Week 8 2A League Breakdown
Colorado League
Well last week helped decide the two automatic berths. With Kent Denver beating Faith Christian and Alameda beating Manual both of those teams lock up the automatic berths. Also it keeps both Kent Denver and Alameda on schedule to play for a league championship in two weeks. Kent Denver should beat Machebeuf and Alameda should move past Ridgeview Academy. Alameda level of play has been much lower as of late so if Ridgeview Academy is looking to boost their wildcard points it could be this weekend. Faith Christian is sitting in 13th place in the wildcard points and cannot afford to drop a game. If Faith Christian wins out they should be in the playoffs. The other two teams fighting for a playoff spot are Ridgeview academy sitting in 19th place and Denver North sitting in 22nd place. Ridgeview only chance at grabbing a wildcard berth would be to upset Alameda this week. The Colorado league should get three teams into the playoffs.
Denver North at Faith Christian Kent Denver at Machebeuf
Alameda at Ridgeview Academy Denver West at Manual
Frontier
With Strasburg beating Academy it gave Bennett and Strasburg the league automatic berths. Academy has yet to beat a quality team but they are sitting in 12th place. Academy will not get a chance at a quality opponent the rest of the year so they cannot afford to drop a game and hope some of the teams falter. Academy travels to Jefferson and should be able to easily win. The league title will be decided this week when Bennett travels to Strasburg. This should be a good game both teams are ranked and will help determine seeding for the playoffs. Both teams lost to Platte Valley by more than 20 but both teams beat Academy by over 30 points. Strasburg offensive attack is a balanced one. They have rushed for over 1500 yards and passed for over 900 yards. Last week in their win over Academy they ran for over 400 yards and passed for over 200 yards. Their turnaround has been their effectiveness of their rushing attack. Bennett has leaned completely on their rushing attack and it has been good rushing for over 367.86 yard per game. They have 2 game were they ran for over 600 yards. The only downside to a one sided attack is if it’s stopped they have struggled in their two losses they didn’t rush over 240 yards. Three teams could grab a playoff spot just depends on if Academy will have enough wildcard points to hold on.
Academy at Jefferson Bennett at Strasburg
Sheridan at Pinnacle Middle Park at KIPP
Patriot
This league is down to three teams that can win a league title or grab an automatic berth. Those three teams are Platte Valley, Sterling, and Brush. Platte Valley has an inside track since they have already gotten past Brush and they have an easy game this week against University. Sterling took a huge step last week when they got past Eaton 18 to 17 that win puts them in a good place to grab an automatic berth and a league title match against Platte Valley. Brush on the other hand needs a little more to go their way for a league title but I seem them only able to grab an automatic berth. Brush needs to upset Sterling this week and then avoid the upset against Eaton in the last week of the season to grab the automatic berth. If both Platte Valley and Sterling win this week they grab automatic berths and set up a league title match up. Brush is in good spot if they finish in third place in league they right now sit in 7th in wildcard points and would get in. The team in question is Eaton. They are currently sitting in 4th place in league and 11th place in the wildcard points. They have a very tough match in Valley this week and Brush to close out the season. This is a must win game for Eaton and a must win game for Valley as well. The winner would get a nice boost in wildcard points and an inside edge to the playoffs. Valley needs this game they are sitting in 17th place in the wildcard points and a win this week and a win against University next week should be enough to propel them to a wildcard spot. The game of the week though is Sterling against Brush and it should be a good one. Brush relies heavily on their rushing attack and Sterling has a much more balanced attack throwing for 900 yards and rushing for 1100 yards. Sterling is out to prove they are a top team in league and can take another step towards that with a win this week. Brush is looking to grab a victory and set themselves up for a tough match next week. This league should grab 4 playoff spots.
Brush at Sterling Platte Valley at University
Eaton at Valley
Tri Peaks
This league took another turn last week. La Junta stays in first but was tested by Florence only winning 6 to 0 which is their worst offensive performance of the year but still was able to hold on to a win. Manitou Springs pulled off another upset by blowing out Lamar 41 to 13. That loss by Lamar made the league race very interesting. Trinidad also grab a victory over St. Mary’s as well. A lock for an automatic berth can be achieved this week. La Junta has wins over Manitou Springs, St. Mary’s, and Florence but they still have to play Lamar and Trinidad. If La Junta beats Lamar this weekend they grab an automatic berth. For Lamar to grab an automatic berth they need to win out and could be tough considering they have Florence to close out the season. Lamar is currently sitting in 14th place in the wildcard points and are in hot water. A loss this week will lower their score a bit more but a win against Florence should be enough to keep them close. Manitou Spring’s only way of getting into the playoffs is by grabbing an automatic berth. They are sitting in 25th place and even winning out I don’t think can make up for 5 losses. For Manitou Springs to grab an automatic berth they need to simply win this week against Trinidad and have Lamar loss. Florence on the other hand is in trouble they are sitting in 20th place and need a ton of help to get into the playoffs. Florence’s only way to get in is through a wildcard berth and they have to win out, they have St. Mary’s this week which they should win and then Lamar to close the season which would be much tougher to win and even then I am not sure if that’s enough to grab a wildcard spot. Trinidad is sitting 23rd place in the wildcard points and would need a ton of help to grab a berth. They do have Manitou Springs this week and La Junta to close the season so anything could happen. The big game in league is La Junta at Lamar. This game was supposed to be for a league crown but with Lamar losing last week changed the game as stated above. La Junta has been on a nice roll and they can credit their defense. Last week’s 6-0 win over Florence was a defensive struggle and La Junta has a great defense. Lamar will need to bounce back quickly if they are going to pull the upset. Lamar needs a good showing this week and will need to win in the final week if they want a playoff spot. The Tri Peaks may get 3 teams in just depends on this week.
La Junta at Lamar Manitou Springs at Trinidad
St. Mary’s at Florence
Western Slope-North
Moffat County last week took a huge step towards a league crown beating Coal Ridge 39 to 12. That moves them to 3-0 in league play and a game ahead of Roaring Fork. Roaring Fork stayed one game back by beating Basalt. Moffat County hosts Aspen this week and should be able to grab a victory. A win will move them to 4-0 in league play and depending on how Roaring Fork does could clinch a league title. Roaring Fork hosts Coal Ridge and needs to win to keep pace with Moffat County. A loss give Moffat County the league crown and eliminates them for a playoff spot. The only team that has a very outside chance of a wildcard berth is Basalt. They sit in 21st place and need a ton to go their way they also need to win out as well. They host Battle Mountain this week and will be a very tough game. This league looks more and more like a one team league.
Aspen at Moffat County Battle Mountain at Basalt
Coal Ridge at Roaring Fork
Western Slope-South
Well last week gave us are two automatic berths. Bayfield moved past Montezuma Cortez and Alamosa beat Gunnison which gave us are two automatic berths. That now puts Gunnison and Olathe fighting for a wildcard berth. Olathe sits in 14th place and Gunnison sits in 16th place. Both have a chance to get into the playoffs but need to win this week to set up a head to head match up and that could decide the playoff team. The big game is between Alamosa and Bayfield the winner is the league champion. Alamosa has been the surprise team. They have won 3 straight games and now are in the playoffs and are looking for a league crown. Bayfield has dominated every team and should be able to get by Alamosa and grab a top 4 seed and the league crown. The Western Slope-South right now has a chance to grab four playoff berths but once the dust settles I can see them only getting 3 teams in.
Gunnison at Pagosa Springs Alamosa at Bayfield
Olathe at Montezuma Cortez
Playoff Picture-If the season ended today!
Automatic Berths: Kent Denver, Alameda, Bennett, Strasburg, Platte Valley, Sterling, La Junta, Manitou Springs, Moffat County, Bayfield Alamosa
Wildcard Berths: Brush, Eaton, Academy, Faith Christian, Olathe
First Four Out: Lamar, Gunnison, Valley, Ridgeview Academy
Leagues: Colorado (3), Frontier (3), Patriot (4), Tri Peaks (2), WSN (1), WSS (3)
MileHigh Prep Report 