East High School celebrates back-to-back state championships

East High School’s back-to-back state football champions received a standing ovation at the school on Wednesday.

Pueblo’s East Eagles made history once against last week when they won the 3-A State Championship by defeating Roosevelt High School.

The spotlight was back on the Eagles Wednesday morning as the community rallied together in the school’s auditorium to congratulate the two-time state champions.

“Just to see the support like that is Pueblo pride — it’s bigger than us,” said linebacker Bruno DeRose.

After winning their first-ever football state title last year, the Eagles knew the pressure was on this season.

“Our coaches kind of gave us a heads-up, like we have a target on our back, like it’s gonna be harder than we did it the previous year,” said quarterback Daniel Martin.

“At the beginning of the year, I think they felt it a lot,” said head football coach Lee Meisner. “But as soon as we started focusing on our games, focusing on our goals week to week, they kind of embraced it and they just did an awesome job.”

Not only can the team now show off two trophies, but two-time winning players will now have two rings. Students say they’re not just celebrating the win as a team but as a family.

“Everyone always dogs on the east side and everything but finally we have a good name for ourselves,” said linebacker Shanae Trujillo.