Strides taken

Thursday nights game versus Fort Collins made it apparent to everyone in attendance that Fossil Ridge Football was here to stay in 5A. You battled the Lambkins on every front. Throughout the first half you were able to over come the mistakes and match Fort Collins play for play, but in the second half Fort Collins was able to take advantage of our mistakes and take home the victory. But know this, Fort Collins knows they were in a game. They are a good team and will do well in the playoffs, but you can play with them, and did. The exciting play in the intercity games has been a great testimony to the hard work put in by both the coaches and players this season. You stepped in to rivalries where everyone wanted to say you didn't belong and proved them wrong.

Coach Lefort

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Congratulations Seniors

Ravin DeFonseka

CJ Leonard

Alex Leonard

Hayden Etter

Tony DeMario

DeVonte Anderson

Brian Heckman

Cody Dinkel

Caleb Kroening

Luke Biedscheid

Jake Schneeberger

Barney Schmidtke

Sean Maley

David Hough

Alex Marshall

Austin Roe

Travon Askew

LAMBKINS AWAIT

This is the game I know that many of you have been waiting for. Fort Collins is an excellent team, ranked in the top 5 in the state. They are undefeated in the conference. They are preparing to make a run deep into the state playoffs. You must be ready to give everything you have on the gridiron to walk off the field with the victory. You know the joy of winning an intercity game and the pain of losing one. It is your chance to once again prove you belong. The Lambkins have no respect for you, UNTIL YOU EARN IT! Remember RESPECT IS ONLY EARNED BETWEEN THE WHISTLE. GO OUT AND EARN IT!!

Coach Lefort

Playing to Win

Friday nights battle with Poudre had all the makings of a classic football high school football game. Two intercity rivals, a steady autumn rain and a rugged running game versus a high octane passing attack. It was only fitting that it would end up in overtime with one play to decide the outcome.
It was not a perfectly played game by any means. Defensively we were handled at the point of attack and Poudre could run the football at will. Offensively we didn't execute well and sputtered through the majority of the first three quarters. But NEVER underestimate the HEART OF THE SABERCATS!
You have had plenty of opportunities to stay down and quit this year. But you have battled back and the Poudre game was no exception. Regardless of the outcome Poudre now knows who the SABERCATS are. They know that whenever they see Fossil Ridge on their schedule they are going to be in for a fight, for 48 minutes (or more). In NO OTHER SPORT do you have to PICK YOURSELF UP AND WALK IT OFF, like you have to in FOOTBALL! You need to know that not everyone has that in them in to do that, BUT YOU DO!


Coach Lefort

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

- # 8 from Poudre is a workhorse

- Defensive players must know their assignments on every down, every block

- Every point during a game is HUGE

- CJ's TRUCKSTICK on the goal line was AWESOME

- Once again the RIDGE NATION was there, rain or shine

- The SaberCats play to WIN

City Championship, Conference Championship and another 20 Minutue Halftime

DO NOT underestimate the IMPORTANCE of THIS game! It has everything you could ever want riding on it. You are in the hunt for a city championship, a conference championship and the State Playoffs. There are big games and then there are BIG GAMES. It is time to DIAL IN. From here on out your focus should be on one thing: BEATING Poudre! The Impalas are a well coached football team that are historically rugged and fundamentally sound. It will take a tremendous effort from all three phases of the game to win ANOTHER homecoming game. It is the time to play your best, nothing else will do! A game of this magnitude requires it.

Prepare to Win!

Coach Lefort

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

In the sport of football there are a handful of critical plays that will determine the outcome of a particular game. On Saturday the Horizon Hawks made more of those critical plays to escape with a victory. To the casual fan it may have appeared that Horizon was just "getting all the breaks." Funky bounces on balls that ended up as completions or interceptions, onsides kicks that rolled just perfectly 10 yards or fumbles that kicked between two of our players and ended up in their hands. But in reality those "FREAK PLAYS" were a result of bad SaberCat execution. Sure sometimes the ball takes a funny bounce, but some of those bounces were results of not doing your jobs. Easy interceptions and receptions that bounce from your hands to a Hawk's, not covering the ball on kickoffs, missed and broken tackles and not scrambling to get to EVERY FREE BALL that was left on the turf. Horizon made their own breaks and because of that they took a victory away from French Field. Remember EXECUTION AND HUSTLE are the biggest friends of the LUCKY BOUNCE.

Coach Lefort

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

- #5 is A PLAYMAKER SUPREME

- The more games I coach the more I value what goes on with the SPECIAL TEAMS

- You must GANG TACKLE to be a good defense

- There are game winning plays all over - you just have to hustle to find them

Hawks on the Horizon

I have said this before but WHEN YOU WIN, THE NEXT GAME always becomes the most important game. This week it is the Horizon Hawks. They come in to the game with a lot of motivation to get back in the win column and make a push for the playoffs. This is CRUNCH TIME! Every game from here on out is huge. All the lifting, running and head banging is ALL DONE just to have a chance to play in the kind of game you will play in on Saturday morning. DO NOT sell yourselves short by not giving your best this week on the practice field and in the classroom.

Have a great week of practice,

Coach Lefort

MUSTANG ROUNDUP

The game of football is AWESOME, because it provides so many life lessons that will help you long after you have played in your last game. Friday night's game was a classic in the "OVERCOMING ADVERSITY" lesson plan. In almost every game you are guaranteed that there will be some form of unexpected obstacles that will arise. That is where this game mirrors life SO WELL. Friday night's game saw the first half filled with fumbles, interceptions, missed assignments, bad snaps and questionable official's calls. All of which lead to a 12-0 Mustang lead at halftime. This is where it gets interesting! That is life fellas. So many times you will be cruising along feeling pretty good about yourselves and then life throws out an obstacle in your way. It may be death, divorce, a bad decision, an accident, an addiction. Those things happen and you have to respond. You can either let it beat you down and quit or YOU CAN PICK YOURSELF UP AND WALK IT OFF! That is the BEAUTY OF THIS GAME! Friday night you came out in the second half and took care of business. You decided that this game and your teammates were more important to you than it was to Mountain Range. Congratulations on the victory!

Coach Lefort

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

- Must eliminate the mistakes of the first half

- You must start FASTER

- Ball security is paramount

- That is one AWESOME stadium

- The RIDGE NATION WAS THERE and made their presence felt

- That was the BEST HALFTIME FIREWORKS SHOW I have ever seen

- The defense played GREAT in sudden change situations

- THE TEAM THAT WANTS IT THE MOST USUALLY WINS

Another 20 minute halftime

It will take a tremendous week of preparation to be able to go in and beat a talented Mustang team on their homecoming night. The Mustangs have the exact same record as you do. The winner of this game will go along way in achieving their seasons goals. When you win games the NEXT one always becomes the most IMPORTANT. This is that game.
We cannot afford to come out flat and spot the Mustangs a couple of touchdowns. We have to play LIGHTS OUT from the opening whistle. ONE PLAY AT A TIME. Win each play and good things will happen. Practice must be CRISP and your attention must be DIALED in. ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE GREAT BY GIVING IT EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!!

Have a great week of practice,

Coach Lefort

R E S P E C T IN FRONT OF 5000

Throughout the whole week of practice one word was emphasized: RESPECT. You knew going into the game Friday Night that NO ONE from Rocky Mountain was going to give Fossil Ridge Football any respect just because we were going head to head for the first time. The ONLY way was to EARN it by your play on the field. It took ALL 48 minutes and every ounce of heart, sweat and talent that you could produce, but when that ball sailed over the crossbar as the clock expired, a new chapter in the history of high school football in the city of Fort Collins was written. The Fossil Ridge SaberCats have ARRIVED! From that point on there is NO turning back! You NOW know that your best effort must be demanded on EVERY PLAY. You know NOW that you CAN COMPETE AND WIN against the other schools in this city. It is up to YOU, from here on out. Everything you want from this season is AHEAD of you. But it MUST be proven ON THE FIELD each and every game!! CELEBRATE your accomplishment because Friday Night's win was HISTORIC!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Coach Lefort

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

- The passing game was EXPLOSIVE, from PASS PRO to CJ to all the receivers

- The RIDGE NATION was once again the X-FACTOR in the game

- Rocky Mountain's # 5 and # 9 are a couple of outstanding players

- There is NO greater sight than a SEA OF SABERCATS storming the field

- Kick Coverage HAS to TACKLE better

- THE FIELD GOAL TEAM was HUGE ( Tony's dance was especially nice!)

- Cody to CJ to Tony was MONEY

- We are blessed to call French Field our home

- Big Schnee was a Wrecking Machine

- YOU ARE CAPABLE OF GREAT THINGS WITH HARD WORK

- The team that WANTS it the most USUALLY WINS

- Welcome to a CROSS TOWN RIVALRY