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FT. MORGAN, Colo. — Ft. Morgan is a small town on the eastern plains of Colorado, surrounded by cornfields, where main street is cute and quaint.

For Broncos tight end Joel Dreessen it will always be home. “I’m proud to be from here. I’ll never deny that, proud to be from Ft. Morgan.”

Giving us the full town tour, Dreessen steps right back into his childhood showing us the house he grew up in.

“I had so many football games in that yard right there. Pretending I was John Elway. I was always organizing my own Superbowls.”

On an electric pole in the yard you can still see the score etched into the wood. Joel, Brett and David vs. Tanner, Nick and Pico. Joel’s team won 103-75.

At Ft. Morgan High School, the winning tradition continued.

“My senior year we were 14-0…won State.” The Wall of Fame in the weight room looks like a family tree, with both Joel and his brother Jason honored for their football accomplishments.

“I watched my brother and his buddies make all conference, so a couple of years later I wanted to do the same.”

On the drive over to the stadium, Dreessen recalls one of his favorite memories of high school football, “You’re riding the bus, it’s all quiet, and then we stop at the railroad tracks and then it’s just pop, pop, pop… as everyone snaps on their chin strap and we’re ready to go to war.”

Now Dreesen is back on the field, just an hour and a half away from where his football foundation was established and instead of worshiping John Elway, he’s working for him.

“Now that he’s my boss, it’s like I really want to perform for that guy, find another level for my career, because this guy was my boyhood hero. He really was.”