Going into the season, the varsity football team was ranked seventh in the state with the first game taking place Aug. 30 against number eight in state Eaglecrest High School. The game ended in a 30-20 loss for HR making it the 2nd straight year with a loss to Eaglecrest to start the season. 

  The team looked to redeem a 39-45 loss to Eaglecrest in the 2018 season. Despite the loss, junior running back Dylan Gurule said, “I think we are stacking up pretty well against some of the top teams. We have the talent and discipline to win a lot of games this year.”

  HR stares down a 0-1 record to start the 2019 season. Senior wide receiver, Konor Lathrop, said, “The game went okay. Obviously a win is the goal, but everyone played hard and no one quit, which was encouraging to see.” The game led to a drop from rank seven to rank nine in the state of Colorado for the team.

  “Overall, we played well as far as being in shape. Obviously, it being the first game, we made some mistakes, but we were in it against a very good Eaglecrest team all the way until the end,” said linebacker coach, Richardo Leal. 

  After a 4-8 record last year and a second round playoff exit, HR looks to fill the hole left by the graduation of fifteen seniors. Trane Richmond, junior wide receiver, said, “The team looks awesome this year and we are ready to take on anybody that wants to face us.” 

  With the graduation of seniors, Leal said, “Every year is a different team.  We lost a lot of kids, but it seems like this year kids are really working together and there is more of a positive vibe with the team.”

  Lathrop added, “Personally, I think the team this year is better than what we had last year. We just need some young guys to step into some big roles.”

  HR takes on Grandview High School on Sept. 15 for the 2nd game of the season and looks to even their record back out to 1-1. The game is another top ten matchup as Ranch enters the game ranked ninth in state and Grandview enters ranked fourth.

Nathan Kuhta, Publicity Chair