of pistol in his offense, which he will bring to Manitou.
“Everybody gets all wigged out with the pistol, but it’s still just a short shotgun,” he said. “We’ll have a power running game with zone read-type concepts and things like that involved.”
The new offensive style won’t be hard for the Mustangs to grasp, Gutowski insists. He was able to work with the team during a summer camp and started to implement the necessary components of the offense, which the team responded well to.
He’ll use the time between the start of official practices and the Mustangs’ first game (Aug. 29 against state runner-up Faith Christian) to fine-tune his offense and hopefully work out any kinks the Mustangs may have. Gutowski remains confident that the Mustangs will have few issues transitioning into a new system, mostly because of the athleticism he has found in his team.
“Skill-wise, a lot of the skill guys that are back have really good overall team speed,” he said. “I think it fits them, being able to do some of the things I’m asking them to do and letting them be the athletes they are not over-coaching them.”
The Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, hope to repeat as Tri-Peaks league champions, but face a tough non-league schedule in Faith Christian, Woodland Park, Buena Vista and Eaton. Their first league game will be played on Sept. 26 when they host La Junta.
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Class 2A football
Defending champion: Faith Christian
Runner-up: Platte Valley
Returning All-State players: Caleb Creech, Sr., Platte Valley; Jonathan Cretti, Sr., Bennett; Ryan Fitzgerald, Sr. Aspen; Jaden Franklin, Sr., Kent Denver; John Jordan, Jr., Bennett; Connor McCain, Sr., Faith Christian; Ethan Rose, Sr., Sterling; Kyle Rosenbrock, Sr., Brush; Jacob Smith, Sr., Strasburg
Dayspring Christian’s Kylar Mai is back, but he’s moving to halfback this season. (Dennis Pleuss)
Considering the consistency Dayspring Christian Academy has exhibited in the past decade, it’s safe to say the Greeley school has some things figured out.
“You’re asking 8,555 questions about (the state championship) and we don’t talk about it,” Eagles coach Mick Holmes said.
OK coach.
But how are things changing after an undefeated season last year?
Pretty strikingly, actually.
All do everything quarterback Kylar Mai — he of 1,458 yards passing and 22 touchdowns and 2,308 yards rushing and another 37 touchdowns — returns but won’t be under center.
He’s making a full time switch to halfback.
“He’s our best ball carrier, but he struggled at times to throw the ball,” Holmes said. “He did adequate throwing the ball.”
In his place the Eagles are trying out a trio of different quarterbacks to fill in. The move, Holmes said, started being discussed this summer among the staff.
As the chats continued, it continued to make more sense.
It’s also partly because Mai hopes to play beyond high school and Holmes said his future isn’t as a quarterback but as a running back.
The move though is risky.
Mai was a one-man, 8-man wrecking machine last year, saving possibly his best game for the state championship game against Caliche.
There Mai threw for 147 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 28 carries for 295 yards and another two touchdowns.
“I can’t answer if it will work out,” Holmes said. “The jury is still out. We have two kids that throw the ball better than him.”
If nothing else, Dayspring knows what it takes to have playoff success. Coming out the Plains League — the toughest in 8-man — Dayspring consistently is a contender for a state title.
Having won two of the past three, though, Holmes said 8-man can be fickle. He points to a 2012 first round exit in the playoffs where the Eagles had eight turnovers and to last year’s 35-28 win against Caliche in the state championship.
There, Caliche had the ball in the red zone three times and came away with three turnovers.
“My philosophy is this: We don’t talk about the state championship ever,” Holmes said. “We talk about working hard and taking care of things we control.”
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8-man football
Defending champion: Dayspring Christian
Runner-up: Caliche
Returning All-State players: Brody Donoho, Dayspring Christian, senior; Kylar Mai, Dayspring Christian, senior; Jon Wiseman, Dayspring Christian, senior
A group met at the CHSAA office on Wednesday to discuss the epidemic of arm injuries in baseball. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — A panel of coaches, administrators, trainers and doctors met at the CHSAA office on Wednesday evening in search of a solution to the influx of arm injuries which have plagued youth baseball recently.
“Whether it’s Colorado, whether it’s Arizona, or whether it’s Alaska, it’s all the same story: it’s all about arm injuries,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann, who oversees baseball and headed the meeting. “And, these injuries are more than just the UCL (elbow), but include other arm injuries.”
The group met for an hour and a half, with the goal of setting the groundwork to change the pitching rule in Colorado high school baseball.
Currently, players may not pitch more than 12 innings in three consecutive days. That applies in the regular season and the playoffs. Partial innings are rounded up to whole innings. A pitcher may not appear in more than 70 innings during the regular season. There is no innings limit in the postseason.
The consensus among the gathered was that on top of a rule change is a need for more education among parents and players.
Quickly, though, it became clear that any solution can’t just come from the high school ranks. The sport will need buy-in from outside-school club coaches who deal with athletes during the summer, fall and winter baseball seasons.
“No matter what we do in any of our efforts, how we try to control our corner of the world, so-to-speak,” said Fossil Ridge coach Mark Findley, “we’ve got to have both sides in the room.”
“There has to be co-existence,” added Mark Knudson, who pitched in the Major Leagues for 12 years and now writes for Mile High Sports. “The club coaches have to be on board, too. There’s got to be communication.”
Said Cotopaxi coach Ryan Christensen: “This is baseball. This isn’t high school versus club. This is about the kids. How do we get them all on the same page?”
Because even if CHSAA were to implement any range of the ideas batted around Wednesday — including stricter innings and pitch-count limits, an inability to re-enter the game at a different position after pitching — it won’t make a difference if the athletes aren’t following similar standards during their club seasons.
“If we’re the smallest season (at 19 games), and we’re the only one that’s going to monitor these kids’ arms … that’s a 19-game window and the reality is we’re talking about (a whole year),” said Fairview coach Rick Harig.
So what to do? Many coaches in the room were in favor of extending the high school season — possibly to as long as 40 games — which would allow them to monitor their players for longer.
Everyone on the panel agreed that one of the biggest contributing factors to arm injuries was the fact that these athletes are playing baseball — and pitching — year-round. They would like to see kids playing multiple sports.
“Scouts nowadays are talking about kids who play three sports,” Knudson said.
A longer season would also allow for a more relaxed pace, and more development.
“As far as the spring is concerned, we get 19 games, and every one of the is like Game 7 of the World Series,” said Findley, who later added, “More games sounds like, ‘Well more games means more pitching.’ No, it means we have to develop more pitchers.”
Other ideas discussed at Wednesday’s meeting:
• Have an outreach at the coaches’ clinic to educate them on arm injuries.
• Extending the current season-long innings limitation to the postseason, as well.
• Lowering the 12-inning limit over three days to be more strict.
“If (the 12-inning limit) is going on an on-going thing, that’s way too much. That’s abuse,” Harig said.
• Changing the culture of the sport to where athletes aren’t only seeking treatment after the injury has done devastating damage.
“A lot of times, baseball athletes don’t come in until it’s too late, until that last game or that last state tournament,” said Dr. Aaron Provance, who works at Children’s Hospital Colorado and is on CHSAA’s sports medicine committee.
• A rule where catchers can’t pitch, and pitchers can’t catch, in the same game. This is especially relevant in smaller schools.
“If we play a double-header, very often the pitcher pitches the first game, and (the pitcher and catcher) switch the second one,” Christensen said.
• Simply changing positions during club seasons, where pitchers play first base or outfield. Or if an athlete pitches in the spring and summer seasons, they don’t pitch in the fall.
“More throwing and less pitching,” Knudson said.
Eventually, the group would like to forward a recommendation on to the baseball committee for consideration. There is a lot of work to be done before that step, though.
“I think this will be an interesting debate, an interesting topic, as we go through it,” said Robert Framel, athletic directer at Palmer who chairs CHSAA’s baseball committee.
The group will met again in mid-September. On the agenda, according to Borgmann, will be invitations to private coaches, as well as a presentation on the statistics surrounding arm injuries.
In a neat showing of sportsmanship, four Class 5A Highlands Ranch-area football teams will meet Thursday to watch When The Game Stands Tall, a movie based on a high school football team in California.
Players from Mountain Vista, ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon and Highlands Ranch will gather at the AMC Highlands Ranch 24 to watch the movie on Thursday night. The event was organized by the schools’ head football coaches — Ric Cash, Joe Johnson, Brian Lamb and Mark Robinson, respectively.
When The Game Stands Tall focuses on De La Salle High School’s success over 12 years, which included 151 straight wins from 1992-2003. It is based on a 2003 book of the same name.
In recognition, said Pat McCabe, athletic director at Mountain Vista, “These programs have collectively earned the Continental League Sportmanship Award for the month of August.”
Here’s a trailer for the movie:
Short stuff
With the season starting, we’ve completed our previews of every classification of every sport. You can find them all here.
Plenty of good news coming down the pipe for hockey. Stay tuned.
Our weekly live chat will be heading on the road to kick off the football season this Friday. We’ll be at Montrose vs. Grand Junction.
There was an intriguing meeting at the CHSAA office on Wednesday night where a panel of experts sought to find solutions to the arm injury problems which have plagued youth baseball of late.
Quarterback Dante Sparaco, who is just set to start his sophomore season at Glenwood Springs, has received a scholarship offer from Colorado State, according to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. He’s already 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. According to the Post-Independent, Sparaco has also been receiving interest from Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, USC and Florida State. Sparaco threw just five passes last season, but is expected to start this season, according to the paper.
Erie has new turf for its all-purpose field. The old turf was damaged in last September’s flooding.
MaxPreps compiled the longest road trips of the 2014 football season. Trips to Florida for Littleton, Dakota Ridge and Columbine check in at No. 7. (Other Colorado schools, such as Monarch and Chatfield on Thursday, are also going to Florida, but they did not make the list.)
The NFHS released 2013-14 participation numbers this week. As excepted, they grew once again, this time to 7.8 million. Our Bert Borgmann did some research and found that while Colorado ranks 25th in number of member schools, the state is 20th in students who participate in high school sports.
Here’s a nice feature on Regis Jesuit graduate Missy Franklin in The New York Times.
Two Colorado products were named to Athlon Sport’s preseason All-Freshman Team. JK Scott, a 2014 graduate of Mullen, is the first-team punter, while Daniel Carlson, a 2013 graduate of The Classical Academy, is the first-team kicker. (The team includes redshirt freshmen, as well.) In a somewhat related note, Mullen has new goalposts.
High praise (I think?) for former Denver South standout Phillip Lindsay: CU football coach Mike MacIntyre said “he is the Tasmanian Devil.” Lindsay is turning heads during fall camp, according to the Denver Post. Here’s another detailed feature on Lindsay.
Montrose football is seeking a return trip to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Mike Rocha is redefining the role of a fullback.
At 6 feet, 212 pounds, the senior-to-be at Montrose presents a plethora of problems for opposing defenses. Rocha does enough damage helping pave the way for the team’s other backs, but he’s most dangerous when he has the ball in his hands.
“He’s got enough speed where he really can hurt you,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier said. “It’s pretty unique to have a fullback have 1,600 yards rushing.”
That’s putting it lightly. Rocha was one of the driving forces behind Montrose’s punishing rushing attack last fall, piling up 1,572 yards on the ground to go along with 27 touchdowns. As a team the Indians accrued more than 4,600 rushing yards on their way to the Class 4A state championship game before falling to Pine Creek 49-14 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver last November.
Montrose’s Mike Rocha, left, rushed for 1,600 yards last season. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
“It was a whirlwind tour,” said Casebier, whose squad traveled over the mountains on five occasions last fall and made two more hour-long trips to Grand Junction. “Having the opportunity to play where the Broncos do and for a state championship, those are special things that don’t happen very often.
“At the same time we’re disappointed with how we played against Pine Creek, but they had a lot to do with that.”
Headed into the 2014 season, which Montrose kicks off Aug. 22 at home against Grand Junction, the mission is to find a way back to Sports Authority once again. The Indians are ranked No. 2 to begin the year.
They have Rocha and quarterback Kameron Devincentis back, along with experience up front in all-state lineman Matt Maestas, tackle Andrew Doney, guard Kaden James and tight end Kolby Martinez.
“I call them the dogs up front,” Rocha said. “Without them I wouldn’t be at 1,600 yards. They’re the base of our offense and without them we’d be nothing.”
Montrose did graduate a key offensive weapon in Angelo Youngren, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 13 TDs, but the team has Nick Foster and Dalton Wright ready to fill his shoes.
Devincentis threw for 1,054 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 374 more yards.
“He’s kind of the catalyst that makes things go,” Casebier said of his quarterback. “He had a really good season as a junior and we’ll ask him to do more as a senior. He’s a savvy kid who makes plays.”
Maestas and Donny Adams return on the defensive line, where they will be joined by Kadin McPherson and Cayden James. Foster and Mitch Freismuth anchor the secondary.
Montrose’s Kameron DeVincentis during practice this fall. (Tom Hoganson)
Lucas Ruiz-Diaz returns at kicker, where he was 6-for-6 on field goals as a sophomore.
The Indians make the move from the Southwestern League to a Foothills League that includes five schools from the Colorado Springs area. The travel won’t change, but the competition will be just as fierce.
“We’re happy the Foothills League allowed us to be in with them,” Casebier said. “We know it’s going to be a good challenge.”
That league slate and a tough non-league schedule should help prepare Montrose as it attempts to make a return to the title game.
“I think it was a big move for Montrose and just the whole program. Last year was just a Cinderella story,” Rocha said. “I think everybody thought it can’t happen, but now it shows it can — a small team from the Western Slope can go all the way and make it.
“Last year was crazy but now it’s just an inspiration to get back and actually pull through.”
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Class 4A football
Defending champion: Pine Creek
Runner-up: Montrose
Returning All-State players: Avery Anderson, Sr., Pine Creek (1st); Connor Durant, Sr., Standley Lake (1st); Tommy Lazzaro, Sr., Pine Creek (1st); Matt Maestas, Sr., Montrose (1st); Mike Rocha, Sr., Montrose (1st); Kidd Soole, Sr., Monarch (1st); Nathan Spinuzzi, Sr., Pueblo South (1st); Braxton Thais, Sr., Dakota Ridge (1st).
Regular Season begins: Aug. 21
Playoffs begin: Nov. 8
Championship: Nov. 29 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver
Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin, far left, will guide the Chargers high-powered offense led by returning starting quarterback Kyle Winkler, middle, and running back Michael Callahan-Harris, far right. The Chargers averaged nearly 40 points per game last year as Winkler threw for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns. Callahan-Harris rushed for 1,296 yards and 15 touchdowns during their junior seasons. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Chatfield appears primed to join the group of Class 5A football state title contenders this season.
The Chargers come into the fall with one of the most explosive offenses in the state headed by three-year starting quarterback Kyle Winkler and returning running back Michael Callahan-Harris. Chatfield’s quick-paced offense averaged nearly 40 points per game last season.
“We found something that both coaches and players enjoyed,” Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin said. “When you play fast you are able to utilize all the athletes you have. Our goal is the find the little things we didn’t do well and improve on those. The sky is the limit I think.”
Winkler threw for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns during last year’s 8-3 campaign that ended with a second-round playoff loss to Pomona. While statistics are nice, Winkler is focused on the big prize his senior season.
Chatfield senior quarterback Kyle Winkler put up some impressive passing numbers last season. Winkler was 188-of-276 for 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns during his junior campaign. (Dennis Pleuss)
“Obviously I just want to win a state championship,” said Winkler, who is looking at possibly continuing his football career at an Ivy League school after graduation. “The individual stuff really doesn’t matter to me as long as we win.”
Callahan-Harris became the Chargers’ workhorse at running back by midseason when starting back Brendan Murphy was limited because of injury.
“I knew once Murphy got hurt I was going to have to step it up and play at the level that he did for the past two seasons,” Callahan-Harris said. “I knew I could do it.”
Callahan-Harris did do it, carrying the ball 157 for 1,110 yards and 14 touchdowns in Chatfield final six games in 2013.
“To be honest, I wasn’t surprise at all,” McGatlin said. “We knew when Michael came in as a freshman he was extremely talented. He has the greatest vision I’ve ever seen. He has a burst of speed you don’t see from many backs.”
Chatfield returns seniors Sean O’Dell and Brayden Gilbert to lead the receiver core. McGatlin believes O’Dell is one of the top all-around athletes in the state and Gilbert has been playing football with Winkler since the fifth grade.
While the offense has the potential to be even better than last season, McGatlin knows it takes more than just a high-powered offense to make a run at a state title. The Chargers are ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll.
Chatfield senior Michael Callahan-Harris had a remarkable final six games last season carrying the ball 157 times for 1,110 yards and 14 touchdowns. (Dennis Pleuss)
“More than anything else we want to step up our defense and special teams. I think our expectations are to make sure we aren’t just a one-dimensional team,” McGatlin said. “We realize to compete in our league having a great offense is wonderful, but looking at last year it didn’t win us a state championship or even a league championship.”
Three-year starter Matt Gaiter and junior Maurice Barley will anchor the defensive line for the Chargers.
“Both kids (Gaiter and Barley) had a great off-season in the weight room,” McGatlin said. “You realize that if you don’t have a defensive line you are going to struggle on defense.”
McGatlin expects Jake Carstensen to be the leader of the defense that will focus getting the ball back to the offense more often this season.
“We are going to play a lot more aggressive on defense,” McGatlin said. “We are going to run more three-men fronts and bring more pressure to force more turnovers.”
Chatfield will play in the newly formed 5A Jeffco League that features seven Jeffco squads and Mullen.
“We know that we have a long ways to go. This is a good core group of guys, but you have to beat those guys. Those teams have all made deep runs into the playoffs,” McGatlin said of Chatfield’s conference foes. “We’ve had some big wins and had some wins in the playoffs, but we haven’t made that deep run into the playoffs yet. That’s the next step.”
The Chargers’ first step this regular season will be a trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida during Zero Week to face Everglades High School on Thursday.
Football fans attending Chatfield’s home football games at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood should get their money’s worth this upcoming season. Running back Michael Callahan-Harris (far left), quarterback Kyle Winkler (middle) and coach Bret McGatlin is hoping to get the Chargers in contention for a 5A state football championship run. Chatfield’s lone state football title came back in 2001 when the Chargers were coached by Dave Logan. (Dennis Pleuss)
