The dust had barely settled from last season’s Class 2A state title football game when Platte Valley coach Michael De-Wall began devising a plan for 2008.
His Broncos were returning five offensive starters, including the team’s leading running back, David Devitt, and three burly offensive linemen. But DeWall had to find a way to get his leading receiver, Tate Mekelburg, more involved while finding a replacement for quarterback Parker Gutterson.
Gutterson ran for 954 yards last season and scored the team’s three touchdowns in a 21-7 victory over Platte Canyon in the state championship game.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Mekelburg, meanwhile, was a solid tight end and open-field blocker. But he was almost nonexistent in the Broncos’ championship-game victory. His presence was accounted for, but just the fact that his abilities were utilized more as a decoy and blocker and not as a scoring threat added up to more questions than answers.
Platte Canyon coach Mike Schmidt had his team prepared to contend with Mekelburg, The Denver Post’s 2A player of the year. But because he had to be accounted for on every play, it opened up holes for other guys, particularly Gutterson.
“As a football player, he’s pretty hard-nosed, he’s pretty tenacious. . . . He’s a really good player. For our level of play, he’s the real deal,” Schmidt said.
So how does one answer the one question — how do you get the football to your best receiver more often? Simple: You move him to halfback.
“This gives him a chance to put his hands on the ball in the running game,” DeWall said. “A kid like that needs to get a percentage of the touches. If not, then that’s not very good coaching.”
DeWall said the Broncos will bring Mekelburg in motion in the backfield quite a bit, have him carry the ball as well as serve as a lead blocker for Devitt, who weighs in at a solid 200 pounds.
“The neat thing about our offense is that by bringing Tate into the backfield, the defense is not going to know who the lead blocker is and who’s carrying the ball,” DeWall said. “Both kids are capable of doing both.”
“I really like it. It gives me a chance to get the ball more and hopefully help out the team a little more,” said Mekelburg, who led Platte Valley with 22 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns in 2007.
Pair them with the three returning linemen — Armando Gonzales (6-5, 260), Christen Ceh (5-10, 210) and Klint Gehring (6-1, 260) — and Platte Valley has the makings of a wrecking-ball offense.
Brian Forbes contributed to this report.
Class 2A top 10
1. Florence: A Class 3A playoff team makes the move down to 2A.
2. Erie: The hungry Tigers bring back 15 starters.
3. Platte Valley: Defending champs eye third straight title-game appearance.
4. Brush: Returns 12 starters from playoff team.
5. Eaton: Reached 2A semifinals in 2007 behind QB Seth Lobato.
6. Platte Canyon: Has plenty of players who will battle with the best of them.
7. Buena Vista: Running game and solid line will take it far.
8. Faith Christian: Maybe not as dynamic, but size is its specialty.
9. Kent Denver: Skill players always shine in this offense.
10. Colorado Springs Christian: Missed playoffs by the slimmest of margins.
Class 2A players to watch
Noah Applegate, Faith Chr., Sr., FB-LB
Vincent Chacon, Centauri, Jr., OL-DL
Cees Doxsey, Erie, Sr., DL
Mason Finley, Buena Vista, Sr., DT-TE
Dan Gieck, Manitou Springs, Sr., WR
Larson Greenfield, Buena Vista, Sr., RB
Michael Hoffman, Platte Val., Sr., TE-LB
Tyler Jackson, Kent Denver, Jr., RB
Seth Lobato, Eaton, Sr., QB
A.J. Melillo, Platte Canyon, Sr., RB-DB
Patrick Murray, Kent Denver, Sr., RB-LB
Alex Ortega, Erie, Jr., RB
Michael Pollick, Platte Canyon, Sr., DT
Jon Seidel, The Academy, Sr., ILB-TE-FB
