Agricultural lifestyle a key component of Sargent Farmers football culture

The Sargent Farmers had a close game with Custer County last Friday, finding themselves up 28-20 at the halftime break. In the second half, the team used a stifling defensive effort and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns late to pull away for the 42-20 win to improve to 2-2 on the season.

“We did a good job, particularly in the second half, and locked in to win that game,” head coach Cameron King said about his team’s win.

It was an important win for the Farmers to even up their record before a non-league game with No. 5 Mancos this week. It was also a big win for the school and the community for homecoming. At Sargent High School, homecoming sees many of the traditions that you would find at a typical homecoming game, but the Farmers have their own unique way to showcase the community that the team plays for and their way of life as well.

The small school out of Monte Vista finds a way to show off the agricultural lifestyle that most, if not all, of the students and school members are a part of. For every homecoming game, the field is lined with farming equipment that family members and others in the community use daily as a way of life. While you may also find the large equipment at games throughout the season, the community tries to bring much of that to the field for homecoming.

“It really ties in the community well,” King said. “Sargent High School is not located in a town, it’s more in a potato field. This is a chance to showcase our agriculture and the community.”

But even then, work calls this time of the year for the harvest, and many of the farmers who would like to be out at the field supporting the school are back at the farm doing their job.

“We did not have as much this year due to the potato harvest,” King said. “Some of those guys had their boots on and were working, but we were still able to showcase it.”

There was still a good turnout from the community to support the team and the school last week, something King is not surprised at.

“It really is a small-town atmosphere,” King said. “Everyone here knows everyone. You kind of lose that in the bigger cities. We’re a community that the kids represent.”

The agricultural lifestyle is not just in the community and the team is exposed to it. Many of the athletes who play football also work with their families outside of school and extracurricular activities. There are no days off for them, instead using all their free time to work, including now during the harvest season. Even King has some children that have their daily chores and responsibilities to cover every day.

That way of life is something King has seen from the eastern plains to Monte Vista, and he feels that hard work ethic translates on the field for his team.

“(The farming lifestyle) is something that builds your work ethic,” King explained. “For people here, you don’t go to bed when you’re tired, you go to bed when you’re done.”