Since he was five years old, Blake Purchase was bound for the football field. In high school, he has gone with his team to three consecutive state championships and is the number one recruit in Colorado. Now in his senior year, he is nowhere close to being done.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Purchase said.
We followed Purchase on Sept. 22 before his game against Regis. Game days always provide an extra challenge to the school day.

After leaving his Environmental Science class, Purchase confesses how it can become difficult to separate his priorities throughout the day.

“I was definitely focused much more on the game,” he said. “It’s hard on a game day because I’m so excited and ready to play.”

Even during school, he still dedicates his time to the football.

“I’ve been watching game play all day trying to prepare myself for what’s coming,” he said.

As a defensive linebacker, Purchase says it’s vital to practice agility and quick bursts of speed. Meaning he is in the gym every day on top of practice until 6 p.m. With all of these responsibilities most people would feel pressured, yet Purchase doesn’t.

“I just play my game not worrying about the opinions of anyone outside of our team,” he said.

Even with such a calm outlook, he’s still faced some difficulty.

“My whole high school career there’s been expectations put on me from how well my brother, Myles, did in the years before I got here,” he said.

Myles Purchase also achieved won High School Football Player of the Year in 2020, and is now playing at Iowa State. The Purchase brothers have shared a love for football since they were young.

“It propelled us to where we are now,” Myles Purchase said. “I’m sure we can both say we’re living our childhood dreams.”

While the two are close, there is some competition.

“Blake’s not gonna let Myles be better than him,” teammate Bubba Tann said. “And he’s gonna work until he gets to where he wants to be.”

It’s this same mindset of constantly pushing himself to be better that’s shaped Blake as a player.

“He’s a leader. He goes out there, he makes us put our best foot forward,” Tann said.

“All offseason he’s been working. He’s watched his film a lot. It’s his self drive. I think he definitely wants to perform better for the team,” teammate Will Loveridge said.

While warming up in preparation for his game against Regis Purchase looks at the score board and is eager to start playing.

“I need these 71 minutes to go a little faster, I’m ready to go,” Purchase said.

71 minutes later, he’ll be on the field, surrounded by bright lights and the sound of cheering students.

“My favorite thing is hearing the crowd, the energy…
the whole community comes together,” Purchase said.