Week 9 Class 1A League/Playoffs Breakdown
Metro League
The Metro league was decided weeks ago. Your league champion is Resurrection Christian and your second place team is Platte Canyon. Both of those teams should also win this week easily and get healthy and start preparing for the playoffs. The only question from the Metro is can Platte Canyon still play a home game in the first round. I would say they have a pretty good chance to do that considering how tough of a schedule they played. Cornerstone Christian is sitting in third place at 4-4 and with a win would put them a 5-4 but they grabbed all their wins in league play and I don’t think have a chance at the playoffs.
Estes Park at Platte Canyon Lyons at Clear Creek
Front Range Christian at Resurrection Christian Cornerstone Christian at Atlas Prep
North Central
The league picture has cleared a little bit after last week. Wiggins took care of Holyoke 41 to 14 and have at least given themselves a chance at a league title and an automatic berth. Wiggins this week hosts Yuma and should win easily. The game that really matters this week is Holyoke traveling to Burlington. Holyoke will be looking to bounce back after losing last week. Burlington on the other hand has plenty of momentum and should be able to win this game. If Burlington wins they lock up the league title and Wiggins finish’s in second. If Holyoke pulls the upset we then have a three way tie for second place and would be decided with a tie breaker. Highland is also hoping to be in contention for the playoffs and must win this weekend to at least throw their name in the conversation. I will breakdown the wildcard situation more at the end.
Highland at Wray Holyoke at Burlington
Yuma at Wiggins
South Central
The South Central league is all taken care of when Crowley County beat Limon last week 21 to 14. That win locked up the title for Crowley County and also gave Colorado Springs Christian the auto berth. Limon has a tough game this week against Rocky Ford and cannot afford to lose if they want to get into the playoffs. If Limon loses then it could give hope to some of the other contenders in the wildcard. Limon should win easily and so should the Crowley County and Colorado Springs Christian. Colorado Springs Christian won’t be in contention for a home game and Limon should get into the playoffs as a wildcard
Colorado Springs Christian at Byers Crowley County at Calhan
Limon at Rocky Ford
Southern Peaks
Since Monte Vista and Centauri moved from 2A to 1A all the league title matchups have been between these two teams. This year once again these two teams will be fighting for a league title and the home game that goes with it. Centauri has won 2 of the past three years and Monte Vista is looking to change that. Monte Vista has been very dominate on defense all year. They have posted 3 shutouts and have yet to give up over 200 yards rushing. They will need to do that again this week against Centauri if they want to win. Centauri has used their tough non-league schedule to prepare them for league. They have been very good since getting into league play and are hoping to once again capture a league title. They will need their defense to shut down the rushing attack of Monte Vista, they surrendered over 250 yards to John Mall last week but were saved by turnovers. The other important game is between Center and John Mall. The winner of this game has a chance at the playoffs but I believe the better chance belongs to Center. If Center wins they will need things to go their way to secure a playoff spot. They would probably need Peyton to lose to Salida or Limon losing to Rocky Ford. John Mall has an uphill battle to sneak into the playoffs and would need a similar path as Center but would need more.
Ignacio at Dolores Monte Vista at Centauri
Center at John Mall
Tri Peaks
Well the Tri Peaks has one of the two automatic berth figured out and that is Buena Vista winning the league title. Currently Rye is sitting in second place and Ellicott and Peyton are tied in third. If Buena Vista beats Rye and Peyton and Ellicott win then we have a tie for second place and the tie breaker takes effect. If I read correctly I still believe Rye would finish in second place and grab the auto berth. That all could not happen if Salida upsets Peyton then Rye automatically gets the second berth. I think the Tri Peaks will get three teams in the question would be the fourth team and it all depends.
Buena Vista at Rye Salida at Peyton
Dolores Huerta at Ellicott
Western Slope
Paonia is in control of their own destiny in terms of a league title. If Paonia wins against Cedaredge then they win league and Meeker finishes in second place if they beat Hotchkiss. If Paonia losses then we have a three way tie for first place and would need a tie breaker to determine the league championship. I think Paonia will grab a victory but it will be a good game. Cedaredge will be trying to prove that they can play with the big boys after getting slammed by Meeker a few weeks back. Paonia has been on a nice roll since losing to Bayfield. If Paonia wins then league will be sorted out and I fully believe that they will get 3 teams into the playoffs.
Hotchkiss at Meeker Cedaredge at Paonia
Grand Valley at Lake County
Playoff Predictions Week 9
For these predictions I had to make a few guesses on who wins this weekend. In the North Central I have Burlington beating Holyoke and giving the auto berths to Burlington and Wiggins. In the Southern Peaks I have Monte Vista beating Centauri and Center beating John Mall to give us are top three finishers. In the Tri Peaks I have Buena Vista getting by Rye and Ellicott and Peyton winning giving us a three way tie but Rye wins the tie breaker and give us the #2 auto berth. In the Western Slope I have Paonia winning and Meeker grabbing the #2 seed with Cedaredge as the #3 seed. There is potentially 9 teams looking at 4 wildcard berths. Those 9 teams are Cedaredge, Limon, Ellicott, Peyton, Holyoke, Center, Highland, John Mall, and Cornerstone Christian. If everything goes like it’s supposed to this weekend then I believe 3 of the final four wildcards are already decided. I think that Cedaredge, Limon, and Ellicott are all locks unless Limon gets upset by Rocky Ford. The fourth and final wildcard berth is between 3 teams realistically. Those three teams are Peyton, Holyoke, and Center. Peyton and Center have easier games this week and should both win moving them to 6-3. Holyoke plays Burlington and what a chance they have to upset a great team to move to 6-3 if they pull the upset they are in 100% but if they lose they would go to 5-4. What I can say is Center once again like last year is hurt by not having a quality win. Their best win was over Salida and Basalt, Basalt is sitting in 16th in wildcard points in 2A. Holyoke has one quality win and that was over #2 Akron 8-Man. They were playing 11 man football so not sure how that equates to helping themselves out. The team that has the key win is Peyton. They upset Rye two weeks ago and really have the inside track to the last wildcard berth. I believe that Peyton grabs the last playoff spot unless they loss to Salida. If Peyton falls to Salida then I think that Center grabs the berth because then I could consider Salida as a key win and Basalt and a good win.
Automatic Berths: Resurrection Christian, Platte Canyon, Burlington, Wiggins, Crowley County, Colorado Springs Christian, Monte Vista, Centauri, Buena Vista, Rye, Paonia, and Meeker
Wildcard Berths: Cedaredge, Limon, Ellicott, Peyton
First Four Out: Center, Holyoke, Highland, Cornerstone Christian
Playoff Matchups:
#1 Buena Vista vs #16 Cenaturi
#2 Resurrection Christian vs #15 Peyton
#3 Paonia vs #14 Ellicott
#4 Monte Vista vs #13 Colorado Springs Christian
#5 Platte Canyon vs #12 Limon
#6 Crowley County vs #11 Wiggins
#7 Burlington vs #10 Cedaredge
#8 Meeker vs #9 Rye
MileHigh Prep Report 