Mancos football coach Kyle Graff will reunite with longtime Buena Vista coach Bob Marken to coach the offensive line of the Colorado South All-Stars.
The two worked together for 10 years at Buena Vista High School where they made a trip to the 2005 Colorado 2A state championship game.
Graff and Marken will coach the South team in the 55th Colorado High School Coaches Association, North-South All-State game on Saturday, June 11, at Adam State Colleges Rex Stadium in Alamosa. Ponderosa High School coach Randy Huff will be the head man.
Graff and Huff developed a relationship because Graff took some of his Buena Vista players to the Ponderosa football camp for five years.
They both (Marken and Huff) called me up and said, Coach, would you be interested in coaching with us in the All-State game? Since it was them, I said, Yeah, that would be fun, Graff said.
To coach in the All-State game, coaches must be members of CHSCA and Graff has been all 25 years of his coaching career.
For me, its a real honor to be with those guys, Graff said about coaching with Marken and Huff. Us 8-man coaches, we coach in the 8-man (All-State) game. Its kind of a surprise.
Graff will coach Buena Vista offensive lineman Oliver Reed, who Graff coached while at BVHS and has known Reed since he was a young kid.
Oliver is one of the kids I always felt bad that I left. I wasnt able to coach him throughout his high school career, Graff said. For him to be an All-State player, Im excited.
Graff grew up in Denver, and began his coaching and teaching career at Mancos High School in 1985. He and his family were in Mancos through 1994, until moving to Ignacio for four years. After taking a year off from coaching and teaching, Graff joined Markens staff in 2000 and was there through 2009 before returning to Mancos in 2010 as the head coach.
In Graffs first stint at Mancos, he coached Luther Elliss, a former All-American defensive lineman at the University of Utah and two-time Pro-Bowl selection for the NFLs Detroit Lions.
At Buena Vista, Graff coached University of Colorado All-American offensive tackle Nate Solder, who was selected as the 17th pick to the New England Patriots in the 2011 NFL Draft.
That was a really cool thing, Graff said about his former All-State tight-end being drafted by the Patriots. He text me after the draft and said, Coach, Im so excited. Thanks for all your help. You dont really do anything in high school. You dont think about that, it just happens. To think theyre going to be a first-round draft pick in the NFL, it just doesnt happen.
Graff credits Marken and his time in Buena Vista for being better prepared to be the head coach at Mancos in his second stint.
Its good to come back this time around with more knowledge. Im more prepared to be a head coach, Graff said. The first time I was here, I wasnt ready for that. You go from a JV assistant defensive line coach to a head coach overnight. That happened to me. I made tons of mistakes, and now Ive improved.
In Graffs first year back, the Bluejays made the 8-man playoffs last season and produced Western League All-Conference players Cade Mitchell and Emilio Marquez. Mitchell was All-State and named the Western Leagues, Most Valuable Player. He will play in the Colorado 6/8-man All-State football game at Otero Junior College on Saturday, June 4, in La Junta. Mitchell will suit up for the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in the fall.
Marken retired as the coach of Buena Vista this past season and Graff is looking at the All-State game as one last big hurrah together.
Were going South all the way. Were going to win, Graff said. Randy just sent me an email saying, Coach, heres your O-line guys youll be coaching. Get them ready to go. Were not going to lose this game. It will be fun.
Graff is the Mancos K12 school district counselor and Mancos Middle School track and field coach as well. He was a history teacher for 25 years.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com
