Week 2 Class 2A Breakdown
Week one got us kicked off for the 2017 season and what a great week it was for football. Outside of the top ten there where some very key games. Platte Valley over Lutheran 49 to 7, Machebeuf over University 34 to 7, Sterling over D’Evelyn 42 to 28, Valley over Pinnacle 50 to 0, Moffat County over Ridgeview Academy, and Aspen over Arvada.
#1 Bayfield is off to a great start this season with a perfect 2-0. They blasted San Juan UT in Zero Week 39-0 and they keep the shutouts going again this week blanking Bloomfield NM 52-0. Bayfield posted stats for the game and they were very impressive. Bayfield ran for 244 yards on 38 carries the primary workhorse was David Hawkins who ran for 92 yards. The passing attack also was very good going 8 of 14 for 178 yards 6 TD’s and 1 INT. This is only the second start for QB Hayden Farmer. Defensively Bayfield got their second shutout of the season and had 4 INT’s, 1 Fumble, and forced 6 sacks. Next up for Bayfield is Aztec NM. Aztec is a 5A school out of New Mexico which is basically a 3A school in Colorado. Aztec is currently 0-2 on the season and lost to Durango last week 35 to 14. This is a good measuring stick for Bayfield as they play Durango on 9/22. Aztec according to Maxpreps is the #6 team in 5A and are scoring 34 PPG. This will be a good test of Bayfield’s defense specifically their secondary will get some work. Aztec is averaging 530 Total yards per game 376 passing yards per game and 154 rushing yards per game. Bayfield will counter with a defense averaging 6 sacks per game and a rushing attack that will help control the clock. Bayfield should be victorious but their defense will be tested.
#2 Classical Academy got their season started in the right direction with a 43 to 6 win over 3A Sierra. Classical Academy was very good offensively racking up 431 yards of total offense. The passing attack didn’t have to do much but senior Cade Bethany went 5 of 8 for 71 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. The rushing attack for TCA was very impressive racking up 360 yards rushing and 4 TD’s. The rushing attack was led by senior Brayden Luft who ran for 115 yards on 5 carries. Defensively they forced 2 INT’s and held Sierra to just 6 points. Next up for Classical Academy is Sterling. Sterling is off to a good start winning both games to start the season and are a perfect 2-0. Sterling to open the season has relied heavily on their passing attack. Bodie Hume is averaging 229 passing yards per game and Sterling rushing attack is only averaging 112.5 rushing yards per game. Sterling beat D’Evelyn last week 42-28 so defensively they will need to make some adjustments. Classical Academy must be ready for a pass heavy offense and will be tested by a Sterling team who is looking to make a jump into the rankings. I am going with TCA over Sterling. I think TCA defense is going to be too much for Sterling to handle but will give Sterling a test of how far they have come.
#3 Kent Denver has been perfect on defense to start the season blanking both opponents early on but their biggest test so far of the year will be this week against #5 Faith Christian. Kent Denver blanked 3A Eagle Valley 41 to 0. Kent Denver was very balanced in the game throwing for 130 yards and rushing for 198 yards. Kent Denver’s QB Joey Licht was 9 of 15 for 130 yards 3 TD’s & 0 INT’s. Kent Denver rushing attack was led by Josh McDonald who ran for 61 yards. Defensively Kent Denver was very impressive forcing 8 sacks and 2 INT’s and also forcing 3 fumbles. Kent Denver will need a similar effort this week against their rival Faith Christian. Faith Christian opened the season in a very low scoring contest but grabbing the 9 to 0 victory over Resurrection Christian. Resurrection Christian has shown that they will be a defensive nightmare but offensively they are struggling scoring. Faith Christian struggled offensively in terms of rushing the ball. They only ran for 82 yards on 29 carries for 2.8 yards per carry. Their passing attack was better going 11 for 19 for 147 yards. Faith Christian returned their QB but must quickly figure out their offense against a very good Kent Denver team. Kent Denver will be the favorite in this game. They have proven offensively and defensively that they are going to be a nightmare for any team. Faith Christian proved that they can win a close low scoring game with their defense as well but must get their rushing attack going. Faith Christian will test Kent Denver’s secondary but with Kent Denver forcing 8 sacks last week Faith Christian will need to get their rushing attack going to take some heat of their QB. Kent Denver has a gauntlet of a schedule and it continues to get tougher and tougher but with a weak league they must play a tough schedule. I am going with Kent Denver to show its defensive strength and win 28 to 7.
#4 La Junta started their title defense in style blanking Gunnison 42 to 0. La Junta was spectacular on defense holding Gunnison to -13 yards rushing. Gunnison was forced to throw the ball a lot this game going 18 for 31 for 114 yards. La Junta showed that they are going to be tough again defensively. Offensively they were also a force rushing for 319 yards and passing for 70 yards. Their passing and rushing attack was led by QB Jon Nuschy who threw for 70 yards and ran for 109 yards and 3 total TD’s. La Junta will now face a much better team this week in #10 Alamosa. Alamosa is off to a hot start winning both games very decisively. Last week they beat Buena Vista 37-7. Alamosa offensively was very effecting throwing for 167 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Rushing the ball was the strong point rushing for 298 yards and 4 TD’s. Defense has been Alamosa strong point they forced 2 sacks, 1 INT, and 3 fumbles. They are going to have to been the strong point again this week against a very good rushing offense. La Junta and Alamosa are both led by their defenses and this game will not be different. This game will come down to which team controls the line of scrimmage. I believe this will be a very close game and will come down to the wire but I am going with La Junta in a close 21 to 14 game.
#6 Eaton got their season started in the right direction by blasting Lamar 54 to 6. They gave up the 6 point early in the 1st quarter but buckled down and held them scoreless the rest of the game. Offensively the second quarter was impressive putting 21 points up and essentially putting the game away. This week they are facing a Platte Valley team who impressed me a ton in week 1. Platte Valley who I thought could struggle this season due to their offensive and defensive line opened with a bang. Blasting 3A Lutheran 49 to 7. Lutheran is in rebuilding mode after losing a very impressive senior class but Platte Valley came to play and like I said in my way to Early Poll Platte Valley always puts good teams on the field and it looks to be that way again. With neither team posting stats for their respective games it close to get much more from the game. I know both teams return a ton of offensive talent and this game could turn into a higher scoring game. I think Eaton has too much offensive fire power and I have them winning a wild 42 to 28 game over Platte Valley.
#7 Basalt is back on the field this week after a bye in Week 1. In Zero week they were defeated by 3A Rifle 34 to 14. Rifle had their way offensively rushing for a whopping 419 yards and 3 TD’s. Basalt struggled offensively as well only getting 240 yards of total offense. This was the first start for QB Trevor Reuss and he went 10 of 20 for 128 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Basalt does not get an easy game to figure out what went wrong in zero week when they face off against #5 Grand Valley (1A). Grand Valley opened their season with a 49 to 14 drumming of Vail Christian. Grand Valley was very effective on offense racking up 357 yards of total offense and their offense is led by do it all QB Jeff Holbrook. Grand Valley will need a similar offensive effort this week. They are facing a Basalt team who gave up a ton of yards on the ground and if Grand Valley takes advantage of that they will blow past Basalt. Basalt had two weeks to figure out what happened in Zero week. This is a huge test for this team. Basalt will have their handful against a very good Grand Valley team. I am going with Grand Valley to use their offensive fire power effectively and beat Basalt 28 to 7.
#8 Salida is off to a hot start on the season with two victories. The opened the season with a zero week win over Summit 34 to 6. Last week they faced an improved Pagosa Springs team and held on to win 30 to 22. Salida now faces their bitter rival in Buena Vista and they must improve defensively. Buena Vista opened the season with a loss to Alamosa. Defensively Buena Vista struggled giving up 465 yards of total offense. They will need to improve this week to avoid opening the season 0-2. Salida has shown that they have improved and winning this game would be huge step for this program. Salida for the first time in a few years is the favorite to win this game. Salida on offense should power thru Buena Vista and I have Salida winning this game 35 to 14.
#9 Delta played in zero week to now ranked #10 Durango (3A). Delta played Durango to a 3-0 loss in OT. Delta defensively are going to be very tough and they showed that in the game. Delta offensively must improve. Delta on offense only produced 150 yards of total offense and that I am sure is a huge priority to improve for Delta. The nice thing for Delta is they get 2 full weeks to prepare for their next game and the preparation is critical for the rest of the season. This week they face off against Moffat County. Moffat County is 1-1 on the season. They opened in zero week by getting blasted by Rawlins WY 46 to 14. Last week they took care of business against Ridgeview Academy 25-8. Moffat County offensively has struggled as well. Moffat County will need their defense to step up again this week. Delta needs to be prepared for this game offensively. They have the defense to hold any team and they proved it in zero week against Durango. I am going with Delta to win this game big. I have Delta winning 35-0 over Moffat County.
Non Top Ten Key Games
Olathe (1A) at Gunnison Burlington (1A) at Lamar
Valley at Manitou Springs Fort Lupton at University
D’Evelyn at Green Mountain (3A) Florence at Rifle (3A)
Aspen at Cedaredge (1A) Weld Central at Skyview (3A)
MileHigh Prep Report 