Name: Tom Ritter
School: Brighton Bulldogs, Class 5A Front Range League
Record: 4-5 overall in 2005, 1-5 league; 70-65 career, 2-7 playoffs
Coaching résumé: Assistant at Cañon City, 1985; Thomas Jefferson, 1986; Gilpin County, 1987; and Fort Morgan, 1988-92; Bulldogs head coach, 1993- present.
Life lines: Age 42. Native of Cañon City. Graduated from Cañon City High School in 1981; attended University of Northern Colorado for a year, then graduated from Western State in 1985, where he earned a degree in history; earned a master’s in administration from the University of Phoenix, 1987. Teaches history at Brighton.
Back in his day: Quarterback-defensive back at Cañon City from 1978-80, second team all-Southern League as a senior; defensive back at Western State, 1982-84.
What he has done lately: “It has been a weird year,” Ritter said.
The Bulldogs opened 2005 with three consecutive victories, then dropped five in succession, three of which they felt they should have won. In Week 8, they fell by a point to Poudre.
However, Friday’s 36-14 win over Legacy was at least some type of vindication for one of 5A’s smallest schools – Brighton rolled Legacy, one of three teams tied for the league lead, with 354 yards of offense and recorded five turnovers.
Not only did the Bulldogs make a move toward ruining Legacy’s playoff chances, but they got within a game of .500 and left little doubt by building a 28-0 halftime lead.
“We got up (on the Lightning) and they started throwing, which was what we wanted,” Ritter said.
Having advanced to 5A play in recent years – the Bulldogs were seven students over the 4A enrollment limit – Brighton is playing against the big boys despite a lack of size across its fronts. Predictably, teams had been pounding on the Bulldogs with their running games.
“We probably couldn’t (stop teams) in 4A, let alone 5A,” Ritter said.
Brighton, which is set to return to 4A in 2006, can further muddy the Front Range waters in its regular-season finale Friday, when it hosts Fort Collins, which is tied for the league lead with Poudre.
Either way, Ritter has been pleased he has reached his diminutive group.
“The kids are still playing hard,” he said.
Note
The Broncos high school coach of the week, in its 10th year, will have 10 honorees during the regular season. NFL Charities will present a check for $1,000 to the school’s program. A coach of the year will be announced at the Broncos’ Dec. 11 game against the Baltimore Ravens at Invesco Field at Mile High, and he will receive $2,000. Coaches are selected from a panel made up of Neil H. Devlin, The Denver Post; Billy Thompson, the Broncos; Susie Wargin, KUSA-9; Marcia Neville, KCNC-4; and Andy Lindahl, KKZN 760 AM.
