Week 1 Breakdown
Class 2A
Football Season is BACK!!! Week 1 offers a full slate of games and but no Top Ten games in Week 1. Zero Week got us started with a couple top 15 teams going into actions. #1 Bayfield got revenge from a loss last year by blanking San Juan UT 39 to 0, Kent Denver got a shutout as well beating Prospect Ridge 59 to 0, #11 Machebeuf joined the shutouts with a 48 to 0 victory over Pinnacle, and #12 Alamosa joined the party as well with a surprising 43 to 0 victory over Florence. Three other top 15 teams played with #13 Sterling beating Resurrection Christian 33 to 8, #9 Delta falling in OT to 3A Durango and #14 Moffat County falling to Rawlins WY 40 to 14. Zero week got us a good taste of football and now we are ready for the main course.
This week we have some good games to keep measuring how some teams have grown. The five that I want to watch are Bayfield vs Bloomfield NM, Faith Christian vs Resurrection Christian, Eaton at Lamar, Salida vs Pagosa, and my Game of the Week is La Junta vs Gunnison.
#1 Bayfield opened off their campaign against San Juan UT. Bayfield got started in the right direction with a nice 39 to 0 victory. We all know that Bayfield on defense was going to be great and they showed that in game #1 with a shutout victory. Up next for Bayfield is Bloomfield NM. Bloomfield NM is off to a 0-1 start. They lost to Belen NM 28-6. Bloomfield NM is a 5A team in NM but that is about a 3A team in Colorado. Bayfield will be looking to grab their second victory of the season and I believe will be the heavy favorite in this game.
#2 Classical Academy travels to Sierra (3A). Sierra is coming off a 1-9 season and according to Max preps only have 23 on their roster. Last year Classical Academy won 48-0 and I am guessing a similar result could be expected. Sierra does return their starting QB from a year ago. Classical Academy is looking to get their season off on the right foot. I don’t believe they should have any problems but you should never overlook anyone. This is a good game for TCA to find a replacement at RB and good to get some experience to some of the new starters.
#3 Kent Denver travels to Eagle Valley (3A). Eagle Valley went 3-7 last year and lost to Kent Denver 18-8. This year they are facing a much tougher much more experience Kent Denver team. Eagle Valley didn’t post stats from last year so I am not sure who they lost from a year ago. Kent Denver got their season started on the right foot with a 59 to 0 blasting of Prospect Ridge Academy. Kent Denver ran for 5 touchdowns in the game and ran for 311 yards. They didn’t need to throw much but got 135 yards from QB Joey Licht. Kent Denver will be the favorite in this game as well.
#4 La Junta host Gunnison. Gunnison is coming off a 4-5 season and missed the playoffs for the first time in a couple years. They will be somewhat in rebuilding mode with a new QB and new RB but will be returning some offensive lineman to help the offense out. Gunnison is picked to finish 4th in the Intermountain league but will be chased by Pagosa Springs for that spot. La Junta is your defending State Champions and lost a very talented senior class. La Junta will have a lot of holes to fill but return very talented QB Jon Nuschy who will need to lead this team. La Junta will have 3 starters return on their offensive line and need to find some new leadership on defense. This could be a good game to start getting experience for these younger kids. I expect La Junta to win but could be close due to the inexperience.
#5 Faith Christian host Resurrection Christian. In what normally is a battle of ranked teams is not this year. Resurrection Christian is rebuilding after losing a very talented senior class. Their defense is still tough and they will need it to be again when they face a reloaded Faith Christian team. Faith Christian is returning a lot of talent. They are returning most of their offensive and defensive line and their QB. What faith Christian is replacing is their starting RB. Faith Christian is the favorite in this game and I expect them to win with about as big or bigger margin than Sterling beat Resurrection Christian with last weekend.
#6 Eaton travels to Lamar. Eaton is preseason ranked once again this year but are the favorites to win the Patriot West league. Lamar went 2-7 a year ago but are returning their starting QB and second leading rusher. They are also returning some talent on defense but are still a year or two away from making a big impact in the Tri-Peaks league. Eaton on the other hand lost 3 lineman and their top 3 tacklers but return their starting RB and starting QB and also have some size coming up with the Junior and sophomore classes. Eaton is the favorite to win the Patriot West. I have Eaton as the favorite in this game.
#8 Salida hosts Pagosa Springs. Salida got their season off on the right foot with a 34 to 6 victory over Summit. They face a Pagosa Springs team that went 2-7 a year ago and lost to Salida 35 to 21. Pagosa is returning their starting QB and starting RB and most of their talent on defense. Pagosa could surprise a few teams this year but only time will tell. Salida got a nice win in zero week and will be looking to build upon that win this week. They are facing a tough Pagosa Springs team that will give them a look at how far they have grown. Salida will be the favorite in this game but will be challenged more by Pagosa Springs than last week.
Top Ten Games not mentioned:
#10 Manitou Springs at St. Mary’s (1A)
Non-Top Ten Games:
Machebeuf vs University Alamosa vs Buena Vista (1A)
Sterling vs D’Evelyn Valley vs Pinnacle
MileHigh Prep Report 