The Erie football team is blinged up for sure this season, but there is a certain piece of jewelry that eluded it last year that is in focus.
As he sat next to a podium full of players whose necks and ears glittered during Denver Broncos Media Day at Empower Field at Mile High, the Tigers’ coach felt slightly left out.
“I left my earrings and necklace at home,” Giger deadpanned as he was flanked by seniors Evan Rearick, Logan Gilmore, Caden Lettis and Trey Khanna and juniors Blake Barnett and Jackson Cowgill.
“Usually we all go around with the bling, that’s how it is in this day and age,” he added. “If you are a quarterback, you have to have two earrings. I think that is a prerequisite.”
That applied to the quarterback sitting to his right in Barnett, who is key to Erie’s quest to add a championship ring after it slipped through its fingers a year ago. The Tigers dropped a 41-34 decision to Chatfield in the Class 4A state championship game at Empower Field, which was the only blemish on a 13-1 season.
Barnett had an outstanding sophomore season under center, but he referenced two interceptions he threw in the championship contest as mistakes he hopes to avoid in the coming season.
“Obviously in the state game I threw two picks, which wasn’t good and led to a ton of bad things,” said Barnett, who also threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 145 yards in the game. “I think if I work on what I do, me being more of a quarterback, less picks will happen and better things will happen.”
Barnett has worked hard in the offseason on throwing the football, hoping to make it even more effective to compliment his abundant speed, which showed itself in many ways. After he rushed for more than 1,000 yards on just 123 carries in the fall, Barnett won the 4A state championship in the 100 meter dash in the spring at the state track meet.
“Obviously it’s a big part of playing football, speed and athleticism, but I think this year I’m trying to work on being a quarterback more than being an athlete,” Barnett said. “Last year, it showed when I relied on my athleticism and not being a quarterback. This year through the spring with 7-on-7 and working with my QB coach Warren McCarty, I think there’s going to be a lot of situations where it will pay off more.”
Barnett will have to make some adjustments in the passing game as Erie graduated five of its top six receivers in terms of yards last season, with Lettis the lone returning player who made double-digit receptions. Lettis made the most of his opportunities in 2021-22 as he racked up 506 yards receiving on just 25 catches and led the team with eight touchdown grabs.
Erie also graduated its leading rusher in Caleb Theisen (who ran for nearly 1,800 yards and 27 touchdowns), but returns several other components of an attack that amassed more than 3,000 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Tigers will also undergo a bit of a change as its top three tacklers departed, but Cowgill had 10 sacks and keys a group that should be able to still rush the passer effectively.
Erie’s schedule has several of quality opponents, including seven that appeared in the 4A or 5A playoffs last season. The Tigers open with a strong Ponderosa team, while a matchup with a Montrose team that the Tigers upset by a single point in last season’s semifinals (when Montrose was the top seed) looms in Week 3 and a tilt with 10-win Loveland program in scheduled for Week 6.
All those things aside, Erie believes that chemistry will carry it through.
“We have a lot in common and have a lot of fun in practice,” Lettis said. “It brings us together as a team and helps us perform a lot better. We have much better unity than last year.”
The Tigers also believe going through an entire offseason under Giger — who was hired away from Brighton at the beginning of last summer — will pay dividends.
No matter how the ring chase turns out, Giger is having a good time with the team.
“I’m loving every minute of it,” he said. “This has been one of the most fun summers I’ve ever been a part of. Every day, they are making it fun.”
