This is not your father’s Jefferson County League in big-school football.
First, it has a new name, the Big 8, and includes Regis (Aurora) and Westminster in a Colorado- approved reset of leagues and classifications through 2009.
Second, its approach on offense has changed drastically and probably makes followers who were around when the left side of the metropolitan area accounted for much of the early suburban development cringe.
“Everybody was like Columbine back in the day,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said, recalling a run-it, then-run-it-some-more mind-set on offense.
It’s true — Jeffco football used to remain true to its heydays of the 1960s and 1970s. It was about punching opponents in the mouth, a standard idea in football, and the westsiders were good at it.
“You knew,” Madden said, “you were going to get hit. You might outscore us, but never out-physical us.”
However, making a pass can be good, even the threat of one.
It may have taken many years, coaching changes, new schools, classifications and sleepless nights before arriving at the inevitable, but even the league’s last holdouts have allowed shotgun formations to creep into their game plans.
We can only hope it’s more difficult to get rid of than crab grass.
No, three yards and a cloud of dust (or sand, in the case of Jeffco Stadium) hasn’t been abandoned, but diversity has been achieved in offensive sets.
Shotgun formation in 5A Jeffco, previously thought to be a punter who miscounted downs, looks good across a county that also is experiencing a prime balance of power.
Pomona, which has turned into the most landlocked 5A school in the county in terms of boundary and availability (and no new houses), owned Jeffco big schools in nearly every season of the 1980s, save for the storybook run of Lakewood as 1985 state champion. Assorted runs by Arvada West, Bear Creek, Chatfield and Columbine made it more competitive and interesting.
Witness last week’s 26-20 decision by Bear Creek over Chatfield, which is thought to be the beginning of tight rounds among Big 8 elite. The next two probably will be Friday, when Pomona (Donovan Bowens) will host Bear Creek (Tommy Flanagan) and Chatfield (Sam Stratton) is to take on Columbine (Danny Spond).
It’s Week 4, or nearly halfway through the regular season. Heading the round is The Denver Post game of the week, top-ranked and two-time defending 1A champion Akron at No. 3 Limon on Friday night, although consider the following when choosing your fields (and bring a jacket):
Today.
Highlands Ranch at Ponderosa underlines the 5A Southern’s depth. . . . Arapahoe gets a break from the 5A Centennial in designation only. ThunderRidge awaits in nonleague.
Friday.
Feel the power — Rockhurst Jesuit, nationally ranked and defending Missouri champion, will visit 5A Mullen. . . . Don’t forget, the Overland-Cherry Creek series, which will be resumed in the 5A Centennial, has been terrific for about 20 years. . . . It has been simmering for three weeks. Littleton at Brighton in the 4A North Metro should be tasty. . . . The Plains League, which has provided a steady diet of top-flight 8-man play, has its latest in Haxtun at top-ranked Merino.
Saturday.
Am I the only one who thinks Dakota Ridge-Wheat Ridge in the 4A West Metro deserves a better starting time than 11:30 a.m. Saturday? This is what can happen when programs are forced to share district sites. . . . Ditto for Fort Collins-Poudre in the 5A Front Range at 11 a.m.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
