The Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont areas had 35 players make the Colorado High School Activities’ all-state football team.
Broomfield quarterback Cole LaCrue, the Daily Camera offensive player of the year, was named the Class 4A player of the year after after leading the Eagles to a state title.
His coach, Blair Hubbard, was named 4A and the Denver Broncos high school coach of the year.
Fairview’s Zach Lewis, the DC defensive player of the year, was a 5A first-teamer. Erie’s Blake Barnett was a 4A first-teamer and the Longmont Times-Call offensive player of the year. Skyline’s Maddox Leggett was the T-C defensive player of the year.
Class 4A
Broomfield led the classification with eight guys on the all-state list. Erie had five, Monarch and Longmont two, and Skyline and Silver Creek each had one.
Garrett Keeler led the first-team selections for the Eagles after totaling 119 tackles (22.5 for loss), five sacks and two forced fumbles. He was joined by Broomfield tackles Landen Davidson and Conner Tanner.
And of course, LaCrue, who threw for 2,647 yards, ran for 808 and combined for 46 TDs.
Erie was the other area school represented on the first team.
Junior quarterback Barnett made it for a second straight year after throwing for 2,420 yards and rushing for 1,077 with 46 TDs. Defensive end/offensive tackle Jackson Cowgill was the other after he had 11 sacks.
On the second team, Canon Juarez led the way for Broomfield after he was named the state title game’s MVP. The two-way athlete had eight touchdowns (six receiving, one rushing, one pick-six).
Erie’s Logan Gilmore, a tackle and nose guard, and Longmont tackle Noah Atherton also were named to the second team. As was Skyline playmaker Logan Miller, who had 1,246 receiving yards.
There were nine area players in honorable mentions.
Broomfield sophomore Mikhail Benner was there after a state-most 11 interceptions on the season. He was joined by teammates Brent Harris, who was a two-way playmaker, and kicker Dylan Duggan.
Erie wide receiver Caden Lettis, a Southern Utah commit, had 935 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Longmont’s Cole Gaddis had 1,131 yards and 20 TDs on the ground. Silver Creek’s Maddax Schaefer had 66 tackles (11 for loss) and 5.5 sacks.
Monarch’s Jimmy Grace, the standout lineman and heart of the Coyotes, also had a TD to close out his career.
Erie kicker Caleb Harner and Monarch kicker Evan Lyons also made the list. Lyons had the longest field goal in the state this season at 54 yards. Centaurus defensive end and long snapper Zack Wojtalik rounded out the local honorable mentions after putting up 188 receiving yards and three touchdowns as well as two sacks for the Warriors.
Class 5A
After winning its way to the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs, Legacy football proved it had plenty of talent to go around. Five of the players from the 9-3 team made honorable mention. Junior quarterback Kullen Lerma finished his year with 1,434 passing yards and 928 yards on the ground with 30 total touchdowns.
Junior middle linebacker Omari Bursey led the defense with 72 tackles and 51 interception yards, as senior middle linebacker Ryan Bynarowicz added three sacks and 35 tackles. Senior offensive tackle Owen Lee excelled at keeping Lerma safe in the trenches, but had no stats readily available on MaxPreps. Senior running back/outside linebacker Brandon Sanchez added his name to the list by collecting 359 offensive yards and adding three sacks and 41 tackles on the other side of the ball.
Fairview, which finished its season with a first-round bid to the playoffs, secured one first-teamer with senior linebacker and defensive mastermind Zach Lewis, who also served as this year’s Daily Camera defensive player of the year. He impressed all year long with 120 tackles and a 62-yard interception.
Joining Lewis on honorable mention are senior tackle/guard Jack Lillie and sophomore wide receiver Jordan Rechel. Rechel logged 1,680 all-purpose yards with 14 touchdowns as Lillie protected his quarterback well.
Class 3A
Frederick took the lead in this year’s local 3A all-state list as Cruz Zamudio, Will Triplett and Hunter Kenney secured second-team bids and Kooper Anderson made honorable mention. The Golden Eagles ended their year with a trip to the 3A quarterfinals and an 8-4 record.
Senior running back Zamudio impressed with 1,582 all-purpose yards and a team-high 17 touchdowns, and senior tackle Triplett led the defense with three sacks while adding 13 tackles. Anderson, a senior free safety, wowed with 59 tackles. Kenney added another 11 tackles and a sack.
Holy Family earned a good amount of recognition with three honorable mentions in Rylan Cooney, Chase McNaughton and Angelo O’Dorisio. Junior quarterback Cooney led the way with 2,065 passing yards, 472 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.
McNaughton, a senior running back/wide receiver, contributed 1,362 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns as junior defensive tackle/guard O’Dorisio protected Cooney well. Mead senior guard/tackle Zach Dibella earned a spot on second team for his efforts to protect his quarterback.
8-man
A couple of players from Lyons played their way onto the 8-man honorable mention list after the Lions put together an impressive 10-1 season with a trip to the state quarterfinals. Junior quarterback Miles Dumbauld finished with 1,159 passing yards, 587 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior defensive end Dequlyn Keller impressed on the other side of the ball with 94 tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
