Tom Lynch
School: Rock Canyon Jaguars, Class 4A Pikes Peak League.
Record: 4-2 overall, 1-2 league; career record unavailable.
Coaching resume: Assistant at Fort Lewis College, 1984-85; Overland, 1986-87; Missouri Southern, 1988; Texas City (Texas) High School, 1989-90; and Farmington (N.M.) High School, 1991-95; head coach at Farmington, 1996-2002; has headed the Jaguars since 2003.
Lifelines: Age 47, native of Omaha. Graduated from Aurora Central, 1980, and Fort Lewis, 1984; earned degree in physical education; earned master’s degree in education from Pittsburg (Kan.) State, 1987. Heads the PE department at Rock Canyon.
Back in his day: Tight end at Aurora Central, 1978-79, and Fort Lewis, 1980-83; all-academic Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as a senior.
Last week: Despite being a program in just its seventh year, epic is a relevant way to describe the current Jaguars.
On Friday, they had a seven- hour bus ride from Highlands Ranch to Montrose.
They throw the ball as often as any offense in Colorado, and despite the fact that both teams ran no-huddle offenses, the game lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes, about an hour less than Sunday’s Rockies-Phillies marathon at Coors Field.
Rock Canyon, after arriving home the next day at 5:30 a.m., needed overtime to outlast the fifth-ranked Indians 40-34 in 4A nonleague in what ranks as one of its best victories.
“It’s up there,” Lynch said. “Some of our coaches had never been in an overtime game. It’s something we practice.”
It paid off. Behind senior quarterback Drew Sandlin’s school-record 431 yards passing, the Jaguars got close with 1:15 remaining in regulation as Sandlin threw his fourth touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Martin Castro. They went for two points and got them as Sandlin connected with Reid Carter.
Montrose had the first overtime possession, but came up empty — the Jaguars’ Tyler Henry intercepted. Rock Canyon quickly ran the ball to the 1-yard line on first down, then Castro finished it on a power plunge.
Not bad for a team that spent 14 hours on the bus, had only about 20 of its fans in the stands and downed one of 4A’s top programs on its home field.
“(The Indians’) intensity helped us,” Lynch said. “The more I watched film, the more I know we could compete with them. And we did.”
The Denver Broncos high school coach of the week award, in its 14th year, will have 10 honorees during the regular season. NFL Charities will present $1,000 to the school’s program. Rock Canyon’s Tom Lynch joins Manzanola’s James Lopez, Eaglecrest’s Tom Doherty, Liberty’s Jaron Cohen, Chatfield’s Bret McGatlin and Castle View’s Ryan Hollingshead as winners in 2009. A coach of the year will be announced at the Broncos’ final home game, against the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 3 at Invesco Field at Mile High, and receive $2,000. The coaches are picked by a panel consisting of Neil H. Devlin, The Denver Post; Billy Thompson, the Broncos; and Andy Lindahl, KOA 850 AM.
