Student Athlete of the Week: Raiden Stahly

Raiden Stahly, Niwot High School football's only four-year varsity member this season, played his final high school snap on Nov. 4 in the Cougars' finale against Denver North. It was a mix of emotions, but all of them were real for the tight end/outside linebacker.

"Going into it I was excited and sad," said Stahly, who also lent his voice to the National Anthem prior to the game. "I saw the end of the season and (my) high school career ending. (There are) a lot of good people on my team and coaches that I probably won't see for a while. Emotions were high."

Stahly said he kept himself composed until after the game when the Cougars broke their final huddle and a few tears escaped. The emotional end to his career was just another indication of how much he cared.

During his high school career, Stahly endured a head coaching change and witnessed the Cougars go from 1-6 his sophomore year to winning a combined seven games the past two seasons.

"(It was) an honor to stay committed to something for so long and to see something change being under two coaches (Jeremy Lanter in 2019 and current head coach Nik Blume)," Stahly said. "Seeing the change from my freshman year to senior year, seeing that it is growing is huge."

Stahly's senior season saw him put up career bests on both sides of the ball. At tight end, he hauled in seven passes for 76 yards, including a touchdown against Battle Mountain. His best defensive performance came in Niwot's Homecoming win against Skyview when he totaled two tackles for a loss. After having very little football experience coming into high school, his work learning the game resulted in some success this fall.

"A lot of the pieces fell together," Stahly said. "Sophomore year, junior year, I was still learning the position, learning offense and defense, still learning football myself. Freshman year was probably one of my first years of tackle football and 11-man. Senior year, the pieces were put together and I was understanding what was going on and my game awareness had really started to show."

With all of his credits met, he made the decision to graduate early from Niwot this winter. Stahly enrolled in a constitutional study course over the summer (Constitution Alive) and also took part in another similar program, the Patriot Academy, which invited him to complete an internship with the organization in Washington D.C. this spring.

As his days at Niwot are numbered, Stahly wanted to share one final piece of advice to his now-former teammates: "Don't let others' opinions change the way you stand."