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3A football powerhouse, Fort Morgan, looking to make a run at the elusive state championship
(Credit: Fort Morgan High School Athletics/BVM Sports)

3A football powerhouse, Fort Morgan, looking to make a run at the elusive state championship

FORT MORGAN, Colo. — The Fort Morgan Mustangs are quite well known throughout the state of Colorado, specifically within the 3A division, as being a perennial football powerhouse. Not only has Fort Morgan sent countless players to DI colleges, such as the ‘McBride Brothers’ (Trey and Toby McBride in 2018) to Colorado State; Fort Morgan has also not had a losing record since the 2011 season when they went 4-6. Winning is the culture at Fort Morgan.

Since winning is the culture at Fort Morgan, so are the playoffs. The Mustangs have made the playoffs six out of seven seasons since the 2014 season. Sadly, despite all of this winning and making it into the playoffs, the Mustangs do not have much to show for it. In those six playoff appearances since 2014, the highest round of the playoffs that the Fort Morgan Mustangs have reached is the semi-final round in both 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately, they lost both games and have not seen the championship game in over a decade.

Although Fort Morgan has maintained their winning ways through the last three years, worries about the team’s clutch game-winning ability are beginning to be brought into question. Despite making the playoffs every single year for the past three years, the Fort Morgan Mustangs have also lost in the first round of the playoffs every year for the past three years.

Players and coaches alike are all looking to change this notion that is becoming associated with the Mustangs; they cannot win clutch games in clutch situations. So far, for the 2021 season, the Mustangs are looking better than ever and looking to make a big splash in the 2021 Colorado 3A football playoffs.

They have started off 2021 with an electric undefeated record of 3-0 (missing one game due to a game cancelation because of heightened COVID-19 cases in one of their opponents). So far, they have 108 points scored in favor of their team and have only given up a stingy 33 total points against their team, winning against Scottsbluff (Nebraska) 31-14, Brush with a 35-12 score, and Conifer with a 42-7 score, all of which were emphatic wins, signaling a bit of frustration with the way things have ended the last three years. Fort Morgan currently ranks at No. 4 out 40 in the Colorado 3A football class, placing just behind Mead, Roosevelt, and Lutheran in the rankings.

This electric start to the season is being catalyzed by their fourth year head coach Ty Davies, who took over for the current athletic director of Fort Morgan, Harrison Chisum.

There is no question that Coach Davies is the catalyst to this scorching hot start. Davies has been at the helm of the Mustangs each of the last three years that they have made the playoffs and lost in the first round. So, fans can expect an extremely high-energy football team from Coach Davies that is poised to win a lot of games this year and make a deep run into the playoffs.

Beyond their coach, the Mustangs have also seen tremendous output and performance from their senior quarterback, Briggs Wheatley. So far in 2021, Wheatley is 25 of 39 for 552 yards, three touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. This QB play has been good enough to place him as the No. 5 overall QB in the Colorado 3A division.

It is not necessarily Wheatley’s throwing ability, though, that has categorized him as a tremendous performer this season; it is Wheatley’s running and scrambling abilities as a QB. In the three games, Wheatley has posted 26 carries for 208 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 8.0 yards per carry and 70 yards per game, pushing Wheatley’s all-purpose yardage total to 760 yards and total touchdowns to 10 through only three games. Wheatley’s running and scrambling ability, coupled with his steady and consistent QB play, is just an absolute nightmare for defenses.

Highlighting that stout defensive side of the ball is senior Frank Ortega. Through three games, Ortega has 17 total tackles, one fumble recovery, and an astonishing three interceptions; he has had one interception every single game so far this season. To put this into context, some high school defenders struggle to get one interception in the entire year, let alone one every single game.

Between the energy being brought by their head coach, the steadiness and unpredictability of their QB, and their lockdown defense, it is easy to see why Fort Morgan is an early favorite to make the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, though, pressure will be at an all-time high for the Mustangs to at least win one game in the playoffs, and at most, win the 3A state championship game. Of all the teams in 3A, though, the Fort Morgan Mustangs are one of, if not the most, poised teams to pull that off.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.