Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The Manitou Springs football team felt that lesson sting it a bit in the season opener against Rye.
Like last year, the Mustangs had an early lead. And like last year, that lead vanished and their season opened with a 28-20 loss to the Thunderbolts.
“The thing I take away from Friday is that our effort, energy and desire were all there,” coach Stu Jeck said.
“It’s the self-inflicted wounds that got us on Friday night. This week we have to emphasize taking care of the football and not beating ourselves.”
In the game’s early stages, the Mustangs (0-1 overall) had everything going for them. Nate Gentzel connected with Evan Scherr for the first touchdown of the game and then Tyler Maloney made it 14-0, thanks to a five-yard touchdown run.
The defense chipped in as Hallen Haile picked off Rye quarterback Nolan Schauer and returned the ball for the score. As quick as a bolt of lightning, it was a 20-0 game.
That’s when the scoring stopped for Manitou — and Rye found some offensive rhythm to start battling its way back into the game.
“When we have a lead like that, especially with our team being younger, we let off the pedal a little bit,” Maloney said.
“The effort is there; we just felt like we could take a step back. We need to figure out that we need to keep our foot on the throttle.”
That will be the focus this week as the Mustangs turn their attention to Valley. The Vikings opened their season with a 43-7 loss to Berthoud. This could be a good week for the Mustangs to rebound from a second heartbreaking season opener in a row.
But to do that, they’ll have to keep their focus in practice and work on fixing the mistakes that slowed them down last week.
“We have the team that’s willing to put the work in so that we’re not our own worst enemy,” Jeck said. “That’s how we turn things around from here.”
Manitou travels to Valley (in Gilcrest, northeast of Longmont) on Saturday, Sept. 10, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.