LONGMONT — Nolan Gaccetta can paint the black with a fastball as effectively as he can hit a receiver downfield while on the run.
Pretty soon, Silver Creek’s gifted senior athlete is going to have a decision to make.
In college, will the school’s ace in the spring pursue his first love — baseball? Or will America’s pastime be just that (past its time) and the choice will be football?
On Friday, the two-sport star continued to make a good case for the latter in Silver Creek’s 27-14 win over Longmont.
In front of rival student sections who traded humorous barbs from across Everly-Montgomery Field, Gaccetta had the biggest laugh of all as he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another.
After leading the Raptors to their first 3-0 start since 2021, he emerged from the mess of students who’d mobbed the team after the game. He was grinning.
“It feels amazing,” he said of his team’s start. “Thatap one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen at a football game. We fed off their energy and it was amazing.”
Gaccetta surpassed his 2024 passing touchdown total in the first half of his third game in 2025.
Eight TDs as a junior … he already has 10 as a senior.
After connecting with three different receivers for scores against the Trojans, he widened a one-score game to two, sealing things with 7 minutes remaining by way of his fourth rushing TD of the season.
Gaccetta came in averaging 303 yards through his first two games of the fall (679 passing yards and 215 rushing), which was good for the second-most in the state. And though Friday’s stats weren’t yet official, he shouldn’t have lost much, if any, ground going into Week 4.
“I think everybody’s had a role in Nolan’s success,” second-year coach Jeremy Mercer said. “We have experience across the board between what we’re doing up front and with the receivers. They’re all committed and they’ve learned.”
Now, the Raptors believe they can keep getting better.
Gaccetta himself will admit his performance in Week 3 wasn’t as crisp as his previous two. An athlete who can do so many things at the quarterback position knows, sometimes, well … he shouldn’t.
He threw his first two interceptions of the season in the opening half.
Mercer blamed himself for the first one, when Gaccetta scrambled and tried to fit a shovel-pass into tight coverage.
The second one, Gaccetta said, was the result of trying to make a big throw downfield in the waning seconds before halftime.
Neither pick led to points.
“I was just trying to do too much and was doing more than my role,” Gaccetta said. “It cost us, but at the end of the day we still got the win.”
The only player who rivaled Gaccetta’s impact on this night was Longmontap Joey Foot.
Foot was spectacular. He caught both scores for the Trojans (0-3) and made several nice plays on defense, including the pick on Gaccetta right before half.
The 6-foot-2 senior will certainly be a sought-out football prospect for his athleticism, toughness and smarts. He said he currently has an offer from Division-II Adams State.
“We’re improving each week,” Foot said of his team’s winless start under new coach Jordan Graff. “We’re going to keep going. … We’ll figure it out.”
Silver Creek’s next game is Thursday. The Raptors will travel to Bear Creek (3-0), looking to start 4-0 for the first time since 2016.
Longmont is at Colorado Preps 4A No. 4 Palmer Ridge next Friday.
