Idalia, Colorado

Idalia, Colorado
CDP
Idalia, Colorado

Location within the state of Colorado

Coordinates: 39°42′15″N 102°17′35″W / 39.70417°N 102.29306°WCoordinates: 39°42′15″N 102°17′35″W / 39.70417°N 102.29306°W
Country  United States
State  Colorado
Counties Yuma[1]
Elevation[1] 3,963 ft (1,208 m)
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 80735[2]
GNIS feature ID 204817

Idalia is a census-designated place and a U.S. Post Office in Yuma County, Colorado, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 88.[3] The Idalia Post Office has the ZIP code 80735.[2]

Geography

Idalia is located at 39°42′15″N 102°17′35″W / 39.70417°N 102.29306°W (39.704281,-102.293186), along U.S. Highway 36 approximately two miles west of U.S. Highway 385.

Community

Idalia was founded in the late 19th century. The founders were primarily of German descent. While the population of the town is around 75, the surrounding community, almost purely of an agricultural base, is around 200.

There is one school, which teaches preschool through twelfth grade. The school mascot is the wolf.[4] The town also has a preschool and daycare

Establishments

Idalia has a 24-hour self-serve gas station as well as a small motel. There are two restaurants which serve the surrounding community as well as travelers on Highway 36. As such, the name of the town bar & grill is The Grainery. There is also a small cafe open during the day, the Prairie Vista. Idalia has a grain elevator that is operated in conjunction with the Outback Fuel and Feed gas station. There are other small businesses in town, including a hair cut salon, Pick N'Roll, as well as "T&G Tanning" owned by Tyson. There is also a family grocery store: Carpenter's Mini-Mall. Possibly the most influential town institution has been the Idalia Visions Foundation, Inc. which sponsors student college scholarship donations as well as the primary source of fund-raising and planning for a new gymnasium which was constructed in 1995.

Idalia Days Celebration

Community members headed a project aimed at emulating the summer annual town celebrations of neighboring towns (i.e., Wray Daze). The event, coined Idalia Days, takes place each summer if enough interest is provided. During its inaugural celebration, Idalia Days provided activities and events in which the community could partake. Drawing on themes used in previous town celebrations, events include bed races, an old-time baseball game, old man six-man football, a melodrama illustrating the history of the towns relocation, and a fire hall dance. Fun is had by all.

Idalia High School Football

Due to low enrollment of the high school, Idalia, like hundreds of schools throughout Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Texas, plays six-man football, a variation of football involving six players on each side off the ball rather than the traditional eleven. To this end, Idalia has had an extremely successful program over the last decade and has become a staple program in Colorado Classification A 6-Man Football. The team won eight state titles between 1998 and 2010.[4][5]

Strategy and Success

Due to limited enrollment numbers, small Colorado schools often struggle to assemble enough players for even a viable six-man football team. Often, in Colorado 6-man football, small schools will rely on the talent and speed of one of two players to propel their team due to relative limitations on talent due simply to lack of numbers in some of these schools—that in some cases have high school enrollments barely exceeding 20 students. As such, many of these schools have chosen to take advantage of the open space available on the field to isolate their playmakers and enable them to attack defenses in a more one-on-one fashion. This offensive approach is commonly known as the "Spread" offense. Although variations of this offense exist, the most basic formation is to line the two ends split out wide opposite of each other with the center over the ball. The quarterback will be in the backfield with both running backs to his left and right. The snap will go directly to a back, who will then exchange the ball to the quarterback, giving him the run/pass option. The play proceeds from here with the quarterback being able to pass to any of his five teammates as well as run. An extremely difficult offensive strategy to defend, the spread offense takes advantage of one player's ability to make opposing defenders miss in the open field as well as allows the player assuming the quarterback role to use his athleticism to throw the ball while on the run.

In contrast to this offense is the style of game present in Idalia football. While Idalia had the luxury in the early 2000s of having rosters occasionally exceeding 30 players, Idalia has for the most part had roster ranging from 12 to 17 players. Yet, rather than submit to the "Spread" offense, Idalia has chosen rather to attack opposing defenses with what might be more recognizable to conventional football gurus as an "I-Formation" attack. With the two ends brought in tight on either side of the center, the quarterback takes the snap with both back directly behind him in the typical "I" formation. Idalia has had a great deal of success utilizing this offensive strategy that has variations more like traditional 11-man formations with split receivers, one-back formations, etc. Similarly, this style of offense utilizes offensive schemes also common in the 11-man game: pulling linemen, trap plays, draws, screens, motion sweeps, etc. Rather than rely on the athletic ability of one player to torment the defense with his speed, quickness, and throwing ability—the tight formation emphasizes more team qualities of 11-man football. As a result of Idalia's dominance and success over the past decade, the tight formation has begun to spread throughout the Colorado ranks as teams hope to emulate Idalia's success.

This success has become rather storied. Since 1997, Idalia has made the playoffs 14 consecutive years. Over that span, Idalia has made the title game 11 times, winning the Colorado Class A 6-Man Championship in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. December 28, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
  3. ↑ Colorado Trend Report 2: State and Complete Places (Sub-state 2010 Census Data). Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed 2011-02-25.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Garner, Nick (2007-03-07). "After finding a Cure, Idalia can feel good about chances". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  5. ↑ "Colorado high school football report, Sept. 29". Rocky Mountain News. 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  6. ↑ "post preps: 6-man football bracket". denverpost.com. 2010-10-31. Retrieved 26 November 2010.

External links