Name: Mike Woolford
School: Regis Raiders, Class 5A Continental League
Record: 1-4 overall and league; 116-43 career, with 5A championships in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Coaching résumé: Assistant at Englewood from 1968-70 and Cherry Creek from 1971-89; head coach at Cherry Creek from 1990-99; volunteer assistant at Douglas County (2000) and Regis (2002); head coach at Regis since 2005.
Life lines: Age 61. Born in Denver. Graduated from Cherry Creek in 1964 and earned a degree in industrial science from the University of Northern Colorado in 1968, master’s degree in 1983 at Colorado State. Retired.
Back in his day: A defensive back and running back as a four-year starter at Cherry Creek from 1964-67, second team all-Centennial League as a junior, first team as a senior; played in all-state football and baseball games; played football at Mesa State (1964) and UNC (1965-67), all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as a senior.
Last week: It would have been easy for the Raiders to be in a low, with depths near the ocean floor. They had dropped 12 of their past 14 games and hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Week 10 of the 2005 season. On Friday, they were at Douglas County, third-ranked in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll. The Huskies, the 2005 champion, entered the game 4-0, 28-3 in 2 1/2 seasons.
“I think we just hung in there,” Woolford said. “Our kids didn’t get down, they just decided they didn’t want to.”
Behold the power of positive thinking – Regis’ 20-17 victory at Douglas County, even on a weekend with three top-10 teams being knocked off, is arguably the eye-opener at the midway point in 2007.
The Raiders, who trailed 10-0 at halftime, had two comebacks. First, Spencer Jackson ran for a 4-yard touchdown, then threw for another to Matthew High in a span of 2:11 late in the third quarter. The Huskies took the lead again midway through the fourth, but Jackson’s 27-yard scoring pass to Ryan Frank with 43 seconds remaining made the Continental race that much more interesting.
Regis was outrushed 208-53, but spirited Raiders play from receiver Chris O’Dowd, linebacker Greyson Konkel and safety Marques Vieira helped render any statistical difference (other than the final score) meaningless.
Woolford, 9-17 at Regis, has built a strong staff, is laying a foundation through the lower ranks and sees a stronger future.
“We’ve got some great, young kids who are growing up on the fly,” he said.
