Football: The new Palmer Ridge football program plans on looking just like the old one
By Dan Mohrmann/Single Wing Media
Photo: Gabe Christus/Denver Broncos
When it comes to figuring out what the new era of Palmer Ridge football will look like, an old saying comes to mind.
What once was old is new again.
There is not one player on the roster that thinks a new era means taking a step back. For the last several seasons, Palmer Ridge has been the dominant football program in the Colorado Springs area, advancing to four straight state championship games and winning three of them.
In the offseason, they lost a significant amount of talent and made a change at head coach, but that doesn’t mean a thing as far as anyone on the roster – player or coach – is concerned. At the Denver Broncos media day session at Empower Field at Mile High, the players issued their thoughts on how the new Palmer Ridge Bears will look just as strong as the old team.
“It’s all really tied together,” senior Connor Jones said. “We lost those players but we’re bringing back key players who are stepping into those roles.”
His way of dealing with it is ignoring the outside noise and just focusing on getting his guys ready for the season opener against Pueblo East on Aug. 26.
“I’ve been so busy working that stress I don’t think is the right word for it,” Armentrout said. “I just try to focus each day on the things I have to do and do my best to take things off of my to-do list.”
There is plenty of talent scattered throughout the roster, even at positions that were left vacant by graduating seniors. Junior quarterback Jimmy Thomas saw limited action at the position but got his teammates and fans excited when he connected on a 97-yard touchdown pass during a win against Montrose last year.
Aside from him, there are some big-time playmakers coming back as Jones will anchor the line before heading to Ann Arbor to play for the Michigan Wolverines. Wide receiver Anthony Costanzo wants to have a breakout year before making his way to Las Vegas to play at UNLV. And junior running Nathaniel Robinson will add a lot of balance after he ran for 420 yards and three touchdowns last fall.
The turnover of talented players has become a part of the Bears’ culture and it’s something that the seniors this year learned from those before them. Now, they hope to continue passing those expectations down to the underclassmen making their way into the program.
“We’re just one big family, really,” Jones said. “We have a lot of traditions. When you think of a football team, most people think of a brotherhood and we go far beyond that.”
Last season ended with a heartbreaking loss to Loveland in the Class 4A state championship game, and the Bears believe the best way to rebound from that loss is to put it out of their minds as fast as they can.
Their journey to the next state championship begins now. New players and a new coach will give the program a fresh look, but the mission is the same it has always been.
