Football and Volleyball Seasons Kick Off on a High Note; Playoff Fever Brewing
Trevor Phipps
Football Photo by Trevor Phipps Volleyball Photos by Paul Magnuson
It’s now official: Fall sports action has officially launched in Woodland Park.
And although it’s still too early to get overly optimistic, a number of local teams have already impressed fans at the season’s early weeks.
The “Pigskin Panthers “ climbed up the statewide rankings before they even hit the gridiron. In fact, rumors are swirling that the Woodland Park High School football team may be good enough this year to win their league. The big question getting tossed around by local fans: Could they be returning to the playoffs?
The Lady Panthers also thrilled fans during the first week of school when they came out ahead during their inaugural match in front of a gym packed full of fans. Many hope that they can return and become a dominate team in their league, similar to their position for the last several years.
The following are some highlights of the WPHS volleyball and football teams, as they prepare for the 2024 fall sports season.
Panthers Take On Pigskin Powerhouse in Early Scrimmage
The high school football season officially started last week for the Panthers. As a preliminary season debut, the Panthers welcomed the Pueblo Central Wildcats to the high country for a scrimmage. The Wildcats actually play at a much higher level (3A) then the Panthers. In fact, they were ranked 11th statewide before the season started.
Pueblo Central went undefeated last year in their league before losing in the first round of playoffs. One player on the team towers over member of the Panther crew, nearly reaching the seven-foot-tall level. The coaches on the sideline said that this particular Wildcat football beast has already received three offers to play for Division One college teams going into his senior year. And this is just one example of a devastating team.
Therefore, it was safe to say that the Panther coaches scheduled the lopsided scrimmage to really test their team Even though the Panthers never really had a fighting chance from the get-go, they surprisingly hung in there really well against a substantially bigger team.
The Panthers formulated some good plays on offense with a diverse mix of pass and run plays. The Panther defense also looked like they were ready for blood this season, as they were able to give the much larger Pueblo Central team “a run for their money.”
The scoreboard didn’t turn in the Panthers’ favor in the end, but the coaches were ecstatic about WP’s performance on the gridiron. Now fans keep asking themselves: If they can play well against a tough 3A team, can they dominate 2A this year?
Last Saturday afternoon, the Panthers officially started their season at home against the Lincoln Lancers,
The Panthers play under the Friday Night Lights once again this week on their home turf when they battle the Salida Spartans. The Spartans always sport a decent team. This year, though, they were ranked (at the time of this writing) only two spots below Woodland Park prior to the season start.
The following Friday night, the Panthers battle the Colorado Springs Christian Lions who are actually a 1A team at Panther Field. But even though they play in a league below the Panthers, they are still a threatening force as they are ranked in the top 15 statewide in 1A.
Lady Panthers Dominate Inaugural Volleyball Match
While the varsity football team held their scrimmage on Panther Field and the JV pigskin squad unit played a practice match on another local field, the Lady Panthers started their 2024 season at home in the high school’s main gymnasium.
Upon entering the gym, it was evident that the Lady Panthers have a solid fan base this year. The Panther side of the spectator stands were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with many students standing on the side and in the back of the gymnasium.
Much enthusiasm abounded for the team, as the gym echoed with loud chants from a large throng of supporters throughout the match. The group excitedly cheered for every Panther score and loudly taunted the opponents when they went to serve the ball.
The inaugural match started off a little rocky, with the first three or four scores hitting the scoreboard due to sloppy mistakes made by each team. But after the volleyball stars got their feet wet a little, the sets lasted a long time, with the ball bouncing back and forth over the net at least a dozen times.
Even though the score was close, the Lady Panthers squeaked past the Widefield Gladiators in the first match. Woodland Park ended up winning the series 3-1 to start their season off 1-0.
The Lady Panthers play at home again this Tuesday against SkyView Academy. Then on Friday they hit the road to challenge Elizabeth.
