By Neil H. Devlin
Senior Writer
Denver Metro Area

The ever-changing faces of Colorado big-school baseball continue to, well, change.

Recently, three of note bowed out, notably two with significant success. Say goodbye to Allan Dyer, Scott Fellers and Scott Hormann at, in order, Cherokee Trail, Legend and Heritage.

Dyer and Fellers both began their schools’ programs. In Aurora with the Cougars, Dyer won two state titles (including the Class 5A crown in 2016) and compiled a 204-71 record since opening the sport in 2003. But he was even larger in serving on various state committees, active on the amateur level and believing firmly that 19 regular-season games isn’t enough for in-state schoolboys.

Fellers and the Titans opened in 2008. They were 17-7 last spring, won or shared three league titles – Legend was at the top of the Continental League the past spring -- won four district championships and finished runners-up in 2012.

Hormann led Heritage for nine years, assisted for two others and was 90-89. He said he has a daughter, a freshman-to-be, with the Eagles and wanted her to known for more than “the coach’s daughter.”

However, perhaps the most-interesting news is the return to schoolboy coaching by Steve Eaton. The only one of the three jobs to be filled, Eaton comes in with decades of experience coaching the game. He practically split 21 years at Aurora’s Gateway and Parker’s Chaparral, compiling a record of 326-125-1, and has stayed in the game through various coaching and teaching ventures.

He called Dyer “a one-stop, do-it-all guy,” and vowed to “open up” his program, encouraging Cougars to play at the highest level possible in the off-season.

Eaton may be the only in-state coach who has two fields named after him. At Gateway, it’s the J.R. Eaton Memorial Field in honor of his deceased son, and Steve Eaton Field at Chaparral. He pronounced himself “refreshed,” is interested in implementing new techniques and procedures, and remains convinced that today’s teenagers act enthusiastically as if “high-school baseball is still something they love.”