MileHigh Prep Report Class 1A Football Top 8 Game Preview
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 Cedaredge who replaced Rye. Not as many top games in Class 1A this week but the games mentioned below are big games in terms of playoffs and momentum.
Rankings used are from Media Poll.
Class 1A
#1 Limon (3-0) vs #5 Buena Vista (4-1), Saturday at 2pm
We kick things off in Class 1A with a bang. #1 Limon hosts #5 Buena Vista in a clash of top 5 teams. Limon comes into the matchup at 3-0 on have faced 3 ranked teams so far. Limon had a bye last week. Limon last game was on 9/8 where they defeated Strasburg 49 to 21. Limon was efficient on offense racking up 350 yards of total offense. QB Jordan Rockwell had a solid day passing for 86 yards and 2 TDs. The rushing attack churned up 264 yards and was led by RB Lohgan Bottjer who ran for 100 yards and 2 rushing TDs. Defensively Limon gave up over 200 yards of offense but forced 2 turnovers and 3 sacks in the game. Treyton Marx continued to dominate on the defensive side of the ball with 11 tackles, 3 TFL, and 1 fumble recovery. Limon will now face their 4th straight ranked opponent. Buena Vista enters the matchup at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. Buena Vista has played a very tough schedule this year, facing 2 ranked 1A opponents, and 1 ranked 2A opponent. Buena Vista calling card has been defense posting a pair of shutouts along with holding two teams under 14 points. Buena Vista last game was a 17 to 6 win over Gunnison where once again the defense for Buena Vista was the difference. Buena Vista defensively forced 5 turnovers and were led on defense by Knox Reid who had 8 tackles. Offensively Buena Vista did just enough to get the win over Gunnison with 245 yards of total offense. The rushing attack led the way with 173 yards and RB Eli Schuknect and Tray Cardwell led the way for Buena Vista. Buena Vista will face their 3 ranked 1A team and they will look for the huge upset.
#10 Cedaredge (3-0) at North Fork (4-1), Friday at 7pm
Another fantastic matchup in Class 1A features #10 Cedaredge vs North Fork who is right on the verge of being ranked. Cedaredge comes into the matchup at 3-0 overall but have not played the toughest schedule with wins over Peyton, Grand Valley, and Del Norte. Cedaredge did have a bye week to prepare for the matchup and their last game was on 9/8 against Del Norte where they won 41 to 0. Cedaredge defensively pitched the shutout along with forcing 2 turnovers in the game. Ethan Hice led all tacklers for Cedaredge. Offensively Cedaredge had 258 yards of total offense and was led by the rushing attack. RB Logan Tullis and Kolter Mann led the way for the Bruin rushing attack. Cedaredge will be facing their toughest opponent this week and it also is the league opener for Cedaredge. North Fork comes into the matchup at 4-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. North Fork picked up a nice win last week over 2A Montezuma-Cortez 45 to 14. North Fork offensively has put up points breaking the 35-point barrier in all 5 games so far. Last week against Montezuma-Cortez North Fork ran wild rushing for 405 yards. RB Hayden Moreno (195 yards) and RB Daniel Owens (151 yards) led the way for North Fork. Defensively North Fork was all over the passing attack of Cortez forcing 2 INTs and 5 sacks in the game. Danniel Owens and Henry Hollembeak had big games defensively for North Fork. North Fork will be looking to move to 1-1 in league and grab the upset.
#8 Strasburg (1-2) vs 2A Bennett (0-3), Friday at 7pm
Two playoff teams and rivals square up in this matchup. Bennett makes the 10-minute drive easy to face their rival Strasburg. Strasburg comes into the matchup at 1-2 overall. Strasburg has played a very tough schedule facing 3 ranked opponents to start the year. Strasburg will be looking to get to .500 on the season. Strasburg had a bye last week and their last game was on 9/8 against Limon where they fell 49 to 21. Strasburg offensively did find some success against Limon racking up 258 yards of total offense. Turnovers proved to be the difference with Strasburg losing the turnover battle 2-0. Strasburg leaned on their QB Landen Martin to lead the offense and he did find some success passing for 128 yards and 1 TD. The rushing attack was limited to 84 yards on 27 carries. Defensively Strasburg will look to fix the mistakes against the rushing attack as they will face another run heavy team this week. Strasburg was led in tackles by DJ Cannon. Bennett is off to a 0-3 start this season. Last week they were defeated by Banning Lewis 54 to 14. Bennett defensively struggled to stop the run giving up 358 yards rushing and over 450 yards of total offense. Bennett will look to make adjustments on stopping the run this week. Offensively Bennett was able to run for 176 yards as a team but just 4.1 yards per carry. QB Brody Hawes ran for 49 yards and RB Austin Stiers ran for 51 yards. Bennett will look to break the 3 game losing streak and make strides on defense this week.
Peyton (2-1) at Monte Vista (1-2), Friday at 6pm
A pair of playoff hopefuls square off in a key game. Peyton makes the trip west to face Monte Vista in a key game for two teams hoping to make the playoffs. This is a big game for the CHSAA Seeding Index. Peyton comes into the matchup at 2-1 overall and winners of two straight. Peyton last week blasted Trinidad 49 to 6. Peyton dominated on offense with 500 yards of total offense. QB Noah Martin had a big day with 208 yards passing and 112 yards rushing and 5 total TDs. Defensively Peyton did give up over 200 yards of offense but forced 4 turnovers in the game. Hunter Trim, Josiah Zimmerman, and Chase Evans all had over 10 tackles in the game. Peyton will look to stay focused and play tough defense. Monte Vista comes into the matchup at 1-2 overall and are coming off a bye week. Monte Vista is hoping to refocus on playing defense and get the offense going again. Monte Vista last game was on 9/8 against Gunnison where they lost 48 to 14. Monte Vista was in the game trailing 24 to 8 but a rough 4th quarter was the difference. Monte Vista defensively struggled against the run giving up 352 yards. Jack Noon and Azariah Hurtado led all tacklers. Offensively Monte Vista had some success racking up 174 yards of total offense. QB Kaden Madrid led the offense with 54 yards passing and 23 yards rushing. RB Kevin Cisneros led all rushers with 52 yards. Monte Vista will hope the bye week helped fix the problems and they will look to dominate on defense this week.
Centauri (1-2) at 2A Bayfield (0-3), Friday at 7pm
A critical game for both teams before they dive into league play as Centauri makes the trip over Wolf Creek pass to face Bayfield. Centauri comes into the matchup at 1-2 overall and are coming off a bye week. Centauri has played a tough schedule with games against Pagosa Springs, Florence, and Buena Vista. Offensively Centauri looks to reset with the bye week and fix any problems they have had. Centauri last game was a tough 14 to 12 loss to Buena Vista. Offensively Centauri has not put stats in for the Buena Vista game. Looking at past games QB Sean Jarvies is leading the passing attack with 195 yards and RB Kaysen Johnson has the most carries at 34 and 210 yards on the ground. Offensively look for Centauri to possibly have the breakout game they have been looking for. Defensively Centauri has been tough. Against Buena Vista Centauri limited the offensive attack and held Buena Vista to just 195 yards of total offense. Deven Brady, Troy Huffaker, and Josh Polkowske are leading the way for Centauri. Centauri will be looking for momentum heading into league play. Bayfield comes into the matchup at 0-3 overall and coming off a bye week. Bayfield has competed well the past two teams falling in 1 score games to Aztec and Moffat County. Bayfield last game was against Moffat County where they fell 42 to 34. Bayfield found success last week with 350 yards of total offense. QB Cody Ross led the way with 138 yards passing and 2 TDs. The rushing attack also pitched in with 116 yards and were led by Donovan Candelaria with 72 yards. Defensively Bayfield will look to improve. Bayfield gave up over 575 yards of total offense. Bayfield must improve on that side of the ball. Bayfield will look to try and grab a huge win against Centauri.
#9 Gunnison (4-1) at 2A Coal Ridge (0-3), Friday at 7pm
We jump back into the top 10 as Gunnison hits the road to face 2A Coal Ridge. Gunnison enters the matchup at 4-1 overall and they saw their 4-game winning streak snapped by Buena Vista in a tough 17 to 6 loss. Offensively Gunnison was limited to 148 yards of total offense. The rushing attack of Gunnison was held to 140 yards on 28 carries. RB Graden Buckhanan led all rushers with 84 yards. Defensively Gunnison played tough against Buena Vista limiting them to 250 yards of total offense and staying in the game. Gunnison will look for their offense to break out again this week against a 2A opponent. Coal Ridge enters the matchup at 0-3 overall and they fell to Salida last week 33 to 6. Coal Ridge will hope to fix the defensive mistakes of last week and must be prepared to stop the run this week. Grayson Isenhart led the defense with 17 tackles. Offensively Coal Ridge did find some success breaking the 200-yard mark but turnovers hurt them in this game with 4. QB Regan Powell had 115 yards passing and 46 yards rushing in the game. Coal Ridge will look for a huge upset and must play physical defense this week.
Manual (1-2) at 2A Grand Valley (1-2), Saturday at 1pm
We move outside the top 10 for the are next game as Manual makes the trip west to face 2A Grand Valley. Manual comes into the matchup at 1-2 overall and are coming off back-to-back losses to 2A teams in La Junta and Denver West. Manual will hope to stop the slide but face their third straight 2A opponent. Last week Manual faced La Junta and fell 52 to 6. Manual will hope to fix the offensive mistakes this week. Look for QB Cartail Dickey to have a bounce back game after being limited to just 97 yards of total offense. Defensively Manual will also look to bounce back. Manual will hope to gain key momentum heading into league play. Grand Valley comes into the matchup at 1-2 overall. Grand Valley is on a two game slide currently and come off back to back big losses. Grand Valley had a bye last week to fix mistakes from the previous two losses. Grand Valley offensively will look to take care of the ball and look for QB Andrew Horner to step up again this week. Defensively Grand Valley must be able to stop the run and look for their defense to focus on the QB. This is a big game for both teams for momentum.
#7 C.S Christian (3-0) vs 2A Woodland Park (0-3), Saturday at 3pm
The final game to mention and it should be a good one. C.S Christian hosts Woodland Park. Don’t let the record of Woodland Park deceive you they play very good defense and this could be a close matchup. C.S Christian comes into the matchup at 3-0 overall and coming off a bye. C.S Christian so far this year has been balanced in their offensive attack with QB Jace Velasquez throwing for 633 yards and 6 TDs. The rushing attack has 851 yards total with RB Will Moore leading the way with 437 yards and 6 TDs. The offensive unit for C.S Christian will be tested by a very good defensive Woodland Park team. Defensively C.S Christian has played tough and will look to continue to play physical. C.S Christian has been led in tackles by Eddie Harmon (39 tackles) and Cody Glojek (37 tackles). Woodland Park comes into the matchup at 0-3 overall. Woodland Park fell to 0-3 last week falling to Florence 26 to 2. Woodland Park has been powered by their defense. Woodland Park has played tough against Summit, Salida, and Florence with their defense keeping them in games. Parker Shreeve (24 tackles) and Aiden Hood (19 tackles) are leading the way for Woodland Park. Offensively Woodland Park has struggled to start the year. Woodland Park has yet to score an offensive point and will be looking to great that skid. QB Marqus Schoenberger so far has led the way offensively with 171 yards of total offense. Woodland Park will need a good defensive effort again this week and we will see if their offense can get going.
Other Games to Note:
Pinnacle (0-3) at Platte Canyon (3-0), Friday at 4pm
Trinidad (0-3) at Rye (2-1), Friday at 7pm
Rocky Ford (0-4) at #4 Banning Lewis (4-0), Friday at 7pm
2A Montezuma-Cortez (1-3) at Ignacio (1-2), Friday at 7pm
Ellicott (1-2) at Estes Park (1-2), Saturday at 12pm
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