Class 2A League Breakdown
Finally league is starting across all classifications. The non-league schedule hopefully has all teams ready for the tough slate ahead and the push to the playoffs.
Colorado League
The Colorado league has stayed pretty true to most predictions heading into the league schedule. Kent Denver and Machebeuf enter league with a 3-1 record and right now are the two favorites to finish in 1st in 2nd. The two dark horses still are Englewood 2-2 and Elizabeth 1-3. In league there is one team ranked in the top ten and that is #6 Kent Denver they start their league title run against Elizabeth. Kent Denver last week faced off against #1 La Junta. La Junta won that contest 35 to 6 and La Junta was in complete control of the game. Kent Denver on offense struggled to get anything going only rushing for 63 yards and throwing for 31 yards. On defense they were solid only giving up 110 yards rushing. The difference was special teams and field position. Elizabeth faced off against Florence last week and lost 14 to 3. Elizabeth on defense couldn’t stop the run giving up 223 yards. Elizabeth also had 2 INT’s on offense. Elizabeth will need to improve their run defense this week against Kent Denver if they plan on upsetting them. Kent Denver will need to get their offense back on track and I believe they will and will win big. Another Key game in league is Sheridan traveling to Englewood. Sheridan picked up their first win of the season beating Jefferson 26 to 21. Sheridan now must use that momentum this week. Englewood last week was pounded by Manitou Springs 55 to 7 and will now have to quickly rebound. Englewood struggled getting anything going on offense racking up 78 yards of total offense. Englewood needs to quickly bounce back. If Englewood wants any chance at the league crown they must win this game and grab some early momentum in league.
League Games:
Kent Denver vs Elizabeth Machebeuf at Ridgeview Academy
Sheridan at Englewood
Flatirons League
The Flatirons league starts off with only one team with a record above .500 and that is D’Evelyn who is sitting at 3-1. Sitting tied for second is Arvada and Middle Park both at 2-2. The team picked to finish second is Faith Christian and they are 1-3 after a brutal non-league schedule. I still believe that Faith Christian will finish in the top two with D’Evelyn. Third place should be Middle Park but I am not sure if they will get into the playoffs and must be very successful in their league games. They also might need to upset Faith Christian or D’Evelyn to want a shot at the playoffs. The big match up in the first week of league is D’Evelyn at Arvada. Arvada has started the season 2-2 and are hoping to pull their biggest upset of the season off. Arvada is riding high with back to back wins so they will have some momentum. #4 D’Evelyn also has a ton of momentum after beating fellow top ten team #10 Platte Valley 22 to 12. D’Evelyn had their offense clicking on all cylinders racking up 446 yards of total offense. They were led by Josh Brinkerhoff who threw for 238 yards and ran for another 73 yards. D’Evelyn I don’t think will struggle against Arvada but this is a key game for them to jump out to a 1-0 start in league.
League Games:
Faith Christian vs Jefferson #6 D’Evelyn at Arvada
Middle Park at Denver West
Patriot-West
The Patriot West league has started very interesting. #2 Resurrection Christian has started the way everyone has thought going 4-0 thru non-league play and racking up a few big wins. The league gets interesting from here down. Tied for second place is Academy 3-1 and University 3-1. Both those teams were expected to finish in the top 4 but going into league with a 3-1 record for both of them will make the race to the end a good one. Eaton is sitting in fourth at 2-2 after a very tough non-league schedule and they are going to have to play great if they expect to make the playoffs. These league could have a chance at three playoff teams. The big key game for the week is University traveling to Eaton. University has got off to a great start this year going 3-1 with key wins against Machebeuf and Middle Park. They faced off against Middle Park last week winning 48 to 21. Defensively University held Middle Park to only 75 yards rushing and 121 yards passing and 2 INT’s. They must bring that same mindset into their first game against Eaton. Eaton has played a tough non-league schedule with losses to #10 Platte Valley and Sterling. Last week they lost to Sterling 14 to 0 and struggled getting their offense going. Eaton only ran for 74 yards and threw for 94 yards. Eaton must quickly bounce back from this loss. This game is sort of a knockout game if you plan on finishing in first place. Eaton has played a tough enough schedule to get into the playoff even with a loss but University might not be so lucky and this would be a solid win for them in terms of RPI. I have Eaton winning this one and getting back on track.
League Games:
University at Eaton Pinnacle at Academy
#2 Resurrection Christian at Prospect Ridge
Patriot-East
The Patriot East might be one of the toughest league to predict after the non-league schedule. There is only one team I feel that does not have a chance to win league and that is Fort Lupton besides that there are 5 teams with legit chances at winning league. We will quickly go through them starting at the bottom record wise. Sterling (1-3) played an absolutely brutal non-league schedule facing off against three top ten teams losing to all three of them. They did grab their first win last week against a good Eaton team. Platte Valley (1-3) also played a tough schedule playing very similar teams to Sterling but they have a loss to Lutheran (3A). They also beat Eaton so they will have a similar RPI to Sterling. Brush (1-3) got off to a tough start losing to #1 Fort Morgan (3A) and also have losses to Eaton and Faith Christian so Brush will have some major work to do in the league schedule if they plan on making the playoffs and that may require a few upsets. The surprise team heading into league is Valley (3-1). Valley’s one loss was to #8 Manitou Springs and they have solid victories over Academy and Colorado Springs Christian (1A). Valley is looking to break into the playoffs this year but that won’t be easy as they are in one of the toughest leagues in 2A. The top team heading into league is also somewhat of a surprise even though I picked them top three. #5 Weld Central heads into league with perfect record and the longest winning streak in the state. Weld Central has good victories over Skyview (3A) and Manual (1A). Weld Central is not as battle tested as some of the other teams so it will be interested to see how the handle some of the bigger games in league. The league schedule start off with a bang featuring two games that have big implications for the league title. The first big game is Sterling at Brush. Brush is struggling this year following the loss of two good classes. They are on a two game losing streak so getting of the slide would be good for them. Last week Brush was beat by Faith Christian 34 to 7. Brush had a hard time stopping the pass as Faith Christian threw for 349 yards 4 touchdowns and 0 INT’s. Sterling broke their three game losing streak last week blanking Eaton 14 to 0. Sterling ran the ball efficient rushing for 189 yards and 1 touchdown. 142 of those rushing yards came from Austin Burkholder. Sterling if they want to win this rivalry game must bring the same intensity they had on defense last week to this week. Brush needs to get their offense going if they plan on grabbing the W. I have Sterling winning here by 21. The other big game features Valley making the trip to #5 Weld Central. Valley is on a two game winning streak heading into the game. On defense they have had back to back weeks of holding opponents to just 14 points and they are going to need to do that again this week. #5 Weld Central has also relied on a strong defense allowing over 10 points once in four games. They also will need to keep that going plus keep their rushing attack going strong. I have Weld Central grabbing a 24 point victory and keeping their winning streak alive.
League Games:
Sterling at Brush Fort Lupton at #10 Platte Valley
Valley at #5 Weld Central
Tri-Peaks League
The Tri-Peaks league might be the toughest in 2A right now. They have three teams ranked in the top ten and 3 undefeated team. A fourth team is right on the verge of being ranked and Salida has scared a few opponents this year so you can’t take them lightly either. The Three teams atop the league are #1 La Junta, #3 Classical Academy and #9 Manitou Springs. Those three teams have been dominate so far this season and league will start us off with a bang right away. #1 La Junta travels to face #3 Classical Academy. This is the game of the week in 2A and it is sure to be a great one. Classical Academy is the slight underdog. They have yet to be challenge this year breaking 35 points in every game. Last week TCA beat Pueblo Central (3A) 37 to 7. TCA offense was balanced in their attack throwing for 136 and rushing for 119 yards. It will be interesting to see how well their offense does against La Junta great defense. La Junta last week blasted #3 Kent Denver 35 to 6. Their defense is one of the best in the state. They have only surrendered 20 points thru 4 games and will need to lean heavily on their defense again this week. La Junta will also need their offense to produce a little more than last week only getting 110 yards of rushing. This is going to be a defensive slugfest and I see La Junta coming out on top by 10. Another game of note will be Florence at Salida. Florence is currently in fourth and must beat the two bottoms teams of the league to stay in the hunt for the playoffs and for the league title. Salida is still rebuilding but have taken huge steps from last year. They have a very young team and I expect them to be very dangerous next year. Florence should win this game and I have them winning by 17.
League Games:
#1 La Junta at #3 Classical Academy Florence at Salida
Lamar at #9 Manitou Springs
Western Slope League
The Western Slope league has gotten off to a rough start very similar to last year. They have one team at .500 and only 3 teams out of 6 with a win. Pre-season league favorite Moffat County has played a very tough schedule playing Rawlins WY (3A), #8 Delta, and #2 Resurrection Christian. In two of those losses they were blowouts. The other league team expected to finish in the top three was Basalt and they are at 2-2 and sitting atop the league right now. The one team who has been the biggest disappointment so far is Coal Ridge who is 0-4. Moffat County has a chance right away to grab a big victory as they face off against Roaring Fork (0-4). If Moffat County wants any chance at the league title or playoff spot they cannot afford to lose to anyone in league expect Basalt. The only game of interest is Coal Ridge at Aspen (1-3). This is huge game for both teams. Moving to 1-0 in league and having the tie breaker over each other will be big. These teams will have to get through Basalt and Moffat County but winning here will be the first big challenge. This league race will take a few weeks to settle out but this could be a one playoff team league again if there are too many upsets.
League Games:
Moffat County at Roaring Fork Steamboat Springs at Basalt
Coal Ridge at Aspen
Intermountain League
The Intermountain League races looks like it will be one of the better races to watch. Currently we have four teams sitting at 2-2 and all four of them have a chance to win league and 3 of the four will have a chance at the playoffs. The other two teams could upset someone but I don’t see them being any trouble for the four teams ahead of them. The four teams sitting at 2-2 are Alamosa, Gunnison, #8 Delta, and #7 Bayfield. Alamosa started the season hot right out of the gates beating Florence 21 to 16. That victory nearly jumped started them past Buena Vista but they allowed a big fourth quarter come back and lost 22 to 21. Alamosa did grab a good victory last week blasting Trinidad 48 to 7 and they should be able to do the same this week against Montezuma Cortez. Delta opened their season against 3A Durango and lost by 1 then blew past their next two opponents before getting blown out by ranked Palisade (3A). They will be one of the tougher teams to beat and will get the party started against Pagosa Springs. Pagosa Springs has struggled all year and don’t expect them to give Delta a game. The big game of the week goes to Gunnison at #7 Bayfield. Bayfield lost last week to Durango 14 to 6. The game was a slugfest that saw 9 turnovers by both team, Bayfield had 5 and Durango had 4. Bayfield must limit turnovers if they plan on winning this week. Gunnison is coming of a tough loss to Cedaredge (1A) 24 to 20. Gunnison was able to throw the ball at will throwing for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns but Gunnison couldn’t stop the run. They allowed 203 yards on the ground and that was a huge deciding factor in the game. If Gunnison plan on pulling the upset they have to stop the run. If they cannot slow down the run Bayfield will blow them out. I have Bayfield winning by 28 points.
League Games:
#8 Delta at Pagosa Springs Alamosa at Montezuma Cortez
Gunnison at #7 Bayfield
Player of the Week in 2A
The Player of the Week is Josh Brinkerhoff from D’Evelyn. He threw for 238 yards 1 INT and also ran for 73 yards and 1 touchdown in their win last week over #10 Platte Valley.
MileHigh Prep Report 