D’Evelyn football brings big passing attack to Class 2A
DENVER — D’Evelyn football will provide Class 2A teams a taste of what a well-versed passing attack looks like this season.
The Jaguars move down from 3A to 2A this season with the enrollment numbers moving several teams around to balance out the classifications. D’Evelyn has been a perennial playoff team and league champion contender in 3A under coach Jeremy Bennett for more than a decade. However, the move down to 2A hasn’t changed Bennett’s or the Jaguars’ approach to the season.
“As a team we looked back on it. We decided it really isn’t a big change for us,” said Kehoe, who had 60 catches for 911 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. “We are still going to play like we play. We are going to see everyone as an opponent and play our own game.”
Kehoe returns as D’Evelyn’s top receiver from last year’s squad that put up more than 3,900 yards through the air during a 7-4 record in 2015. Gone are Charlie Davis (1,641 yards receiving) and quarterback Owen Burke (3,904 yards passing and 39 touchdowns).
By no means is the cupboard bare when it comes to the receiving core for the Jaguars. Kehoe, along with the likes of Josh Riggs, Cody Bell and Rome McIntrye gives D’Evelyn plenty of depth at the position.
“I don’t think a lot of 2A teams have seen what we do,” Bennett said of the Jaguars’ passing attack. “They haven’t seen the team speed with have with being seven or eight receivers deep that can all run.”
The main question is who will be throwing the ball for D’Evelyn. In the mix for the starting quarterback job includes seniors Josh Brinkerhoff, Christian Cedillo and junior Chad Dines to take over for Burke, who is continuing his football career at one of the top Division II programs in the country in Winona State University in Minnesota.
Dines will have to sit the first four games after transferring for Valor Christian last season. The junior attends Colorado Academy, which doesn’t have a football program. Dines made the choice to play for the Jaguars this season.
“All the (quarterbacks) are doing great. The season is still pretty fresh,” Kehoe said. “We’ll see who will step up as a leader and show off their talent. It will all work out in the end.”
Bennett isn’t concerned either about the quarterback position.
“We’ll be OK. We’ll have a guy who will throw for over 2,000 yards,” Bennett said. “I think what you will see different is the running game. We want to be balanced this year.”
Look for senior Kyle Klataske to be one of the main ball carriers for the Jaguars. Klataske had nearly 500 yards rushing in a back-up role last season.
Defensively, senior Nolan Balbin will spearhead an impressive linebacker core.
“I think we want to be really aggressive. We want to push people around and be fast to the ball,” Balbin said. “I think the defense will get a lot of attention this year. We have a lot of returning starters.”
D’Evelyn will play in the 2A Flatirons League that includes Arvada, Denver West, Faith Christian, Jefferson, Middle Park and the Jaguars. The non-league schedule for D’Evelyn is challenging with Sterling, Platte Valley and The Classical Academy all ranked in the top-10 in 2A of the CHSAANow.com preseason poll.
The Jaguars sit in the No. 6 spot in the preseason poll and received three first-place votes.
“By no means do we think dropping down we are just a shoo-in to win a state title,” Bennett said. “We are going to have to work our tails off, but these guys have bought in.”
