The Erie Tiger football team has officially wrapped up their first regular season in 5A. Finishing the regular season 8-2, the Tigers earned the ninth seed for the playoffs.
The Tigers will face Overland in the first round of the playoffs Friday, November 8th at Tiger Stadium. Overland finished with a 6-4 record. In terms of who Erie is looking forward to playing, Senior Carson Hageman explains, “I don’t really care who we face, I’m just excited to get the ball rolling in the playoffs.” Hageman emphasizes his confidence entering the 2024 postseason, as it will be his last season playing as an Erie Tiger.
Last time the Tigers were in the playoffs, they started with a dominant win over Rampart on their way to eventually being crowned the 2023 4A state champions.
But, the competition has gotten much tougher. Moving up a division is bound to have its challenges, but Erie was given one of the toughest non-conference schedules in Colorado.
Within the first three weeks of the season Erie faced two of the current top-5 teams, Mountain Vista and Ralston Valley. Erie played a fantastic and close game with Ralston Valley before the 43-point loss to Mountain Vista.
Entering the playoffs Erie is on a 7-game win streak while averaging a whopping 41 points per game in that span, even more impressively they have held their opponents to an average of 10 points a game. Both the offense and defense have been rolling.
Erie players like junior tight end Gabe Sema have already locked in their goal for the end of the season. “My goal for the team is to win state and my personal goal is to pick up an offer.” Standing at 6’3 and 230 pounds it’s hard to imagine any college team not wanting Sema on their roster.
But for other players like senior cornerback Dylan Firebaugh this season is about more than just winning. “I think I just want to enjoy one last playoff run with my teammates, we’ve been playing together for four years so I want to soak up my last minutes with them.” Firebaugh has put together an impressive season including a game sealing interception against Broomfield.
Erie will try to build off of last year’s championship and win their first ever 5A ring. No matter how Erie ends the season the staff, students, and coaches will be proud of their team.
