There is one person on the Wiley roster with any playoff experience.
It’s not a player, unless he’s a ninth-year senior who was on that team in 1995. It’s coach Dave Eastin.
The former coach at Idalia has resurrected a Panthers program that was mired in mediocrity and turned the team into a championship contender.
Wiley is one of three unbeaten teams – Longmont Christian and Merino are the others – that will take the field Saturday in the first round of the Class A 8-man football playoffs.
“There is a whole lot of excitement in this community. It’s been a long time coming,” said Eastin, in his fourth season at the school located 10 miles northwest of Lamar in Prowers County. “There is a lot of excitement around the team, and we have people coming out of the woodwork and from way back that are on hand to root us on.”
The first test for Wiley will be against Silver State (5-3). The Panthers have won a lot of games by controlling the line of scrimmage and wearing the opposition down. Tucker and Jacob Spitzer, as well as Trevor Coleman and Jacob Dunham, are some of the big guys up front who have done the job all season.
“We don’t really have a true superstar,” Eastin said. “It’s just been a rotation of about 12 or 13 guys that have gone out there and just worked their butts off to get the job done.”
Said Granada coach Manuel Gonzales, whose team fell to Wiley 13-6 in Week 7, “They are legit, no doubt about it.”
Should Wiley get past the Patriots, waiting in the quarterfinals will be the winner of the Haxtun (7-1) at Simla (6-2) game. Haxtun, the defending state champions, suffered its lone defeat of the season to powerhouse Merino 46-12 in Week 5.
Filling out the bottom half of the bracket: Mountain League champion Mountain Valley (6-2) of Saguache will get tested early by the Plains Leagues’ Flagler (5-3). Also, Stratton (6-2) will travel to Walden to take on North Park (6-2) for the second year in a row.
All eyes will be on Merino (8-0) in its attempt to get back to the title game. The heavily favored Rams will host Manzanola (5-3) in the first round, and with a victory could set up a date with Longmont Christian. The 8-0 Warriors will first have to get by Sierra Grande (6-2).
Six-time Black Forest League champion Swink (7-1), which lost only to Merino in Week 1, will host Springfield (5-3), and Granada (7-1) will host Sangre de Cristo (4-4).
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denpost.com.
