Class 1A League Breakdown
Northern League
The northern league is being led by #1 Strasburg who is sitting at 4-0 heading into league. Only one other team is at .500 and that is Highland. More than likely league will finish that way and Strasburg should easily cruise into the playoffs. More and more this looks like this league might only get one team maybe two into the playoffs. Highland will have to win out every game after this week’s game against Strasburg if they plan on making the playoffs. The league champion also might be decided in the first week of league. Strasburg makes the track to Highland and more than likely this is for the league crown. Highland (2-2) is coming off a victory over Wray 24-0 and are going to need to bring the defensive intensity from last week to this week and they must control the clock. Highland ran for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns and must have a similar showing this week. Strasburg has been absolutely dominate in its first year in 1A. They have played 3 ranked opponents and broke 40 points in every game. The closest game was against its rival Bennett 55-44. Last week Strasburg blew past #8 Limon 43 to 12 and they dominated the first quarter scoring 20 points. Offensively Strasburg ran wild rushing for 450 yards and 5 touchdowns. They got 196 yards from Hunter Bergstorm. I don’t see Highland being able to keep up with Strasburg and have Strasburg winning by 31 points and essentially locking up the league title.
League Games:
Byers at Estes Park Lyons at Cornerstone Christian
#1 Strasburg at Highland
North Central League
The North Central league has only 1 team below .500 and that is Wray but after that we have 3 serious contenders in Limon, Burlington, and Holyoke but Wiggins and Yuma could surprise a few teams. Limon and Burlington had tough non-league schedules and that should hopefully prepare them for league. The first week of league opens up with a pair of important games. Wiggins traveling to Yuma and Burlington traveling to Holyoke. We will start with Wiggins at Yuma. Yuma is off to a good start this year going 2-2 in non-league play and are looking to finish higher than last year. Last week they beat Lyons 25 to 7 and are looking to use that momentum against Wiggins. Wiggins lost a ton of talent to graduation and had to replace a ton of skill players. They lost their first two games but have rebounded nicely and have won two straight. Wiggins will need to keep that momentum going if they plan on winning this game. I think they should and getting off to a 1-0 start will be important if they plan on making any sort of run to the playoffs. The other big game is Burlington at Holyoke. Holyoke is coming into league with a loss to Machebeuf 34-14 so they will have to rebound very quickly. Holyoke couldn’t get their ground game going only racking up 96 yards on the ground they did throw for 124 yards. Machebeuf ran the ball at will against Holyoke defense getting 228 yards and threw for 144 yards. Holyoke must improve their defense heading into this game. Burlington is also coming into league with a loss but it was to #3 Bennett and they barely lost 15 to 13. Burlington is the only team to keep Bennett under 40 points and they must bring that same intensity this week. Burlington struggled getting anything going on offense only getting 153 yards of total offense but their defense held the Bennett rushing attack to 191 yards rushing. If Burlington plays like that all year I expect them to win the league title. Burlington should win this game and keep pace with Limon.
League Games:
#9 Burlington at Holyoke Wray at #8 Limon
Wiggins at Yuma
Foothills League
The Foothills league is turning out better than expected with 2 teams undefeated, 3 teams at 3-1, and only 1 team with a losing record. Heading into this year we expected this to be a two team race but now this could be a little tougher. I still expect Bennett and Platte Canyon to come out on top but they will at least be challenged for the top spots. There should be two good games every week in this league and that hold true in the first week of league. The first game is Manual (3-1) at Front Range Christian (3-1). This is a big game to decide possibly who the contender is and who the pretender is. Front Range Christian has yet to win a game this year against a team with a winning record. The one team they played with a winning record was Highland and they lost 35 to 7. This is a very important game to see just how far they have come. Manual is in a nearly identical spot blanking their first three opponents but those three are a combined 1-11 and the one team Manual played with a winning record was #5 Weld Central (2A) and were beat bad 41 to 0. In terms of RPI both these teams are going to have lower RPI so winning games in league will be very important. I am going with Manual in this game winning by 10. The next big game is #3 Bennett (3-1) at Clear Creek (4-0). Clear Creek is off to an amazing start running thru the non-league schedule and racking up an impressive victory over 3A Summit. Besides that win they played three teams with a combined 1-11 record but were dominate in all three games. Last week Clear Creek struggled to run the ball but threw effectively throwing for 174 yards 3 touchdowns and 1 INT. Defensively they will need to improve on stopping the run as they gave up 150 yards and we all know Bennett lives and dies by the run. Bennett is coming off a barn burner holding off Burlington 15 to 13. Bennett who has broken the 300 yard rushing mark in their first three games was held to just 191 yards. Bennett on defense was stout though holding Burlington to 90 yards rushing. Bennett will need to stop the pass this week as Clear Creek likes to throw the ball. Clear Creek will need to hold Bennett to under 200 yards rushing if they plan on pulling a huge upset and grabbing control of league. I have Bennett by 28 points and grabbing a key league win.
League Games:
#3 Bennett at Clear Creek Manual at Front Range Christian
#4 Platte Canyon at Vail Christian
Southern Peaks League
The Southern Peaks league is a bit down this year with Monte Vista (1-3), Center (2-2), and Centauri (2-2) not being over .500. The only team over .500 is Dolores (3-1) and will be looking to shock the world and try and win league. There are two very important games in week 1 and possibly one that could decide the league champion. The first game is John Mall (1-3) at Dolores (3-1). John Mall has played a tough non-league schedule playing three teams with winning records. Their one win over Trinidad at the time looked to be a big win but Trinidad is way down this year and have only won 1 game. John Mall has played very tough in there three loses their worst loss was 28 to 0 against Rye. Dolores has played a much easier schedule than John Mall picking up wins against Shiprock (2-3), Dolores Huerta (0-4), and Whitehorse (1-3) and their one loss was to Hotchkiss and it was not close 40 to 8. So Dolores has a ton of work to do in league play. Dolores is currently on a three game winning streak so they will have a ton of momentum with them coming into this game. I am not sure if their momentum will be enough to win this game. John Mall is much more battle test and I have them winning by 10. The other big game is Center at Centauri and this could possibly be for the league title unless Monte Vista proves otherwise. Centauri is coming off their biggest win of the season beating previously ranked and defending champion Buena Vista 26 to 12. In that win Centauri ran the ball extremely well racking up 153 yards of rushing and throwing for 77 yards. Their defense gave nearly the same up as well giving up 72 yards passing and 158 yards rushing. This is a nice win for Centauri heading into league and they must keep the momentum going. Center is coming off a tough loss to #4 Platte Canyon 28 to 7. They have improved every week since their opening loss to Paonia. They have good victories against Rocky Ford and Hotchkiss and they will need to keep improving if they plan on winning this week. In their loss last week Center couldn’t stop the run giving up 322 yards of rushing and 3 touchdowns. If Center plans on winning league they cannot give up that much rushing yards. This game will be a good one and will come down to which teams defense steps up more. I have Centauri winning late by 3.
League Games:
Monte Vista vs Ignacio Center at Centauri
John Mall at Dolores
Santa Fe League
The Santa Fe League is the only league in 1A that has 5 teams which makes scheduling more of a nightmare. The Santa Fe League has three teams that have a legitimate chance of winning league. Those three teams are #5 Crowley County (3-1), Ellicott (3-2), and Rocky Ford (3-2). I had Trinidad in the mix but they have struggled this year and don’t see them finishing in the top two. I still have Crowley County as the favorite to win league but they will be challenge by Ellicott and Rocky Ford. We have one game of interest this week. That game is Trinidad (1-4) at Rocky Ford (3-2). This is a huge game for Rocky Ford if they plan on making the playoffs and having a shot at the league title. Rocky Ford cannot afford to lose this game. Their RPI will be decent but a bad loss to Trinidad will hurt all the work they did in the non-league schedule. Trinidad will need to get their offense going as they have been shut out 3 times this year. Rocky Ford must get their passing attack going again this week and they should be able to win this game. I have Rocky Ford winning by 14.
League Games:
Ellicott at Dolores Huerta Trinidad at Rocky Ford
Tri Peaks League
The Tri Peaks league has 4 teams that are looking at the playoffs and a league title. Those four teams are #10 Peyton (4-0), Buena Vista (2-2), Colorado Springs Christian (2-2), and Rye (2-2). Those four teams all fought for playoff spots last year and are hoping to do the same this year as well. The pre-season league favorite Buena Vista is somewhat down this year so the league is wide open and should be an interesting race. With Buena Vista and Colorado Springs Christian having easy games this week and we only have one big game. That game is Rye at #10 Peyton. Rye played a very tough schedule picking up losses to #2 Paonia and #8 Limon but also have good wins against Centauri and John Mall. Last week Rye blanked John mall 28 to 0. Rye must bring that same defensive intensity this week as they held John mall to just 148 yards rushing. On offense they attacked John Mall equally rushing for 135 yards and throwing for 110 yards. Peyton has two impressive victories over Highland and Ellicott and have only given up 28 points through 4 games. Peyton is looking to take a huge step this year and win league. They have a tough task right out the gate but a win here and probably back to back wins against St. Mary’s and Lake County will put them into great shape heading into the Buena Vista game. First though Peyton must beat Rye which will not be an easy task. Peyton last week on offense ran the ball well rushing for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively they limited an explosive offense for Ellicott to just 6 points. Peyton will need to bring that same intensity this week. I have Peyton winning a very close game that will come down to the wire I have Peyton by 3.
League Games:
Rye at #10 Peyton Colorado Springs Christian at St. Mary’s
Buena Vista at Lake County
Western Slope League
Just looking real quick at the Western Slope record it nearly makes your jaw drop. You have three teams at 4-0 and three teams at 3-1. This is mind blowing for a league to have 6 teams that all could make a case for the league title and possibly for a playoff spot. Every game will matter and this will be the best league race to watch. This league could possibly get four teams into the playoffs. Well kick off with the Olathe (3-1) at Grand Valley (3-1) game. Grand Valley is much improved this year and are off to their best start since dropping to 1A. Grand Valley should also keep improving as well as they have a good sophomore class. Grand Valley played a weaker non-league schedule only playing one team at .500 and that was Basalt and Basalt handled them easily 49 to 7. Grand Valley will need to bring their A game this week as they are playing a very physical Olathe team. Olathe suffered one really close loss to Gunnison 13 to 7 but rebounded nicely winning two straight. Last week in the win over Coal Ridge (2A) Olathe ran the ball extremely well rushing for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Olathe will need to bring that this week as well. I have Olathe winning this game by 21. The next game is #6 Meeker at Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss started the season ranked but a loss to Center removed them from the rankings. Hotchkiss responded to that loss with a 34 to 12 victory over Vail Christian last week. Hotchkiss ran the ball extremely well last week rushing for 279 yards. Which will be key for them this week against Meeker. Hotchkiss has to run the ball to be effective on offense. In their loss to Center they only ran for 165 yards. Meeker made great use of their bye week and came to play last week against Monte Vista. Meeker ran the ball at will rushing for 312 yards and were led by Doak Mantle who ran for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meeker shutdown Monte Vista offense holding them to 139 yards rushing and 59 yards passing. Meeker will need to bring the same defensive intensity this week. If Meeker can keep Hotchkiss rushing attack in check they should walk away with a victory. I have Meeker winning by 10. The final and game of the week in 1A is #2 Paonia at #7 Cedaredge. Cedaredge has opened the season very impressive with good victories over Monte Vista and Gunnison (2A). Last week they beat Gunnison 24 to 20. They ran the ball extremely well rushing for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cedaredge struggled on defense stopping the pass giving up 243 yards but held Gunnison to 87 yards rushing which they will need to bring into this week’s game. Paonia has yet to be challenged and have good wins against Center and Rye. Last week they blew past Roaring Fork (2A) 55 to 7 and ran for over 300 yards and threw for 189 yards. Paonia will need to look to take advantage of their passing attack this week. It should open up with them running the ball so much. Cedaredge cannot commit everything to stopping the run as Paonia has proven it can throw the ball. This could be a great game but I have Paonia winning this game by 14.
League Games:
#2 Paonia at #7 Cedaredge Olathe at Grand Valley
#6 Meeker at Hotchkiss
Player of the Week in 1A
The Player of the Week goes to Doak Mantle of Meeker. In their win last week against Monte Vista Mantle ran for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns.
MileHigh Prep Report 