Valor Christian football secures fourth state championship
A victorious Valor Christian football team after crushing Cherokee Trail 9-0, taking the State 5A Championship.
By Julie Montoya; photos courtesy of Kathleen Courier
Valor Christian High School’s football team has done it again! For the fourth consecutive year, Valor’s varsity football team has been crowned the Colorado State Champions. Valor Christian won 3A in 2009 and its next two in 4A in a unique stair-step series (the last program to win four in a row was Palisade in 3A, from 1994-97). On Saturday, December 1, the Valor Eagles made it four in a row by claiming the 5A title.
The Eagles took on the Cherokee Trail (Aurora) football team, and although it was one of the lowest-scoring big-school finals on record, the heavily favored Eagles slipped past Cherokee Trail 9 to 0.
The big game was played at Sports Authority Stadium at Mile High. The game progressed in unusual fashion, remaining scoreless through three quarters. The first score was a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Christian McCaffrey (the games MVP), who got into the end zone on his third try from inside the one-yard line, with 6:01 remaining. His touchdown was followed by an impressive 38-yard field goal by Brandon Spencer, sealing the Eagles’ victory.
Led by head coach Brent Vieselmeyer, Valor went into this challenge with high morale, having won thirty-seven of its past thirty-nine games. This game was the Eagles’ seventeenth consecutive post-season victory.
On December 2, the Valor Eagles were invited to appear on-air during a morning segment of 9 news. Anchor Matt Flener called the Eagles a “historic team,” and went on to say that Valor football may just be on its way to crushing the all-time record of six back-to-back state championships in a row.
Valor’s defensive line was solid and kept Cherokee Trail at bay during the first three quarters of the game, keeping the score 0-0.
