DENVER BRONCOS HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE WEEK
Zach Morris
School: Bear Creek Bears, Class 5A Jefferson County League.
Record: 3-1 overall, 1-1 league; 8-16 career.
Coaching résumé: Assistant at Mullen from 2005-10 and Bear Creek in 2011; head coach at Bear Creek since 2012.
Life lines: Age 31. Native of Ada, Okla. Graduated from Mullen High School in 2001 and Wyoming in 2006, earned degrees in secondary education and history. Teaches social studies at Bear Creek.
Back in his day: Defensive tackle at Mullen from 1997-2000, all-Centennial League as a junior and senior, All-Colorado as a senior; defensive lineman at Wyoming from 2001-04, all-Mountain West Conference in 2004.
Last week: After a 42-39 slugfest victory last Thursday over rival Chatfield, a fair question was put to the Bears’ third-year head coach.
“Was it our best win?” Morris asked. “Absolutely, it was a huge win. We’re playing in a rivalry, and (the Chargers) have been a tough team the past two years. My first year, we played them and we got slaughtered, and we couldn’t stop them last year.”
This year the Bears ran for 505 yards. Bear Creek, previously known for its passing prowess, attacked on the ground.
Nick Madrid rushed 19 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Tomas Randolph added 101 yards, and Andre Renteria added two rushing scores.
The Bears trailed by 14 points three times. Chatfield’s up-tempo pace, Morris said, kept it challenging.
“It’s tough to deal with,” he said. “They don’t run a lot of different plays, but they’re very good at what they run.”
A 43-42 loss in double overtime to Columbine the previous week, Morris said, not only provided motivation but was a learning experience in terms of letting the Bears know they could compete with top teams.
“I was really happy. That was a tough one, but it gave us confidence,” Morris said. “To be able to come back and kind of put it all together … It just showed a lot of heart, which is exciting to see. We’ve kind of lacked that the past couple of years.”
The Denver Broncos high school coach of the week award will have 10 honorees during the regular season and a coach of the year at season’s end. It is presented by the Colorado National Guard, with a selection committee led by The Denver Post’s Neil H. Devlin and including Ring of Fame member Billy Thompson and 850 KOA’s Andy Lindahl. Each weekly winner will receive a $2,000 donation to his school in his name made possible by the NFL Foundation and the Colorado National Guard, and the coach of the year will receive a $4,000 grant. The coach of the year will be honored at the Broncos’ Dec. 28 game against Oakland at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
