TOUR HITS THE ROCKIES; COLUMBINE CELEBRATES CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

A trip to the Centennial State! MaxPreps and the Army National Guard made a stop in Littleton, Colorado to pay tribute to the Rebels of the Columbine High School football team. This truly amazing team earned the honor by clinching the Colorado Class 5A state football championship with a 14-0 undefeated season and was ranked No. 89 in the nation by MaxPreps.

The 7th Annual MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard arrived at Columbine Friday, February 10th, 2012. The Rebels were out in full force with the boys' varsity basketball team putting on a quite a show. I found Athletic Director Scott Christy intently watching the game and introduced myself to him. We made our way into the hallway to meet up with the Colorado Army National Guard at their display table. The competitive spirit of the Rebel football team was evident, as we found Master Sergeant Tansea Boland, surrounded by a crowd of students, judging a pushup contest between two of the team's varsity players. After awarding the players with Army National Guard t-shirts, Scott Christy expressed his thanks for the recognition to her, Sergeant First Class Shannon Northup and MaxPreps representative, Chance Buell.

As the basketball game entered into half time, the court was turned over to Scott Christy who introduced Chance Buell of MaxPreps. Chance quickly got to the point as to why the team was being honored, citing their incredible undefeated season and their impressive No. 89 national ranking out of 16,000 high schools by MaxPreps. Chance then introduced SFC Shannon Northup from the Colorado Army National Guard. SFC Northup called the Rebel football team onto the court for some well-deserved recognition from the crowd. After commending the team for their determination, dedication and perseverance during this season, he presented the team and Assistant Coach Anderson with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy, commonly referred to as the "Minuteman" trophy. Exemplifying the teams "got your back" mentality, Coach Anderson graciously accepted on behalf of Coach Andy Lowry, who was stuck in a major traffic jam. He then turned the microphone over to a player and the team engaged the crowd with their chant "We are…COLUMBINE."

Congratulations to the Rebels for an amazing season!