Class 2A League Predictions (Leagues Colorado, Front Range Mountain, Intermountain)

Class 2A League Predictions (Leagues Colorado, Front Range Mountain, Intermountain)

I have decided to only do 3 or 4 leagues at a time instead of the full 7 leagues.  I will be giving my league predictions.  This is just my opinion and I love doing predictions. This is all in fun I do not wish bad on any teams.  Good Luck to all teams this season.

Colorado League

1. Elizabeth

2. Englewood

3. Classical Academy

4. Kent Denver

5. Denver West

6. Alameda

We have names in the CHSAA Bulletin this year for the leagues and we kick things off with the Colorado League.  The Colorado League featured two State Playoff teams last season in Elizabeth and Classical Academy.  This is year 2 of 2 for the league cycle so no changes to the teams in the league.  My Colorado League Preseason Pick to win it all is Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is coming off a 8-2 season and a trip to the playoffs.  Elizabeth will return their top 3 rushers in Cooper Connelley, Ethan Stone, and Cash Randle from a season ago plus 4 starters on the offensive line.  Elizabeth will be searching for a new QB.  Defensively Elizabeth returns 9 of their top 13 tacklers and this unit should improve this year.  My pick to finish second and be a playoff contender is Englewood.  Englewood is coming off a successful 6-3 season a year ago but did not make the playoffs.  Englewood returns their QB in Carson Campbell who had a successful sophomore season.  Englewood also returns 4 starters on the offensive line but, will have some holes to fill mainly at RB where they lose their top two RBs from a season ago.  Defensively Englewood will have some holes to fill returning just 7 of their top 13 tacklers from a season ago.  Classical Academy is my pick to finish 3^rd and also a playoff contender.  TCA is coming off a 10-2 season and a trip to the semifinals.  TCA will have some reloading to do this year losing most of a dominate offensive line plus their top two RBs from a year ago.  TCA will return key leadership on offense with QB Andrew Brown coming back.  Defensively TCA will also be looking for new leaders returning just 4 of their top 13 tacklers from last season.  I still think TCA will be a tough team but new leadership must emerge.  Kent Denver is my pick to finish 4^th and are my dark horse pick to be a playoff contender.  Kent Denver is coming off a 3-6 season and missed the playoffs.  Kent Denver at times struggled against top teams but towards the end of the year were in tight games against Elizabeth (31-14) and Englewood (14-6).  Kent Denver did not post stats from last season but look for them to be a team to watch this season.  Denver West is my pick to finish in 5^th.  Denver West went 2-7 last season and did not make the playoffs.  Denver West started the season hot winning 2 of their first 3 games but ended the year losing 6 straight games.  Denver West was still a competitive team losing close games to Kent Denver and Englewood.  Denver West will look for a QB to emerge this year and for RB Ahmed Hussein to break out.  Denver West defensively returns 9 of their top 13 tacklers so this is another team who could push for the playoffs if they put in the necessary work this offseason.  The final team to mention is Alameda.  Alameda went 0-8 last season and forfeited their final two games.  I don’t see Alameda making a huge jump in the league standings this season and we will see if Alameda can build this program and finish the entire season without forfeits. 

My predictions for the Colorado League

League Champion: Elizabeth

Playoff Contenders: Elizabeth, Englewood, Classical Academy, Kent Denver

Dark Horse: Kent Denver (How much have they improved)

Player of the League: RB/LB Cooper Connelley Sr. Elizabeth

Others to watch for: Ethan Stone Sr. Elizabeth, Cash Randle Sr. Elizabeth, Wes Noe Jr. Elizabeth, Jayce Prante Sr. Englewood, Carson Campbell Jr. Englewood, Romeo Gonzalez Jr. Englewood, Jace Brown Jr. Classical Academy, Campbell Gaw Sr. Classical Academy, Ahmed Hussein Sr. Denver West, Donevin Garcia Sr. Denver West, Khalil Chase Sr. Denver West

Front Range Mountain

1. Eaton

2. Berthoud

3. Forge Christian

4. Steamboat Springs

5. The Academy

6. Fort Lupton

The Front Range Mountain League had a great season a year ago.  They qualified 3 into the State Playoffs and the 3X Defending State Champion resides in this league.  We will see if this league can duplicate the success, they had last season.  My preseason pick to win the Front Range Mountain League is Eaton.  Eaton is your 3X defending State Champions and they will look to duplicate the success they have had for the past 3 years.  Eaton will have plenty of holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball losing their QB, top WR, and top RB from a year ago.  Eaton does return their #2 rusher in DeAngelo Rosas and at least 3 starters on the offensive line.  The offensive line will be the anchor to Eaton’s offense early in the season.  Defensively Eaton returns 5 of their top 13 tacklers but have key leadership back with 4 of their top 7 tacklers returning.  Berthoud is my pick to finish second in league.  Berthoud had a successful season going 6-4 and reaching the playoffs.  Berthoud will look to build off last seasons success and reach the playoffs again plus make a deeper run.  Berthoud offensively returns QB Skyler Streicher and RB Alex Larson.  The offensive line for Berthoud also returns at least 3 starters.  Defensively Berthoud will also look to become a top 10 unit returning 9 of their top 13 tacklers.  My pick to finish in 3^rd place is Forge Christian (Formerly Faith Christian).  Forge Christian had a rough season a year ago going 2-7 but, it was a rebuilding season after losing back-to-back good senior classes.  Forge Christian should improve this year but do have a few holes to fill with their QB graduating.  Forge Christian does return their top two RBs in Dante Vigil and Carson Craig plus their top WR in Sullivan Strange.  Defensively Forge Christian returns 9 of their top 13 tacklers including key leadership with 5 of their top 7 coming back.  My pick to finish in 4^th place is Steamboat Springs.  Steamboat Springs went 4-5 last season but did not make the playoffs.  Steamboat Springs in year #2 in Class 2A will look to reach the playoffs.  Steamboat Springs returns QB Jesse Hamric who threw for over 1200 yards last season. He will though be looking for new targets at WR and a new top RB.  Defensively Steamboat Springs returns 6 of their top 13 tacklers but lost key leadership.  The Academy and Fort Lupton I have in 5^th and 6^th place in their league.  The Academy made the playoffs last season and went 7-3.  They lost a very good senior class including most of their offensive yardage.  New playmakers will be looked upon this year on the offensive side of the ball.  Defensively The Academy also returns just 4 of their top 13 tacklers but key leadership returns in Andres Mendoza who will be tasked with become the leader of a very inexperienced defense.  Fort Lupton missed the playoffs last season but went 5-4.  Fort Lupton will also lose a lot of key pieces from last seasons team.  The key returner offensively for Fort Lupton is Dimitri Alarcon who was the top RB for Fort Lupton.  They will be searching for a lot of new skill players to step up.  Defensively Fort Lupton returns their top two tacklers from a season ago but lose a lot of depth from their defense. 

My predictions for Front Range Mountain

League Champion: Eaton

Playoff Contenders: Eaton, Berthoud, Forge Christian

Dark Horse: Forge Christian (Can they challenge the top two teams and make the playoffs)

Player of the League: Alex Larson Sr. Berthoud

Others to watch for: DeAngelo Rosas Sr. Eaton, Gunnar Clary Jr. Eaton, Zack Maske Sr. Eaton, Skyler Streicher Jr. Berthoud, Ben Larson Sr. Berthoud, Aiden McGrath Sr. Berthoud, Joey Finnegan Sr. Berthoud, Dante Vigil Jr. Forge Christian, Sullivan Strange Jr. Forge Christian, Will Reed Sr. Forge Christian, Ryan Schott Sr. Steamboat Springs, Jesse Hamric Sr. Steamboat Springs, Brady Grove Sr. Steamboat Springs, Andres Mendoza Jr. The Academy, Dimitri Alarcon Sr. Fort Lupton, Kaidyn Taylor Sr. Fort Lupton, Royce Guerrero Jr. Fort Lupton

Intermountain League

1. Delta

2. Montezuma-Cortez

3. Salida

4. Pagosa Springs

5. Bayfield

The Intermountain League is the only League in Class 2A that has 5 teams.  The IML had two teams make the playoffs a season ago and both reached the Semifinals with Delta reaching the State Championship but falling.  My preseason pick to win the IML is Delta.  Delta reached the State Championship but came up just short against Eaton.  Delta will have one goal and that is to win the whole thing this season.  Delta will return key leadership with QB Ty Reed coming back and depth at QB as well.  RB is also a strength this year with Esai Carrillo who is coming off a 1000-yard campaign.  The offensive line for Delta will also be talented with at least 3 starters coming back but key holes must be filled.  Defensively Delta could be a top 5 unit again returning 7 of their top 13 tacklers coming back.  My pick to finish in second in the IML is Montezuma-Cortez.  Cortez had a surprising run last season going 8-4 and reaching the Semifinals as a double-digit seed.  The big question mark is can Cortez capture that lighting in a bottle and follow it up this season.  Montezuma-Cortez had the biggest surprise run last season reaching the Semifinals as the #11 seed.  Montezuma-Cortez will return key pieces at RB with Tay Wheat coming back.  The offensive line for Cortez will also be tough this year with at least 4 starters back on the offensive line.  Montezuma-Cortez does have a hole at QB.  Defensively Montezuma-Cortez had a top 10 unit a season ago and will look to stay in the top 10.  Cortez returns 9 of their top 13 tacklers including 4 of their top 7.  My picks for 3^rd and 4^th place in the IML are very close and both have holes to fill.  I am giving Salida the slight edge on Pagosa Springs to start the year.  Salida went 4-5 last season but had a big turnaround and will look to use the momentum gained last year for this season.  Salida will be searching for a new QB but look for Ashton Walker to possibly fill that hole.  Both the top RB’s also return for Salida in Christopher Graf and Wyatt Farney.  The offensive line for Salida also returns at least 3 starters and will be crucial for the growth of Salida.  Defensively Salida returns 8 of their top 13 tacklers but lose key leadership losing 3 of their top 4 tacklers.  Pagosa Springs is my pick to finish in 4^th but barely behind Salida.  Pagosa Springs went 4-5 last season and will look to reach the playoffs this year.  Pagosa Springs will lose their QB and top rusher from last season but return RB’s Gavin Lindahl and Colton Lucero.  The offensive line for Pagosa Springs could also be a strength this year returning 3 of their 5 starters.  Defensively Pagosa Springs will look to improve on the #23 ranked defense and return 8 of their top 13 tacklers and should improve especially with key leadership back.  Bayfield is the final team to mention in the IML.  Bayfield went 0-9 last season under first year head coach Glenn Wallace.  Bayfield will look to improve this season and build under year two for coach Wallace.  Bayfield will be searching for a new QB but whoever gets that spot will have some weapons with RB Donovan Candelaria and WR Lincoln Williams coming back.  The offensive line for Bayfield should also see improvement with at least 3 starters coming back.  Defensively Bayfield should improve as they return 8 of their top 13 tacklers.  We will see how much this Bayfield team improves this season.

My predictions for The Intermountain League

League Champion: Delta

Playoff Contenders: Delta, Montezuma-Cortez, Salida, Pagosa Springs

Dark Horse: Salida (Can they push the top two teams in the league)

Player of the League: QB Ty Reed Jr. Delta

Others to watch for: Esai Carrillo Sr. Delta, Rylan Bynum Sr. Delta, Talan Hulet Sr. Delta, Tucker Johnson Sr. Delta, Tay Wheat Jr. Montezuma-Cortez, Miles Frost Sr. Montezuma-Cortez, Dean York Sr. Montezuma-Cortez, Christopher Graf Sr. Salida, Wyatt Farney Jr. Salida, Brody Hudson Jr. Salida, Gavin Lindahl Sr. Pagosa Springs, Colton Lucero So. Pagosa Springs, Conner Kelley Sr. Pagosa Springs, Harley Armijo Sr. Pagosa Springs, Lincoln Williams Jr. Bayfield, Keaton Pickering Sr. Bayfield,