Young Eagles will Learn This Season

GCN Staff

The Gilpin County Eagles, playing eight-man football in the Central 1-A conference, will do it this year without any seniors. Normally a time when three year experience has set upper classmen into a realm of responsibility necessary to their team, the Eagles have none. But they have lots of youth, and that makes Coach Ryan Witzel optimistic. It also brings a smile to his face.

The first thing the optimistic youth must overcome is iron-man football. The team will open this weekend with nine healthy players. They will need eight of them on the field at all times. The sidelines will look bare. Hopefully, as the year continues a few more players may come out for the team, and a transfer student who is required to set out part of the year will become eligible. 

The first opponent out of the Central League will be North Park, the team expected to win it all. The next two opponents are not much improvement, they have been selected to finish near the top of the league. But the Eagles will compete. Witzel knows they can and he knows they will.

“My goal for the first game is to show these guys they can compete,” said Witzel. He said the boys worked hard in the off season, attending football camp last June at Chadron State College in Nebraska. At the came,

“The kids did really good things. They have been in the weight room and they have gotten bigger. Those are all good things,” said the Coach.

Last week the Eagles scrimmaged against Maranatha and did well. But this season Maranatha is not a scheduled game. The team also scrimmaged against Academy of Charter and looked good. Witzel says, “We showed lots of good things. But there are things we need to work on.”

The Eagles will host North Park in their season opener on Saturday, September 4, at 1 p.m.