Pirate faithful brave weather to witness history

(Editor's Note: See today's Daily Press for a special section highlighting the Pirates perfect run)

AURORA — Saturday, you would have been hard-pressed to find a soul around the town of Olathe.

The majority of the town, with a population of 1,500 people, either made the journey through the mountains to watch their beloved Pirates’ football team play in its first state title contest or listened to the contest on the radio or the Daily Press’s live webcast.

Despite having to travel through the first winter storm of the season, Olathe was well represented at Legacy Stadium. Over 600 faithful fans braved the cold weather and sporadic snow flurries as they watched the Pirates beat the Erie Tigers 22-21 in overtime and win Olathe’s first state title game on the gridiron.

“Our fans have been great all season,” said Olathe’s head coach Ryan Corn. “They have been with us from the beginning and we can’t say enough about them.”

Not all the fans were just from Olathe; there were supporters from Montrose, Delta and Cedaredge, who made the five-hour journey to the Front Range.

"The journey was well worth it,” said Donna Brummitt, who’s son Chris is a senior on the Pirates squad. “We came over Friday and the weather wasn’t too bad. We know a lot of people came over today and they said the weather wasn’t that good.”

Spectators took advantage of the Pirates playing on the Front Range as they traveled from as far away as Iowa and Nebraska.

There were also a host of alumni that came back to watch their former team win the state title.

“Man, I’m so happy for these guys. They deserve it,” said Brandon Handke, who played for Olathe from 2004 to 2007. “I’m a little jealous that we weren’t able to win the title when I played but I’m just happy to show my support for the team.”

It wasn’t the first time the Pirates and their fans had to travel to Denver to play. In the second round contest against Kent Denver, Olathe’s fans outnumbered the host crowd.

The Pirates’ football games have been popular all season; at last week’s semifinal contest against Faith Christian, there were over 1,500 fans that watched Olathe win 14-6.