After their third consecutive state championship in CHSAA 3A football, expectations were high for the Reds this year. However, losing their star quarterback and other essential players after graduation, the team has been struggling to fill the shoes of their predecessors. The Reds had to say goodbye to their head coach Zach Lemon last year when he was hired as the Eaton High Schools’ (EHS) athletic director, but they welcomed physical education teacher Cameron Stewart this year to lead their team.
The team had a rocky start this season, as they kicked off the season in late Aug. with a game against their longtime rival, The Classical Academy (TCA). The tone was set in the first quarter by scoring the first touchdown. Unfortunately, TCA matched their energy by scoring touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters. The Reds fought hard, but they walked away with a 7-14 loss to begin their season.
The following week, the fightin’ Reds hosted another team that they share an intense rivalry with. University High School came to play, scoring the first two touchdowns. The Reds scored their first and only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, but they were matched by University with another touchdown. That was the final nail in the coffin for the Reds and they took another tough loss with a score of 6-20.
With two losses, the Reds had no momentum, and needed a win to start gaining traction to take control of the season.
In the third week, the Reds traveled to Kersey to take on the Platte Valley Broncos. The Reds once again scored the only touchdown in the first quarter, and they went on a tear before finishing the half. The team scored 21 more points and the Reds defense had their team’s back, only giving up one touchdown in the second quarter. The score was 27-6 leading into the second half of the game. The Reds never let up on the gas, scoring two more touchdowns in the third, and one in the fourth quarter. They walked away with a dominant win with a final score of 48-12.
This much needed win sent the Reds into the following games with a vengeance and a hunger that was satisfied by winning. The subsequent week, EHS hosted the Severance Silver Knights at home. The Reds scored a touchdown in the first and second quarters, but the Silver Knights weren’t so easily beaten. They scored two touchdowns of their own in the second quarter, along with two extra points. This left fans on the edge of their seats at halftime, with the scoreboard reading 12-14 Silver Knights.
In the third quarter, Severance scored an additional two touchdowns, but the Reds retaliated with two more touchdowns, accompanied by extra points. The game was tied 26-26 leading into the fourth quarter. In a hard fought fourth quarter, the Silver Knights scored another seven points, but the Reds scored one point more than them, and they were able to pull off an extremely close win with a final score of 34-33.
After building up momentum, they traveled all the way to dominate Steamboat Springs. The Reds steamrolled the Sailors by scoring a massive 50 points. Their defense gave up only seven points and they walked away with a third consecutive W on their record.
Then the Reds got to host the Fort Lupton Blue Devils for the Eaton Homecoming game. They scored 13 points in the first quarter and 24 in the second. The Reds’ defense only gave up seven points in the first half of the game. The reds finished off their offensive game with one more touchdown in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils could not catch up. They scored only nine points in the second half and lost to the Reds 16-43.
The Reds had a respectable record of 3-3 coming out of week six. Then, the Reds were given an off week to rest their bodies and hone their craft.
It appears though that the break during week seven stopped the Reds dead in their tracks and ended their winning game streak. The Reds took a beating in week eight when they traveled to Berthoud to play the Spartans. They only scored seven points in the fourth quarter and lost to the Spartans 34-7.
Regardless of the loss, this didn’t mean the end for the fightin’ Reds. They still have a chance to battle through the playoffs at the end of the season, but will have to make leaps and bounds in the following weeks to make that happen.
Varsity quarterback Connor Davey (25), wearing number 3, has risen to the challenge of filling Eaton graduate Walker Martin’s shoes. Davey said, “Everyone needs to lock in during practice and learn from the older guys.”
Regardless of the change in talent on the team, every fan, parent, and student wants to see the Reds fight for their next trophy.
