To bring Big Black back to the prep football pinnacle, Nathan Johnson dished out some tough love.
Johnson, who steered Pomona through a couple rough seasons in Class 5A before the Panthers moved to 3A last year and became an immediate title contender, knew his team was capable of winning the championship this fall.
But what the head coach saw in practice in September — and how the Panthers played in a 45-14 loss to Dakota Ridge in their final game of that month — showed Johnson he needed to reset the program’s standard. So he benched several starters for Pomona’s non-conference game against Wheat Ridge on Oct. 3, including star running back/wideout Luis Santana.
“There were guys (doing half-effort) in practice the week leading into the Dakota game, and he saw a similar effort on film from that game,” Santana recalled. “I’m glad that Coach Johnson called me and other guys out. Because the thing about Coach Johnson is, if he needs to, he will pull his best players just for them to learn their lesson and be humble.
“When that happened to me — I played scout team all week and special teams against Wheat Ridge — it humbled me, and it made me a better player. It gave me my why to give 100% every play the rest of the season.”
Santana, one of two All-Colorado selections on the team along with senior running back/linebacker Emmitt Munson, excelled the rest of the year as the Panthers made a run to the Class 3A title in a parity-laden field. The feat, achieved via a dramatic walk-off win in the championship over Windsor, earned Johnson the label of All-Colorado Coach of the Year.
Johnson, who is 22-5 over the past two seasons, restored Pomona to prominence now that the Panthers — who long played above their numbers while in Class 5A — are playing in a classification appropriate to their enrollment. Pomona Junior and Senior High had 1,252 students last season, according to Colorado Department of Education data, with about 900 high school students. The classification split for 3A football for the next cycle is 700 to 1,199.
So Pomona is back despite challenges in a recent significant enrollment dip caused by the small handful of older neighborhoods that feed it.
“A lot of people are just believing again that we can be successful,” Johnson said. “For me, I never lost faith. I wanted to a couple of times. (Going 3-17 over 2022 and ’23) was the hardest stretch of my life there, professionally speaking.”
When the switch to 3A was announced after the 2022 season, a handful of could-be impact guys quit. One of the Panthers’ best players, wideout and Kansas State commit Maxwell Lovett, transferred to Cherry Creek.
But those who stayed were rewarded this fall with what Johnson promised — the chance to compete for a state championship.
“My pitch to the current kids then was if you want to win a championship, Pomona is the spot,” Johnson said. “Now, it’s not a hope or a dream. It’s confirmed.”
Pomona’s 2025 title is the program’s third, along with a Class 4A crown in 1988 and a 5A title in 2017. The Panthers edged Windsor in a dramatic championship that featured a halfback TD pass from Santana to quarterback Tucker Ingersoll just before halftime that changed the momentum of the game.
The victory was capped off by Chase Keaton’s 40-yard field goal on the final play after Johnson recruited the lifelong soccer player ahead of this season to bring more consistency to the kicking game.
“Time stood still for me during that kick,” Johnson said. “In three seconds, it was five years of really hard work since I took this job that came down to that moment. It’s a memory that this coaching staff, these players and this community will never forget.”
All-Colorado Coach of the Year finalists
Jeremiah Behrendsen, Dakota Ridge — The undefeated Eagles averaged a 28.3-point margin of victory en route to Class 4A crown, the program’s first.
Jared Yannacito, Ralston Valley — The Pomona alum led the Mustangs (13-1) to their first title game, where they fell in the Class 5A championship to Cherry Creek.
Travis Peeples, Wellington — In an absolute rampage through Class 2A, the Eagles won by an average of 36.7 points en route to the program’s first title since 1953.
Mike Sanford, Valor Christian — In his first year on the job, the former college coach navigated tough midseason losses to lead the Eagles to the Class 5A semifinals.