Hurtado, Byers are thriving early in Colorado Class 1A football

Raul Hurtado may have thought his football-playing days were a thing of the past, but Andrew Grigsby had a different notion.

The first-year coach at Byers, a Class 1A program that struggled a year ago, wanted Hurtado on the field this fall. Hurtado had sat out his junior season to focus on basketball and baseball, but Grigsby convinced the Hurtado family that Raul could be something special for the Bulldogs on the gridiron.

"Just that one meeting I felt like we kind of hit it off," Grigsby said. "That's the best 30 minutes I ever spent."

Two games into the 2014 season, Hurtado's decision to rejoin the football program is paying dividends. The 5-foot-7 senior topped the 200-yard rushing mark in each of his first two games, helping Byers match its win total of a year ago.

"Last year the kids didn't have a great season. They had a pretty tough go of it," said Grigsby, who was an assistant coach at Dawson County (Dawsonville, Ga.) and at Sierra (Colorado Springs) before coming to Byers.

"Right now I'm really proud of the kids. They come out every day eager to win. They have a lot to learn, but they're doing a good job of it and they're staying hungry."

After finishing 2013 with only 19 players, the Bulldogs have 38 out this fall. A season-opening 13-0 shutout of Clear Creek (Idaho Springs) was followed up by a 33-7 victory at Estes Park.

Hurtado rushed for 241 yards against Clear Creek and went for 207 more and three touchdowns against the Bobcats.

"I give all the credit to my big guys. My offensive line is just incredible," he said. "They open up some big holes."

As a former offensive lineman himself, Grigsby said he walked the halls trying to find prospective linemen.

"Everyone said you won't have a good offensive line at Byers and I said just wait and see. They've proved me right," he said. "We call them the hoggies, and the hoggies are getting the work done."

Hurtado spent time at wide receiver and safety as a sophomore, but after a running back missed practice, Grigsby asked him to fill in at tailback. It took all of two handoffs to see a change was in order, on both sides of the ball: Hurtado also made the move to linebacker on defense.

"Raul is a humble kid," Grigsby said. "He wants what's best for the team."

The success has been about more than just Hurtado though. Against Estes Park the Bulldogs forced six turnovers, with Devyn Montoya and Austin Davis each intercepting two passes. Byers rushed for 474 yards – senior Roger Hamacher had 105 yards on the ground and a touchdown to go with 10 tackles on defense, and sophomore quarterback Max Lindgren rushed for 91 yards and another score.

The Bulldogs allowed 380 points in nine games a year ago, but the team has given up only one score through eight quarters of play heading into Saturday's game against Highland (Ault).

"The biggest thing right now is they are hungry. They want to win football games and winning is contagious," Grigsby said. "It's something they didn't get to experience a ton last year."

While Byers may not exactly be a football town, Grigsby credited former coach David Dodge for having success with the program in past seasons. Grigsby is hoping to generate more excitement in the community, and fans are certainly starting to notice the atmosphere surrounding the program.

"Sophomore year was a decent year, but I came back this year and the energy level was way high," Hurtado said. "Every player is excited to win and they're working hard."

Byers has two more non-league contests before opening up play in a South Central League that includes third-ranked Limon. Still, the Bulldogs received six votes in the most recent CHSAANow.com poll and are eager to continue clawing their way into the 1A conversation.

"We've got to get better every week. Regardless of who we're playing, we've got to make sure every week gets a little better," Grigsby said. "Playoffs are always about who is hot at playoff time. That's who wins championships every year."