Week Three Class 1A Breakdown
Only one top ten is not playing this week and that is #10 Meeker. Meeker faced off against Holyoke last week. Meeker won that game 36 to 20 and moved to 3-0 on the year. Offensively Meeker was balanced they threw for 208 yards and ran for 212 yards. They did throw 3 INT’s but also threw 3 touchdown passes. Meeker won the game on the defensive side of the ball though. Meeker held Holyoke to -9 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. Passing Holyoke threw for 144 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 INT’s. Meeker gets a week off before making the trip down to Monte Vista. Other games outside the top ten where Ellicott traveling to Monte Vista. This was a great game to watch. Monte Vista at one point was leading by 10 points and were moving the ball at will on offense. Ellicott got a few stops and was able to throw the ball at will on Monte Vista defense. The big play was a fourth and a foot that Ellicott got the stop and won the game. Another good game was Gunnison at Olathe. Gunnison sneaked away with a 13 to 7 victory. Both teams are going to be very good for the rest of the year. One more great contest was Peyton making the trip to Highland. Peyton escaped with a 24 to 22 victory stuffing Highland on a two point conversion to go to OT.
#1 Strasburg traveled to play their rival #6 Bennett. Once again these two teams have an epic game and a score that is extremely high. Strasburg held off the upset bid 55 to 44. Strasburg on offense was very effective racking up over 500 yards of total offense. Their passing attack was led by Conner Martin who went 11 of 18 for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the ground they racked up 338 yards of rushing and 5 touchdowns. Defensively they held Bennett to just 23 yards passing but Bennett only attempted 3 passes. Bennett was able to run the ball on a good Strasburg defense. They racked up 370 yards rushing with three different running back breaking the 100 yard mark. This game came down to a defensive stop and Strasburg got that and won the game. This week Strasburg faces off against University (2A). University moved to 2-0 on the season with a 28 to 13 victory over Fort Lupton. University scored 21 unanswered points in the first half to cruise to the victory. This week’s test is much tougher and they will need to bring their A game is they plan on winning. Defense will be key if University wants to pull the upset. I don’t see that happening and see Strasburg dominating once again on both sides of the ball.
#2 Paonia made the long trek down to Rye. Paonia grabbed their second victory on the year with a 28 to 13 win. Paonia used a 14 point fourth quarter to make sure they were not upset by a good Rye team. On offense Paonia did not complete a pass but they did run for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns. On Defense Paonia did a good job stopping the run holding Rye to 97 yards rushing but they did give up 229 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. They also forced 2 turnovers which turned the game in their favor. This week Paonia faces off against Ridgeview Academy (2A). Ridgeview has not gotten off to the start they wanted going 0-2 to start. Two weeks ago they got slammed by Moffat County 44 to 0. The nice thing is that Ridgeview had two weeks to prepare for this game. Paonia will be the favorite and should have a somewhat easy game. Just as long as their defense play the way they are supposed to they should win by 28+ points.
#3 Limon also was on the road to face #7 Crowley County. Limon was down early giving up 7 points in the first half. In the second half both teams continued to play great defense and Limon finally got on the board in the third quarter making it 8 to 7. In the fourth Limon got into the end zone one more time and grabbed the 14 to 7 led and then held on for the victory. Offensively both teams struggled, Limon ran for 116 yards rushing and 55 yards passing. On Defense they limited Crowley County to 30 yards passing and 165 yards rushing 74 of those yards were on one play. Both teams live and die by their defense and this game proved it. I expect both these teams to play great the rest of the year. Limon this week faces off against a very tough Rye team. Rye lost to Paonia last week 28 to 13 but the game was much closer than the score indicates. Limon will once again need their defense to step up and slow down Rye passing attack which threw for 229 yards last week. Rye will need to balance their offense a little more if they want to grab an upset. I have Limon in another close game this week.
#4 Burlington blew past St. Mary’s last week 49 to 14 and needed this game to get their confidence back. Burlington had 49 points scored by the third quarter and pulled its starters and that is when St. Mary’s scored. Burlington on defense was very stout holding St. Mary’s to 47 yards rushing and gave up 93 yards passing at the end of the game. Burlington did force 7 fumbled but only recovered 2. This week Burlington faces off against Lamar who has gotten off to a slow start going 0-2. Lamar is yet to score on offense getting held to shutouts in both loses. Lamar will need their offense to wake up if they plan on winning this game. I have Burlington once again winning this game.
#5 Buena Vista made the trip to face off against their rival Salida. Buena Vista was able to grab a 36 to 23 victory. Buena Vista scored 28 second quarter points in rout to the victory. Buena Vista struggled to throw the ball only throwing for 44 yards but they did run the ball effectively rushing for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns. This week it does not get any easier as they host #8 Platte Canyon. Platte Canyon blew past Wiggins 32 to 8. They scored 24 points in the first half. Platte Canyon on offense ran the ball for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively Wiggins ran the ball very well against Platte Canyon amassing 207 yards. If Platte Canyon plan to pull the upset they are going to have to stop the run. Buena Vista has yet to show they can run. The same goes for Buena Vista if Platte Canyon cannot run the ball their offense will be in deep trouble. I have Platte Canyon pulling the upset here by 7 points.
#6 Bennet lost last week to #1 Strasburg 55 to 44. They ran the ball at will rushing for 370 yards and 5 touchdowns. Bennet though was hammered on the defensive side of the ball giving up 500 yards of total offense. That will be the key this week against Ellicott. Ellicott grabbed a 35 to 31 victory over Monte Vista. Ellicott uses the spread to attack on offense and they love to throw the ball. I honestly think that will be key to Ellicott staying in this game. Ellicott will need to score a ton of points if they want to pull the upset. Monte Vista ran the ball with easy against Ellicott and I expect Bennett to do the same thing as well. Bennett will need to figure out how to stop the pass or will be in trouble of getting upset. I have Bennett winning another shoot out this week as well. Bennett will grab a 14 point victory.
#7 Crowley County faced their rival last week Limon. Limon was able to come back and win 14 to 7. Crowley County couldn’t get their offensive going last week and will need to get it back on track this week. They face off against Yuma. Yuma was able to grab their first victory last week beating Cornerstone Christian 27 to 18. This was a good win for Yuma to build their confidence but now they face a team that will be coming in for the kill. Crowley County should not have a tough time against Yuma and I have them winning big.
#9 Hotchkiss hosted Coal Ridge last week. Hotchkiss was able to grab a 28 to 14 victory. Hotchkiss scored 21 points in the first half and cruised to the victory. Hotchkiss on offense was able to run the ball at will rushing for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns. They did throw the ball enough to keep them guessing throwing for 75 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 INT. On defense Hotchkiss stopped the ball very good holding Coal Ridge to 111 yards rushing and they gave up 183 yards passing 2 touchdowns and forced 2 INTs. Hotchkiss used the turnovers to their advantage in the victory. This week they face a high powered offense in Center. Center last week hosted Rocky Ford and it was a shootout. Center walked away with a close won winning 55 to 52. That is a heck of a game with no defense played. Center had a very tough time stopping the pass. They gave up 439 yards passing and 6 touchdowns. They did force one INT. Rocky Ford didn’t need to run the ball and they ran for 117 yards. I wish I had Center offensive stats for this game. But Center will need their defense to step up this week if they want to pull the upset. I have Hotchkiss winning this game by 14 points.
Non Top Ten Key Games:
Monte Vista at Pagosa Springs Holyoke at Estes Park
Wiggins at Lyons Highland at Wray
Olathe at Centauri Rocky Ford at John Mall
Cedaredge at Vail Christian Front Range Christian at Cornerstone Christian
Player of the Week in 1A!!!
The play of the week comes from a game that was a shootout. Hunter Bergstorm running back from Strasburg pushed his team to a 55 to 44 victory. In the game he ran for 140 yards on 8 carries averaging 17.5 yards per carry and also adds 2 touchdowns. He also had 7 tackles and 1 sack in the victory.
MileHigh Prep Report 