Week 3 Class 2A Breakdown
Week three is completed and I feel pretty confident in our top 4 teams but after that everything I feel can still move around. The biggest win of the week was #7 Basalt blasting #9 Delta 35-7 in what I thought would be a much closer game. Also, #3 Classical Academy and #4 La Junta were both challenged last week but held off the upset but the teams they played did impress me. D’Evelyn and Elizabeth are both improved teams and will be tough to beat in the league schedule. Some important non-top 10 wins are Eaton over Brush 35-21, Valley over Academy 35-0, and Coal Ridge over Battle Mountain 31-14. Week 3 has some huge games and is the final week of the non-league schedule. The big key matchups are #1 Bayfield hosts #8 Durango, #5 Platte Valley hosting D’Evelyn, #10 Sterling traveling to Eaton, Moffat County at Resurrection Christian, and the Game of the Week is #2 Kent Denver hosting #4 La Junta.
#1 Bayfield hosts #8 Durango (3A) in Bayfield’s biggest challenge of the year. #8 Durango was upset last week by Farmington NM 34-7 and gave Durango their first loss of the season. It was their second game of the season where they didn’t score over 7 points. Durango has played a league opponent of Bayfield in Delta and lost 3-0 in OT. Durango will have a bye next week in preparation for the 3A league schedule. Offensively for what I can tell Durango is a very run oriented team and that will be the key for Bayfield to hold on to the win. #1 Bayfield had two weeks to prepare for the game. They are coming in at 3-0 with all three victories breaking the 39 point mark. They were challenged the most by Aztec NM who finally scored on the Bayfield defense. Bayfield made Aztec NM completely one sided but Aztec did put up 386 yards passing 1 TD but Bayfield did snag 2 INT’s and had 5 sacks. Bayfield offense has impressed me the most so far this year. Junior QB Hayden Farmer who has only started 3 games is off to an impressive start to his career. He has thrown for 538 yards, 9 TDs, and 4 INTs in 3 games. Bayfield rushing attack was led by Carl Heide who rushed 6 times for 120 yards and 2 TDs. Bayfield must be ready for a more run-oriented attack from Durango and must keep their offense clicking on all cylinders. Durango must play better defense than they did last week against Farmington. They cannot give up 35 points and expect to beat Bayfield. Bayfield is the favorite in this game and I believe will flex their muscles in this game and up off the 35-14 victory.
#2 Kent Denver hosts #4 La Junta in the 2A Game of the Week. #4 La Junta was challenged last week by Elizabeth but they were victories and won 21-13. Elizabeth made a statement that they could be a real threat in their league. La Junta defensively gave up their second straight 13 point game but was good enough in both games to win. La Junta gave up 189 yards rushing and only 12 yards passing. Offensively La Junta was led by their junior QB Jon Nuschy. He threw for 59 yards and rushed for 116 yards and 2 TDs. The biggest play of the game for La Junta was a special team’s play by Zach Archuleta. He took a punt return to the house and held off Elizabeth. #2 Kent Denver had a bye last week and had two weeks to prepare for this game. Two weeks ago Kent Denver was in an offensive shootout with Faith Christian and were victorious 52-33. Offensively Kent Denver was able to run the ball at will. Kent Denver ran for 338 yards and 6 TDs. Their passing attack was only somewhat used going 6 of 9 for 117 yards 1 TD & 1 INT. Kent Denver on defense held Faith Christian to just 88 yards rushing and 11 of 20 for 128 yards passing 4 TD & 2 INT. Kent Denver forced 3 turnovers but their offense also turned the ball over 2 times as well and must improve on special teams as they gave up a punt return for a TD. This is a monster game for both teams and will more than likely affect seeding for the playoffs. Kent Denver has a much better passing attack and I am guessing will need their passing attack this week to help win the game. La Junta defensively is very impressive and must slow down Kent Denver high-octane offense. I don’t think La Junta can go score for score with Kent Denver so La Junta must control the clock and play their best defensive game of the year. Kent Denver also must bring it defensively and have to stop the run. If Kent Denver cannot stop the run this will turn into a very interesting game. I have Kent Denver as the favorite in the game and have them winning 28-14. I don’t think La Junta offensively can keep up with Kent Denver and that is the deciding factor.
#3 Classical Academy hosts Pueblo Central and is looking for the perfect 4-0 start. Pueblo Central is off to a rough 0-3 start and had their closest game of the year last week against Pueblo Centennial. Things don’t get easier for Pueblo Central as they face a very well balanced Classical Academy team. Offensively last week Pueblo Central was able to establish a running game rushing for 181 yards and 1 TD. They only completed 1 pass for 34 yards so some balance in their offense is a must. Pueblo Central also cannot give up 2 fumbles which is what cost them the game. Defensively Pueblo Central held Pueblo Centennial to just 148 yards rushing and also forced 3 fumbles but couldn’t get the victory in overtime. #3 Classical Academy was challenged D’Evelyn and this game showed me D’Evelyn is still a very good team. Classical Academy did pull off the 24-21 victory but had to hold on late as D’Evelyn scored 14 points in the 4th quarter. Defensively TCA was good at stopping the run holding D’Evelyn to just 48 yards rushing but were torched through the air giving up 322 yards passing and 3 TDs. TCA did force 3 INTs and had 1 sack. TCA on offense was effective. They ran for 176 yards on 46 carries and 3 TDs and threw for 94 yards and 1 INT. I am still waiting for this TCA offense to click on all cylinders as their biggest weapon QB Cade Bethany has yet to regain last year’s form. TCA must be ready to stop the run on defense this week. If they stop the run they will dominate this game. Offensively they still are pretty balanced but their rushing attack must run for more than 3.8 yards per carry. TCA is the favorite in this game and I have them winning 35-14.
#5 Platte Valley hosts D’Evelyn and looking for some huge momentum heading into league. D’Evelyn once again is a facing ranked opponent but they loaded their non-league schedule because of how bad their league is with only 1 team over .500 right now. D’Evelyn lost to #3 Classical Academy last week 24-21 but showed me a lot in that game. D’Evelyn defensively is improved from last year holding TCA to 176 yards rushing and 94 yards passing and forced 2 turnovers. D’Evelyn must be ready defensively this week for a run-heavy offense and they need to gain control of the line of scrimmage. Offensively D’Evelyn has found their QB in senior Chad Dines who threw for 322 yards last week but he must improve on his turnovers. They cannot expect to upset Platte Valley if he throws 2 or more INTs. Also D’Evelyn must get some sort of rushing attack going if they can throw for 322 and run for a 150 they will be a very tough team offensively to slow down. They will have a chance once again to upset another Top 5 team. #5 Platte Valley played a tough physical game last week against Resurrection Christian and won 20-0. Resurrection Christian once again proved their defense is one of the best in the state. Platte Valley defensively played great posting the shutout and that proved to be the difference maker. Platte Valley will have to shift gears a bit and will be facing their first team this year with a very explosive passing attack. Two weeks ago when Platte Valley faced Eaton, Eaton offense was very effective both rushing and passing and Eaton threw for 200 yards. Platte Valley must be ready defensively for this explosive offense and counter with their own offense. Platte Valley has broken the 40 point mark twice and could possibly need that again this week. I have Platte Valley winning a shootout this week 35-28 and the difference will be Platte Valley rushing attack controlling more clock.
#6 Basalt hosts Battle Mountain (3A) coming off a monster win over Delta. Battle Mountain (3A) comes into this matchup at 2-1 and had their first loss of the year. That was Battle Mountain first winning team they have played this year and were beaten 31-14 by Coal Ridge (2A). Battle Mountain had a hard time stopping the run giving up 271 yards and 3 TDs to Coal Ridge. They had 0 turnovers and 0 sacks as well. Battle Mountain defensively this week is facing a more balanced offensive attack and must be ready. Battle Mountain offensively was very one-sided. They completed 1 pass for 2 yards and ran for 185 yards and 2 TDs. Battle Mountain must get some balance in their attack. Battle Mountain will need a much better effort defensively this week if they plan on pulling the upset. #6 Basalt once again proved me wrong and I think this team has taken the correct steps and are a legit threat in the playoffs. Defensively for two weeks straight have only given up 7 points or less and played stellar once again against Delta. Basalt beat Delta 35-7 in a game I thought Delta defense was good enough to keep the score more to 14-7 or 21-7. Basalt proved offensively that they are very tough. Offensively Basalt ran for 171 yards and 1 TD and threw for 29 yards and 3 TD and 0 INT. Offensively they were led by senior RB Noah Williams who ran for 86 yards and 1 TD. Basalt defensively was the most impressive. They held Delta to just 132 yards rushing and 89 yards passing. They did force a ton of turnovers and that was the deciding factor in this game. They forced 2 INTs one of which they took for a pick six and forced 2 fumbles. Basalt must come out and dominate right away again I think they are the very heavy favorite in this game and will flex their muscles and win 42-7.
#7 Faith Christian travels to Brush and will looking to avoid the upset. Brush is much improved from a year ago and they showed it last week nearly pulling off the victory against Eaton but fell short 35-21. Brush didn’t post offensive stats but broke 20 points for the second consecutive game. Defensively Brush had a hard time stopping anything. They gave up 135 yards passing and 191 yards rushing. Brush must improve their defense this week if they plan on pulling this upset. Their offense is starting to move in the right direction but their defense has been hit hard in both loses on the ground. #7 Faith Christian got back into the win column with an impressive 35-7 victory over Manitou Springs. Once again Faith Christian played great on offense. They threw for 64 yards 1 TD & 1 INT and ran for 158 yards and 2 TDs. Their offense was led by junior RB Jordan Abbott who ran for 99 yards. Defensively Faith Christian played good defense. They held Manitou Springs to just 40 yards rushing but gave up 187 yards passing. Faith Christian did force 2 sacks and 2 fumbles one of which they returned for a TD. Faith Christian has improved steadily this year and will be challenged by Brush’s rushing attack. Faith Christian must keep getting their offense to click as well and should have a good day against a struggling Brush defense. I have Faith Christian winning 42-14.
#10 Sterling travels to Eaton in their first ranked game of the year. Eaton is #11 in the rankings and got back into the win column last week 35-21 over Brush. Eaton has been very balanced in their offensive attack and their offense has not been much of the problem this year. Last week against Brush, Eaton’s offense was good senior QB Austin Coalson went 10 of 13 for 135 yards 2 TD and 0 INTs. Eaton’s rushing attack was good rushing for 191. Their rushing attack was led by senior RB Travis Cunningham who had 115 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Eaton defensively must improve. Their loss against Platte Valley they didn’t play good defense even though their offensive numbers were good their defense struggled and that caused them to lose. Last week against Brush they gave up 21 points and now this week they face a much better offense than Brush and this offense can throw the ball effectively. #10 Sterling had two weeks to prepare for this game and are coming off their worst offensive performance of the year. They faced #3 Classical Academy two weeks ago and lost 24-7. Defensively Sterling struggled stopping the run giving up 263 yards and 3 TDs. This must improve this week against Eaton because they cannot give up that sort of rushing yards and expect to beat Eaton. Offensively Sterling was pass heavy throwing for 240 yards, 1 TD & 2 INTs. Their rushing attack struggled to get going only rushing for 67 yards which also must improve. Sterling also had 3 turnovers but if their offense gets going like it did against D’Evelyn 3 weeks ago watch out. Sterling has a chance to put up good offensive numbers against Eaton but their defense must play better. If they can limit Eaton to less than 30 points Sterling should win. Eaton can pull the upset by forcing Sterling to be one-sided. Eaton must also play better defense but this game I have a feeling is going to turn into a shootout. Sterling is a very small favorite in this game and this game will come down to turnovers and which senior QB has the best game. I am going with Sterling to win by 3 with a score of 38-35.
Non Top Ten Key Games
Delta vs Palisade (3A) Olathe (1A) at Coal Ridge
Moffat County at Resurrection Christian Elizabeth at Florence
Englewood at Manitou Springs Holyoke (1A) at Machebeuf
Valley at Colorado Springs Christian (1A)
Full RPI Rankings are Here as well:
http://chsaanow.com/rpi/football/2a/
MileHigh Prep Report 