Colony looks to extend its winning ways

&#8220We've got to keep our heads on our shoulders.”

This is sound advice for a variety of situations. But Colony High School senior George Percak-Dennett had a very narrow application in mind when he uttered these words Friday night.

The captain of Colony's football team, Percak-Dennett offered this assessment of the challenge that lies ahead for him and his teammates following their 12-0 win over Chugiak Friday. The victory put the Knights in striking distance of a state championship. They move on now to face South Anchorage on Saturday in the title game.

A state championship is highly prized, but seldom realized. It is not only the culmination of a lot of hard work and preparation, it also requires a recipe for

success that often includes more than a dash of good fortune.

So much goes into building a winning team. The right mix of talent is important. But without the proper chemistry between players, as well as between players and coaches, good talent can go for naught. The importance of a good attitude cannot be overstated, either, or of having a &#8220winning tradition” on which to build each season.

All of the fine players on this year's version of the Knights no doubt understand the need for teamwork as they practice hard every day, and play hard every weekend. All that hard work and unity comes into sharp focus this week, as Colony prepares to take on undefeated South Anchorage - perhaps the greatest challenge and most formidable foe the Knights have faced this season.

This will be the second appearance in the state championship game for a Colony football team. The Knights, under then-coach Randy Magner, were beaten by Dimond in the 2000 title tilt.

The first head coach the Knights had, Magner built the program from the ground up. Starting in the early '90s as prep sports' version of an expansion team, Magner's Knights took their licks along the way. But year by year, piece by piece, Magner and his staff built a winning tradition at Colony.

Football fundamentals were honed, but so were human fundamentals. As the Knights gained respectability on the field, individual players gained important life lessons, and Magner's charges became winners off the field, too.

Without all those who have worn the green and black before them, this year's Knights might find themselves in a different spot. Second-year head coach Jamie Mayo may bring a different personality to the sidelines, but as a former assistant to Magner, he also brings a sense of history and tradition.

It's the kind of tradition that will serve Colony well as it marches into Anchorage Football Stadium on Saturday. More important, win or lose, it's the kind of tradition that will serve the players well when they leave the stadium.

We wish Mayo and the Knights all the best on Saturday and beyond.