Manitou Springs High School’s football team had their first game of the season against the Rye High School Thunderbolts on September 2, 2022, at Richardson Field. 

The football team played well in the first half, having good drives on offense and good stops on defense. By the end of the half, Manitou was ahead 20-7.

 “It went well in the first half, but in the second half, we lost our momentum and could have had better offensive drives,” Kyan Bunker (10) said. 

The team focused on stopping the run game in the past two weeks of preparation, and did not focus much on the passing aspect. “[There’s] some secondary stuff we need to focus on,” Evan Scherr (12) said. The Mustangs’ pass defense wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. Their main weakness was in the middle of the field when passing to each other.

Four days before the game, the starting cornerback and wide receiver, Samuel Fournier (11), was injured in practice. Fournier was the starting corner and wide receiver for the team, therefore it was hard to find a replacement for him.

After the half, the team lost most of its momentum. “In the second half, we did not play as well,” Nate Gentzel (11) said. 

The coaches said after the game that the team played well and that if they decreased their mental mistakes, the ending would have been different.

The game ended in a Mustang loss 28-20. 

Ever since the loss, the coaches have been making players practice a lot harder so the same mistakes don’t happen in the next game. 

Coach Stuart Jeck said, “The players should be playing for the team and not for themselves.” 

The team has put their loss in the past and has already begun to focus on their next game against Valley Christian on Saturday, September 10, 2022. 

“I’m excited to see what the rest of the season holds,” Scherr said.