While other Montezuma-Cortez team sports are making the drop from Class 4A to Class 3A, the football team’s move is a lateral one.
M-CHS has played in Class 2A since 2014, but this year they’re in a new conference, moving from the Western Slope South League to the Intermountain League.
The change is a subtle one, though, as the Panthers’ new league still consists of Alamosa, Bayfield, Gunnison and Pagosa Springs. The only differences are the name and the addition of Delta and drop of Olathe.
Last year, the Panthers finished 2-7 and 1-4 in league play, with Western Slope South League champion Bayfield going on to win the Class 2A State Championship.
But with personnel changes across the board, head coach Scott Conklin is excited about the new season.
“Everybody’s graduated a bunch, but I think we’ve just gotten stronger,” he explained. “Our younger guys have gotten a year under their belt, so that’s going to be an advantage for us with the experience that our freshmen and sophomores got last year starting on varsity.”
The Panthers said goodbye to six graduating seniors, but they welcome back a strong core that includes returning seniors Coby Baer, Tanner Desrosiers, Elisha Vaquera, Tyler Case, Juan Arballo and Elisha Singer, and new senior Ryan Beason.
“The seniors are definitely leading this year,” Conklin said. “And we’re way further ahead of where we were last year at this point – going into our first game – so we’re much better prepared.”
Returning to the Panthers backfield will be Baer and Vaquera, who combined for over 600 yards on the ground, with Baer scoring five rushing touchdowns and two through the air. They also add Micah Silversmith, who played at Grand Junction Central last year before moving to Cortez.
At quarterback, sophomore Ike Dennison will look to fill the void left by Cordell Ridings, and so far, Conklin has been impressed.
“He looks great,” he said. “He had a great camp in June. He’s young, but he’s confident and ready to go.”
Conklin also said the receiving corps looks good. And with the offense moving away from the double-wing formation to what Conklin called a “quick, college offense,” expect the Panthers to pull in more than the 50 receptions they recorded last year.
The Panthers’ defensive scheme underwent change as well, moving from a three front to a four front, but they return a nucleus of playmakers.
Last season, Desrosiers was second in the league in tackles with 119 and Baer was fourth with 78. The Panthers also bring back their top sack-getters in Vaquera, who led the league with five, and Desrosiers, who finished fifth with 2.5.
M-CHS has had two weeks to put it all together on the practice field, and they’ll look to get in the win column early as they open at Grand County in Moab on Friday at 7 p.m.
“They just run power football,” Conklin said of the Panthers’ first opponent of the season. “They’re just going to pound the ball, so we’ve just got to stay disciplined and fill the gaps and beat them to the hole.”