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Articles from the 'Niwot Football' series


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  • Niwot runs over Mountain View for long-awaited win

    Jocelyn Rowley|Oct 27, 2021

    The 2021 season won't be remembered as the best in Niwot football history, but on Oct. 22 the Cougars made it the most successful in more than a decade. Behind a balanced performance in all three phases of the game, Niwot put down Mountain View 28-20 to deliver its fourth win of the season, the most since 2008. For Cougar second-year head coach Nik Blume, finally breaking the three-win curse is both a relief and another sign that the program is finally turning around. "[Niwot athletic director]...

  • Niwot held scoreless at Thompson Valley

    Jocelyn Rowley|Oct 20, 2021

    Niwot Cougars head coach Nikolas Blume didn't mince his words after the team's 34-0 loss on the road at Thompson Valley (2-4) on Oct. 14. "I'm not sure if we ever got off the bus," he said. "We were bad, 100 percent. We were just bad." It's an assessment that's hard to refute, though there were mitigating factors, notably the absence of junior quarterback Ben Classen, a difference maker on both sides of the ball. In five games for Niwot this season, he has amassed 582 yards, which is good for 10...

  • Niwot falls to fourth-ranked Fort Morgan

    Jocelyn Rowley|Oct 13, 2021

    It's cliche to say that a team played better than the final score indicated, but for second-year head coach Nik Blume, it's also a pretty fair characterization of Niwot's 52-27 loss to fourth-ranked Fort Morgan on Oct. 7. "You have to take your little victories, and that's a win for us, despite what the scoreboard looks like," he said afterwards. "I hate losing so much, but tonight I found a way to look at the boys and realized we never went away. That was a big positive for us-never folding and...

  • Classen leads Niwot to road win over Skyview

    Jocelyn Rowley|Oct 6, 2021

    Junior quarterback Ben Classen was definitely the star of Niwot's 42-13 win over Skyview, but it was senior Bryce Nemec who had the most memorable moment of the game. With Niwot leading 35-6 in the 4th quarter, the hard hitting lineman heard a play call he was not expecting. "We practice once or twice a week that if we get close [to the goal line], then I would run it in," he said of his 2-yard rush for a touchdown, the first of his career. "I almost bobbled it, actually. I got a little nervous,...

  • Niwot trounces Riverdale Ridge for homecoming win

    Jocelyn Rowley|Sep 22, 2021

    The Niwot offense got off to another slow start in its Sept. 17 matchup against league foe Riverdale Ridge, scoring just six points in three quarters, despite success moving the ball on the ground. But for the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Ben Classen had some late-game heroics up his sleeve, and four touchdowns later, the raucous homecoming crowd was rewarded with a 34-20 victory. "If you sit in the stands, you can see why Ben Classen has such a huge impact when he's playing both sides,"...

  • Lackluster Niwot thumped by Eagle Valley

    Jocelyn Rowley|Sep 15, 2021

    Niwot's Sept. 11 matchup against Eagle Valley (2-0) got off to a thrilling start for the home fans, with a foiled onside kick attempt, a long run by quarterback Ben Classen, and finally, a 1-yard touchdown run by Thomas Carnagie, all within the first minute of play. But neither the thrill nor the lead would last, as Eagle Valley scored just three plays into their first possession to tie the game. The Demons then scored a touchdown on the possession after that, and the one after that, and then...

  • Stout defense bestows win in Niwot's season opener

    Jack Carlough|Sep 1, 2021

    Games are often won or lost in the red zone and that proved true in Niwot football's season opener at Greeley Central on Aug. 27. The Cougar defense didn't budge much all night to secure the team's first win, 21-14. With less than two minutes remaining in the game and Greeley Central down a touchdown, senior Craig Wright intercepted a Wildcat pass to put the game on ice. Wright's statement play was a fitting end to a defensive masterpiece. "Defense comes down to guts -- no guts no glory on the...

  • Niwot's seniors thrash Thornton in last hoorah

    Jack Carlough|Nov 25, 2020

    Emotions were running high at Erie's Tiger Stadium on Friday, Nov. 20. In a season finale battle of winless teams, Niwot senior quarterback Ayden Bartko led a game-winning fourth-quarter drive to defeat the Thornton Trojans, 26-20. Head coach Nik Blume came away with his first win leading the green and white. He credited his resilient senior class for sticking together despite a challenging season. "I couldn't be more proud," Blume said. "Our seniors carried us tonight. (Wide...

  • Ben Classen shines but Niwot falls to Lewis-Palmer

    Jack Carlough|Nov 4, 2020

    It will take at least another week for the Niwot Cougars (0-4) to secure their first win of the season after falling to the Lewis-Palmer Rangers, 44-16 Thursday night at host Erie High School. Navigating a "thin" roster, first-year Head coach Nik Blume was impressed with how his players continued to compete. Over half of Niwot's roster is composed of freshmen who have been tasked with learning on the run. "We knew it was a project coming in and you're seeing that for us right now every night...

  • Cougars fall to Riverdale Ridge in overtime

    Jocelyn Rowley|Oct 21, 2020

    Niwot head football coach Nik Blume doesn't consider his team's 14-7 overtime loss to Riverdale Ridge on Oct. 16 a moral victory, but there's no doubt he was much happier in the aftermath than he was after the Cougars' 50-14 blowout loss to Holy Family the week before. "I'm not going to come out of a loss saying great things, but what I do know is that every kid we have gave us everything they could have given us, 100 percent. I think the lesson we're going to learn is that you can be...

  • Rough first quarter dooms Niwot football in season opener

    Jack Carlough|Oct 14, 2020

    Holy Family's 43-point first-quarter left little hope for the Niwot Cougars in Friday's football season opener. Niwot would fall to the Tigers, 50-14, under the lights at Mike G. Gabriel Stadium in Broomfield. Prior to the game, Niwot and Holy Family honored their senior classes in front of about 175 fans (mostly parents and a slew of students) per team. Head coach Nik Blume coached his first game at Niwot with over half of his roster consisting of freshmen. He said that his freshmen's need to...

  • Niwot football seizes fall season

    Jack Carlough|Sep 23, 2020

    A lot of things had to go right for Niwot football to have a fall season, and somehow, they did. In early August, The Colorado High School Athletics Association (CHSAA) postponed football's fall season until the spring, but on Sept. 16, in conjunction with Gov. Jared Polis, CHSAA allowed football and cheer and dance to opt for a fall season. SVVSD athletic director Chase McBride then had to wait for local health officials to give permission, which they did on Sept. 17, and SVVSD jumped on the...

  • Nik Blume era delayed until spring for Niwot football

    Jack Carlough|Aug 19, 2020

    Niwot High School head football coach Nikolas Blume had a gut feeling his inaugural season at Niwot would be delayed. Even so, the news was still a punch in the gut. "To be honest, I was pretty disappointed," Blume said. "My whole staff is pretty disappointed. There was a lot of time that had gone by and you could kind of see what else was happening around us. If that decision ultimately was going to be made, it could have been made a lot sooner." Blume's discontent stems from the hours of pract...

  • Cougars football resumes workouts

    Jocelyn Rowley|Jun 24, 2020

    With just 60 days to go before the Nikolas Blume era of Niwot football kicks off, the first-year head coach expected to be well on his way to implementing the rebuilding project he was hired to undertake back in February. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic made a hash of those plans, and so it wasn't until last week that Coach Blume was able to watch his players in action for the first time. So far, he's been pleased with what he's seen, but there's no denying that the long layoff has...

  • Niwot High's new football coach expects more than wins

    Pattie Logan|Feb 26, 2020

    Niwot High's new head football coach, Nik Blume, doled out pizza and enthusiasm when he met with the players and their parents last week, sharing his "full tilt" approach to coaching. He won't officially be on staff until the end of the semester, but he's already laying the groundwork for next season. Blume told the players that weightlifting will start this spring. "That's non-negotiable for me. If you don't like weights, this might not be for you," he said. "You have to be physically prepared...

  • Niwot football prepares for 2019 season

    Jack Carlough|Aug 21, 2019

    When head coach Jeremy Lanter took over Niwot’s football program, he began a mission to build great young men and to get students involved. Now in year three, he is doing just that. More students are coming out to play football and there is a buzz around the program. In Lanter’s mind, a successful season isn’t necessarily determined by wins and losses. These student-athletes aren’t playing for multi-million dollar contracts and Lanter’s perspective is often forgotten at the high school le...