Holy Family senior David Sommers (22) has a college future on the football field, but first he is trying to lead the Tigers to a Class 3A basketball title. Holy Family is unbeaten and ranked No. 1.
File photos by Dennis Marpuri
knows his future lies on the football field. But his present is firmly focused on the hardwood.
A 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, Sommers recently signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for the Colorado School of Mines. But before he straps on a helmet for the Orediggers in the fall, he has some unfinished business to conduct with the
Holy Family (Broomfield) basketball team.
Sommers is averaging 11.9 points and 3.2 rebounds a game for the Tigers, who head into the home stretch of the regular season with a 17-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A, according to
CHSAANow.com. And Sommers hopes to use the skills he learned under center to help Holy Family hoist the championship trophy next month.
"I think as a quarterback I've learned a lot about leadership," said Sommers, who has hit 15 3-pointers through Wednesday. "As a senior I think it's my job to lead the guys because I've been in it for four years now."
Tigers coach Pete Villecco said the experience Sommers gained playing football has been invaluable for his growth as a player on the basketball court. He plays the role of quarterback for the hoops squad, too.
"David's pretty much been our quarterback for the past three years, since his sophomore year," Villecco said. "He's been our leader and a captain for us. He's the hardest worker in practice for us.
"He kind of sets the tone for the other guys by just how hard he works. He's got a little grit to him. He's a tough kid."
But Sommers is far from a one-man show for Holy Family, which has one of the deepest rosters in the state. Six-foot-3 junior
Luke Golter (12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds) is the leading scorer, and sophomore point guard
Chris Helbig does a great job distributing the ball, averaging 4.1 assists and 8.9 points per game.
And Sommers isn't the only player whose specialty lies in another sport.
Devlin Granberg, a 6-2 senior, has signed to play baseball at Creighton University and was the 3A player of the year after leading the Tigers' to their second state title in the past four years last spring.
"It's says a lot about him," Villecco said. "He's traveling all over the country playing baseball but he still works on his (basketball) game."
Holy Family's Luke Golter (21).
In all, Holy Family has seven players averaging at least 5 points per game.
"At times we play 10 kids and we can trust them all," Villecco said. "We like our depth and we feel like it is an advantage for us. Our kids really buy into ‘team.' They really don't care if they're putting up big numbers or not. On any given night it can be a different guy."
The Tigers will head into the postseason tested. The Metropolitan League is one of the deepest in the state, and Holy Family already has scored victories against No. 2 Colorado Academy (Denver), No. 3 Faith Christian (Arvada) and No. 10 The Pinnacle (Thornton).
"We come out of a tough league, so we're tested every night against quality opponents and great programs and great coaches," said Villecco, whose team closes the regular season against No. 4 Jefferson Academy (Arvada) on Friday night, and perennial power Kent Denver (Cherry Hills Village) next Wednesday. "To me that's been the most impressive thing, how our kids have competed against the other teams in our league."
And Sommers is looking to end his competitive basketball career on a high note. With a football-only future looming he wants to make sure these last few weeks on the hardwood are memorable ones.
"Obviously everyone wants to win," Sommers said. "But I think we have a special group of guys, and as long as we keep working I think we can keep winning."
