Week Three Class 2A Breakdown
Two weeks already in the books and things are slowly starting to come into picture. #3 Kent Denver traveled to their rival Faith Christian. Kent Denver looked to be in trouble going into the fourth quarter trailing 12 to 7 but 20 unanswered points pushed Kent Denver into the win. The final score does not reflect how good of a game this was. Kent Denver attacked equally in this game passing 9 of 15 for 161 yards and 3 INTS and they ran for 199 yards. On Defense they forced 5 turnovers 3 INTS and 2 fumbles and that is what changed the game for Kent Denver. Kent Denver has a bye this week and then travels to #1 La Junta next week which should be a great game. Another top ten team that has a bye this week is #7 Bayfield who hosted Aztec NM (5A). Bayfield was able to keep a steady amount of scoring going to give them a huge 34 to 21 victory. Bayfield was able to run the ball really well rushing for 225 yards and Bayfield got their passing game going as well throwing for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns. Bayfield did get torched a bit through the air giving up 300 yards passing but if I saw the stats correct held Aztec to -6 yards rushing. Bayfield travels to Durango in two weeks. Some other non-top ten games last week where Academy traveling to Middle Park. Academy was held in check through the first half but scored 28 points in the third and fourth quarter to give them a blowout victory. Academy ran the ball really well rushing for 391 yards and was led by Joe Hammer who had 208 yards and 3 touchdowns. Another important games was Rifle traveling to Florence. Florence was able to grab an important game winning 35 to 26 and give them some momentum going into next week. One other important game was University traveling to Fort Lupton. University grabbed a good win to keep them undefeated 28 to 13.
#1 La Junta faced off against a battle tested Alamosa squad. La Junta was able to come away with a very good victory winning 32 to 7. La Junta on offense ran for 284 yards on 51 carries and 4 touchdowns and La Junta threw for 102 yards. On defense La Junta was very stout holding Alamosa to 11 yards passing and 77 yards rushing. This week they face off against Elizabeth. Elizabeth picked up their first victory of the season last week beating Alameda 20 to 16. That was Elizabeth first victory in 2A and now they have a very tough task against La Junta. La Junta will be heavily favored and once again their defense looks to be one of the best in the state only allowing 14 points so far this year.
#2 D’Evelyn hosted Green Mountain (3A) last week. This game came down to the wire and it was D’Evelyn once again with the comeback victory. The final score was 16 to 15 and D’Evelyn used 10 fourth quarter points to pull off the comeback. On offense D’Evelyn threw for 280 yards 1 touchdown and 1 INT they were able to run for 160 yards. Green Mountain was a little less productive on offense throwing for 100 yards and rushing for 112 yards. The comeback was led along by a couple of fumbles. This week D’Evelyn travels to #8 The Classical Academy. TCA last week blew past a Sterling team that is very good. TCA won 44 to 21 and have yet to be challenged in a game. TCA used a big 2nd quarter scoring 23 points and that was all they needed to grab the victory. TCA ran the ball for 176 yards and threw for 130 yards. On defense TCA held sterling to 139 yards passing and 137 yards rushing. Turnovers where the difference makers TCA forced 4 turnovers and most of them led to points. This would be the game of the week if it was not for another big top 5 matchup. I feel like this will be the first big test for TCA they are facing a pass happy offense so it will be interesting to see how they adjust. Defense will be key D’Evelyn has won their games by holding the opponents offense enough for their offense to score. I don’t think that will be the case this week. I have TCA grabbing the upset here. After their blowout of Sterling I think they could be a very legit team.
#4 Resurrection Christian had a Bye week last week and used it to prep their team for this huge game. They needed to fix some offensive problems and now they travel to #5 Platte Valley in the 2A game of the week. Last Week Platte Valley traveled to previously ranked Eaton. Platte Valley grabbed the victory 26 to 12. Platte Valley offense has not been able to produce like most years but their defense is causing enough turnovers to win games. Their defense did give up 245 yards rushing but forced 3 INT’s and that was all Platte Valley needed to win the game. They will need to improve their offense if they plan on pulling the upset. These teams have meet for the past two years each team winning one of them. Last year Resurrection Christian grabbed the victory and are looking to once again win. I have Resurrection Christian as the favorite. This is going to be a battle between defenses’s it will come down to who makes less mistakes on offense.
#6 Delta faced off against previously ranked Moffat County last week. Delta blew past Moffat County winning 50 to 13. Delta ran the ball at will rushing for 401 yards almost all of it by Damon Jensen who ran for 316 yards and three touchdown. Delta also threw for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. Delta had no problems with Moffat County and now this week face off against Basalt. Basalt last week traveled to Grand Valley and had a running clock after the first half. They won 49 to 7 and scored 35 of them in the second quarter. Basalt is now 1-1 and have another very tough game. Basalt on offense ran the ball also very effectively rushing for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns. Basalt threw for 142 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 INT’s. Basalt must limit turnovers if they plan on pulling an upset. Delta will be favored in this game but this game will come down to who owns the line of scrimmage. I think Delta will do that and grab another victory on the year.
#9 Weld Central faced off against Skyline (3A). Weld Central who is newly ranked this week. They held off Skyline last week winning 21 to 18. Skyline tried their best to come from behind but fell short in the fourth quarter only grabbing 6 points. Weld Central ran the ball very good last week rushing for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns but they struggled throwing the ball going 5 of 16 for 43 yards. On defense they had a hard time stopping Skyview rushing attack giving up 264 yards rushing. The difference was the one turnover that Weld Central forced. This week they face off against Jefferson. Jefferson has struggled in both their games to open the season and have yet to score a point. Jefferson will be looking to end that streak. I could see them ending that streak but I have Weld Central heavily favored and should cruise to an easy victory.
#10 Brush rejoins the rankings after a good win last week over Lamar. Brush couldn’t break the 250 yard mark on offense but they did enough to win the game. Brush on defense gave up 195 yards rushing but forced 4 turnovers and that was the deciding factor in this game. Brush now faces off against a very good Eaton team. Eaton lost last week to #5 Platte Valley 26 to 12 and they can blame turnovers for that. Eaton outgained Platte Valley but had way too many turnover to win the game. Their passing attack cannot have 3 INT’s and expect to win. The #10 spot in the rankings has changed every week and could see it happening again. These two teams are equal and don’t have a favorite. It will come down to who limits turnovers on who will win.
Non-Top Ten Key Games
Englewood at Denver North Faith Christian at Manitou Springs
Alamosa at Trinidad Salida at Gunnison
Valley at Academy Battle Mountain at Coal Ridge
Player of the Week in 2A!
This is something new I am adding. I am going to recognize the top player from last week on offense.
The first ever player of the week will go to Damon Jensen of Delta. In Delta crushing win over Moffat County Damon Jensen ran for 316 yards on 22 carries for a whopping 14.4 yard per carry he also added 3 touchdowns. On the season he has already ran for 525 yards on 44 carries and is averaging 11.9 yards per carry he also has 4 touchdowns.
MileHigh Prep Report 