Nighthawk Football Cruising into 2024 State Tournament
November 2024
The Northfield Nighthawks are coming into the 2024 Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) playoffs on a five-game win streak in which they have won every game by double digits. Despite starting 1-4, the team has flipped the season on its head. The front half of the team’s schedule was loaded with non-conference games against elite teams, while this win streak has come entirely in divisional games. The Nighthawks' losses have been close games against some of the best teams in the state while they have had multiple blowout wins.
Head Coach Ben Startzer also credits the turnaround to filling the holes left by last year’s graduating class. “It’s taken us a while to replace 27 seniors from last year, some contributors that played for three to four years, and it took maybe a little bit longer than we thought to fit people in their right roles.” With their win over George Washington last Friday, the team is now the league champion and will be set up with high hopes in the middle of the playoff bracket.
The key for the Nighthawks on this win streak, and really all season, has been the rushing attack. The Nighthawks lost last year’s all-state quarterback, Christian Love, and the run game has gone far to make up for that loss. Startzer explained that the running game has been the team's “buoy” this season to keep the team afloat when everything else isn’t going well. The leader of the Northfield backfield is Junior Zavious Chineth, who is in the running to be an all-state player this year. In the eight games he played, he ran the ball for over 1000 yards on 139 carries. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry and 130 yards per game. The combination of Chineth, Junior Joaquin Oliva, and Sophomore Xavier Ward makes for a dynamic Nighthawk rushing offense that plays a huge role in Northfield’s success. Defensively, the team is led by Junior Elian Oliva who is twelfth in the state in sacks with 7.5 on the year.
Now, the Nighthawks' attention turns to the playoffs. Startzer emphasized how important it was for his team to stay focused and ready. He said, “Yesterday we had to start practice over because we weren’t focused on the details nearly enough.” He also talked about how his players get tired as the season goes on. He said, “We got to make sure we don’t lose any key players number one. Number two, we’ve got to do a good job of being really sharp at what we do well.”
The playoffs will also come with an increase in the level of competition. Northfield has been cruising for the second half of this season and that makes it even easier to lose focus. They have played against weaker competition and they may not have needed to play that well to win. However, in the playoffs, the Nighthawks will need to play their best every week. When it comes to the upcoming tournament, Startzer says he just wants his team to play well. He believes the Nighthawks have proven they can hang with anybody and if the ball bounces the right way, go on a deep playoff run.
Images courtesy of Kotcher Imaging.
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