The Tuesday afternoon rain had no effect on the Montezuma-Cortez football practice.
Split into positional groups, the Panthers continued drills as the drizzle escalated into a downpour.
Damp, head coach Dave Wagner beamed from the sideline as he overlooked his team.
“It’s game week!” he announced excitedly.
On Friday, the Panthers will board a bus at 9 a.m. and make the six-plus hour trek to Aspen for the season opener.
The Panthers have gone over film and prepared for the Skiers throughout the week. While Wagner believes the Panthers’ offense will be able to exploit holes in the Skiers’ defense, he becomes more animated when speaking about the Panthers’ defense.
“I’m very excited about defense,” he said. “The kids are just flying around.”
Wagner expects the Aspen offense to operate mostly on the ground, running pitches and pitch-options out of an offset-I formation. His plan for slowing the Skiers’ offense is to be the aggressor and disrupt the quarterback with pressure.
“Quarterbacks that get hit and quarterbacks that are running for their lives don’t want to throw, and they make bad handoffs,” he said.
Defensive coordinator Keith Mikhail will be responsible for dialing up the pressure, and after installing the scheme over the summer, Wagner is confident in the game plan.
“I don’t want to be overconfident,” he said. “But I think we’ll do well.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Aspen High School on Friday, Aug. 28.
