The Underdog Mentality: Ranking the Top Five Upsets of 2023

<p>David vs Goliath. The 1980 US Men's Hockey team slaying the Soviet Union. The New York Giants shocking the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Who doesn't love a good underdog story? It has been a memorable year to say the least, and there have been plenty of upsets galore. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top five upsets of the 2023 Colorado high school football season. </p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"></p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>5. October 5th, 2023: #20 Fountain-Fort Carson 29, #10 Legend 28 </strong></p>   <p>Although the passing game failed to gain much traction in this one, all it took was the slippery legs of halfback [player_tooltip player_id='698231' first='Mathias' last='Price'] to bring home one of the more impressive victories of the season. Alas, Price kept the Legend defense on their toes with 125 yards on 20 carries with a rushing touchdown to boot. In addition, defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='218422' first='Myles' last='McClarity'] was a man possessed en route to racking up ten tackles which led all Trojans defenders. After finding themselves trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, it was Fountain-Fort Carson that outscored Legend 29-7 the rest of the way in an epic come-from-behind triumph. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MathiasPrice/status/1729248884063440981 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MylesMcClarity/status/1726385102890893783 </div></figure>   <p></p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>4. October 13th, 2023: #20 Fountain-Fort Carson 17, Douglas County 21</strong></p>   <p>Despite being on the wrong side of this one, the Trojans proved this season that they are clearly a program on the rise. On the other side of things, the Douglas County Huskies gave Fountain Fort-Carson all they could handle back on October 13th by handing the 20th-best team in the state a 21-17 defeat. Give credit where credit is due, as the Huskies shoved the rock down the throats of the Trojans with [player_tooltip player_id='143646' first='Jake' last='Stonebraker'] serving as the punisher at running back. At the end of the day, the senior tailback bruised his way to 202 yards on the ground and even found pay dirt twice on the night. Plus, who could forget the skilled junior defensive end in Garrett Griffin's performance as he raised some eyebrows with four TFL's and 13 total tackles. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/SixZeroAcademy/status/1715022016053444928 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Griff36_/status/1713082549315203154 </div></figure>   <p></p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>3. November 10th, 2023: #10 Legend 20, #7 Valor Christian 13</strong></p>   <p>Fast forward to what has been a wild postseason, and these upsets that have left fans on the edge of their seats have only continued. Two and a half weeks ago, it proved to be the ten-seeded Legend Titans that dropped the hammer against a Valor Christian squad who has appeared in the 5A State Championship game three consecutive years prior. In what proved to be a slugfest all evening long, the Titans attacked the Eagles with a healthy dosage of Mr. [player_tooltip player_id='475378' first='Jaden' last='Lawrence']. With a pair of touchdowns under his belt while tallying a whopping 8.6 YPC in which he also finished with 198 yards on the ground, it was the Class of 2025 graduate that was unstoppable. Without a doubt, Lawrence is a bonafide game-changer and was the most explosive player offensively for Legend all year long. </p>   <p></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/J_Lawrence440/status/1726306854136144076 </div></figure>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2. November 10th, 2023: #11 Northfield 56, #6 Pueblo Central 36</strong></p>   <p>In the Class of 3A realm, there were plenty of feel-good underdog stories including 11-seed Northfield shocking six-seed Pueblo Central in the opening round of the state playoffs. By the time the clock hit triple zeroes, it ended up being a determined Nighthawks squad that amassed 322 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns in the second frame to put the game ultimately out of reach. Not to mention, but Northfield put an exclamation point on the day thanks to the ballhawking corners in [player_tooltip player_id='547628' first='Kamrin' last='Joyce-Fairley'] and Elian Olvera who each plucked the pigskin out of the sky for interceptions when it mattered most. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/KamrinJoyce/status/1703974323113927054 </div></figure>   <p></p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>1. November 25th, 2023: #5 Lutheran 27, #1 Green Mountain 21</strong></p>   <p>All aboard! Next stop, Title Town USA! In this epic 3A Semifinal showdown, the Lutheran Lions punched their ticket to the championship game by putting forth a tremendous showing against top-seed Green Mountain. Not only were the Rams undefeated before squaring off with the Lions on the gridiron, but Lutheran illustrated why they are "Comeback Kids" after they reeled off 13 points in the final quarter to put the nail in the coffin. All in all, the automatic connection between QB [player_tooltip player_id='143625' first='Ryken' last='Daugaard'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1297773' first='Jack' last='Wesolowski'] could not be stopped. When the dust finally settled, Wesolowski tallied 138 receiving yards as Daugaard also connected on two critical passing touchdowns with his favorite target to march their way to a championship meeting versus Holy Family. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LHSparkerSports/status/1728539400638742958 </div></figure>

David vs Goliath. The 1980 US Men's Hockey team slaying the Soviet Union. The New York Giants shocking the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Who doesn't love a good underdog story? It has been a memorable year to say the least, and there have been plenty of upsets galore. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top five upsets of the 2023 Colorado high school football season.