Richard Villarreal would get to his job at IBM before the sun came up, just to make sure he would get off in time to watch football practice at Fairview High School. It was the 1980s. His son Kip was the quarterback for former coach Sam Pagano, who over a quarter of a century at the helm turned the Knights into a power on the gridiron.
And in the fall of ‘87 — nine years after winning the program’s first two titles in repeat fashion in ’78-79 — with Richard in his usual spot atop the hill looking down on each of the team’s practices, they celebrated their third. Thirty-seven years later, they wait on No. 4.
Today, Tom McCartney — the son of the University of Colorado’s national championship coach Bill McCartney — is in charge of the program. He has gone 225-119 since taking over for Pagano three decades ago. Kip Villarreal, now 54, is up in the stands watching all three of his sons be a part of it.
Ryder, his youngest, is a senior linebacker who plays both ways. Ethan and Gray, both former players themselves at Fairview, are defensive assistants. Through Week 5 of the football season, Fairview is 5-0 and ranked 5A No.
7 in Colorado Preps’ Media Poll. While the longtime narrative for the Knights under Coach Mac has usually settled on their high-flying air attacks, it’s the defense that has grabbed a lot of the attention this fall thanks to three straight shutouts coming into the weekend. Saturday, Fairview will begin play in the Front Range-North League a.
