Where good news shines
Back-to-back defeats in the state championship game is going to sting for any teenage athlete.
Fossil Ridge, which lost to ThunderRidge in the 2022 Class 5A final and Denver East Saturday in the Class 6A final, has an ace up its sleeve.
"We thought about this during tryouts: What are you going to do when you lose 10 seniors?" SaberCats coach Matt Johannsen told The Denver Gazette.
"Well, we're going to lean heavy on the JV team that went undefeated this year."
What are they feeding these kids up in Fort Collins, anyway?
It took a historic performance from Denver East at Denver Coliseum to prevent Fossil Ridge from winning the state title. East coach Rudy Carey set a state record with his 10th state title.
But all is not lost for Fossil Ridge (25-3), which loses leading scorer Nick Randall and second-leading scorer Colin Hayes among 10 seniors.
"Everybody asks me, 'How do you keep 10 seniors happy?'" Johannsen said. "But I never had to worry about it with this group."
After all, the JV team went undefeated.
("Colorado Sunshine" celebrates the good news in sports. Suggestions encouraged through Denver Gazette sports editor Paul Klee at paul.klee@gazette.com.)
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