Timnath football makes statement with dominant season-opening win at Poudre

It’s already a whole new ballgame for Timnath football this year.

The Cubs showed themselves plenty worthy of their new Class 3A classification status , knocking off 4A Poudre 22-16 on Friday night at French Field.

After a pair of tough 2A seasons with a combined 2-19 record, Timnath looked more than competitive. In their 2024 season opener, the Cubs completely took it to the Impalas (who were 5A last season).

“We haven’t had a lot of wins around here the past few years,” said head coach Jayson Robinson. “So this one was really sweet.”

The Cubs ran for over 200 yards, forced four turnovers and controlled the run of play, never trailing on the road.

In other words: this was no fluke.

Mitchell DeAngelis scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and Vince Hochhalter added another.

It was emblematic of Timnath’s physical play up front, winning consistently at the line of scrimmage.

“It was probably the first time we’ve really seen our physical side come out,” Robinson said. “Mitchell ran it hard and the boys on the lines did their jobs.

“If we keep doing that, we’ll be able to roll some teams and that's the message I gave to our guys."

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Meanwhile, Davis Payne broke several long screen passes on the edge and new starting quarterback Kyle Nelson was poised in the pocket.

It was proof of concept for coach Jayson Robinson and this program, which is in its third season and has seniors for the first time this season.

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“We’re finally starting to go on the upward tick and we’ve been waiting for that to happen.

“Tonight showed we’re making the right progress over here.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Timnath football makes statement with dominant season-opening win at Poudre