Limon is champion again

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 27, 2005 | by NICK WALTER THE GAZETTE

AKRON - They came at Limon quarterback Tyson Liggett in waves on Saturday, doling out hand shakes, head slaps, hugs and autograph requests.

Limon's 35-0 win over Akron in the Class A state championship wasn't the only reason for the outpouring.

The eastern plains community basked in a high school football dynasty that includes a 39-game winning streak and three straight state titles.

Liggett said "thank you" until his tongue twisted before he tried to explain Limon's 17 state titles, the most in Colorado high school football history.

"We've got kids who work hard at everything we do," Liggett said. "I live on a ranch, I'm out there in the summer working on fences, and so many of us do that."

Many of them wake at dawn for chores. That quickstarting work ethic took effect on the football field, as Limon (13-0) started its first two drives from the Akron 20 and took a 14-0 lead by the end of the quarter.

Akron (10-3) had a 38-game winning streak from 2001 to 2003. Limon ended that streak in the state championship.

It could have been Akron's turn to stop Limon at 38.

"We weren't thinking about (stopping the streak)," Akron quarterback/running back Austin Woods said. "We just came out trying to win."

Akron ended up punting on its first possession, fumbling a kickoff away on its second, turning the ball over on downs on its third, and adding another fumble on its fourth.

Limon had first half touchdowns runs by Liggett (13 yards), Ty Rohrbaugh (1), and two by Andy Love (22, 2).

Limon did the dirty work on defense, pouncing on three fumbles, nabbing three interceptions and causing a turnover on downs.

Two of the fumbles were recovered by senior L.D. Meier, who also scored Limon's final touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Liggett called Meier the hardest worker he's ever seen. Maybe it's because Meier has a streak of his own. The 5-foot-11, 179- pound senior has woke at 6 a.m. every day since he was 12 to feed hundreds of cows and over a thousand yearlings.

"You can't skip a day," Meier said. "It takes two hours. You have to learn how to work with the animals and wake up early not knowing how they'll react. In football, you have to figure out how the other players will react."

Limon coach Mike O'Dwyer just hoped there was one more solid performance left in his players. It turned out they had their most complete game.

Pin the performance on the blue-collar workers.

"These kids come in and lift before school and go to work," O'Dwyer said. "And these kids aren't at McDonalds. They're going to the farm, the ranch, they go work construction. We just happened to have a string of them the last three years."

BY THE NUMBERS

39 Consecutive wins for Limon

3 Consecutive state football titles for Limon

17 Overall football titles for Limon, the most of any Colorado school