AURORA | Gateway is on the search for its next head football coach after parting ways with Taylor Calvert Monday afternoon.
Athletic director Brendan Netherton confirmed to the Sentinel the decision to let go of Calvert, who spent three seasons with the program and compiled a 6-24 overall record, including 2-8 in the recently completed 2019 season.
Gateway has posted the job and will seek far and wide for what will become the program’s fifth head coach in a nine-year span. It is the first known opening in the Aurora prep football coaching ranks.
“We appreciated everything that Coach Calvert has done for the program and relationships he’s built,” Netherton said. “He’s a great person, this is just one of those hard decisions. …It’s a hard decision, but I believe that Gateway has the potential to compete with anybody athletically.
“Once our kids get excited about winning from a young age and building it, the sky’s the limit.”
Calvert took over as Gateway’s head coach prior to the 2017 season following Shane Ward, who has since moved on to become an assistant at Vista PEAK.
The Olys went 3-7 in the first season under Calvert, then 1-9 in 2018 and then 2-8, which gave him the same record that he had in three seasons at Aurora Central in his previous stint as head coach.
Gateway showed tangible improvement in the 2019 season, however.
With transfers Erick Covington and RJ Webster able to play, the Olys racked up 201 more points than in the previous season and scored 21 or more five times in 10 games.
The record might have been better if not for a two-point loss to district rival Hinkley in a game Gateway led for the majority of the way, while it also challenged then-undefeated Montrose and Denver South in a shootout finale.
Calvert was disappointed with the decision, but told the Sentinel he was grateful for the time at Gateway and was proud of the time he put in building the program.
“It’s unfortunate, but I have pride knowing we elevated the program in a lot of ways; wish nothing but the best for the program moving forward,” Calvert said.
“As a staff, we did a lot of good things and showed nothing but love and the kids benefited from their time in our program.”
During Calvert’s time, the Olys sent a number of players to various levels of college football, including a 2018 class that saw Xavier Delk and Kevin Traylor Jr. signed with Nebraska-Kearney, Houston Harper sign with Fort Lewis and Sulu Gonzales and Daiquan Hill seal the chance to play at Presentation College.
Gateway moves into a new conference next season.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports