Loveland football hungers for perfection after last year

Loveland football feels the pressure of the playoffs every time the Indians take the field because, the way the Indians see it, every game is a playoff game.

That’s the type of hyperfocus the team must have after last season’s 9-1 record failed to earn it a Class 4A playoff spot, a snub that was a direct result of first year of the ratings percentage index (RPI) being used to determine the state bracket.

“Ever since we figured out that we didn’t make the playoffs, we’ve had our minds set on going 10-0 this year,” said junior tight end and linebacker Trey Cardenas. “Our goal is perfection every night, in every aspect, because we have to prove that one loss can’t be the reason we don’t make the playoffs. We can’t leave anything to chance.”

Loveland, ranked No. 8 in the Prep Power Rankings and slotted at 11th in the latest 2017 RPI, is off to a 4-0 start and playing with the perfectionist mind-set Cardenas describes.

But to truly understand why this season’s Tribe might be equipped to add to Loveland’s football legacy — the program has six state titles to its credit, but none since 2003 — requires a glimpse back to Oct. 30, 2015, a date on which the Indians entered its penultimate regular-season game at 3-5, looking like they had a lost fall in front of them.

Somehow, in a 49-15 victory over a mismatched Adams City squad that night, the Indians found their swagger again. They’ve won 18 of their 20 games since that day, including four more consecutive wins in 2015 before eventually falling to Windsor in the championship game.

“When we got it going toward the end of our season a couple years ago — that’s how we started the run last year, and we want to keep it going this year,” fifth-year coach Wayne McGinn said. “The difference this year is that we’re gelled right now and we already have it going, while a couple years ago at halfway through the season, something just had to click.”

Senior linemen Kyle LeVault (6-foot-1, 240) and Jayden Manu (6-5, 300) set the tone in the trenches for an Indians team that’s deep with skill players, although Manu has been sidelined for the past couple weeks with an injury.

Offensively, junior quarterback Riley Kinney is surrounded by senior running back Zach Weinmaster, sophomore running back Jojo Bork and junior wideout Caleb Smith.

“It’s really hard for people to load up on one or the other,” McGinn said, “because they’ve got to defend both, the run and the pass. And once we get Manu back, hopefully in a couple weeks, we’re going to be really strong.”

Meanwhile, while the Indians’ defense is defined by Cardenas and senior cornerback Karl Dunlap, and the play of that unit — which has just allowed just three touchdowns this season. They’ll continue to be crucial, especially as Loveland’s “circle game” against Broomfield looms Oct. 6 at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium.

The 2016 state runner-up Eagles provided Loveland’s lone loss last year, and while the Indians realize a win over Broomfield would be big for their RPI, they aren’t looking past their upcoming Week 5 bout against Mountain View.

“The week-to-week hard work that we put in is important — we’ve bought into that work ethic, and we’ll see how far that can take us,” Zach Weinmaster said. “All of our guys are excited for that (Broomfield) game, but we’ve got to focus one week at a time, and that starts with a big crosstown rivalry with Mountain View.”

Friday’s affair against the Mountain Lions (2-2) kicks off at 7 p.m. at Ray Patterson Field.