But Andy was not them… He was more cerebral and thoughtful and emotionally connected with players, even though he was just as demanding as those old-school guys.” “I was around coaching back in the day where yellers and screamers motivated people you had coaches like Woody Hayes, Frank Kush. “Even as a young coach you could tell then that he really cared around kids,” former Columbine principal Frank DeAngelis said. (My motivations for coaching) have transitioned from getting that competitive edge to now, that role model piece, and giving back and loving the relationships I build with kids every day.”Īnd while Lowry’s coaching motivations have become intertwined with the community, his coaching philosophy has also evolved, even if the run-heavy attack he’s favored since his coaching days at Lakewood has not. “Teaching and coaching is a vocation now, and I pray every day that I can be a role model for kids.
“As time goes on, it’s become a vocation for me, and my faith is huge in my life,” Lowry said. And while Lowry acknowledged his coaching genesis was spurred by the desire for a lifelong athlete to stay involved with the sport, his coaching motivations have shifted over time. Through all the Rebels’ success, the coaching staff has never made a state title a stated goal. “But they’ve all stuck together, and that continuity that we’ve had, and the relationship piece and selflessness of it - especially through the tragedy and the impact that had on us - it brought us really close together as a staff, a school and a community.” “The whole handful of all my longtime assistants would be great head coaches, and could’ve had the possibility of going somewhere to be head coaches,” Lowry said. The Rebels proceeded to win the state title that fall, and the next, seasons that helped the community’s healing process and jump-started the Columbine dynasty that saw the school also win championships in 2002, 20. That group was pulled even closer together in the wake of the 1999 shooting at the school that left 13 dead and many, seeking someone to blame, pointing fingers at the football program. Now entering his 27th year coaching and teaching physical education on Pierce Street, longtime assistants such as defensive coordinator Tom Tonelli, assistant head coach Ivory Moore and head junior varsity coach Lee Andres have been with Lowry since he arrived at Columbine. The continuity of Lowry’s staff has also played a part in Columbine’s success. And even though he’s tweaked it over the years, it’s pretty much the same system he’s been running since he was at Lakewood.” His offense and the option has always been predictable, but it’s often unstoppable. “He’s a master of getting kids to buy into his system, and getting that system to basically dominate Colorado high school football. “They never waver from what they do,” said Pomona head coach Jay Madden, who has known Lowry since 1992. Lowry then applied for the re-listed job, and has proceeded to win 257 games with the Rebels. Squires had one official meeting with his team, but after reconsidering the commitment he was taking on, re-retired. In fact, his mentor at Lakewood, George Squires - who gave Lowry his first prep coaching job as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 1987 - initially came out of retirement as a coach to take the Columbine job in 1994.
Then we beat them again the following year, so that stuck out (to Columbine).”īut the up-and-comer nearly didn’t get the chance to take over at Columbine. We ended up beating Columbine in my first year as the head coach on a trick play (faked field goal), and there there’s no way we should’ve beaten them, but we did. “We were kind of the underdogs in everything we did. “Truthfully, my claim to fame as a really young coach was that at Lakewood, our numbers were really, really low,” Lowry recalled. His Tigers went a surprising 2-0 against Jeffco rival Columbine. Lowry, who starred at quarterback for the Tigers in the early 1980s before going on to play at Western State, spent two years as Lakewood’s head coach prior to taking the Columbine job in 1994.
#Andy harrington clocker series
Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close MenuĮditor’s Note: Third in a five-part series profiling Colorado football icons.īefore Andy Lowry built Columbine into one of Colorado’s preeminent big-school football powerhouses - winning five Class 5A state titles and appearing in a sixth last fall - the 56-year-old made his name as a young football coach at his alma mater, Lakewood.
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