Through its first two cracks at the 2024 season, Fairview football’s profile in Class 5A rose slowly, its temperature creeping up with wins over Legacy and Arvada West. On Friday night at Recht Field, the Knights reached their boiling point.

They put on a merciless display in their crosstown rivalry matchup against Boulder, burying the Panthers with a 56-0 final. Sophomore quarterback Ki Ellison and senior wide receivers Luke Strickland and Jordan Rechel carried the shovels for their team, especially in the first half.

Each week, the Knights have uncovered more weapons in their arsenal, proving themselves tricky.

“Against Legacy, we really stuck to kind of one personnel group and were running the ball, so we’re trying to get a bit more balanced and open things up a little bit and still use that package, but not as the whole thing,” head coach Tom McCartney said. “We were able to do a little bit more against A-West and a little bit more again tonight. We’re just trying to be tough to defend.”

The Knights teased the Panthers through their first possession of the game, taking seven minutes to put seven points up on the board. Then the wheels came off.

Fairview scored six times in the first half alone. Ellison collected all 176 of his passing yards through those two quarters, connecting with Strickland for a 66-yard touchdown, then adding another 11-yard dagger to Luka Teodoru. Strickland scored twice in the first half, finishing with 107 yards, as Rechel (96 yards), Ryder Villarreal and Brock Kolstad joined him in the end zone.

Some of that chemistry has even transcended different levels of schooling, dating back to before Ellison first set foot on Fairview’s campus. Now that he’s stepping into the spotlight, the Knights are reaping the rewards.

“I started training with Ki when he was in eighth grade and I was a sophomore,” Strickland recalled. “I remember looking at him after he threw me my first fade ball and telling him we were going to win state my senior year. He’s out here. He won the job. He’s killing it. I’m so proud of him. It’s an awesome connection to have with him for sure.”

Keeghan Field-Gordon and Ryan Rutherford added their own names to the scoreboard in the second half, never letting the Panthers gain an inch. Ellison said he believed this team’s talent level is “just as good, if not better” compared to other strong Fairview squads over the past few seasons.

“Our defense is just locked down like nothing, and we got so much talent on offense all over the ball, so I think it’s team special,” he said. “We got depth all over the field, talent all over the field. When we go up and we dominate, then everybody gets to shine.”

As each game passes, another win in the books, Strickland believes his and Ellison’s dream of achieving that elusive state championship is becoming more and more real. The Knights (3-0) will face their next test at Monarch next Friday, while Boulder (1-2) seeks out another rebound at home against Horizon on the same night.

McCartney hopes that contest will just add another gold star to their resume.

“(Boulder) is a big game to us,” McCartney said. “For us, there’s two teams in the city, and so it’s always a big deal. We don’t look at records. We don’t look at the past. We want to win this game, and so we put a lot into it. We work really hard for it, and so we’re very excited. Next week, Monarch is for the county, and so that’s another big one.”