Chase for Colorado's TD record? Erie football's Barnett couldn't care less

Aug. 23—From one current high school star on the gridiron, to perhaps the state's ultimate preps football legend, Erie senior quarterback Blake Barnett beamed when asked about NFL megastar Christian McCaffrey.

"He's the best Colorado football player to come out, and like the best running back in the NFL, which is pretty special," Barnett said of the former Valor Christian running back. McCaffrey went on to finish second in the 2015 Heisman race at Stanford and is now an all-pro with the San Francisco 49ers.

It was a not-so subtle setup for the real question: What it would mean for Barnett to overtake McCaffrey for one of the state's most prestigious preps records. But this time, the Kansas State commit didn't bite.

At practice ahead of their opening game in Ocala, Florida Thursday, Barnett, always oozing cool — thanks in part to his trademark earrings and a wide smile that emerges like a magic reveal under his helmet — looked all parts of ready for what could be a historic high school swan song.

As it stands now, he is 36 touchdowns away from passing McCaffrey's 141 for the state's all-time 11-man TD record. To put that in context, Barnett had 46 scores last year as a junior — totaling 26 through the air, 18 on the ground, one receiving and one on the punt return. The year prior, he had 51.

"It's something to think about but not something I want to pay a lot of mind to," Barnett said when pressed about a TD chase that will likely interest many in the preps world. Just not him. "A state championship is a lot more than 36 touchdowns and a record, and that's all I'm working here for. Get a state championship and win football games with my boys."

For as remarkable as Barnett has been on the football field, his career can also be measured in units of suffering. You'd have to bring out the chains to measure how close the Tigers were to a state title the past two seasons.

In 2021, Erie lost on a long TD throw in the waning seconds of the Class 4A championship game against Chatfield. Then last year, it looked as if they'd return to the title game after Barnett's late-game heroics in the semifinals against Cole LaCrue-led Broomfield. But somewhere among the inches around the goal line, for what would have been the go-ahead score, he lost the ball, and the game.

All of it, he said, has forced him to "learn through the suck and all the sleepless nights."

"At the end of the day, you lose the two biggest games of your life," Barnett said. "The state championship was the biggest game of my life and I didn't play that great. And then the second biggest game of my life, I fumble on the 1. It eats at you and keeps you working hard."

Alongside Barnett, the Tigers bring back Washington State-commit Jackson Cowgill on the lines. His brother Mason is a standout tight end who should be one of Barnett's favorite targets this fall.

Further aiding an offense that averaged 39.6 points per game a year ago is a nice junior running back in Gavin Lusk, who rushed for 751 yards and 11 scores as a sophomore. A receiving corps that graduated its No. 1 in Caden Lettis features a talented group led by seniors Kaveh Meredith, Preston Terranova, Josh Levine, Alex Sweeney and junior Donovan O'Brien.

"This year is kind of the same thing again: State championship or bust," Mason Cowgill said.

The focus for the Tigers never seems to steer too far away from that. The mindset starts with their leader behind center.

Shoved into the limelight, Barnett is practiced in tunnel vision.

"You could be the 16 or 17-year-old kid caught up in all the hype, or focus on what really matters," Barnett said. "I listened to (national champion Georgia coach) Kirby Smart when I was in his war room. He talked about keeping the main thing the main thing. And I wouldn't get all this recognition if I wasn't playing football. Keeping the main thing the main thing and just focusing on football is kind of what I live by."

When Erie returns from Florida, it hosts Mullen in Week 2. The Tigers' non-conference schedule features home games against defending champ Broomfield Sept. 16 and 4A runner-up Loveland Sept. 29.