Of the several mistakes Cherry Creek made on special teams in the Class 5A state title game, allowing Josh Snyder to return a kickoff proved the most critical.
After a pair of Snyder rushing touchdowns put Columbine up 14-0 early, the Bruins responded with an interception and then a score a few minutes later to close the gap. That is, until Snyder housed a 98-yard kickoff return, using his blazing speed and vision to return the mojo to the Rebels for good.
“My hopes shot up in a huge way after that play,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry recalled. “After they scored, you could see they gained some confidence. Then when Josh took it all the way back, you could feel the whole momentum shift back our way in a matter of seconds. That was huge. Maybe the game’s biggest play.”
That kickoff return epitomized Snyder’s game-breaking ability as he emerged as the best player on the 5A state champions this year. It showcased his wheels, athleticism and versatility as a three-way player who rarely came off the field.
And it underscored Snyder’s path to taking home major individual hardware: The CHSAA Class 5A Player of the Year. The MaxPreps Colorado High School Football Player of the Year. And now, he’s the winner of The Denver Post’s Gold Helmet Award for the state’s most outstanding football player, scholar-athlete and citizen.
“He was all-everything,” Lowry said. “He’d be our best corner, best safety, probably our best slot receiver, and our best running back. We could play him anywhere we wanted to play him, and he’s probably the most selfless person there is.”
In addition to his accomplishments on the field, Snyder also starred in the classroom (4.46 GPA) and in community service. He’s been a peer mentor for Jeffco’s Adaptive Flag Football Day for the past two years and has volunteered for Columbine’s Day of Service for the past three. Plus, he’s volunteered to serve food at the Denver Rescue Mission.
“When I was (in elementary school) at Front Range Christian, the feeling of giving back was instilled in me then, when we would put together packages for the homeless and hand them out, make blankets for underprivileged children, and we helped raise money for a children’s home in Uganda,” Snyder said.
“That showed me from a young age we should always be giving back, and I took that (philosophy) into high school. Helping with (Unified football) was really rewarding, because I got to take my football experience and use it for a bigger outcome.”
At Jeffco’s Adaptive Flag Football Day, Bryan Wickoren, the coordinator for Jeffco Adapted Athletics, says that the buy-in of players like Snyder has helped the annual event run smoothly.
“Josh and a couple of the other Columbine seniors led the day,” Wickoren said. “Players like Josh volunteering their time helps raise awareness for other (general education) kids to do so. And the other aspect is, the students with special needs love it… Josh and the other seniors can tell the players, ‘Hey remember last year we were doing this, let’s try it this way.’ Kids with special needs learn so much more from their peers than having an adult tell them what to do all the time.”
RELATED: A letter by Josh Snyder, winner of the 2023 Denver Post Gold Helmet Award
Snyder currently has an offer to play football at Colorado School of Mines, which both of his parents attended, as well as offers from Western Colorado, CSU-Pueblo and Northern Colorado. The second Gold Helmet winner from Columbine, joining lineman Andrew Gentry in 2019, Snyder plans to sign in February in the culmination of a storied high school career that began with a coming-out moment as a sophomore against Jeffco rival Pomona.
In that game, Snyder got his first chance to take on a primary offensive role due to an injury ahead of him on the depth chart. He made the most of it, starting the game by returning a kickoff to near midfield before ripping off a 52-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage.
Snyder finished the win with 138 yards rushing, his first time topping the century mark in high school, and never looked back.
“That’s kind of when we all knew on the sideline and the coaches looked at each other like, ‘OK, this guy is pretty special,’” Lowry recalled.
In addition to 36 tackles, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries on defense, including a scoop-and-score, Snyder ran for 100-plus yards 11 times this year despite sharing the load in a stacked Columbine backfield that also featured Mason Moreno, James Cillessen and James Basinger. Snyder finished with 1,717 rushing yards and 28 total TDs.
He ended the season on a heater, with his most notable performances outside of the title game coming in the second round against Fountain-Fort Carson (nine carries for 168 yards and four TDs) and against rival Chatfield in the semifinals (180 yards, three TDs). Snyder’s speed (4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash) proved to be a separator against playoff competition.
“He was the best tailback we played against all year,” Fountain-Fort Carson coach Jake Novotny said. “We knew about him from afar, seeing some of the stuff on social media about his speed. When you watched him on tape, he stood out with his passion and his relentless effort. And most importantly, you could tell he was a great teammate with how he congratulated guys after plays.
“When he played against us, that was 100% what we saw live. He’s an extremely disciplined player and he’s the perfect selfless player to play in that type of offense. … When his carries came, he took advantage of them. And it happened so quickly — our guys’ heads turned and he was already like five yards from the goal line because he was so explosive out of the backfield.”
Through it all, and even after winning the Gold Helmet, Snyder continually deflected credit back toward his teammates. If he could split the Gold Helmet into a bunch of pieces to distribute among the Rebels, he would.
“The reason we were successful was because no one really cared about their personal stats or personal social status,” Snyder said. “All we cared about was our success as a whole, as a team. That’s what our junkyard dawg mentality was rooted in toward the end of the season. It was never about me, because I had all my linemen up front as well as my fellow running backs, and that’s why I’m getting all these awards.”
Getting to know Josh Snyder
School: Columbine
Born: Sept. 4, 2005
College: Undecided
In the classroom: 4.46 GPA
In the community: Josh has served as a peer mentor for Columbine’s Adaptive Flag Football day each of the past two years and volunteered for the school’s day of service the last three years. In addition, he assisted teachers at his old school, Front Range Christian, and has given his time to Denver Rescue Mission.
On the field: The best player on the 5A state champions, Snyder started three years on varsity. Eventually, he never left the field as a contributor in all three phases for the Rebels. As a senior, he accumulated 1,927 total yards of offense with 28 touchdowns (25 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 fumble return, 1 kick return) and made 36 tackles on defense, to go along with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. For his career, Snyder ran for 3,358 yards while submitting a pair of 1000-yard seasons.
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