Class 1A League Breakdown Week 6
Northern
It’s crazy after one week to say someone has already locked up the league championship but if you play in the Northern League then that is the case. Strasburg beat Highland last week 59 to 22 and essentially locked up the league title with the win. There are no other teams with a record at .500 or above and #1 Strasburg should cruise thru every game the rest of the way. The big problem for Strasburg is making sure you are ready for the playoffs and playing an easy schedule the rest of the way could affect them there. The only other team I see having a chance at the playoffs from the Northern League is Highland and they begin their run at that this week against Cornerstone Christian. Highland 2-3 will have to win out now and put their chances in the RPI hands. Highland played a decent non-league schedule playing Meeker and Peyton both undefeated and Front Range Christian is 3-2 the bad one is Wray who is 1-4. Highland is basically playing knockout games the rest of the way and one loss could essentially knock them out of the playoffs.
Byers at #1 Strasburg Estes Park at Lyons
Highland at Cornerstone Christian
North Central
Well the North Central in week one proved the two best teams are Limon and Burlington right now. The battle will be for the third and a playoff spot. The battle for third I think will be between Wiggins and Holyoke with maybe Wray or Yuma pushing for it as well. In Week one of league play Limon beat Wray 46 to 30, Wiggins beat Yuma 22 to 0, and Burlington blanked Holyoke 26 to 0. This week there is two game to look out for in the league race. Limon at Holyoke and Wray at Wiggins. The Wray vs Wiggins matchup looks to be a good one. Wray (1-4) played Limon tough last week scoring 30 points on a very good defense and now are looking to build off that and grab their first league win. Wray must improve their defense if they want any chance. Wray has surrendered over 24 points 4 times and over 40 twice. The problem has been run defense and they have given up over 200 yards rushing in two of their past three game. So improving there should help them through the rest of league. Wiggins is a surprise 3-2 and are building for the future. They have won 3 straight games but none of them have winning records but confidence can go a long way for a young team. They will be tested this week against a Wray team who is better than their record indicates. Wiggins must stop the run if they want to keep pace with Limon and Burlington. If Wiggins can stop the run they should be able to win this game. I am going with Wray by 10. The other big game is Limon at Holyoke. Holyoke is coming off a shutout loss to Burlington 26 to 0. They must now regroup quickly if they want to try against at an upset. Holyoke I believe is still the third best team in league but they must be better on defense. In their three losses they have surrendered over 26 points and they cannot do that and expect to be in the games. This week they have to focus on stopping Limon’s rushing attack and if they can slow it down will have a chance at winning. Limon struggled a bit with Wray giving up 30 points which has only happened once this year and that was to #1 Strasburg. Limon must figure out why they couldn’t stop the run and get ready for their game this week. Limon on offense is heavily paced by their rushing attack. Limon must get their two main backs going and get their defense to step up this week. Limon should win this game by 21. The North Central League will easily get two teams into the playoffs. I believe they will get a third team in as well.
Yuma at #8 Burlington #7 Limon at Holyoke
Wray at Wiggins
Foothills
What a league race the Foothills League is turning into this year. We have 5 teams over .500 and two teams ranked in the top 6. Last week Bennett took out one of the undefeated teams in Clear Creek and they did it with easy winning 56 to 18. Platte Canyon stayed undefeated blowing past Vail Christian 55 to 8 and Manual picked up a monster 9 to 7 victory to keep pace with the top two teams. Bennett and Platte Canyon are clearly the heavy favorites in terms of finishing in 1st and 2nd they question is who will finish in third and fourth. Third and fourth could possibly be getting into the playoffs because everyone has a winning record in league and that is a huge factor in the RPI. The two easy games this week are Vail Christian at Bennett which Bennett should easily cruise to a victory and Front Range Christian at Platte Canyon and Platte Canyon should easily grab a victory as well. The game with huge implications is Clear Creek (4-1) at Manual (4-1). Clear Creek struggled stopping Bennett offense and that was a key factor as Bennett dropped 30 points in the first half. Clear Creek on offense threw the ball well still throwing for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns but also had 2 INT’s which can’t happen if you plan on playing with the top teams. Also Clear Creek couldn’t run the ball rushing for -7 yards. Clear Creek cannot be completely one dimensional and win a lot of football games they have one of the better passing attack in 1A and that could prove tough to stop against a lot of teams. They must quickly regroup and be ready for Manual this week. Manual used a 9 point first half and held onto that lead to give them a narrow 9 to 7 victory. Now Manual must reset and try and get to 2-0 in league play. That won’t be easy against a passing attack that is breaking 300 yards against one of the better defenses in 1A. Manual must keep their rushing attack going if they plan on winning this game. If Manual wins they stay even with Bennett and Platte Canyon but a loss will make the third place race very interesting. I have Clear Creek winning this game by 10. The Foothill League will get two for sure and honestly probably a third but the fourth just depends on how they finish league.
Vail Christian at #3 Bennett Clear Creek at Manual
Front Range Christian at #4 Platte Canyon
Southern Peaks
What a way to start off week 1 in the Southern Peaks League. We had 2 upsets in the first week one in terms of record and one that was an upset. The first upset was John Mall (2-3) over Dolores (3-2) and the score was 19-0 and that tells you a lot about John Mall and they are going to try and push for the top spot this year. The other upset was Center (3-2) over Centauri (2-3). The game came down to the wire and Center was able to run out the clock and pull the big upset of Centauri. Monte Vista also beat Ignacio but that was not a surprise. Now this week has 2 big games and will decide a lot more in terms of 1st thru 4th. The first game is John Mall at Center. John Mall played a tough schedule and lost a lot of close games. Their defense could be one of the best in the SPL. They will have their hand full with a Center offense that runs a fast paced offense and lose to put your defenders in one of one match ups on the outside and run the option. John Mall got off to a great start beating Dolores last week and grabbed control of the game in the second quarter scoring 13 points. Offensively they are paced by Evan Gonzales and their rushing attack. Last week Gonzales ran for 140 yards and 1 touchdown. They will need a similar game from him and then some if they want to pull the upset. Center grabbed their second big upset of the year. The first was on Hotchkiss and now Centauri. Centauri was riding high after knocking off defending state champion Buena Vista but were not completely ready for Center offense and defense. Center shut down Centauri rushing attack but Cenaturi was able to throw the ball and that kept them in the game. Center must not get big headed this week and prepare for a very good John Mall team. If Center wins this game they will be in charge of their own fate and will set up a huge game against Monte Vista in two weeks. They also will have games against Dolores and Ignacio which should be victories. I have Center winning by 14. The big game in league and a huge rivalry game is Centauri traveling 30 miles down the road to face off against rival Monte Vista. Most years this is the league title game but not this year as Center picked off Centauri last week. This game is more of a knockout game for Centauri and of course for Monte Vista it will help them keep pace with Center. Centauri is 2-3 and are now in a little bit of trouble. They have a decent key win in Buena Vista but they are not the power house they were for the past 3 years. Their losses are not terrible but they need those teams to start winning and those are Rye (2-3) and Olathe (3-2). Rye will start getting some wins but Olathe might be in some hot water after they got slammed by Grand Valley and now could lose out in league and give them a 3-6 record. Centauri now needs to win this week to have a chance at the playoffs they cannot afford to go 2-4 in league. Monte Vista is in a little better shape. They played Cedaredge (4-1), Ellicott (4-2), and Meeker (5-0) they will have a much higher RPI than Centauri so this game is not necessarily a knockout game for them. What Monte Vista needs to do is win to keep pace with Center and have a straight shot at winning league. Monte Vista had their best offensive output last week against Ignacio blowing past them 42 to 0 and now have some momentum. This game will come down to which offense can get clicking first and I have Monte Vista with a 7 point victory.
Centauri at Monte Vista Dolores at Ignacio
John Mall at Center
Santa Fe
Crowley County is back in action after their 2 week hiatus. Because of the weird schedule they had two weeks off and now get back into action and this could possibly be for the league title right off the bat. Last week Rocky Ford beat Trinidad 42 to 24 and Ellicott blanked Dolores Huerta. Rocky Ford play Dolores Huerta and they will remain tied with the winner between Ellicott and Crowley County. The Ellicott vs Crowley County game is a big one I believe these are the best two teams in league and I think this will be for the league title. Ellicott is having a great season and is looking for a big win. Their two losses are to Bennett and Peyton and both are two very good teams. A win here and more than likely they will finish ahead for league but both teams will have to play a tough Rocky Ford team. Ellicott has relied heavily on the big play and must capitalize on that in this game. They also must be able to stop the run or they will be in for a tough one. Crowley County last 9/16 and they pummeled Yuma 52 to 6. They had two weeks to prep for this game and they should be injury free and energized for the last four games of the year. Crowley County must run the ball effectively to win this game and Ellicott has given up big numbers on the ground. Crowley County with the win will just have Rocky Ford at the end of the year and that will be for the title. I think Crowley County will keep Ellicott big play in check and win by 20. The Santa Fe League should get three teams in if Rocky Ford avoids a bad loss.
Rocky Ford at Dolores Huerta Ellicott at #5 Crowley County
Tri-Peaks
What a great game to start the league off for the Tri Peaks. Peyton held off Rye 12 to 7 and kept the hopes alive for a league title but things do not get any easier for them. Also winners were Colorado Springs Christian and Buena Vista. There are four very good teams in the Tri-Peaks so each week will matter and you cannot lose to any of the bottom teams (Lake County and St. Mary’s). This week Peyton and Rye should both grab a victory. The big game this week is Colorado Springs Christian at Buena Vista. Colorado Springs Christian 3-2 is off to a good start on the season but is missing that key victory to the season. They have 2 wins over teams with 0 wins. A win over Buena Vista will of course keep pace with the leader and give them that key victory on the year. Last Week Colorado Springs Christian smashed St. Mary’s 41 to 10 and the QB was efficient and he will need to be that way against this week. Buena Vista got back on the winning side of things with a 32 to 19 victory over Lake County. Buena Vista for the first time since moving to 1A dropped two consecutive games but ended that last week. Buena Vista has yet to lose a league game but that could be in jeopardy this year. They still have to be respected as the defending league champion. Buena Vista made the switch at QB last week and that was good experience for this week’s game. Their defense must bring their A game in terms of pass defense. Colorado Springs loves to spread the ball around so open field tackling will be key. The winner gets a huge leg up in this game in terms of RPI and league standings. I am going with Colorado Springs Christian with the upset by 10. The Tri-Peaks league will get three teams in and possibly a fourth team.
Colorado Springs Christian at Buena Vista #9 Peyton at St. Mary’s
Lake County at Rye
Western Slope
Week one opened with a bang! After the first week of league play we have two undefeated teams left and of course three teams grabbing their first league win. Meeker quickly got past Hotchkiss 36 to 7 and I might have been completely wrong about Meeker and Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss has struggled this year more than I thought and Meeker is much better than previously thought and will be just as scary next year. Grand Valley got past Olathe 33 to 6. This was an upset. Olathe dropped from 2A to 1A and were expected to compete right away for the league title that may not happen now at all. Olathe could be in danger of dropping every game now in league and their best chance for a league win will be against Hotchkiss. The great game from the previous weekend was Paonia over Cedaredge 35 to 21. Cedaredge played a great first half jumping out to a 14 to 6. Paonia responded in the second half and scored 29 points and pulled out a 35 to 21 victory. Both teams are going to be dangerous the rest of the year and playoffs. This week still offers two great games. The third game could be could but the jury is definitely out on Olathe. Olathe will have a chance to grab a big victory this weekend when they travel to Cedaredge. Cedaredge will be looking to come back from their loss and I bet you they come out with a ton of fire. I have Cedaredge by 24. Grand Valley at Meeker will be a good game as well. Grand Valley is much improved from last year or previous year. They will continue to get better as well as they are not losing that many seniors. They will have their hand full against a very good Meeker team. Last week Grand Valley had control of the game by running the ball at will rushing for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns. They will need a similar performance plus bring the same intensity on defense. Meeker is looking to keep pace with Paonia and stay undefeated. Meeker on defense has been very good. They held Hotchkiss to 98 yards rushing and 71 yards passing. They were effective on offense throwing for 16 and rushing for 241 yards. Meeker will grab a good 21 point victory. The other good game will be Hotchkiss at Paonia. Hotchkiss is looking for that key win and they could get it against Paonia. Hotchkiss will need to beat Grand Valley and Olathe to get into the playoffs for than likely and I think they will do that but they must keep improving every week. They have struggled on offense getting anything going only rushing for 98 yards last week. Paonia used a strong second half to pull away from Cedaredge. Paonia was very effective rushing the ball for 223 yards and throwing for 131 yards. On defense they held Cedaredge to 85 yards rushing. Paonia must win to keep pace with the winner of the Grand Valley vs Meeker game. Paonia should stay undefeated in both league and regular season record and grab a good 28 point victory. The Western Slope will get three teams in and possibly a fourth.
Olathe at #10 Cedaredge Grand Valley at #6 Meeker
Hotchkiss at #2 Paonia
Class 1A Player of the Week
The Class 1A Player of the Week goes to Jaden Miller of Paonia. Miller ran for 138 yards and 1 touchdown in Paonia victory over Cedaredge.
MileHigh Prep Report 