IT’S “SHOW” TIME
Vista Peak Prep gets its season
The parking lot outside Vista Peak Prep was converted into a makeshift football practice field this week with orange cone yard-markers, puddle hazards and snowbank end zones.
If a global pandemic couldn’t stop the school’s pursuit of a state championship, then neither will a historic spring storm.
Now, the long wait for Season C high school football — featuring roughly 60 teams from across Colorado that opted-out in the fall, per CHSAA assistant commissioner Adam Bright — is finally over.
“I did my research and it’s been 488 days since we’ve been on the field playing in a game,” said Vista Peak running back Ja’Derris Carr before his team’s 40-6 victory Thursday over Westminster. “It feels amazing. I’m ready to be on the field again with my brothers.”
Last summer, Vista Peak was among the schools that voted for a fall football season, and coach John Sullivan was encouraged when Gov. Jared Polis reversed his decision to make it happen. Yet Aurora Public Schools, and several other districts, still preferred a spring season to curb the spread of coronavirus.
That decision didn’t with Bison players.
“It just been so hard for these kids,” Sullivan said. “We thought we would have a chance in the fall to do well.”
Carr added: “Everybody was mad at first. Who wouldn’t be mad at that?”
However, the Bison quickly swapped frustration with motivation, and embarked on an offseason sit well filled with unknowns. Vista Peak practiced up to four days per week starting back in July, socialdistanced and limiting contact, but the emotional toll knowing other schools were playing in the fall was real.
“It was hard not really watching football,” Vista Peak senior offensive lineman Brayden Nelson said, “because it gets you emotional.”
No fall season was also a recruiting concern for a talented Bison team that went undefeated (10-0) before falling in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs last year. Carr and Nelson have made college commitments to Princeton and Fresno State, respectively, but fellow upperclassmen sought more exposure.
“We’re just going to put on a show and hopefully get as many people as possible recruited,” Carr said.
Vista Peak certainly owns the spotlight to begin Season C. Reduced team numbers bumped the Bison up a class, from 4A to 5A, with Vista Peak ranked No. 1 in CHSAANow.com’s preseason poll. Carr is a big reason why after putting up a monster rushing output a year ago: 126 carries for 1,444 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Don’t expect Vista Peak players or coaches to relish in the hype. The 5A race is wide-open with a number of teams — like Denver East, Rangeview and Boulder — all contenders.
“They don’t know us and we don’t know them,” Sullivan said. “It will be interesting.”
Prep football juggernaut Cherry Creek took home the 5A fall title, and five months later, on May 15 in Pueblo, another 5A champion will be crowned. It seems those dual titles will not diminish the ultimate prize this spring for hundreds of Colorado high school football athletes.
“It’s going to mean a lot to us because we still put the hard work in,” Carr said. “I hear a lot of people saying that we’re in Season C and that’s not where all the good teams are at. But we didn’t ask for this. We were one of the teams that voted to play in the fall. All that talk, it doesn’t really matter to me. We’re going to dominate with the cards that we were dealt.
“We want to get on the field with another team, bang heads, and just play.”