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Meet the Gold Helmet finalists: 6 Colorado high school football players who embody excellence on and off the field

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

Columbine running back/defensive back Josh Synder is the winner of the 2023 Denver Post Gold Helmet Award, edging out six other worthy senior finalists. Here’s a look at each of them:Chaz BarnettRock Canyon senior defensive lineman Chaz Barnett in action against ThunderRidge on Friday, Oct. 27, at Halftime Help Stadium in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Photo Courtesy of Robbie Wright)School: Rock CanyonOn the field: A disruptive force up front for the Jaguars defense, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman has offers to play for Air Force, Army and Wyoming. As a senior, Barnett registered 52 tackles (4.0 for loss), including 6.0 sacks and three forced fumbles in 12 games. And over the past two seasons, he racked up 105 tackles (7.0 for loss), 12.5 sacks and three pass breakups.Off the field: Barnett carries a 3.75 grade-point average in the classroom. Away from school, he has made a habit of helping neighbors, whether it’s putting up Christmas decorations for a neighbor with healt...

A letter by Josh Snyder, winner of the 2023 Denver Post Gold Helmet Award

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

It has been an amazing honor to be able to play the game of football alongside my best friends for my whole life, and I am so grateful to have been blessed with winning this award through that. I am so thankful for so many people that have helped me along this journey and made it possible.I want to thank God first, for he is where my strength comes from, and he empowered me with the gift of playing football. I would like to thank my family for being my biggest supporters no matter the circumstance and for the sacrifices that they make that enable me to be the best I can be. I want to thank all of my teammates for bettering me as a person and as a player everyday, and I would not be here without their help and support. I want to thank my coaching staff for always pushing me to be my best both on the field and off of the field. To be able to model my future around their mottos has been a blessing. Finally, I want to thank The Denver Post for recognizing me with this special award.To h...

All-Colorado Coach of the Year Andy Lowry led Columbine to perfect season, upset of Cherry Creek in Class 5A title

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

All fall, while following the example of their resolute coach, the Columbine Rebels knew exactly who they were.Andy Lowry, the 2023 Denver Post All-Colorado Coach of the Year, led Columbine to an undefeated season while winning his sixth state championship in 30 years at the Rebels’ helm. He did so by upsetting four-time defending champ Cherry Creek in the title game, with a roster featuring zero FBS scholarship offers that embraced a “junkyard dawg” mentality.“So many teams, just naturally, will walk onto the field against Cherry Creek and a lot of them are beat right away just by the Creek Mystique — their size, their college offers, all of that,” Lowry said. “We sold our kids on the toughness piece and the junkyard dawg mentality. Our guys ate that up. They came out, played physical, won the battle of the trenches.”Along the way, as the Rebels’ offense ran its full-house formation to near-perfection and the defense muscled the oppos...

Columbine’s Josh Snyder wins Gold Helmet after leading Rebels to Class 5A title

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

Of the several mistakes Cherry Creek made on special teams in the Class 5A state title game, allowing Josh Snyder to return a kickoff proved the most critical.After a pair of Snyder rushing touchdowns put Columbine up 14-0 early, the Bruins responded with an interception and then a score a few minutes later to close the gap. That is, until Snyder housed a 98-yard kickoff return, using his blazing speed and vision to return the mojo to the Rebels for good.“My hopes shot up in a huge way after that play,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry recalled. “After they scored, you could see they gained some confidence. Then when Josh took it all the way back, you could feel the whole momentum shift back our way in a matter of seconds. That was huge. Maybe the game’s biggest play.”That kickoff return epitomized Snyder’s game-breaking ability as he emerged as the best player on the 5A state champions this year. It showcased his wheels, athleticism and versatility as ...

Keeler: This Denver woman prayed for a Christmas miracle. Broncos star Justin Simmons gave her one

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

PARKER — The metaphor had four good wheels but forced her to walk anyway. Taylor Swift couldn’t write a song as sad as Samantha Ramirez’s 2023. Or sing it half as well.Ramirez, 38, and her main squeeze, David Dunn, were working at the Waffle House in Cocoa Beach, Fla., when life’s compass pointed them north last September. Let’s get the heck out of the South, move to the mountains, buy a food truck, see the snow, start over.“Sometimes, to get rid of bad juju,” Ramirez explained, “you’ve gotta make a move.”Only the juju followed, ants chasing a picnic lunch. At the start of the year, her biological father died of cancer. Then her mother contracted pancreatic cancer. A few months after that, the engine in her Subaru Legacy conked out, which forced her and David to Uber to work.“For $600 a month,” Ramirez sighed.“When you’re on the path to do things, some rocks get thrown in your path. So I kept on push...

Reggie Jackson’s Colorado: A Palmer High legend shaped by snow ice cream, unforgettable highlights and lasting friendships

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

Nobody has had a rooting interest in Colorado’s climate for reasons more unusual than Reggie Jackson’s.He thinks it was fall of his sophomore year in high school. By then, he had lived in Colorado Springs since sixth grade and found close friends in Palmer High School teammates Zach Hawkins and Jonathan Burnley.Whenever it was, he and Burnley were at Hawkins’ house — where they spent most of their free time — when Hawkins’ stepmom mentioned she was waiting for the first snow of the season to collect a sample for an ice cream recipe. Jackson had never heard of such a concept.“And one day I think we were actually staying the night at his house, and luckily we got snowed in,” Jackson said. “She made the first batch, and I fell in love. I couldn’t wait for the first snowfall every winter after that.”Jackson, 33, has been back in Colorado since February, when he signed with the Nuggets after Charlotte bought out his contract. Ten months later, he has won his first NBA champio...

The Denver Post’s 2023 All-Colorado football team

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

The 2023 All-Colorado football team, as selected by The Denver Post staff based on statistical analysis, relative value to team success, postseason production and the old-fashioned eye test.Logan MaddenRalston Valley quarterback Logan Madden. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)QB | Ralston Valley | Sr. | 6-foot-2 | 195 poundsThe centerpiece of Ralston Valley’s rise to power over the past two years, Madden led the Mustangs to consecutive Class 5A semifinal trips. He threw for 2,794 yards, third in the classification, and showed premier pocket presence while being able to consistently elude the pass-rush to throw for 22 TDs. He’s currently uncommitted.Austyn ModrzewskiMountain Vista quareterback Austyn Modrzewski. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)QB | Mountain Vista | Jr. | 6-foot-5 | 198 poundsThe lanky gunslinger led all classifications with 3,675 yards passing this year for the Golden Eagles. That included a 128 QBR and 41 touchdowns as Mountain Vista made it to t...

Me & My Car: 1969 Datsun in Lafayette restored to flawlessness

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

Most car people know that Nissan is the owner of the Datsun, brand but what came first?The beginning of Datsun goes back to 1911, when Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works was established. Three of the men who invested in the company, Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama and Aketaro Takeuchi built the company’s first car in 1914 and called it “DAT,” a name using the last initials of the three investors.Related ArticlesLocal News | Me & My Car: 1931 Ford Model A in East Bay a masterpiece hot rod Local News | Me & My Car: East Bay owner’s ’63 Volvo with him through thick and thin Local News | Me & My Car: Oakland man’s ’92 Allanté one of Cadillac’s unique models There were some larger vehicles produced under the DAT name, but in 1931 a more compact car was produced which was called a “DATSON,” as it was sort of the son of DAT. Clever, but in Japanese the meaning of “son” is “loss” so ...

Joe Andruzzi Foundation, Bob’s Discount Furniture deliver mattresses to cancer patients

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

Former Patriot and Super Bowl Champion Joe Andruzzi is giving back this holiday season, delivering mattresses to cancer patients across New England.The longtime Pats offensive lineman even let some of the people he delivered to wear his four Super Bowl rings.Teaming up with Bob’s Discount Furniture, Andruzzi’s Foundation delivered the mattresses and bedding to area residents battling cancer.“I’ve been there, I’ve been a cancer patient,” Andruzzi said. “I fought for my life from a hospital bed in 2007 and my doctor was a big believer in you get better at home.” The first delivery was to Leisa Clarke in Dorchester, who has gone through four rounds of chemotherapy and received a heart and kidney transplant.Speaking to 7NEWS, her son said, “Two years ago my Mom was going through her heart transplant and we didn’t know if she was going to make it, so for her to be here to see this, it’s wonderful. God is good and she dese...

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Alaska may be your best bet, as U.S. ski resorts see rain, not snow

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:33:59 GMT

GILFORD, N.H. (AP) — For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year’s prospects aren’t good.Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that are normally coated in white this time of year are still sporting their drab late-fall look.“Some people will get their dream, their wish, and get a white Christmas right at the last minute,” said Judah Cohen, the director of seasonal forecasting at Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research. “But most of the country will have a brown Christmas.”Among the areas more accustomed to snowy Decembers is the Northeast, where a powerful storm blew in this week and dumped heavy rain on the region’s ski areas, wreaking havoc on the snowpack.“It didn’t wash out our trails. But it was crazy rain,” said Tom Day, the general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, New Hampshire.He hiked the ski area Monday, when it was...