Class 1A Week 9 League Breakdown
Final week of the season and the last chance for teams to improve their chances for the playoffs.
Foothills League
We finally have are league championship and it looks to be a great game and a quick game. Bennett travels to Platte Canyon and will be smash mouth football game. Both teams run the ball and the key will be which team controls the line of scrimmage. Platte Canyon is 5th in the RPI and are a lock for the playoffs and Bennett sits 4th and are also a lock for the playoffs. What is on the line is seeding and possibly a home playoff game. The winner automatically will get a playoff game but the loser will be hoping to jump Paonia for the other home game or hope one of the league champions falls out of the top 16. I am going with Bennett to win here by 14. Clear Creek is sitting in 19th and Front Range Christian is sitting in 25th. Clear Creek I think is the only team with a chance and must win this game to at least put their name in the hat. They are about .010 behind 16th. The only problem is Olathe is playing a quality opponent. It will be interesting to see how the league will finish
Bennett at Platte Canyon Front Range Christian at Clear Creek
Manual at Vail Christian
RPI of teams in league: 4 Bennett .664, 5 Platte Canyon, 19 Clear Creek .532, 25 Front Range Christian .484
North Central League
We get the matchup everyone has been looking forward to all year and it looks to be a dandy when Limon travels down I-70 to face off against rival Burlington. Both teams look to be a lock for the playoffs but both teams want a home game in the first round and of course the league title. Limon is sitting in 7th place and Burlington is sitting in 13th place in the RPI. Both teams want to run the ball and both will look to control the line of scrimmage. Passing could be a big advantage that Burlington will have to use. I am going with Burlington to win the league crown by 10. Holyoke is the only other teams fighting for a playoff spot. They are sitting in 22nd and will need a ton of help. They won’t get much against Wiggins this year as they are 3-5 and won’t boost their RPI to much. A win is a must for Holyoke here and a loss ends any chance at the playoffs. I don’t think Holyoke will get enough here to get them into the playoffs and the North Central will only get 2 teams in.
Burlington vs Limon Wray at Yuma
Wiggins at Holyoke
RPI of teams in league: 7 Limon .627, 13 Burlington .569, 22 Holyoke .508
Northern League
The Northern League Champion and runner up have been decided for weeks. Strasburg is your league champion and hoping to keep ahold of the #2 overall seed. Highland is your runner up and in 11th in the RPI and hoping that they did enough early on to keep them from falling much more. Both will get into the playoffs unless one of them is upset then they could be in some trouble. I don’t see either of that happening and should both win this week and both get into the playoffs.
Strasburg at Lyons Highland at Byers
Cornerstone Christian at Estes Park
RPI of teams in league: 2 Strasburg .681, 11 Highland .572
Santa Fe League
The league title will be decided this week and that could be for the 1 and only playoff spot in the Santa Fe League. Crowley County travels to Rocky Ford where both teams will put it all on the line. Rocky Ford is a pass heavy team and will need to be on point to wins this game. They are sitting in 24th and I think the only way they get into the playoffs is by winning the league championship. They have the second worst SOS in all of 1A. Crowley County is sitting in 14th and could also get jumped by a few teams so they must win this game and that should keep them right in the top 16. Both teams will get a good boost from the win but the teams around them also will get some help. If Crowley County loses this game they might fall out of the playoffs which would be a big surprise. Crowley County I think will win this game and should stay in the top 16 with the win. Ellicott is the in 18th but they are done for the year. They are .007 behind Olathe but I am just not sure if they will move from the 18th spot where they have been stuck most of the year. Santa Fe league will only get one team in.
Crowley County at Rocky Ford Dolores Huerta at Trinidad
RPI of teams in league: 14 Crowley County .554, 18 Ellicott .536, 24 Rocky Ford .495
Southern Peaks League
A huge upset happened last week when Monte Vista beat Center by 14 and put us in a three way tie with no head to head this week we went to points which I talked about last week. Monte Vista had to beat Center by more than 5 and they accomplished that and are now in first place and if they simply win this week are your league Champions. Center would finish in second and Centauri in third. Monte Vista is 15th in the RPI and a win against Dolores will boost their RPI a little bit and should be enough to keep them in the Top 16 and a home playoff game. Center is 8th in the RPI and should also win against Ignacio this week but they lost their second string QB and now will move to their third string QB but Center is a run first offense and should be ok. Center with a win will lock up a playoff spot as well and this is a big game for their offense to get things sorted out for the playoffs. Centauri is 20th in the RPI and will need some help. They travel to Walsenburg to take on John Mall and must avoid the upset first. John Mall plays stingy defense and Centauri has to win their first. Centauri then must hope that the four teams in front of them all lose and will need to hope what they have done this year will give them enough of a boost to jump into the top 16. They are .011 behind Olathe so it will be tough to climb into the top 16. I am not sure if Centauri will get enough help to move into the top 16 and will be left out. What Centauri might need is Center to lose and then the league title is there’s. I just don’t see that happening and both Monte Vista and Center will win.
Monte Vista at Dolores Centauri at John Mall
Center at Ignacio
RPI of teams in league: 8 Center .610, 15 Monte Vista .552, 20 Centauri .531
Tri-Peaks League
Peyton grabbed a very important victory last week against Buena Vista and now controls their own destiny. Peyton travels to Colorado Springs Christian this week and a victory give them the league title. Peyton is 9th in the RPI and a loss would really hurt their RPI. They have the 34th SOS so a loss could devastate their RPI. Would it be enough to drop them out of the top 16 I am not to sure but I am sure they would prefer the win to lock it up anyways. Colorado Springs Christian is 26th in the RPI and the only way they get into the playoffs is with the league title. Colorado Springs Christian will need to win then also need Buena Vista to lose to Rye or it goes to point spread. I think Peyton will win this game by 17. The other game I just mentioned is Rye at Buena Vista. Rye is sitting in 17th place and .007 behind Olathe in 16th. They will benefit from this game with a win or loss but Olathe also plays Meeker so Rye might have to win this game for them to get into the playoffs. Buena Vista is in 12th in the RPI but are still on the bubble. They lost their first league game since dropping to 1A so this is uncharted territory for Buena Vista. Another loss this week to Rye would hurt them a bit. I am not sure how much it would drop their RPI but a loss will definitely make them sweat the game out. Buena Vista will have to quickly bounce back but I am not sure they will. I am going with the upset here. I am going with Rye to win by 7. If I am right here it will be very interesting to see the final RPI.
Peyton at Colorado Springs Christian Rye at Buena Vista
St. Mary’s at Lake County
RPI of team in league: 9 Peyton .586, 12 Buena Vista .570, 17 Rye .537, 26 Colorado Springs Christian .484
Western Slope League
Meeker is your league champion and should win this week against Olathe. A win against Olathe puts them as the #1 overall seed. They have played the toughest schedule in all of 1A according to SOS. They should easily handle Olathe. Olathe on the other hand is fighting for the lives. They are in 16th and are .009 behind 15th so they will have to hope they can hold onto their spot. They will have to hope Rye does not upset Buena Vista or they could be jumped. They also will have to keep an eye on Clear Creek. Olathe I think will get bumped out of their spot and miss the playoffs. Cedaredge travels to Hotchkiss and also should win. Cedaredge is 6th in the RPI and are a lock for the playoffs. Hotchkiss is 23rd and I don’t think will get enough of a jump with a loss to get into the playoffs. Paonia host Grand Valley this week and are fighting to grab the only non-champion home game. They should be able to do that with a victory over Grand Valley. Grand Valley is 10th in the RPI and are a lock in the playoffs as well. I think the Western Slope will only get 4 teams into the playoffs but will have two teams playing home games.
Meeker vs Olathe Paonia vs Grand Valley
Cedaredge at Hotchkiss
RPI of teams in league: 1 Meeker .719, 3 Paonia .671, 6 Cedaredge .643, 10 Grand Valley .575, 23 Hotchkiss .508
The 1A Player of the Week
The 1A Player of the Week is Logan Hughes of Meeker High School. Hughes went 13 of 16 for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns in Meeker upset victory over Paonia. Hughes also played a huge roles defensively logging 7 tackles and 3 sacks.
MileHigh Prep Report 