When the Erie Tigers and Olathe Pirates collide at 11 a.m. Saturday at Legacy Stadium for the Class 2A state football championship, it doesn't figure to be for the faint of heart.

Erie (12-1) and Olathe (13-0) are big, physical teams that try to impose their will on whoever dares to get in their way.

"It's going to be great old-school, smash- mouth football," Pirates coach Ryan Corn said. "Erie's got some big boys, and so do we. That (Cees) Doxsey is a load, and they've got five more just like him."

Corn has guided Olathe to the title game for the first time in school history, and the Pirates are the first team from the Western Slope to play for the 2A championship since Cedaredge lost to Rye in 1993.

"The Western Slope hasn't fared that well recently, so the community is really excited about the opportunity we have," Corn said. "We feel like we're representing the Western Slope, and we have an opportunity to show people we can match up with the teams from the metro area."

In addition to the long history of Western Slope teams struggling in the postseason, Corn said there also was a mental roadblock the Pirates had to get over concerning playing teams from around Denver. He took the squad to a summer camp at Western State College just for the opportunity to play against Faith Christian.

"Faith Christian is the team everyone else is measured by in 2A," Corn said. "We went to the camp for the sole purpose of seeing how we stacked up against them. Right out of the shoot on the first day we got to go against them, and we came out of the scrimmage feeling like we beat them."

Olathe got another shot at the Eagles in the semifinals last week and escaped with a 14-6 victory, validating Corn's faith in his team.

"We knew we could be this good, even though no one else was talking about us to start the year," said Corn, whose team entered the season unranked. "We like that underdog role. We played with a chip on our shoulder, and it worked for us."

Erie took a different route to the state championship game, starting the season as the classification's top-ranked team.

"We talked about that No. 1 ranking right off the get-go, and it kind of put a bull's-eye on us," said coach Larry Gartrell, who led the Tigers to the 1997 Class A title. "I thought the kids handled that really well."

Erie also showed its resiliency, overcoming some late-season adversity. After rolling through and over most opponents during the first nine weeks this season, the Tigers were humbled by a Week 10 loss to Faith Christian.

Erie then struggled in the first round of the postseason, needing a 43-yard field goal from Ryan Hawkins with 19 seconds remaining to pull out a 16-14 win against Platte Valley.

The Tigers have seemed to regain their midseason form during the past two weeks, though, pounding Florence in the quarterfinals before slugging out a win against Platte Canyon in the semifinals.

"You don't want to lose, but at the same time, I think we learned from our loss," Gartrell said. "That next week we had a little bit different work ethic in practice, and we kind of got back to the basics. The kids responded, and here we are."

Erie does have one big question mark heading into the title game, and that's the health of standout running back Alex Ortega. The 5- foot-9, 165-pound senior has rushed for 2,115 yards and 36 touchdowns this season, but he sat out the semifinals because of a deep thigh bruise.

Gartrell hopes to have Ortega available for the championship game, but he said the team will have to wait and see how he feels later in the week.

"We're hoping, but it's just a waiting game now," Gartrell said.

Championship

Erie (12-1) vs. Olathe (13-0)

PLAYOFF ROAD

* First round: Erie 16, Platte Valley 14; Olathe 55, Buena Vista 10.

* Quarterfinals: Erie 35, Florence 10; Olathe 27, Kent Denver 6.

* Semifinals: Erie 28, Platte Canyon 21; Olathe 14, Faith Christian 6.

TROPHY CASE

* Erie: The Tigers won the Class A title in 1997.

* Olathe: This is the Pirates' first trip to the state championship game.

NUMBERS GAME

* Erie: The Tigers score in bunches, averaging more than 44 points a contest. Erie has scored 40 or more in eight of its 13 games.

* Olathe: The Pirates haven't yielded more than 21 points in a game this season. They have held eight opponents to 10 or fewer.

GAME PLAN

1 It will be strength against strength, as both teams pride themselves on a punishing running game and a physical defense.

2 Olathe senior David Rhodes is a two-way threat, racking up 538 yards on the ground in the team's three playoff games while also making key plays as a defensive lineman.

3 Erie will try to use its superior depth to wear down the Pirates, who have several key players who go both ways. The Tigers know how to go for the knockout, employing a no-huddle offense when they sense opponents are tired.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

ERIE

RUSHING (Att.-Yds.-TDs): Alex Ortega 245-2,115-36; Mike Chambers 128-893-10; Tyler Chase 46-365-1; Greg Reese 52-332-7; Steffan Higgins 54-276-5, Levi Hammett 14-156-2.

PASSING (Cmp.-Att.-Yds.-TDs): Chambers 24-37-377-4.

RECEIVING (Rec.-Yds.-TDs): Ortega 15-260-4; Ryan Hawkins 9-194-2; Higgins 3-46-0; Chase 2-27-0.

* Erie did not submit complete defensive statistics this season.

OLATHE

RUSHING (Att.-Yds.-TDs): David Rhodes 268-2,255-29; Marvin Rivera 147-1,164-12; Dylan Markley 44-560-5; Garhett Jurgens 61-374-11.

PASSING (Cmp.-Att.-Yds.-TDs): Jurgens 25-41-458-3; Keifer Wollert 7-24-135-1.

RECEIVING (Rec.-Yds.-TDs): Markley 14-269-3; Chris Brummitt 8-155-0; Zach Cosper 3-102-1; Pablo Pyan 3-102-1; Rhodes 3-74-0.

* Olathe did not submit complete defensive statistics this season.

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