So what did you do in the offseason?
All the Front Range League did was add two teams from the Centennial and a quick-growing program from Class 3A, bid adieu to a longtime head coach, watch national attention for one of its recruits and come to the realization that most — if not all — of its traditional challengers figure to be a little better.
It’s true. The nine-team Front Range, encompassing Boulder, Broomfield, Fort Collins, Northglenn and Thornton, has been busy since November.
Boulder (new coach Jeff Santee) and Fairview (14 returning starters), both of which struggled in recent Centennial seasons, have been added to the lineup. The other new member, Mountain Range (up from 3A), will be making quite a leap, but it’s not unheard of — Legacy did so in 2002.
Legacy, Poudre and Rocky Mountain are the popular choices to win the league. The Front Range’s lone quarterfinalist a year ago was Legacy (super recruit Nick Kasa); 2007 co-league winners Rocky Mountain (Jake Stewart) and Poudre (veteran head coach Rich Yonker will stay a year as a coordinator) are seeking at least a repeat.
Horizon’s next move is to be able to meet the Legacy-Poudre-Rocky Mountain level, ideally behind two-way end Josh Bredl. Fort Collins (Cody Donaldson) won’t have many seniors. As for Northglenn, overcoming discouragement from 2007’s 2-8 mark is imperative.
