EHS Football heads to playoffs after rollercoaster weekend

Joe Howard, Sports Editor

    A week of excitement built up to the final regular season football game this year.  With a “no red clothes” policy, posters covering the hallway walls, and a blue and white spirit day, the school was filled with anticipation about the November 5 South Metro League Championship game. This weekend sent the Englewood Pirates football team on a roller coaster of emotions.   In the pre-game warm ups, the team fed off the exciting atmosphere as they prepared to face their hated rivals and number one-ranked 3A football team in the state, the Elizabeth Cardinals.
            “We can’t be quiet tonight!” Israel Rubio said after a practice play. 

Assistant Coach Andy Cornell pulled Joel Pleiman, starting quarterback, aside.  

            “You have to keep the team going tonight.  We have to be mentally tough.  No matter what adversity hits us, we have to keep going,” Cornell said.  

In the first quarter, Englewood’s defense played its best twelve minutes all year, holding off an Elizabeth offense that had produced over 2,500 rushing yards and 439 points going into the final game.  Although Elizabeth Running Back Matt Biery finally broke through the Pirate defense and scored the first touchdown of the game in the second quarter, Englewood was still able to gain some momentum by forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass right before half time.  

            The second half, however, did not turn out as well.
             “When you play a team that good, you can’t afford to make mistakes, because teams like Elizabeth know how to capitalize on those mistakes,” Cornell said.  

Elizabeth gained all of the momentum to start the half when Joe Finken returned the opening kick off for a touchdown.  On the Pirates’ next possession, Aaron Emberton’s kick was blocked, and Elizabeth was able to recover the ball on the nine-yard line.  On the very next play, Biery rushed for his second of four touchdowns on the night to make the score 20-0.  Although the Pirates were able to get on the board when Pleiman completed a touchdown pass to Johnny Waltz, Elizabeth controlled the rest of the game on their way to a 49-7 finish.  

            “We played a great first half,” Cornell said.  “We showed that we can play with any team in the state.  If everything goes as planned with the rest of the [3A] games tonight, we should still have a playoff spot.”
             But as any sports fan knows, often times, everything does not go as planned.  Classical Academy and Frederick, both teams trailing Englewood in the playoff standings, upset Lewis Palmer and Windsor respectively. Most of the coaching staff predicted that those two games would leave the Pirates out of the playoffs.  Disappointment filled the room.  Pirate Head Coach Jay Graves entered the locker room to address the players who had not left already.
           “It was a great season. I am so proud of all of you.” Graves said.  

Pleiman was able to remain optimistic.

           “We have got to get everyone back on board. This isn’t over,” he said. “Who even expected us to be 8-2 this season besides us? Nobody.”

Through all the tears, doubt, and disappointment, a glimmer of hope still remained.  The next day, Saturday, November 6, Athletic Director Paul Evans said that if Evergreen were to beat Conifer, Englewood might sneak into the top 16.  Later that day, the playoff hopes were looking bleak again as Conifer kicked a field goal to take a fourth quarter lead over Evergreen.  The emotional roller coaster took its final turn when Evergreen completed a touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining to win the game.

Sunday, November 7, Evans attended the official playoff seeding meeting where he learned the Englewood Pirates had earned their first playoff berth since 2006.  On Saturday, November 13, they will play number two seeded Glenwood Springs High School.

Senior Chris Nunnelly is excited about the new life the team has been given. “After the game on Friday I cried for a while because I thought that I had played my last high school football game, and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t sleep at all that night. I just wanted one more game.  Now that we have been given that chance I can’t sit still because we have another chance to prove we are a better team than the one that showed up on Friday.”

After many unexpected twists and turns, it seems like the emotional roller coaster is headed up, and the team will be riding it into Saturday afternoon.

Senior Running Back Kevin Mathews, all-league and all state member, follows his blocker and runs for a Pirate first down.

Fright Night truly a hair-raising experience by Veronique Barbour

Editor's note:  Author Veronique Barbour won 2nd place in Elitch Garden's High School Feature Writing contest for this story. Junior Teresa Scaggiari received 1st place in the contest. Scaggiari's article was published in the Oct. 29, 2010, issue of the Pirateer. 

A void, that is what the feeling of complete darkness brings to those who are enclosed in its hollow domain. Who lurks beneath this black curtain of the night? This is the question most ask themselves as fear crawls up their spin and travels to every morsel of their being. A scream is heard; it pierces the air with its never-ending shrills. The scream is coming from the very person who is enclosed in the darkness. A person or rather a being dead or alive is behind the fearful civilian, waiting to frighten them until they can handle the terror no more.
    Such a scenario would be excepted to occur in a graveyard or in the latest scary movie, but Elitch Gardens surely does not come to mind. During the day, Elitch Gardens is a hang out spot for adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers alike. However, once the sun leaves the sky and conceals itself, leaving only the darkened night sky; Elitches transforms into a place of complete horror.  For those who enjoy decapitated body parts, the sight of dripping blood, decaying flesh, zombies, half-dead humans with chainsaws, and the fear of what lurks beyond the next corner, then Elitches transforms into their play-place.
    “This would be our first year at Elitches’ Fright Fest and so far it has been very entertaining, we haven’t really been scared, yet, but we look forward to being so scared that our hair stands up,” The Denise Family, attendants of Elitches’ Fright Fest, said. As a family, they are avid haunted house goers during the Halloween season. They seek enjoyment out of the fear caused by such rancorous displays of that which is morbid and disgusting. Luckily, they went to the right place to experience such horrendous things. Elitches’ has two haunted houses, the first is Bloodlust, and the second is The Suffering. Each person experiences a different frightening situation depending on their fear level in these haunted houses. However, many agree on many common hair raising experiences.

“My favorite part about The Suffering was the guy who drops down from the ceiling. I have excellent night vision, but I didn’t see him at all,” Elitch worker Sean Games said. Such scare tactics give Elitches the upper hand when it comes to surprising its visitors. Creating an element of surprise prevents Elitches’ haunted houses from being the average haunted houses next door.

“The Suffering was amazing. It really scared us, especially when the man came down from the ceiling and swooped down in front of our faces. We didn’t even see him coming. We also really enjoyed Bloodlust. It was based off of a high school Homecoming dance gone wrong. There were dead football players running around chasing us with football blasters. The sound was so loud that our bodies shook with fear. We loved it,” The Denise Family said.

Elitches’ Fright Fest only costs $40 per person to get in, and only $10 per person if they have an Elitch Garden Season pass. Going to Fright Fest allows one to ride all of the regular Elitches’ Rides while enjoying the benefits of Halloween fright. With two eerie haunted houses, rides to satisfy one’s thrill seeking needs, and the atmosphere of the Halloween season; there is sheer enjoyment to be had at Elitches’ Fright Fest.

Dripping blood, torn flesh, and piercing cries can thoroughly scare any innocent bystander at Elitches. No one is safe when they enter into the Halloween oasis, for the living dead take no excuses when scaring those around them. Life lacks all entertainment without a horrifying scare, so come to Elitches Fright Fest to seek the pleasure of a good scare.