With just over five minutes left on the clock, Cherry Creek had moved the ball to the yard and a half line for the extra point. They were behind 24-23 in the 5A Championship game against Valor Christian.
They could tie it, “but I didn’t want Dylan McCaffrey (Valor Christian’s quarterback) to get the ball back. We had come from behind twice in the fourth quarter, and that was because of our kids. So I wanted to put the pressure back on Valor. I’m a percentage guy and never in my coaching career have I made this decision. Usually I would kick it. But I just had a gut feeling. No way to quantify it. It was the right thing to do at the time, because I had faith in our players.” That’s how Coach Dave Logan describes the decision that could have gone either way. Instead, the two point conversion run by DJ Luke worked. Cherry Creek won 25-24 in a game some are calling one of the most exciting football games ever.
Who would have thought, three years after joining Cherry Creek’s Football program as head coach, that Logan would win a state football championship for the seventh time at the fourth high school, including Mullen, Chatfield and Arvada West, at which he’s coached? All right, some of you might have thought that. Logan, however, doesn’t take it for granted, “winning is a by-product of preparation. My players work too hard to suggest that winning is not important, but there are other things: life lessons, adversity, managing expectation levels, academics, the ups and downs of 15-17 year old teenagers, we go through it all. Our coaching staff wants to be there for the kids, with direction and discipline. ”
So how do you step into a program and rebuild, from square one? “You have to establish a trust with your players,” says Logan, “because there’s a proud history at Cherry Creek, they’d just gone through a dry spell with championships. So we had to establish expectations and be honest with the players, because they can tell when you’re phony.”
That includes setting expectations for the team and individual players and making sure they get to the point of becoming contributors to the team. “Not everyone can get the ball every time. Some may be spot players, others on special teams, and they all have to be successful for our team to do well.”
Logan wears a number of professional hats, talk show host on KOA Radio, Denver Broncos Play by Play announcer and high school football coach, to highlight the top three. For most of us, that could push us over the edge. Not Logan, “everybody’s busy, we all multi-task, so you have to set priorities. Working with kids is a priority for me. I get as much, if not more, out of coaching these kids as they do playing football. I love kids. I love football. As long as someone will allow me to do this, I’ll continue coaching.”
One of most gratifying moments after winning the championship was a call he got from his first quarterback, who only played a year for him back in 1993. He also heard from a host of other players from Arvada West, Chatfield and Mullen, and says “the bond we’ve forged hasn’t diminished, and that’s one of the best gifts I have.”
Our entire conversation was conducted with Dave speaking in tones just above a whisper. I asked him if he’d just spent too much time screaming in celebration. That’s when Logan laughs and shakes his head, “Lois, you know the drill. The next morning (after the championship win) I had to fly to Kansas City where the Chiefs were hosting the Denver Broncos. I was in a small plane, and when I got to the team hotel, I didn’t feel so well. I went to the stadium and managed to make it through the broadcast all right. After the game, the Broncos charter was delayed by more than 2 hours, so I didn’t get home until 5 the following morning. I think it was a 23 hour day and it all caught up with me.”
Not for long, Logan bounces back quick. I mean, the Broncos host the Bills in an afternoon game Sunday, and there is no doubt who’ll be doing the play by play announcing.
When it came down to his final call in the championship game, Logan said all the practice his Cherry Creek players had done since June 9th flashed in front of him, “and I had faith in my players that they could score. If they couldn’t execute, it would have been on me. They made the call look good.” Really good. The comeback coach is at it again.
Email: lois.melkonian@digital-staging.kdvr.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/LoisMelkonian Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoisMelkonianFOX31
Lois’ Living Through It blogs are posted on Mondays and Thursdays. Join her Monday mornings around 8:45am on Good Day Colorado.