Mark Haering
School: Class 4A Pueblo South Colts, Foothills League.
Record: 10-0 overall, 8-0 league; 142-33-2 career.
Coaching resume: Assistant at Marin (Calif.) Catholic, 1992-93, then head coach, 1994-97, won two North Coast Section 2A titles; head coach of Colts since 1998.
Lifelines: Age 38. Native of Pueblo. Graduated from Pueblo South High School, 1988, and Boston University, 1992, earned a degree in secondary mathematics education, earned master’s from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., 2004. Teaches math, from algebra through calculus, at Pueblo South.
Back in his day: Colts quarterback, 1984-87, all-South Central League as a senior; Terriers quarterback, 1988-91.
Last week: The Colts have owned outright or shared every league title but one since the Foothills was created in 2000; won 32 league games in a row.
The latest Colts’ victory was Friday, when they edged host Colorado Springs Sierra 29-27. Quarterback Kameron Wilhite got his team out to an 18-0 halftime lead before the Stallions rallied. It took a stable of Colts to thwart Sierra’s two-point conversion attempt with 21 seconds remaining.
“It was exciting, for the league title, just tooth and nail,” Haering said.
Pueblo South has dominated in the regular season, but its 6-5 mark in the playoffs the past five seasons hasn’t sat well. Since 2001, the Colts have lost to the eventual champion three times, once to the runner-up and thrice to ThunderRidge, now in its first season in 5A.
Haering hopes his team can avoid the mistakes that ensured early exits from Colorado’s most difficult postseason bracket to join.
“Every year, you know how the playoffs are, you have to be perfect,” Haering said.
On Nov. 19, Haering and his brother, Chris — a star linebacker for the Colts and at West Virginia, and currently the head coach at Mount Lebanon (Pa.) High — will be inducted into the Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame, joining their father, Chuck, a 1999 inductee.
Ideally, Haering’s Colts will still be in the 4A postseason.
Compiled by Neil H. Devlin, The Denver Post
The Denver Broncos high school coach of the week award, in its 13th year, has had 10 honorees during the regular season. NFL Charities will present a check for $1,000 to the school’s program.
