Ring Season!

As I am a part of the Holy Family Tiger football team, I am estactic to be writing this story going into further details about YOUR Holy Family High School football team and their championship run.

The fans, students, and everyone that has been following Holy Family football, does not know the amount of work the team has put in and how long everyone has been grinding, which gave us the skill to perform under the Friday Night Lights (occasionaly the Thursday Night Lights).

It all started way back in January, when a few of the players on the time went to Coach/Mr. Ybarra and asked him if he would set up a weight lifting program for the team to do. We struggled to find a time to do it but finally we settled on Friday mornings at 7:45 A.M.

I was skeptical of how kids would react to have to give up their late start and get in the weight room, and did not expect a huge outcome. But luckily I was proven wrong, and we had a turnout of about 40 kids on a team that capped at 67. These weight lifting sessions were filled with lots of competetion, and I believe this to play a critical role in our succesful season.

We lifted every Friday morning until we went on summer break. When break came we were getting up early everyday of the week, to be in the weightroom at 7 A.M. We were on the same schedule every day until about two weeks before school, when camp officially started. You could tell we worked in the weightroom all summer, with everyone looking faster, and stronger.

The team started off the season with a win over Frederick 28-8. This was a strong start to the season and both sides of the ball showed good things, and things that needed work.

The next game was against the crosstown rivals, the Broomfield Eagles. Regardless of the score last year, lol, the Tigers did not play timid against the Eagles and came out with a last second win, 30-29, in what had to have been one of the most exciting action packed games, in all of Colorado, across all levels, of the entire season.

Fast forward a 2 weeks, and the Tigers were taking on the Roosevelt Roughriders, who my class (’24) has not beaten in our high school career. We played a tough game but once again, fell short to the Roughriders 34-26.

At this point we were 3-1, and you could tell we were not happy with the loss. The morning after the loss, we were in the weightroom and watching film, getting ready for the rest of our season.

2 weeks later we were back, starting league play at a record of 4-1, and we took on who is arguably the schools rival, the Lutheran Lions. This game could not be any bigger than it was. We lost to them last year, they were in our league, they were another team that had a legit shot at the title, and above all, it was our homecoming game.

We started the game off hot entering halftime with a 21-7 lead. But we got a little complacent with the lead, and the Lions came back and tied the game at 28. A late score from the Tigers put us up 35-28, and that would be all she wrote. It seemed as if this is when we got our swagger back.

We finished the regular season with a strong 9-1 record, and entered the playoffs at a 2 seed, meaning we would host every game of the playoffs until the championship. We were getting hot at the right time, and everyone could tell.

We had a dominant win over the 15 seed Denver North Vikings 50-8, and following that a win over the 10 seed, Lewis-Palmer Rangers 42-17.

We were headed to the Semi-Finals for the first time since 2020, against the 3 seed Thompson Valley Eagles. This was a defensive battle, but to no one suprise, the Tigers came out on top 21-7.

We were playing a familiar foe, and there was a different energy during practice, and even the lifts before practice. Came friday, the nerves started settling in. The team carried out its tradition of playing Fortnite Tilted Zone Wars the night before the game, and we were ready.

We made the trip to Pueblo and no one had felt adrenaline like they did, in the minutes leading to kickoff. We forced some first half turnovers and went into halftime with a 20-8 lead. We knew we couldnt let history repeat itself and get complacent, so it was straight domination the second half. We won the State Championship. In dominant fashion.

With a final score of 33-8, it felt so nice to know that the dream we have all been working towards for the past 9 months has became a reality. The tigers averaged 36.5 points throughout the playoffs, while the defense only allowed 10 points per game.