Class 1A Football First Round Preview
By Anthony Garcia
The regular season is complete, and the 16-team bracket has been laid out. The first games kick off tomorrow night in Buena Vista & Holyoke with the rest of the field taking the field on Saturday. The main question is can anyone dethrone the defending state champions in Limon. 15 teams will take their shot to beat the top dog.
#1 Limon vs #16 Cedaredge, Saturday at 1pm
Limon comes into the matchup as the North Central League Champions with a perfect 5-0 record in league. Limon also sports a perfect 9-0 record on the season and have not lost a game since the State Championship defeat in 2021. Limon offensively has been outstanding. Limon has been held to under 28 points just once this season and they are averaging 40 ppg. Offensively Limon wants to run the ball first racking up 2598 rushing yards on the season or 288.7 yards per game. Lohgan Bottjer leads all rushers with 1034 yards and 21 rushing TDs. Keon Bandy is second in rushing with 636 yards and 8 rushing TDs. QB Jordan Rockwell is also key to the Limon offense with 911 yards passing, 387 yards rushing, and 13 Total TDs. Limon defensively has been stout giving up 13 ppg and when the varsity has been in, they have been top notch. Treyton Marx and Keon Bandy lead the Limon defense in tackles.
Cedaredge comes into the matchup with a 3-4 record and a fifth-place finish in the Western Slope League. Cedaredge started the year on fire winning three straight games before losing their final four games. Cedaredge will look to snap the skid and that help could come if their defense takes a big step forward this week. Cedaredge will look for Wylee Lorimor and Ethan Toothaker to step up and be leaders. Offensively Cedaredge has broken the 20-point mark in 5 of their 7 games. Cedaredge will look for their SR QB Luke Maxey to have an outstanding game. Maxey this season has 858 yards passing and 5 passing TDs. The rushing attack must also get going and look for Logan Tullis to be a factor. Tullis this season has 466 yards rushing and 2 rushing TDs.
#8 Banning Lewis vs #9 Wiggins, Saturday at 1pm
Banning Lewis comes into the state playoffs with a perfect 9-0 record and winners of the Tri-Peaks League. Banning Lewis is in their fourth year as a program and have made the playoffs for the first time plus get to host a first-round home game. Banning Lewis calling card this season has been defense. Banning Lewis has given up just 46 points this season or 5.1 points per game. Banning Lewis has 4 shutouts and 7 games where they have given up 10 or less points including key wins over Yuma, C.S Christian, and Rye. Riley Dotson and Ben Early lead the Stallions on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively Banning Lewis is averaging 40 points per game and has been held to under 30 points just twice this season. Banning Lewis is powered by the rushing attack which has racked up 2364 yards this season or 262.7 yards per game. RB Chase Riehle powers the rushing attack with 1116 yards rushing and 14 TDs. RB Joseph Bjegovich is another key contributor to the rushing attack with 712 yards rushing and 13 TDs. QB Sam Bell has also been efficient this season throwing for 769 yards, 65.9% completion, 16 TDs, and just 1 INT.
Wiggins comes into the playoffs with a 5-4 record and a 4th place finish in the daunted North Central League. Wiggins ended the regular season on a 2-game losing streak but were competitive in both games against Wray (35-21) and Limon (42-21). Defensively Wiggins will look to make key adjustments as they head into the first round. Wiggins defensively is led by Grant Reed and Americo Lorenzini both have over 50 tackles on the season for Wiggins. Offensively Wiggins is averaging 27 point per game and has only been held under 20 points just once this season. Wiggins is a run first team averaging 319.7 yards per game or 2877 yards on the season. RB Jayson Lousberg leads all rushers for the Tigers with 1321 yards and 18 rushing TDs. RB Tyler Dilka and RB Jorge Mendez also have over 400 yards apiece to help be secondary options for Wiggins. QB Marcus Steinbar, when asked to throw has been careful with the ball throwing for 261 yards, 4 TDs, and just 1 INT.
#4 Meeker vs #13 Highland, Saturday at 1pm
Meeker comes into the matchup at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the western slope league. Meeker ended in a three-way tie for the League Crown with Buena Vista and Gunnison. Meeker on the season lost to just Limon, Gunnison, and Teton ID. Offensively Meeker is averaging 24 ppg and that is with playing one of the tougher schedules in Class 1A. Meeker offensively is led by their rushing attack which has racked up 1435 yards on the season. RB Clay Crawford leads all rushers with 672 yards rushing and 10 rushing TDS. RB Wyatt Powers has also helped power the offense with another 336 yards rushing. QB Ryan Sullivan has also been key to the Cowboy offense with 726 yards passing and 8 passing TDs. Defensively Meeker has also been solid. Meeker ended the year giving up over 30 points in both games but played the #3 Seed in Gunnison and the #3 3A Seed in Idaho. Buzz Clatterbaugh and Judd Harvey have been the leaders for Meeker on defense. Look for Meeker to establish their dominance on defense this week.
Highland enters the playoffs as the Longs Peak League Champions. Highland went 5-0 in league play and ended the season with a 5-4 record. Highland started the season 0-4 but have strung off 5 wins breaking the 30-point mark in all 5 games. Highland has been balanced in their offensive attack. QB John Bingley leads the passing attack with 748 yards and 11 passing TDs. The rushing attack racked up 1024 yards with RB Issac Desantiago leading the way for the Huskies. Defensively Highland has made big improvements this season. After giving up over 21 points in their first 4 games they only gave up 26 in their final 5 games. Ira Sittner, Brogan Palmer, and Tanner Fabrizius lead the Huskies on Defense.
#5 Buena Vista vs #12 C.S Christian, Friday at 6pm
Buena Vista enters the playoffs with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-1 record in the Western Slope League. Buena Vista was part of the three-way tie for first place with Gunnison and Meeker. Buena Vista calling card this season has been physical defense. Buena Vista is giving up 15 ppg and that includes hard fought wins over Centauri, Gunnison, and North Fork. Defensively Buena Vista is led by Aman Wingo and Elijah Flowers both have over 80 tackles on the season. Offensively Buena Vista is averaging 20 points per game and are powered by their rushing attack. Buena Vista has rushed for 1641 yards on the season. RB Eli Schuknecht leads all rushers with 840 yards and 8 rushing TDs. RBs Tray Cardwell and WR/RB Caleb Camp have also pitched in over 300 yards apiece. QB Hudson Wingo has also been key for the Buena Vista offense with 447 yards passing but he will look to limit turnovers in the postseason. BV played just two games in the month of October so should be well rested entering postseason play.
Colorado Springs Christian comes into postseason play with a 7-2 record and a 4-1 record and second place finish in the Tri-Peaks League. C.S Christian offensively has been a scoring machine breaking the 30-point mark in 7 of their 9 games. C.S Christian did not break the scoring mark in losses to Woodland Park (QB was injured) and Banning Lewis. C.S Christian has been balanced in their offensive attack. The passing game racked up 1562 yards with the rushing attack racking up 1704 yards. QB Jace Velasquez leads the passing attack with 1209 yards and 11 passing TDs. RB Will Moore has led all rushers with 1053 yards and 19 rushing TDs. Defensively C.S Christian is giving up 21 points per game and a large chuck of that has happened in the past 3 weeks. C.S Christian will look to fix the defensive mistakes this week and also stop the run. Eddie Harmon, Cody Glojek, and Nick Larson will be key to C.S Christian defense this week.
#2 Holyoke vs #15 Platte Canyon, Friday at 7pm (We will be at this game taking pictures)
Holyoke enters the playoffs with a 8-1 record and a 4-1 league record. Holyoke finished second in the North Central league where they suffered their only loss to Limon in a great game. Holyoke has made huge strides this season defensively. Holyoke has given up just 9 point per game and has only given up over 20 points once and that was to Limon. Holyoke defense is led by Wyatt Sprague and Cody Malone both have over 75 tackles on the season. Offensively has broken the 20-point mark in every game and the 30-point mark in 8 of their 9 games. Holyoke offensively is led by their QB Wyatt Sprague. Wyatt Sprague is having a great season with 1757 yards passing and 22 passing TDs. RB Tyson Mosenteen adds good balance to the offensive attack and WRs Reid Sprague and Bryson Dirks are great weapons in the passing attack.
Platte Canyon comes into the matchup with an 8-1 record and a second-place finish in the Frontier League. Platte Canyon was undefeated on the season but fell in their final game to Strasburg 47 to 8. Platte Canyon does lack a quality win on their schedule, but they took care of their schedule and got into the playoffs. Offensively Platte Canyon has just 1 game under 30 points and are averaging 39 points per game. QB Kamron Skouge leads the passing attack with 900 yards passing and 8 passing TDs. Skouge also adds another 508 yards on the ground. RB Sam Patterson leads the rushing attack with 1024 yards and 15 rushing TDs. Defensively Platte Canyon is giving up just 12 point per game. Platte Canyon has given up over 20 points just twice on the season to Jefferson and Strasburg. Kamron Skouge and Ian Twaddell lead the defense for Platte Canyon.
#7 Wray vs #10 Centauri, Saturday at 1pm (We will be at this game, doing radio and pictures)
Wray comes into the matchup with a 6-3 record and a 3rd place finish in the North Central League. Wray ended the year on a 3-game winning streak with wins over playoff teams in Yuma and Wiggins. Wray defensively is giving up 20 points per game but played a difficult schedule including losses to the #1 and #2 seeds in Class 1A. Wray defense is led by Samuel Meisner, Casey Midcap, and Austin Hendrix. Offensively Wray is averaging 34 points per game and have broken the 20-point mark in 7 of their 9 games this season. Wray is a run first team but have been effective throwing the football. QB Casey Midcap leads the passing attack with 889 yards and 4 passing TDs. Midcap also has 532 yards rushing and 9 rushing TDs. The ground attack is led by Samuel Meisner who has powered 1038 yards and 21 rushing TDs. The rushing attack is key for Wray to find success this postseason.
Centauri comes into the playoffs as the South Central League Champions and with a record of 7-2. Centauri offensively has turned things up after a slow start. To start the season Centauri has averaging 13.6 points per game but since then have averaged 45 ppg. Centauri offensively has been led by their ground game. The backfield for Centauri features a two-headed monster in Parker Buhr and Devon Brady combined they have over 1200 yards rushing on the season. QB Sean Jarvies has also been effective this season passing for 897 yards and 10 passing TDs. The calling card for Centauri this year is their defense. Centauri has given up just 68 points this season or 7.5 points per game. No team has scored more than 21 points on Centauri. Centauri features a pair of LBs in Josh Polkowske and Troy Huffaker, both are leaders for a very physical Falcon team.
#6 Strasburg vs #11 North Fork, Saturday at 2pm
Strasburg enters the State Playoffs with a 7-2 record and winners of the Frontier League Title. Strasburg opened the year playing a tough schedule going 2-2 with a quality win over Wiggins in the process. Strasburg has since broken the 45-point mark in 6 straight games including the League Championship game against Platte Canyon. Offensively Strasburg wants to run first but can be effective in the passing game. The rushing attack has racked up 2145 yards on the season. RB Thomas Devlin leads all rushers with 823 yards and 14 rushing TDs. QB Levin Martin is also a big key to the Strasburg offense. Martin has passed for 827 yards and ran for another 679 yards with a total of 25 TDs. WR Austin Velasco is his favorite target to form a potent 1, 2, 3 to the offense. Defensively Strasburg has given up over 28 points twice this season to Holyoke and Limon. Strasburg in their 6-game winning streak has had no team break the 10-point mark and was dominate in all 6 games. DJ Cannon and Thomas Devlin lead all tacklers for Strasburg.
North Fork comes into the matchup at 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the Western Slope League. North Fork finished in 4th in the Western Slope League but were very competitive in all 3 losses. North Fork fell to Meeker by 1, Buena Vista by 7, and Gunnison by 14. North Fork offensively looks to control the line of scrimmage and get the running attack going. North Fork has racked up 2173 yards of rushing this season. RB Daniel Owens leads all rushers with 744 yards and 9 rushing TDs. RBs Hayden Moreno and Lane Allen add third options to the rushing attack with both breaking the 600 yards rushing mark. Defensively North Fork has played tough making key stops in games against Cedaredge, Meeker, and Buena Vista. North Fork will look to stop the run this week and force Strasburg to pass. Joe Hollembeak, Cody Pagone, and Ryder Hart are the tackle leaders for North Fork.
#3 Gunnison vs #14 Yuma, Saturday at 1pm
Gunnison comes into the playoffs as the winner of the three-way tie for the Western Slope League Title. Gunnison this season went 8-1 with their lone loss coming to Buena Vista. Gunnison has key wins all over their schedule including wins over Alamosa, Monte Vista, Cedaredge, Meeker, and North Fork. Offensively Gunnison is a run team. Gunnison on the season has racked up 1832 yards or just over 200 yards per game. RB Gage Buckhanan leads all rushers with 941 yards and 9 rushing TDs. RB Royce Uhrig is the secondary option with 514 yards and 10 rushing TDs. Defensively Gunnison has made their mark allowing just two teams to break the 20-point mark and no teams have broken over 30 points on Gunnison. Gunnison is allowing just 11 points per game. Royce Uhrig, Kellan Yoder, and Tate Taramarcaz are leaders for the Cowboy defense.
Yuma enters the playoffs with a 3-6 record and a 1-4 record in the tough North Central League. Yuma opened the season with a 2-0 record before starting the gauntlet of a very tough schedule. Yuma played 6 playoff teams in their final 7 games. Yuma will be looking for the upset and their defense will be key to getting the upset. Yuma will look to stop the run and will turn to Jonathan Thomson and Trey Stegman to be leaders on defense. Offensively Yuma will look to establish the run and control the tempo of the game. QB Jonathan Thomson is the leader on offense with 386 yards passing, 791 yards rushing, and 8 total TDs. RB Silas Baucke and RB Damien Kosinski are two other key players for the Yuma offense.
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