LOGAN AND McCAFFREY IN BATTLE FOR 5A TITLE
Before Ed McCaffrey accepted the Valor Christian football coaching job, built a stacked varsity staff with nearly a century of combined NFL experience and led the undefeated Eagles back to the Class 5A championship game, he had numerous, intense conversations with his longtime friend Dave Logan.
Logan, the football coach at Cherry Creek, urged McCaffrey to take the Valor gig.
“Dave was one of the big influences that caused me to apply to the job to begin with,” McCaffrey said. “We talked a lot about it, and he knew it was a passion of mine and that I wanted to serve in some capacity as a coach. … I leaned on him a little bit before I made that decision.”
And now, nearly 10 months to the day since McCaffrey officially took Logan’s advice, the former Broncos broadcasting mates for five seasons will face off in Saturday’s big-school title game at Mile High. McCaffrey’s No. 1 Eagles (13-0) seek an eighth state title as they take on Logan’s No. 3 Bruins (12-1), in pursuit of a 10th crown.
It will be two of the state’s preeminent football icons scheming against each other, with a rookie coach in McCaffrey (a three-time Super Bowl champion with the 49ers and Broncos who never coached at the prep level prior to Valor Christian) standing in the way of Logan’s eighth championship.
“I sit here today maybe not all that, you know, thrilled with myself that I influenced him to actually take the job,” Logan joked at a news conference earlier this week.
McCaffrey, 50, leads the Eagles into the title following the program’s disappointing quarterfinal exit in 2017. Meanwhile Logan, 64, is the only coach in state history to win Class 5A titles at four different schools (Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and Cherry Creek), with the most recent of his titles coming with the Bruins’ defeat of Valor Christian in the dramatic 2014 championship.
And while both coaches have plenty of firepower to game plan with, Logan noted he’s impressed by how quickly the Eagles established cohesion under McCaffrey and his mostly brand-new staff.
“Whenever you take over a program, I don’t care how talented the program is, there’s a process involved,” Logan said. “The players have to get to know you, get to know the new coaches. The job (the staff ) has done there is exceptional. There’re talented for sure, but it takes more than talent to win games.”
Both teams feature Division I quarterbacks, with McCaffrey’s youngest son Luke headed to Nebraska and Cherry Creek’s Alex Padilla pledged to Iowa.
Beyond those top recruits, the Eagles have senior tailback Joshia Davis (CU commit), freshman phenom Gavin Sawchuk (postseason X-factor) and senior middle linebacker Ethan Zemla (three-year starter).
The Bruins possess junior Jayle Stacks, a tailback with burst and power, in addition to a dangerous sophomore in wideout Chase Penry.
A bevy of highly-recruited big men surround the skill talent on both teams, too, including Valor Christian junior Roger Rosengarten (6-foot-7, 275 pounds) and Cherry Creek senior Michael Lynn (6-7 and 300, Nebraska commit) and junior Carson Lee (6-4, 300).
Class 4A
No. 2 Loveland (13-0) vs. No. 9 Skyline (10-3), 11 a.m. Saturday, Mile High
In a rematch from Longs Peak league play Nov. 2 — won by Loveland, 42-14 — early momentum will be critical considering the Indians have dominated every 4A opponent this year. Loveland has won six state titles but none since 2003; the last time Loveland was in the state championship was three years ago, when the Indians had a Cinderella run through the playoffs as a No. 13 seed before falling to Windsor in the championship. But there’s certainly no underdog story line surrounding Loveland this year, as senior tailback Zach Weinmaster paces an offense averaging 419.9 yards and 41.5 points. And while Skyline is making its first title appearance since 1999 — its lone crown came in 3A in 1986 — the Falcons’ highpowered offense highlighted by sophomore quarterback Chase Silva, senior tailback Jeremy Hollingsworth and senior wideout Kyle West gives them a path to victory.
Class 3A
No. 2 Pueblo East (11-2) vs. No. 4 Palmer Ridge (11-2), 1 p.m. Saturday, CSU-Pueblo
In another rematch from the regular season, the defending champion Bears take on the Eagles at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl. Pueblo East topped Palmer Ridge 28-21 in non-conference action on Sept. 7, when senior Kain Medrano (UCLA commit) had three interceptions, one of which was a pick-six, as well as a 41yard touchdown reception. Medrano, dual-threat senior quarterback Luc Andrada and senior linebacker Joe Padula will all be critical in order for Pueblo East to build on its recent gridiron legacy, which features three straight crowns from 2014-16. But the Eagles face a formidable test in containing Bears quarterback Ty Evans (CU commit) for a second time this season, as the senior has a multitude of weapons in the backfield and out wide. Meanwhile, the Palmer Ridge defense is anchored by senior linebacker Jaden Sparks, a team captain and leadership linchpin.