The Erie High School football team is about to get their first taste of 5A league play. Opening the season with a dominant 45-0 win over Brighton before losing two matchups against Ralston Valley and Mountain Vista.
The season’s opening win against Brighton was Erie’s first ever 5A victory after making the jump from 4A to 5A. The win was a great way to open the season and introduce some new key contributors to varsity.
Senior defensive lineman, Aden Arnold stated, “I think my favorite moment from the season so far was my fumble recovery I had against Brighton because it was my first real big play I had on varsity,” Arnold’s fumble recovery was one of three turnovers Erie forced in their 5A debut.
Erie’s next two opponents were both ranked in the top 5 in Colorado and Erie came up short in both matchups. Despite these losses Erie showed signs of promise and flashes of brilliance.
The two losses did not phase Erie as they played their homecoming game against Fort Collins and pulled through with a strong 42-14 win. Erie enters rivalry week against Broomfield with an even 2-2 record.
As for the rest of the season, Senior linebacker Carson Hageman has set his goals for the team, “My goal for the team is to win out and win our conference,” With conference play starting up, this goal is what is driving the Erie team towards success.
Erie is still seen as an elite team, MaxPreps has Erie ranked #13 in Colorado and #11 in 5A. The highest ranked team left on Erie’s schedule is Legacy who Erie will meet in late October.
Senior quarterback Ronin Ward gave his thoughts on who the toughest opponents left are, “Well Broomfield is always going to be tough because it is a big rivalry and were going to Broomfield this year and then Legacy will be tough, they’re a well coached team and seem to always put together a strong team,” Ward is still confident in Erie’s ability to win out.
While Erie’s introduction to 5A hasn’t been perfect, they have shown that they can compete with the best programs in the state. As they prepare for the second half of the season the Tigers still have their eyes on state.
