Eads Eagles Are State Champions in A6 Football
By Betsy Barnett
November 23, 2007
As Marvin Gaye’s voice belted out "Ain’t
no mountain high, ain’t no valley low.." a song that the Eads football
team sang after every win this season, Bert Borgman, Asst. CHSAA
Commissioner was proudly handing over the state football championship
trophy, the gold ball, to the seven Eagle seniors who were the backbone of
this phenomenal team. Eads won their second football title, the first in
the 6-man ranks, and the school’s 14th overall state championship, in
great style as they downed the undefeated Peetz Bulldogs 75-19 in a
blowout game on the Eagles’ own field on Saturday afternoon.
Add to the final statistics that
head Coach Shawn Randel entered a league of his own after the win on
Saturday as the Eagle veteran has now done what no other coach in the
state of Colorado has done; Randel has won state championships in three
different sports … more than any other coach. His championships came with
both boys and girls in basketball in 2003; another girl’s basketball
championship in 2007; and now a football championship that has been
long-awaited and very welcome. Randel still holds another
"never-before-done-record" in Colorado as he is the only coach to have won
two state championships in two different sports on the same day.
Then there is Kevin Lindholm, a 6’1
senior from Eads who has smashed a collection of school records that
unofficially include new standards in the rushing department, scoring
department, and most touchdowns. These records are unofficial and more
information will be coming as the records are finalized. Lindholm was
named MVP of the state championship game by the Denver Post and is the
hands-down favorite to be named the Player of the Year by the Rocky
Mountain News and Denver Post.
High anticipation for a real battle
was in the game plan for Randel and the Eagles as they came out swinging
and got better and stronger as the game progressed. They knew they were
facing a double punch from the offensive efforts of Peetz’ Levi Whitman
and Gage Roelle as the two seniors had amassed more than 3,000 yards on
the ground and another 1,300 from the air. But Eads had a balanced attack
with an at-least equal running game and a far superior passing game.
However, everyone at the game will attest it was the defense that did in
the Dogs and by the third quarter five Bulldog turnovers had completely
demoralized the powerful offensive attack Peetz had hoped to produce.
Eads clawed out a statement first as
quarterback Taylor Reed hooked up with Kenan Gooden in a 24-yard touchdown
pass and A.J. Bolin’s two-point conversion kick was good. Eads led at the
6:22 mark of the first chapter, 8-0. But the Bulldogs came barking back
and three minutes later had ground their way to a 1-yard push by Roelle
with the kick hitting the upright and bouncing away. It looked like we had
a battle as Eads led by the low margin of 8-6 very late into the first.
One last message was sent by Lindholm in the first quarter as with 31
seconds in the first the senior intercepted a threatening Peetz pass and
took the wind out of the sails of the Bulldogs. The ball was placed on the
22- yard line and the second quarter was a phenomenal one for the Eagles.
Again, Reed found Gooden with 5:18 left in the first half in a 4-yard
touchdown pass after Lindholm had barreled his way down near the end zone.
Bolin’s kick was again good. Eads led, 16-6. That’s when Lindholm turned
up the heat and scored 18 points in a span of three minutes. By the time
he was done he had scored a defensive touchdown, scored a touchdown on a
reception, and scored another on the run. With 5:13 left in the second
Whitman was rushed by Lindholm and fumbled the ball in the end zone. The
fumble was recovered by the Eagle senior for a touchdown. Then after Reed
had made a 30-yard rushing play he found Lindholm in the end zone on a
48-yard touchdown pass. Bolin’s kick was blocked. Next, Lindholm pounded
the ball in from 1 yard out for another score and this time Bolin added
two more. But Lindholm and the Eagles weren’t finished as another Reed to
Lindholm touchdown play with 11.4 seconds iced the game for the Eagles.
Again Bolin was effective and Eads led 36-6. However, the one bright spot
in an otherwise dismal day for Peetz came on the ensuing kick off with no
time left on the clock when Hammond looked to be wrapped up and down on
the carry but managed to lateral the ball to Schumaucher who ended up wide
open and all alone. That freak play would end the first half with the
score 36-12.
Peetz is known for their second half
comeback as they managed to overcome a large halftime lead by Hi-Plains in
the semifinal game to beat the favored Patriots. Randel and the Eagle
coaching staff knew this and had instilled in the Eagle players that the
third quarter would decide the state championship. True to form the Eagles
took Randel serious and came out demoralizing Peetz in a 36-0 rout in the
third quarter. The scoring came first from Lindholm with 9:30 left in the
third on a 42-yard touchdown run with Bolin hitting yet another
two-pointer. Then with 7:36 left Austin Adamson broke through the left
side of the line and went all the way to an exciting 71-yard touchdown
run. Bolin kick…good again. Eads led 52-12 and was nearing the mercy rule
of a 45-point deficit. It came almost right away as Adamson picked off a
Peetz pass on the Bulldog 30 yard line. Eads then moved the ball down the
field and Adamson punched it in from one yard out with 4:08 left in the
third while the Bulldogs continued to be solely focused in on Lindholm.
Bolin continued to add to the tally with yet another two-point kick and
the mercy rule was in effect with Eads leading 60-12. But as good things
go the bleeding continued and before Randel could rally his second platoon
Gooden showed no mercy as the senior newcomer to the game picked off a
Peetz pass and ran the ball back 60 yards to the end zone with a minute
left in the third. Another kick by Bolin and Eads enjoyed the 68-12
routing. The fourth quarter saw some early dramatics as some new players
came into the game including a talented running back in sophomore Travis
Eames who smashed through the Peetz line with 6:45 left in the fourth to
score a 30-yard touchdown. This TD came against the varsity players from
Peetz and was a nice message sent by the young backer. Eames also added a
one-point conversion run for the final score for Eads and the game out of
reach, 75-12. Peetz would score on their final possession as the Eagle JV
was a little distracted watching Coach Randel getting soaked by the
varsity players on the sideline. As the cooler was poured over Randel the
Eagles were celebrating an amazing season and adding another coveted gold
ball to their impressive collection.
The Eagles dominated every aspect of
the game with every player contributing huge in the win for Eads. Lindholm,
the MVP of the game, led in rushing with 121 yards on 17 carries and had
four touchdowns. Reed had a tremendous day running the offense for Eads as
he amassed nearly 200 yards in the air and passed for four touchdowns. He
also added some good additional rushing yardage for the Eagles. Adamson
scored twice and amassed nearly 100 yards on the ground and had one
interception. Garrett Smith, Eagle nose guard and center, had the game of
his life as he had two sacks and his blocking up front was the one
fundamental key to the Eagles’ success. Gooden was tremendous in his role
at safety and end catching two touchdown passes and scoring another off of
an interception. Finally, Bolin, in this reporter’s mind, contributed
maybe the most to this championship as the senior took a very hard role,
the kicker on a six-man team, and produced an amazing amount of points for
the Eagles during the playoffs. Eads has never had a kicking game until
Bolin got out on the field and worked every night to get better little by
little. By the time the championship game came he had added 16 points,
nearly three touchdowns, to the second highest score in a championship
game in Colorado 6-Man history.
The Eagles lose some great seniors
who all contributed in their own way to this championship. Some were the
stars and others were the men behind the scenes that got little kudos but
who knew their roles and did their jobs… thus understanding what it takes
to become a champion. Eads will obviously miss the all-around play of
Lindholm who was a threat in every way possible on the field and led in
rushing, kick off returns, interceptions, and receptions. Also leaving the
field is Gooden in his first and only showing on the field of battle. The
kid learned the game quickly and with his athleticism made the difference
Eads needed to become champions. Bolin, the kicker, will be hard for Coach
Randel to replace. That position is vital in the 6-Man ranks and the
coaches from Eads are going to have to scramble to replace an outstanding
kicker in Bolin. Finally, Eads will miss Drew Koch who started at end on a
number of occasions and had a key role in the special teams department.
Also leaving will be center Jacob Kraft, who overcame a severe injury as a
sophomore and contributed in a huge way in spots during the season, and
Branden Dunlap, a running back and special teams guy that hits harder than
any kid his size I have ever seen. Finally, the Eagles will miss the
leadership and great role play of Wes Richardson who has the best hands on
the team and contributed at the quarterback and end position for much of
the season.
Eads will return a talented group of
sophomores who will be the anchor of the Eagle team next year. That group
has some very big shoes in the leadership department to fill. If they work
hard in the weight room and learn to be positive leaders and role models
like this year’s seniors were then the future for Eads football looks very
bright indeed.
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