Calhan – For Limon’s Badgers, it’s as simple as the black-and-white colors of their uniforms. Indeed, their 54-6 victory Saturday over Calhan in Class 1A at Harlan V. Sprock Field completed their fourth consecutive undefeated regular season.
It was the Badgers’ fourth South Central League championship in succession. And, yes, it was their 48th victory in a row that tied them with 8-man Stratton from 1992-96 for the Colorado record. But there is more ahead for Limon, the state leader with 17 state titles.
From coaches to players, the Badgers welcome next Saturday’s opportunity in the 1A preliminaries to set a new consecutive-victory mark, although taking their first step toward a fourth consecutive state title is their bigger goal.
“It’s pretty good,” Limon quarterback Travis Sandersfeld said of attaining 48 straight wins. “Really, we didn’t even worry about the record. If it’s there, it’s there.
“We just want to go for the (fourth consecutive) championship. We’ve got the record, so don’t worry about it now. Let’s worry about winning a championship.”
The Badgers, who have a model program in multiple ways, including number of victories and state championships, a huge following and a long list of successful student-athletes, allowed that talk of the consecutive-win record has come up. But they insist it doesn’t affect them.
“Not that much,” Sandersfeld said.
Junior wide receiver Joe Stone said another undefeated regular season certainly helps the mindset of the team heading in to the playoffs, but “we’re just focused on winning another championship.”
Now, Limon head coach Mike O’Dwyer said, the real fun starts.
“Everybody’s 0-0 and if you lose, you’re done,” he said. “As long as you get one in that loss column, you’re done, so this is what you work for all year … these are the games you really look forward to all year.”
And the Badgers are working – much like they have done throughout their winning streak, they built a big lead Saturday and let younger players get experience. They led 48-0 at halftime before substitutes played the second half under the mercy rule (a running clock when the point differential reaches 45 or more).
It helped give starters a break as Limon is beat up entering the postseason, missing half a dozen front-line players.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” O’Dwyer said. “We had a bunch of kids out and the others had to step up. And they did.”
Limon, ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News 1A poll (9-0 overall, 7-0 in league), had no trouble with the Bulldogs (5-4, 4-3).
The Badgers, whose sidelined players included defensive tackle Bernardo Chacon, an all- state candidate, scored touchdowns the first seven times they had the ball.
On defense, they didn’t permit the Bulldogs past midfield until the fourth quarter.
“It’s a tribute to these kids, how hard they work, how hard they practice,” O’Dwyer said. “It kind of gets you in the soft spot in your heart to see young kids stepping in there.”
And O’Dwyer did allow that his players “are working on something special. They could go through their whole high school career without losing a game.”
Limon 21 27 0 6 -54
Calhan 0 0 0 6 – 6
L – Love 1 run (Love kick). L – Sandersfeld 2 run (Love kick). L – Love 25 run (Love kick). L – Sandersfeld 13 run (Love kick). L – Sandersfeld 4 run (kick failed). L – Love 13 run (Love kick). L – Stone 13 pass from Sandersfeld (Love kick). L – Layton 10 pass from Brown (run failed). C – Green 30 run (pass failed).
