In a year with a shuffled sports schedule, Montezuma-Cortez senior Ty Blackmer made the most of a spring schedule that suited his strongest sports, showcasing his strong arm on the gridiron, just weeks before shifting to the baseball diamond.
His prowess in both arenas did not go unnoticed.
Blackmer recently landed an all-league nomination in baseball, to go along with an All-State honorable mention nod for his work as quarterback of the Panthers.
One of Blackmer’s favorite targets, classmate Kyler Krob, brought an energetic dynamic to head coach Ivan Mack’s squad, demonstrating an ability to beat defenses from the backfield and in a receiving role. Krob’s ability to spark the defense as well, primarily from his safety position, helped earn him a selection on to the honorable mention team, as well.
M-CHS (2-4 3A West) played up in classification during the 2021 spring season, facing off against several foes accustomed to the challenges of life at the 3A level. Even with the growing pains of playing larger schools, the Panthers remained competitive, pushing some of their playoff-bound foes to the limit, in close losses to Glenwood Springs and Aspen.
Even in the losses, Blackmer and Krob proved to be an electric combination, with Blackmer throwing for over 1,200 yards on the season in the shortened six-game regular season. He broke 400 yards passing in a five-touchdown aerial display against Salida in the Panthers’ most emphatic win of the campaign.
Krob, meanwhile, showed explosive moves from the backfield to help give the Panthers a second dimension to the offense, and helped steady a young Panther defensive unit that has ambitions to continue success upon returning to the 2A classification this fall. He broke the century-mark with 120 yards rushing against Aspen, in one of the best ground performances by a Panther in the past decade.
All-state selections were based on nominations from each of the leagues in Colorado’s seven football classifications. From this list of nominees, Colorado high school football coaches voted to establish classification as first team, second team or honorable mention.
