Fountain-Fort Carson High School

Infobox School
name = Fountain-Fort Carson High School


imagesize = 150px
caption =
motto = Good To Great
established = 1873
type = Public school
affiliation =
district = 8
grades = 9-12
president =
principal = Jim Calhoun
head of school =
deans = Anthony Ribaudo & Chris James
faculty = 106 faculty members
staff =
students =
enrollment = 1427 students
athletics = Fall: Football, Cross-Country, Softball, Boys' Tennis, Volleyball, & Boys' Soccer.
Winter: Girls' Basketball, Boys' Basketball, Wrestling, & Girls' Swimming.
Spring: Girls' Tennis, Outdoor Track, Girls' Soccer, Baseball, & Boys' Swimming
conference = 4A Pike's Peak League (Football) 5A South Metro League (All other sports)
colors = Red, White & Blue
color box|redcolor box|whitecolor box|blue
mascot = Trojans
campus type =
campus size =
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
free_label3 =
free_text3 =
location = 900 Jimmy Camp Road
Fountain, Colorado 80817
country = USA
coordinates =
website = http://www.ffc8.org/ffchs

Fountain-Fort Carson High School (also commonly referred to as FFCHS) is a public high school in [http://www.ffc8.org Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8] that serves the southern end of Colorado Springs. It has gained national attention for its close ties to the military, as a large percentage of students live on nearby Fort Carson. Approximately 40% of all students have either one or both parents who are on active duty in the military. The school's mascot is a Trojan.

History

The earliest schoolhouse in the Fountain Valley opened in 1873, with the first class to graduate with 12 years of schooling graduating in 1889. Fountain High School was built in 1903 & served as both middle school & high school until 1930. In 1954, a larger high school was built & served as such until 1999. In 1999, the new high school building was built on the east side of town, while the old high school became Fountain Middle School. The teams football has been moved up to 5-A since 2008 and is doing quite well.

Athletics

Fountain - Fort Carson has a proud athletic history. Since the 1920's the Trojans have captured various league, city, & state honors in basketball, volleyball, football, baseball, & track & field. The greatest of these are the 17 team state titles & 101 individual state titles won in track & field under legendary coaches John Schultz and Art Hassler, who retired after the 2006 season. Mitch Johnson is also the area's most experienced football coach, with 29 years of coaching under his belt, 21 of which have been spent at FFCHS.

FFCHS vs. Palisade 2003

An anonymous caller called Palisade High School shortly after Todd Casebier's Bulldogs beat F.F.C.H.S. 22-20 in the 2003 State Playoffs. This caller revealed that Palisade's place kicker, Lane Wilson, was academically ineligible to play. According to the Colorado High School Activities Association, (C.H.S.A.A.) this automatically disqualifies a team from a game, yet the C.H.S.A.A. allowed the Bulldogs to advance regardless. Fountain Fort Carson School District 8 took the case to court, where the Arapahoe County court ruled in favor of the C.H.S.A.A. The incident gained F.F.C.H.S. the ire of the C.H.S.A.A. ever since, resulting in multiple cases of poor officiating of basketball & football games in which F.F.C.H.S. is the visiting team. Todd Casebier was fired from Palisade, but is now the head coach at Montrose High School. In a sense, poetic justice was served when the Trojans beat Casebier's Montrose Indians in the first round of the 2007 4A State Playoffs.

Multiple Rivalries

Unlike most high schools, which have no or only one major rival to speak of, FFCHS has many. Four of which are listed:

* Florence High School: Florence & FFCHS have a hate-hate relationship. Over time, this football rivalry got so violent, that police escorts had to be supplied to the visiting team.

* Widefield High School: District proximity & the infamous "Whose House?" chant are the basis for this rivalry. Widefield plays FFCHS in the annual Border War game.

* Cheyenne Mountain High School: FFCHS was built on a horse pasture, Cheyenne Mountain is surrounded by the fancy homes of the Broadmoor neighborhood. This class difference is highlighted in this rivalry. FFCHS is often known as the "ghetto" school, especially in comparison to Cheyenne Mountain.

* Harrison High School: As mentioned before, FFCHS was built on an old horse pasture, giving it a "country" repute. Harrison is an inner-city school. The differences between these two schools have sparked a spectacular basketball feud over the years.

* Mesa Ridge High School: The rivalry between Mesa Ridge and FFCHS is most noted between members of each school's JROTC programs, with Mesa Ridge offering Air Force JROTC while FFCHS offers Army JROTC. Typically it has been customary for both Mesa Ridge and FFCHS JROTC Color guard groups to combine and perform together whenever the two schools play each other.

Music

The FFCHS band program has only recently become a major competitor. In 2004 Randal Rabito got the job as band director. He wasted no time in improving the program in every way possible. The marching band went to the Colorado Bandmaster's Association competition for the first time that year. The performance was less than amazing, but paved the way for future success.

Notable alumni

* Chase Headley - University of Tennessee baseball player, now plays for the San Diego Padres

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:2007_Oklahoma_Sooners_football_roster Phil Loadholt] - University of Oklahoma football player, largest man ever to play for OU (6'9" 350)

* Don Cockroft - Former place kicker for the Cleveland Browns

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Guy R. Barickman Stadium "The Brick House"


location = 900 Jimmy Camp Road
Fountain, Colorado 80817
broke_ground = 1988
opened = 1989
owner = Fountain - Fort Carson School District 8
surface = SprintTurf
construction_cost = $3 million USD
architect = Christiansen, Reece & Partners
tenants = Fountain-Fort Carson High School Trojans (Colorado 4A Pike's Peak League) (1989-Present)
seating_capacity = 5,000

Guy R. Barickman Stadium is a 5,000 capacity stadium in Fountain, Colorado. It serves as the home of Fountain-Fort Carson High School football, track, and soccer. It is named for Guy Barickman, a former coach at F.F.C.H.S.

On the Northern side of the home stands, there is a seat painted blue and decorated with a plaque. This is in memory of Mrs. Jacque Johnson, mother of current trojan football coach Mitch Johnson. The seat was where she sat at every home game until her death in 2004. It is situated on the 40 yard line, right above the student section.

See also

* Fountain, Colorado
* El Paso County, Colorado
* Fort Carson
* Chase Headley

External links

* [http://www.ffc8.org/ffchs FFCHS Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/f_town_trojan_fans The Night Watch, a alumni-run booster organization]