Three weeks into the 2026 season, something special is happening within CSCS Football.
Both the CSCS High School and Middle School football teams enter Week 4 undefeated, giving the Lions plenty to celebrate on the scoreboard. But the early success is also providing a glimpse of something bigger: a football program growing together from one level to the next.
At CSCS, the goal has never been simply to build winning teams. It is to build young men who compete with excellence, develop character, serve one another and represent Christ well.
Right now, the wins are following.
VARSITY LIONS START 3–0
The varsity Lions have opened the season with three straight victories:
CSCS 49, Holyoke 14
CSCS 22, Woodland Park 16
CSCS 20, Rye 14
The three wins have come in very different ways.
Opening night was a statement. Playing the first football game in CSCS history on a field bearing the school’s name, the Lions defeated Holyoke 49–14 at Ragain Field. Senior quarterback Fisher Tenpas threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns, while senior receiver Silas Lambert finished with 129 receiving yards and two scores.
The next two weeks demanded something different.
Against Woodland Park, CSCS fell behind 9–0 before responding. Tenpas connected with Lambert for a touchdown before finding junior Dom Gillin for a 74-yard score that helped put the Lions in front. Gillin turned in a career night with 125 receiving yards and two touchdowns as CSCS held on for a 22–16 road victory.
Senior quarterback Tenpas described one of the keys to navigating the pressure simply: staying calm. That composure helped the Lions erase the early deficit and withstand Woodland Park’s late rally.
Then came another road test at Rye.
For the second consecutive week, CSCS found itself in a one-score battle and once again found a way to finish, defeating the Thunderbolts 20–14 to improve to 3–0. The Lions have now scored 91 points while allowing 44 through their first three games.
PLAYERS STEPPING FORWARD
The undefeated start has been powered by contributions throughout the roster.
Tenpas has been at the center of the offense, with MaxPreps listing the senior quarterback at 521 total yards through its most recently published team-leader data. Lambert has emerged as a major receiving threat, while Gillin’s breakout performance at Woodland Park demonstrated another weapon in the Lions’ passing attack.
Defensively, junior Matt Hinderland has been among the Lions’ leading tacklers, while senior Liam Smith continues to make his presence felt. Smith entered the season after recording 99 tackles as a junior and was named by The Gazette as one of the Pikes Peak region’s notable defensive players to watch. Through three games this season, MaxPreps credits him with 29 total tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
The individual recognition has been spread around as well. Following the Holyoke victory, MaxPreps recognized Smith, Tenpas, Nate Aichele and Isaiah Crispin as CSCS Players of the Game. After Woodland Park, those honors went to Gillin, Tenpas, Hinderland and Pearce Ueberroth.
That is what makes this start encouraging.
Different players. Different roles. Different moments.
One team.
THE NEXT GENERATION IS WINNING TOO
The excitement isn’t limited to Friday nights.
The CSCS Middle School football team is also undefeated entering Week 4, giving the Lions an undefeated program at both the middle school and varsity levels.
That matters because a strong football program isn’t built during one season.
It is built over years.
The middle school years are where younger Lions begin learning the fundamentals, expectations and culture that they will eventually carry into high school. They learn how to prepare, how to respond to coaching, how to compete alongside their teammates and how to represent CSCS.
The wins are exciting. The opportunity to develop young men through football is even bigger.
ONE PROGRAM. ONE PURPOSE.
From middle school practices to Friday nights under the lights at Ragain Field, these teams are connected by something greater than an undefeated record.
CSCS Athletics exists so that Christ is magnified through excellence in athletics. The program seeks to build men and women who are champions in all things, developing character, integrity and faith alongside athletic excellence.
Football provides countless opportunities to live that mission.
How do you respond when you’re down 9–0?
How do you respond when the game comes down to the final possessions?
How do you respond when you win?
How do you serve the teammate beside you?
Through three weeks, both CSCS football teams have answered plenty of questions on the field.
Now comes Week 4.
The varsity Lions return home Friday night to face Ellicott at 7:00 PM at Ragain Field, beginning conference play with a perfect 3–0 record.
There is a lot of football still ahead, and an undefeated start doesn’t define what these teams will ultimately become.
But it is worth celebrating what is being built.
Two undefeated teams. One growing football program. And generations of Lions learning what it means to compete for something greater than themselves.