Triumph through tragedy: The spirit that carried Columbine football to 1999 state championship — and beyond

Colorado Football State Championship News

Triumph through tragedy: The spirit that carried Columbine football to 1999 state championship — and beyond
Colorado Football State Championship 2023Colorado Football State Championship 5AColumbine High School
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Stephanie Butzer joined the Denver7 team as a digital producer in June 2018, became the senior digital producer in February 2023 and as of December 2023, is the team's executive producer.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Trust is as integral to Columbine High School 's football team as running drills or practicing passes.

As it was on that fateful April day. This Saturday marks two and a half decades since tragedy struck the Jefferson County high school, stealing the lives of 12 students and a teacher. In one word, he called the rest of the day"horrific." By the end of that afternoon, the community had lost one teacher and 12 students, including one player on the football team — sophomore Matt Kechter. Number 70. That spring, Kechter had high hopes to land a spot as a starting lineman the following fall. He died in the school's library.

The 1999 football 5A state championship came amid a whirlwind of emotions. Media had followed the aftermath of April 20 closely, and that included the preparation for that fall's football season, which the team dedicated to Kechter. Off the bat, they fell down 14 to 0, Lowry said. His heart dropped a bit. But then things started to change.At the final whistle, the scoreboard's glowing numbers read 21-14. Columbine had won.

He was named Colorado's coach of the year. That 1999 team was inducted into the CHSAA Hall of Fame in 2018. It's a mindset the 1999 team held and the 2023 one mirrored, despite the fact that every player on the latter was born several years after the 1999 tragedy. And that comes with time. But the trust leads to a team mentality, with personal egos left at the door.

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