Indians hold their own at All-State

Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — Seth Palmer racked up eight tackles. Quentin Haynes had five tackles and nearly hauled in an interception. Erik Handke coached the South team’s defense to a 33-25 victory.

All in all, it was pretty good day for Montrose High football.

With three major contributors in Palmer, Haynes and Handke, Montrose was represented to the fullest at the Colorado All-State Football game last weekend at University Northern Colorado in Greeley. Palmer, who was named the South’s defensive captain for the game, and Haynes both played the majority of the game, while Handke was nominated by his peers to handle the defensive coordinator responsibilities.

“It was a great experience,” Haynes said. “We got to play with a bunch of great players from all over the state, and I thought we held our own out there.”

After trailing by as much as 25-7, the South team rallied with 26 unanswered points to come out with the victory. But even more than the victory, both Haynes and Palmer said they gained immense experience by playing against some of the best prep talent Colorado has to offer.

“I learned I can compete with a lot better kids than just the one’s around here,” said Palmer, who will play at Western State this fall. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy. I thought it would be a lot more scary, but we competed as good as anybody.”

The trio actually started preparing for the game on June 12, spending nearly a week practicing with the South team and learning the schemes and terminology of the the rest of the coaching staff.

Because of Palmer’s knowledge of Montrose’s defense, Handke elected him the defensive captain to help coach his teammates both on and off the field.

Playing against some Division I recruits, both Palmer and Haynes said they got a taste of things to come as they prepare their games for the collegiate level. Haynes recently accepted a full-ride scholarship to play running back at Haskell Indian Nations University.

As for Handke, the honor of being selected by to coach in the all-star game by coaches across the state was rewarding enough in itself, both for him and Montrose’s football program.

“It was definitely exciting,” he said. “It’s always a cool thing to be recognized by guys you coach with and against.”

While Montrose head coach Todd Casebier didn’t coach in the game, he made the trip to Greeley to support his coach and former players. He said that while he was pleased enough to have such a strong representation of his team, their performances icing on the cake.

“It makes me proud of what we’ve all been able to accomplish here with our program,” he said. “It’s a sign of the year we had (last season), and it’s a small indicator of what we’ve done and how far we’ve come.”

With their high school careers officially over, Palmer and Haynes both look back on their experiences at the game as treasured memories. For Palmer, though, one memory sticks out a little more than the rest.

“There were a few kids from Wheat Ridge and Loveland there, so it was fun to tackle them and hit them one last time,” he said. “We kind of have a grudge against them.”