The stalwart
Longmont football has a long tradition of winning, and the Trojans don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
With playoff berths dating back to 2013, save for one blip during the Covidshortened 2020 season, the Trojans are used to making it to the big stage. This year, however, they’ll be without their three-year starting quarterback in Keegan Patterson, who led them in rushing with 846 yards while adding a monstrous 3,609 passing yards.
With the season just around the corner, head coach Doug Johnson hasn’t quite found his main man to fill the hole that Patterson left, but there’s plenty of talent to go around as three boys have stepped up to compete for the starring role.
As they get that sorted out, they’ll have some talent to lean on to carry them forward.
Junior Cole Gaddis. Since the end of last season — which saw the Trojans slip past Broomfield in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs before losing to No. 2 Dakota Ridge in the second — Gaddis has stepped into the role of team leader to guide his team through his last year. The junior, who doubles as a running back and linebacker, shined most on defense as he logged 75 tackles with two fumble recoveries as a sophomore.
He carries on a long Gaddis tradition within Longmont football, as Johnson’s father coached Gaddis’ grandfather, John, and Johnson himself coached Gaddis’ father before him. “It is very easy to include the Gaddis family name (in) Longmont football,” Johnson said.
Gavin O’brien and Justice Lillie — each of whom was ranked top-20 in the state in at least one statistical category from passing yards and rushing yards to punt returns — the Trojans will have some big shoes to fill come fall. They took a strong step in the right direction over the summer, taking rep after rep during competitive drills in Cheyenne. “I saw new players step into their roles and compete,” Johnson said. “We are very excited for the 2022 season.”