Durango quarterback Jordan Woolverton gets a lot of time to think to himself. After all, the six-hour drive from the southwest corner of the state to the Denver area where Woolverton receives a lot of his offseason training doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for anything else.
Woolverton isn’t from anywhere on the I-25 corridor, yet is one of the most promising quarterback prospects in the entire state. He’s a walking example that talent isn’t exclusive to convenient locations.
“People think it’s going to be tough to find a guy who can play at the D-I level that’s going to be down here in Durango,” Woolverton said. “I’d say the biggest challenge, especially living down here, is recruitment.”
He has a slew of Division II offers, among them are Colorado State University-Pueblo, but the Division I schools certainly know who he is. Should he decide to head that way, Woolverton will get his chance to join a D-I roster at the University of Colorado.
All he needs is a chance to showcase his ability on the field. And his ability on the field is worth the price of admission. He’s thrown for 527 yards and five touchdowns while adding 149 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He might be defined as a typical “dual-threat” quarterback, but that label fits him more than perhaps anyone else in Colorado this season.
Adding to all that is his toughness. For those not wearing the same uniform as him, he can be annoyingly tough.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
He injured his throwing shoulder early as the Class 3A No. 3 Demons grabbed a 49-21 win over Pueblo County on Oct. 24. But he stayed in the game long enough to help his team build a 21-7 lead at halftime. He scored his lone rushing touchdown of that game late in the second quarter but was clearly in discomfort after the play.
He was removed for the game but wasn’t going to allow himself to sit at all the very next week against Evergreen.
“That first practice that Monday, I sat out of that practice and even sitting out of a practice just kills me,” Woolverton said. “I hate being on the sideline practice, games, it kills me. I couldn’t practice with the guys but I’m not letting this keep me out of this next game coming up. I knew that I was going get in the PT and work hard to get it just healthy enough to where I was able to play.”
And play he did. He threw for 170 yards and ran for 82 on six carries, which included a touchdown. Banged up shoulder and all, Woolverton and his coaches were always going to find a way to make sure he was effective, but also safe.
“I wouldn’t say it adjusted the way I want to play the game,” Woolverton said. “I would say it adjusted our game plan, definitely a bit for how we game-planned against Evergreen. With it being on my right shoulder, my throwing shoulder, there were some throws that I wasn’t able to make as powerful or as on-time as we would need them to be. So we had to limit those kinds of passing plays and focused more on really a short, quick passing attack against them.”
With just two regular season games remaining, the Demons have begun to shift their mentality from grateful for being able to play to closing out a special season with a state championship run.
With Durango off the beaten path, Woolverton and his teammates are trying to accomplish something so special that the Demons are seen as a viable threat on the field and not just an opponent that requires a trip over Wolf Creek Pass to face.
“We don’t want Durango to fall off the map anytime soon,” Woolverton said. “We’re really trying to lead the way for these younger guys and showing them, this is what a brotherhood looks like, this is what everything like in this program looks like. We need to focus on being able to compete with these guys up in the Front Range.”
With three wins already coming against opponents based on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, this specific Durango team won’t be forgotten anymore than they’ll be overlooked for the remainder of the season.
Jake Novotny’s program is finally Jake Novotny’s program. After helping Colorado State University-Pueblo to a Division II national championship, Novotny decided it was time for a new challenge. He wanted to be a head coach.
Novotny was eventually hired at Fountain-Fort Carson after a tumultuous offseason that saw the sudden retirement of longtime coach Mitch Johnson. And while Johnson was a mainstay for the Trojans, and is still highly respected in the community, Novotny has put in the time and the effort to slowly transform FFC into a program guided by the vision of him and his loyal coaching staff.
And this year, the results of that vision are being seen. The Trojans, off to a 4-0 start and behind a fantastic season from running back Q. Jones, are showing that some of the best football in the state is being played off I-25 at exit 128. Following a big win over Pueblo West last weekend, Novotny is being honored as the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Years at Fountain-Fort Carson: 5 (4-0 this season)
Previous stops: Heritage assistant coach (2009-12); Colorado State University-Pueblo assistant coach (2012-16); Fountain-Fort Carson head coach (2016-present).
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Question: Why do you coach?
Novotny: I coach to take young men where they can’t take themselves. I coach to be a role model and a mentor, and really prepare young men to be great citizens, fathers and overall just to be a good person when they graduate. I hope kids, when they leave our program, can say that’s what they’ve gotten out of our program.
Q: Who were some of your inspirations when you were playing that got you going down that path?
Novotny: Number one is my dad. My dad was our coach when I was younger. He was a youth basketball coach. He never was a high school coach, but he always instilled that love and passion for me to want to coach, we’d have conversations at the dinner table with him about it when we were young. I would say my high school coaches Larry Gile and Chris Enzminger and guys like that were great to me when I was younger at John F. Kennedy High School.
Ever since then, I can think of a mentor I’ve had. Mike Greibel, John Wristen, Donnell Leomiti — all those guys have been paramount in mentoring me to be where I am today as a coach.
Q: How big of a challenge did you see it when you accepted Fountain-Fort Carson as your first head coaching job?
Novotny: Given the circumstances surrounding the job, it was definitely a challenge to try and come in with when there was turmoil and different things going on. I didn’t think coaching the kids was going to be a challenge. I didn’t think instilling our philosophy would pose as a challenge. I knew what all those outlined factors would be.
I think that’s also kind of who I am. I’m somebody that likes being challenged and likes to attack something head on really put my stamp on something.
I think the challenge was everything that was surrounding it. It’s paid off tremendously for me and my family just in the experience you’ve had the last four or five years.
To answer it directly, it was a big challenge initially, but I don’t think anything worth having is not going to come with some, some type of challenge or adversity.
Q:You took some lickings your first few years. This is the year where everything kind of seems to come together. How much of that is the kids buying into the program? How much is it that everyone’s healthy? How much of it is it just feels like it’s your year?
Novotny: It’s a little bit of all that. I think 100 percent of it is surrounding our program with good people. We have a great coaching staff. I have 18 coaches and we have not turned over our coaches very much at all in the last five years.
The first year was rough. We had only five and we coached all three levels. Those original five are still with me to this day. And so to me that says a lot about what we’re trying to get accomplished when you have good people that want to stick around and continue to invest in the lives of young people.
That’s a big part of it, having consistency and continuity within our coaching staff because that message gets passed down through all levels.
And then it is everything that you said: It’s a case of buying in. They’re starting to see the benefit of our weight program and our culture that we’re trying to build. All of that is coming to fruition, quite honestly.
We have 30 seniors and their leadership and what our coaching staff has done to develop them as leaders is really the biggest reason why we’re having the success that we are. This group of seniors is really special and they want to leave a legacy.
When you have great leadership and the players are the ones driving the leadership and the culture and the coaches don’t have to, which the first couple of years was very coach driven, when you have those types of things happen, then you have the success translate on the field that we we’ve been lucky to experience this year.
Q: You were very vocal when the opportunity presented itself that the kids should be able to play in the fall. What did you see as the biggest benefit in getting them out there sooner than later?
Novotny: I saw kids in our community, in our program, in our school, I saw them struggling in May and June. The ones that we were lucky to have contact with through Zoom and FaceTime and all the different virtual things that we’ve come to know as the way of life right now, we stayed in contact with our guys as soon as we went on quarantine and kids were struggling mentally.
The up-and-down and the uncertainty of playing or not playing specifically for seniors was really difficult. For us, I think that the benefit is that we’re giving these guys some type of normalcy. We’re giving these guys an outlet away from all of the different things happening in the world that are so up and down and chaotic right now.
That was the biggest thing and giving these, specifically the seniors, a senior year as close to normal as possible. That’s been the biggest benefit and it’s helped our guys as I’m sure it has across the state. It’s helped them tremendously with just their mental makeup and their mental health.
I think that’s been the biggest thing. I see kids smiling and I see — gosh our grades were not where they needed to be when we started this thing. And now our F-list has been cut down by 75 percent and it’s been a good thing.
It’s been a good motivator for our kids in every shape and form. It’s been good for our community and our school. Everyone is excited to be a part of what our kids are doing right now.
Q: What have you learned about yourself and what have you learned about your kids through the COVID-19 pandemic?
Novotny: I’ve learned that our kids are resilient. I’ve learned that they will handle anything that’s put in front of them as long as there’s a clear plan and there is communication. And I think that’s my job.
That’s what I’ve learned the most about myself is that in times of uncertainty and adversity and things that maybe aren’t going the way you want them to, strong but calm leadership and direction and preparedness and communication will help guide you through that. I, as well as my coaching staff, have done a phenomenal job at that.
And I think that’s what I’ve learned most about myself is that no matter if it’s something big like the COVID-19 crisis or something small like a play not going your way in a game that how you approach anything is how your team and those that you are lucky enough to lead will approach it. I’ve learned that, but most importantly, I’m proud of our resiliency of our kids.
Q: I know that everyone sees this season as being fortunate to get out there and get the opportunity to play. Do you see your focus ever shifting to finishing what is turning out to be a special season for you guys?
Novotny: Look, winning is hard no matter what level you play. No matter the circumstances it’s presented with. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to be out there and 100 percent I’m blessed that we are doing that. I’m glad that we’ve been given the green light.
If we’re going to do it, we want to do it the right way. We want to do it to the best of our ability. We don’t ever want to just go out there just to be out there. I don’t think that the circumstances surrounding the season lessen what the season is. And I certainly don’t think there’s any type of asterisk or any type of “yeah buts” when it comes to this season.
If anything, to me, the circumstances surrounding the season make it even that more special because of all the uncertainty and all the different things that we’re trying to balance as coaches and as teachers, that our kids are trying to balance as students and players, trying to stay healthy, not only just through the rigors of the game, but stay healthy through the pandemic and dealing with grades and learning through virtual systems.
All of that stuff has added things that have made this even more of a battle than a normal season would be. It makes it that much more special to be out there and to have any type of success when you get that opportunity.
A quick 7-0 hole turned out to be nothing more than an oversight. Julian Montano took advantage of a poorly executed fake punt to put Pueblo Central up 7-0 early, but Class 3A No. 10 Canon City quickly settled down and rolled to a 42-7 win at Dutch Clark Stadium.
Dylan O’Rourke tied the game on a short touchdown run and Lucas Walcott found Josh Rall shortly after to give the Tigers (3-0 overall, 3-0 South Central League) the lead.
It was an overall banner night for Canon City as O’Rourke ran for two touchdowns while Walcott added two additional touchdown tosses and a rushing touchdown to his statline.
The Wildcats (1-3, 1-3) couldn’t generate any offense through the rest of the game resulting in their second straight loss.
The Tigers are set for a big showdown against No. 5 Pueblo South Friday night.
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8-man:
(1) Sedgwick County 56, (8) Holly 8
The defending 8-man state champions scored 34 points in the first half and rode the lead to an easy Monday night win.
The Cougars travel to No. 3 Merino this week while the Wildcats look to rebound at home as they host McClave.
(7) Crowley County 38, Springfield 6
Adam Schultz and Hayden Lasley exchanged scores early to lock the game in a 6-6 tie. But a costly fumble late the first quarter gave the Chargers the spark they needed. They scored 32 unanswered points to improve to 3-0 on the season.
They’ll have their hands full this week as they travel to No. 2 Fowler on Friday.
Calhan 48, Byers 14
Calhan rebounded with a close loss to Simla last week with an overall impressive performance against Byers. Both teams are now 2-2 on the year heading into this week’s games. Calhan travels to Dolores Huerta while Byers hosts Elbert.
Offenses ran wild during the 6-man matchup between Granada and Cheraw on Friday. Or “threw” wild, rather.
The two teams combined for 14 touchdown passes in their game, which ended in a 67-60 Granada win. The total sets the state record for combined passing touchdowns in a game. The previous record was 12, set by Revere and Arickaree in 1996, and later tied by Poudre and Brighton in 2013.
“It was a very, very wild football,” Granada coach Traegon Marquez told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show on Friday. “A fun one to be a part of. But ‘wild,’ I think, is a mild way to put it.”
Cheraw actually led the game 60-45 going to the fourth quarter, but Granada scored 22 unanswered points to win.
Other marks from the game that found their way into the record book:
Both quarterbacks — Granada’s Dominic Coleman and Cheraw’s Cade Phillips — threw seven touchdowns. This mark is tied for the ninth-most in state history among all classes.
Coleman also had a rushing touchdown, which meant he had eight total in the game. This is tied for the 14th-most in state history.
Coleman and Phillips have each also now thrown 11 touchdowns over the past three games. This is the 12th highest in state history.
Phillips has thrown 15 touchdowns in the past three games. This is the 14th-most in state history.
Coleman has thrown 14 touchdowns in the past three games. This is the 16th-most in state history.
ARVADA — It was a bit of a scary first half on Halloween at the North Area Athletic Complex for the No. 4 ranked Pomona Panthers.
While Pomona’s defense allowed rival Arvada West only one first-down in the first half, the Panthers’ offense only mustered up a 26-yard field by senior Joevannie Rosales and 3-yard touchdown run by senior Jack Pospisil. Pomona held a 10-0 lead at halftime.
Pomona senior Jack Pospisil (2) rolls out to get off a pass as Arvada West junior Xavier Nail (10) closes in. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We started off slow with a lot of penalties and mistakes. That held us back,” Pomona junior Chase Muller said. “In the second half we played good.”
Muller was the spark Pomona’s offense needed. The two-way player — running back and safety — scored on touchdown runs 45, 25 and 28 yards in the second half to power the Panthers to a 33-14 victory.
While A-West (1-3, 0-3 in Class 5A Jeffco) has perhaps closed the gap between the Wildcats and Panthers, Pomona (4-0, 3-0) still completed the sweep for the Arvada City Championship title between Arvada West, Ralston Valley and Pomona.
“Their (A-West’s) Columbine game was close. They lost against Mullen because of a couple of big plays,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said after coaching in his 300th career game. “They have fought hard all year. I think Brad (Pyatt) has done a great job. They came after us.”
Pomona’s defense came after A-West sophomore quarterback Ethan Cook, who was getting his first start under center for A-West. Facing one of the best defensives in the state that already has a pair of shutout victories under its belt, Cook struggled early.
The sophomore did break-up the shutout bid with a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Andrew Martinez with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
Pomona junior Junior Gonzales (52) and senior Juju Howard (41) apply pressure on Arvada West quarterback Ethan Cook (8). The Panthers’ defense was stout in the 33-14 victory over the rival Wildcats. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“He (Cook) is going to be a great quarterback. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” A-West coach Brad Pyatt said. “He has a bright future.”
Pomona did get the final lick in on Cook. Seniors Juju Howard and Marcus Geypens combined for a sack of Cook in the end zone for safety in the fourth quarter.
“The defense is really playing well. It’s exciting,” Madden said. “It’s fun to watch and makes calling offensive plays a lot easier. You know your defense can go out there and get a stop.”
Pomona has plenty of player makers on defense. Senior Jayson Barber had an interception that set up Muller’s second touchdown run in the third quarter.
“We have so much talent on this team,” Muller said.
Pomona has a short week, hosting Mullen (1-2, 1-2) on Thursday, Nov. 5, at NAAC. The regular season has been building toward a showdown against No. 3 Columbine (4-0, 3-0) on Thursday, Nov. 12, at Jeffco Stadium.
However, Madden knows his team can’t look past Mullen.
“I’m happy with where we are at, but we have to make sure we understand the Mullen is the big game,” Madden said. “We can’t be thinking about Columbine. Mullen is the big game. We proved today that if we don’t come out with everything we’ve got we can be in a dogfight.”
A-West is on a three-game losing streak after a Week 1 victory, but Pyatt is excited about the future of the program.
“I’m proud of how we fought,” Pyatt said. “Our culture is changing. We are losing games, but we are battling.”
Arvada West sophomore quarterback Ethan Cook (8) attempts to hold off Pomona senior Connor Walklett (54) from getting a sack during the first quarter Saturday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
