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Luke Graham

Luke Graham's column appears Mondays in the Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@SteamboatToday.com.

I’ve covered a lot of Steam­boat Springs High School football. I’ve seen a lot of good athletes and a lot of good teams, and I’ve always seen the year come up just a little bit short.

The past three seasons, Steamboat has made the playoffs and lost in either the first or second round.

Three years ago, Steamboat had a team that seemed like it was built to go deep into the playoffs. That year, the defense was the key to the Sailors. But Steamboat caught a hot and physically superior Pueblo County team in the second round.

Two seasons ago, Steamboat lost in the first round to Fossil Ridge. Last season, it was Pueblo County again.

That brings us to this season’s team.

I’ll admit that initially, I was a nonbeliever. I thought the team was too soft and too small. I thought the Sailors played with too much finesse and not enough smash-mouth.

A win against Palisade started to sway me. Friday’s win against Glenwood Springs convinced me.

This team has the ability to go deep into the playoffs. They won’t say it, but I will. This team has everything it takes to win a state championship. The Sailors are entering the playoffs in their best shape of the past four seasons.

The past two seasons, Steamboat entered the playoffs without its top playmakers: Last season Joe Dover was out, and two years ago, Nigel Hammond missed the game.

This year, however, it seems like Steamboat’s about as healthy as it has ever been.

But the biggest difference is Steamboat’s toughness. A recurring theme of previous seasons seemed to be that whenever the Sailors would get down early, or face some adversity, they’d wilt.

Against Palisade, the team fell down, 14-7, before coming back. Friday, whenever Glenwood and its raucous crowd would get back into the game, Steamboat would come back and deliver.

Maybe the lasting image of Friday was Steamboat driving down the field in the last couple of minutes to put the game out of reach. Dover sold a play-action fake before puking in mid-stride, on the field, because of exhaustion.

I asked Dover — who had one of the most remarkable games I’ve seen on Friday — if it’s that type of toughness that could carry this team through the playoffs.

Dover smiled and said it’s not necessarily toughness or swagger that’s the difference. The way he put it, when he lines up, the last thing he wants to do is let the guy next to him down. He said that’s a mentality that’s carried through the whole team.

Winning is always important, but it’s more about busting your butt for the guy next to you whom you’ve grown up with, played with and spent a majority of your time with.

The playoffs are a funny thing. Things have to come together perfectly, and breaks have to go a team’s way. So yeah, I’ve covered a lot of Steamboat football. And I haven’t seen a Sailors team like this one before.

Here’s to four more games.

— To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com