Cornell’s considerable football annals in Ithaca, N.Y., date back to 1887.
Add a Coloradan to its prominent list of captains in the Ivy League.
Jonathan Lucas, The Denver Post 2002 Gold Helmet winner at Arvada West, recently was voted the Big Red’s captain for the 2006 season.
“I’m really excited,” the senior said. “There’s a lot of history here.”
Lucas has helped make some of it. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder will begin his third year starting at left defensive end when Cornell opens its season Sept. 16 at Bucknell. Three years ago, Lucas was the only Cornell freshman to earn playing time and was named second team All-Ivy in 2005 after leading the team in sacks (four).
Cornell returns six starters on defense. A year ago, the Big Red ranked second nationally in rushing defense (88.3 yards per game) and fourth (261.3) overall.
“We can be a good unit,” Lucas said.
At Arvada West, Lucas, playing linebacker, helped lead the Wildcats to the Class 5A semifinals in 2002. He was named All-Colorado by The Denver Post in addition to being recognized as the state’s top senior football player, scholar and citizen.
He has a 3.7 grade-point average with a major in economics.
“I’m doing the right things on and off the field,” Lucas said. “It’s an honor to captain this team.”
His high school coach, Arvada West’s Casey Coons, was by no means stunned at Lucas’ latest honor.
“It’s awesome and doesn’t surprise me a bit,” Coons said. “He’s a wonderful kid and I was lucky to have him my first year (at Arvada West). He’s a special guy and we’re extremely proud of him.
“It’s like I tell our kids, ‘tradition never graduates. Just the names change.”‘
Also a captain at Arvada West, Lucas joins another Coloradan as leader of an Ivy team – former Mullen wide receiver Chandler Henley, who sat out the 2005 season with an injury and was granted a medical hardship to play this season, is the captain at Yale (the two teams will play at Cornell on Sept. 23).
Henley, a three-time letter winner, was honorable mention All-Ivy in 2004 and played on Mullen’s 1998 5A title team. He went to prep school before Yale.
