The Eagle Valley football team traveled a bit farther than normal for its first non-conference game of the year.
The Devils ventured out to Oahu, Hawaii to face Waialua on Aug. 21. Playing with just 13 true varsity players, they defeated the Bulldogs 51-6.
“We have a great group of seniors, so we leaned hard on our playmakers on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball,” said coach Chris Lake, who hopes to make the trip a biannual event. “It was a great experience overall.”
The games, which took place at John Kauinana Stadium, were organized by the Kaylee Scholarship Association (KSA) Events, which hosts high school sporting competitions at iconic destinations around the country. Thirteen Eagle Valley varsity players and 15 junior varsity athletes raised the approximately $3,000 to attend the trip. The teams left last Wednesday, played Thursday, enjoyed island tours and a beach day on Friday, visited Pearl Harbor and took in a traditional L??au on Saturday before flying home Sunday. Lake said one motivation for the four-day trip was to “do something different” and bring the team together. Another was to fill out the schedule.
“We ended up losing our game with Battle Mountain a couple years ago and last year we weren’t able to get a game rescheduled, so we ended up a game short,” the third-year coach explained. “Which, in my opinion, probably cost us a chance to go to the playoffs.”
Since teams operate on a two-year scheduling cycle in Colorado, it was tough for Eagle Valley to find an in-state team with an opening. Enter Waialua, which sits on the North Shore of Oahu in the town of Waialua, population 4,062. The school has just over 600 students in grades seven to 12.
The Devils pounced on three quick Bulldog turnovers in Thursday’s game, going up 21-0 with 7:35 still left on the first-quarter clock. Colter Blakey threw the first of his four touchdown passes to Xander Deherrera to help Eagle Valley go up 27-6 at the half. The junior quarterback finished the game 13-for-26 with 167 yards. Most of those came courtesy of Keaden Lake, who had five catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Lake also scored three times on the ground.
“We figured out we have the skill guys that can do everything we need them to do,” Lake said when asked about takeaways from the contest.
Nathan Leeper, who spent most of last year sidelined by injury, returned to carry the ball nine times for 52 yards. He also had eight tackles and smashed through five extra points and a 33-yard field goal.
“We’re from up in the mountains, we don’t have a ton of kids, and we have a lot of young kids on this team, so you gotta play a lot sometimes,” Leeper told ESPN Honolulu after the evening victory. “I noticed the humidity in the first half for sure, but it was better in the second half. But I was tired, I’m not gonna lie.”
“We’re happy to have him back,” Lake said. “Last year we were pass-heavy because we didn’t really have a running back that could carry the load. That’s not really the case this year.”
When Lake took over in 2023, the Devils had 35 kids on the combined junior varsity and varsity roster. Last year, there were 50 and this year he has 70 out.
“The program is building,” he said. “I think what we’re doing is working.”
With Leeper’s return, he anticipates running a more balanced offense in 2025. Leeper, Lake, DeHerrera and Malachi Barros are explosive weapons returning on both sides of the ball this fall. As athletes battle for the open No. 2 wide receiver spot, Lake said sophomore Danny Anderson could be a “game changer” in the passing game if he can keep learning the playbook. In the trenches, the team is young, but improving.
The Devils open the Colorado portion of their schedule on Saturday at Gunnison. They defeated the Cowboys 33-0 en route to a 5-4 overall record and 3-1 league mark last season.
“I think we’re a big step better this year,” Lake said. “So, I expect to have a really good showing in this game and build that towards much bigger games coming up against Canon City and Grand Junction.”
The Devils host a four-game home stand against Canon City, Grand Junction Central, Littleton and Conifer starting Sept. 5. Lake said if they can navigate that stretch, he’s confident his squad can run the table all the way to a potential league championship matchup on Oct. 30 against Palisade.
“That’s kind of the goal,” he said. “I expect to be 10-0 at the end of the year. That is our expectation. We have the team to do that if they play to their potential, which is always the question mark.”