Class 1A Football Weekly Preview-Week Four
We are three weeks into the regular season. We have seen some great games and plenty of movement inside the top 10 of the media poll. This week just 1 new team was added in Buena Vista who replaced Yuma. Not as many top games in Class 1A this week but the games mentioned below are big games in terms of playoffs and the start of league.
Rankings used are from Media Poll.
Class 1A
#2 Holyoke (3-0) vs Hershey NE (1-2), Thursday at 7pm
Holyoke returns home after back-to-back away games to face Hershey NE. Holyoke sits at 3-0 overall and are coming off a 43 to 7 win over Colby KS. Holyoke has been dominating on offense breaking the 30-point mark in all 3 games this season. Holyoke has not posted stats. Defensively Holyoke has also played well as well with just 14 total points given up in 3 games. These two teams faced each other last season with Holyoke winning 32 to 19.
#3 Wray (2-1) vs Ellicott (1-1), Friday at 7pm
Wray returns home after a tough loss on the road to Scott KS 54 to 22. Wray will be looking to bounce back after the tough loss but gained key experience. Wray had success on offense breaking the 200-yard mark. Casey Midcap threw for 161 yards and ran for 87 yards in the game. Look for RB Samuel Meisner to break out again this week. Defensively Wray will look to fix any mistakes they had against Scott KS. Wray was led in tackles by Samuel Meisner and Austin Collins. Ellicott enters the matchup at 1-1 overall and coming off a bye. Ellicott picked up their first win of the season on 9/1 defeated Clear Creek 30 to 22. Ellicott has not posted stats for the season. Ellicott will be looking to play their best game of the season against their toughest opponent so far.
#4 Banning Lewis (3-0) at 2A Bennett (0-2), Friday at 7pm
Banning Lewis had their first true test of the season last week and came away with the 14 to 0 win over Yuma. Defensively Banning Lewis answered the call and held the run heavy offense of Yuma to just 95 yards on 40 carries. Banning Lewis also forced a pair of turnovers and were led in tackles by Ben Early and Jordan Jones. Offensively Banning Lewis had to work hard for their yards but broke the 200-yard mark. RB Chase Riehle led the way for the offense with 131 yards rushing and 1 rushing TD. Banning Lewis will face another team with a similar style to Yuma this week. Bennett enters the matchup at 0-2 and coming off a bye week. Bennett last game was a 28 to 8 loss to Sterling two weeks ago. Bennett is hoping the bye week allowed them to fix any mistakes and get ready for the final stretch. The first key for Bennett will be on offense and taking care of the football. Bennett has been able to run effectively but turnovers have hurt. Defensively Bennett will look to improve against the run and will need to be effective this week. This should be another physical game.
#5 Gunnison (4-0) vs #10 Buena Vista (3-1), Friday at 7pm
In my opinion this is one of the biggest games of the weekend. #5 Gunnison opening league play at #10 Buena Vista. This is a huge game and look for to physical teams to battle it out. Gunnison enters the matchup with a 4-0 record and are coming off a 48 to 14 win over Monte Vista. This was a close game until the fourth quarter where Gunnison blew things open. Defensively Gunnison was able to limit the rushing attack of Monte Vista and force 4 turnovers in the game. Offensively Gunnison has not posted any stats, but they are led by RB Graden Buckhanan, WR/RB Hunter Vincent, and RB Royce Uhrig. Gunnison defensively will look to be aggressive again towards the run. Buena Vista enters the matchup at 3-1 overall and they are coming off a hard-fought win over Centauri 14 to 12. Buena Vista defensively played well limiting Centauri and making key plays on the two-point conversions. Buena Vista forced 4 turnovers in the game. Aman Wingo and Knox Reid led all tacklers for Buena Vista. Offensively Buena Vista was limited but did just enough to get the win. RB Eli Schuknecht led all rushers with 145 yards and 1 TD. Look for another physical game this week.
#6 Meeker (2-1) vs Grand County UT (1-4)
Meeker bounced back well last week defeating 2A Aspen 42 to 21. Meeker offensively had a big game breaking the 400-yard mark. The rushing attack led the way with 368 yards of rushing. RB Wyatt Powers, RB Cade Blunt, and RB Clay Crawford all ran for over 100 yards in the game with each getting at least 1 rushing TD. Defensively Meeker did give up over 300 yards of offense but forced 2 turnovers and 2 sacks in the game. Judd Harvey, Buzz Clatterbaugh, and Jake Blazon led all tacklers for Meeker. Meeker will face their second big school opponent this year. Grand County UT enters the matchup at 1-4. Their lone win is over a Colorado school in Ignacio. This will be a good test again for Meeker.
#9 Rye (1-1) at Center (0-3), Friday at 4pm
The final top 10 team to mention is Rye. Rye fell last week in a physical game with 2A Salida 39 to 22. Rye will be looking to bounce back on both sides of the ball. Offensively Rye was limited in the first half but had things going in the second half. Rye racked up 250 yards of total offense in the game. QB Nolan Schauer had 76 yards passing but 2 INTs. RB Dylan Hurne was the workhorse for Rye rushing for 157 yards and 2 rushing TDs. Defensively Rye will look to make adjustments after giving up points in all 4 quarters. Rye did force 2 turnovers in the game. Derick Bak and Josh George led all tacklers for Rye. Center enters the matchup at 0-3 on the season. Center fell to Peyton 26 to 14 but were able to get the offense going. Center has not posted any stats this season. Center will look to get their defense ready for the run attack of Rye and will need to play physical.
2A Platte Valley (1-2) at Wiggins (2-1), Saturday at 1pm
We move outside the top 10 for the next 3 games as they are big games for Class 1A. Wiggins will host 2A Platte Valley. Wiggins enters the matchup at 2-1 overall and are coming off a 55 to 8 win over Rocky Ford. Wiggins had a monster day offensively racking up over 500 yards of total offense. Wiggins rushing attack led the way with 489 yards of total rushing. Jayson Lousberg and Jorge Mendez both had over 120 yards of rushing plus a TD each. Defensively Wiggins flew around holding Rocky Ford to under 130 yards of total offense. Jacob Dorren led all tacklers for Wiggins. Platte Valley enters the matchup at 1-2 overall. Platte Valley lost last week to Eaton 48 to 12. Platte Valley did not post stats to the game. Platte Valley will be looking to bounce back on both sides of the ball.
Yuma (2-1) at 2A Brush (1-1), Friday at 7pm
Yuma will be looking to bounce back after a hard-fought loss to Banning Lewis last week. Yuma offensively will be looking to fix some of the mistakes they had last week. Yuma had just 95 yards rushing and will look to improve this week. Jonathan Thomson led the way for Yuma with 78 yards passing and 54 yards rushing. Defensively Yuma played well holding the explosive offense of Banning Lewis to just 14 points and under 300 yards of total offense. Trey Stegman, Adrian Carranza, and Reyli Trejo led the way for Yuma in tackles. Yuma will be looking to bounce back against another physical team. Brush enters the matchup at 1-1 and they are coming off a bye. Brush last played on 8/31 and defeated 3A Fort Morgan 20 to 17. Brush will be looking to be physical on defense this week and stop the run. Offensively Brush will look to get their rushing attack going and look for RB Ritchie Bruno to be a top performer. This should be a physical game this week.
North Fork (3-1) at 2A Montezuma-Cortez (1-2), Saturday 1pm
We wrap up are 1A preview with a great matchup. North Fork will hit the road to Cortez in a matchup of teams just outside the top 10. North Fork looks to wrap up non-league play this week with a bang and going into league with a 4-1 record. Last week North Fork cruised to a 42 to 16 win over Grand Valley. North Fork defensively was on point forcing 3 turnovers in the game along with 2 sacks. Daniel Owens and Ryder Hart were the leading tacklers for North Fork. Offensively North Fork had solid outings from QB Hayden Moreno and RB Hunter Moreno. Look for North Fork to play physical defense again this week. Montezuma-Cortez moved into the win column this week defeating Kirtland Central 54 to 40. This was a much needed to win to snap the two-game losing streak. Cortez will look to build off the momentum gained in the win and look for a key win on the season.
Other Games to Note:
Flatirons Academy (1-2) at 2A Denver West (2-0), Friday at 4pm
Estes Park (0-2) at Denver Christian (1-2), Friday at 7pm
2A Lamar (2-0) at Burlington (1-2), Friday at 7pm
MileHigh Prep Report 