In a time of extreme darkness, a community was desperate for a light.
"Our kids were struggling. They were hurting – our whole community was like that," says Columbine head football coach Andy Lowry.
A school shooting that shocked an entire community should have made it impossible for a team to focus on trivial things like football.
"Obviously, we were kind of in survival mode," Lowry says. "It was one day at a time, trying to recover and figure out what just transpired six months earlier."
Yet, Andy Lowry led his Columbine Rebels to the state championship that fall. They played each game for their late teammate Matthew Kechter, as well as the 12 others who died on April 20, 1999.
"There was 13 victims, and after the semifinals we were 12-1. It dawns on you that if we win that 13th game, that's one for every victim. I think our kids really rallied around that. In the press conference, they just mentioned that if you get punched in the mouth what do you do? Our kids got punched in the mouth right away against Cherry Creek and then just settled down and played extremely hard and came out victorious. It was one of those things you know God is behind all that. God is leading us and has so much (probably everything) to do with that, to be honest," Lowry says.
Columbine beat Cherry Creek by a final score of 21-14 to win the 1999 5A football state championship.
"You're playing against Cherry Creek again, 20 years later, can you even wrap your mind around that?" asks 9News' Arielle Orsuto.
"You and I talked about irony; It's kind of divining that 20 years later after the anniversary, playing the same team. We were away then in white uniforms, we're going to be away again this weekend in white uniforms. Just a lot of things are bringing back special memories," Lowry says.
The Rebels and Bruins will play at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High, again for the 5A state championship.
Lowry says it's important they learn from the former Rebels to better understand this tight tight community.
"We're going to bring back a lot of those guys from 20 years ago to be able to share their experiences with our kids. There's so many lessons that those guys can teach our kids now about life in general, about faith in general – and also about that afternoon and the memories they have an opportunity live out a dream this Saturday. Little kids dream of this, and they have the opportunity to play that Saturday," Lowry says.
"It was a special day," Lowry says. "After the aftermath, being able to share the trophy and the win with the Kechter family and Matt's younger brother was something we'll never forget. It was the whole gamut of emotions, for sure."
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