South Warren has made easy work of its Kentucky opponents so far this season as the Spartans have defeated five teams by a combined score of 224-60.
The Spartans will venture away from in-state competition on Friday night, and the team that Coach Brandon Smith’s squad is playing is one that fans probably never imagined: the Rocky Mountain High School Lobos, who are making the 1,100-mile trip all the way from Fort Collins, Colo.—the farthest any out-of-state team has ever travelled to play a Warren County school, according to Elliot Pratt of The Bowling Green Daily News.
“There is no connection (to Rocky Mountain) at all,” Smith said. “It was completely random. Over the dead period I got a call from there AD saying they needed a game and saw that we had an opening. I explained that we only need a game for this year not the typical two year contract and that we could not go there. They were still interested and were really desperate to play 10 games as we were. Therefore we were able to work it out.”
The Lobos (1-3) fill the void in the schedule that Barren County left when the Trojans opted to drop out of Class 5A, District Two competition this season.
“We gave them the money Barren gave us for the buyout and we are going to be able to feed them a couple of times,” Smith said. “We are thrilled that they are able to make the trip and hope that it is a really great experience for them. I know that our coaches and players are really excited about it and think the whole concept is pretty cool.”
While South Warren has ripped off five consecutive victories to open the season here in Kentucky, Rocky Mountain is fresh off its first win of the year with a 27-14 victory over Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). However Smith and the Spartans are not underestimating the Lobos.
“It’s really hard to tell because we have nothing to compare them to and we know nothing about Colorado football,” Smith said. “The eye test tells me they are a pretty sound football team and the competition they have been playing is pretty tough.”
Rocky Mountain has dropped two games by less than a touchdown this season, falling to Fort Collins 9-3 the first week of the season before losing to Chaparral (Parker, Colo.) 18-10 the following week—that agony of defeat still being something that the Spartans are yet to experience this year. Smith gives a good deal of credit to the seniors for the fast start.
“I think through five weeks we have had outstanding leadership,” Smith said. “The seniors on this team understand how to work and how to show others how to work. They have done a really good job from that perspective.”
Senior quarterback Gavin Spurrier has been the driving piston of a potent Spartan offense as he has completed 51-of-67 passes for 817 yards and 15 touchdowns while tossing just one interception. On the defensive side of the ball, the Spartans have been led by Pete Cross (38 tackles) and Notre Dame commit Jacob Lacey (19 tackles, two sacks). Western Kentucky University commit and two-way player Clayton Bush has tallied two interceptions and one fumble recovery to go along with 136 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just four receptions.
Kickoff between South Warren and Rocky Mountain is slated for 7 p.m. at South Warren High School. The game will be live-streamed on STBNTV.com.
