MileHigh Prep Report Way to Early Class 1A Football Rankings
With the Preliminary Leagues out for the 2026 Football Season we can now do something fun and for the first time. We present to you MileHigh Prep Reports Way to Early Football Rankings! These are looking at what teams are returning from the previous season. We won’t factor in coaching changes and players transferring (Mainly due to school year still going). We will factor in players returning, how teams finished the season, and moving classifications.
Class 1A
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | Limon HS Defending State Champions | Limon is your defending State Champions. They lose a very talented senior class, but Limon never rebuilds they just reload. Offensively Limon returns QB Brooks Scherrer, RB Camdyn Tacha, and RB Liam Yoder. Those 3 will look to power the offense. The offensive line was also hit hard by graduation, taking 4 of the 5 starters but Riley Davis will look to anchor a young offensive line. Defensively Limon will return 6 of their top 13 tacklers including 3 of their top 6. |
| #2 | Meeker HS Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Meeker made the playoffs last season falling in the Quarterfinals to Buena Vista. Meeker will look to build on the success of last season. Offensively Meeker returns key pieces with QB Cade Mills, RB Said Rodriguez, and RB/WR Tucker Chinn all coming back. The offensive line could have the biggest question mark possibly losing 3 or 4 starters from last season. Defensively Meeker could have a top unit in Class 1A returning 9 of their top 13 tacklers from last season including 4 of their top 6. |
| #3 | Centauri HS Made the playoffs, lost in the Semifinals | Centauri made the playoffs last season falling in the Semifinals to Buena Vista. Centauri continues to have an excellent tradition and don’t look for that to change. Centauri offensively will look for a new QB this year and lose a key playmakers to graduation. Centauri will bring back plenty of other key weapons including RB Leland Chacon, RB Ben Johnson, RB Caden Ruggles, and WR Dallyn King. The offensive line for Centauri was also hit hard by graduation taking 4 if not all 5 starters from last season. Defensively Centauri will sport a top unit again returning 7 of their top 13 tacklers including 4 of their top 6. |
| #4 | Burlington HS Made the playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Burlington made the playoffs last season reaching the Quarterfinals before falling to Wray. Burlington lost a good senior class taking with them over 2000 yards of total offense. Burlington though should still be a top team. Burlington returns QB Weston Schaal who was hurt last season along with RB/QB Scout Humrich. The offensive line for Burlington also returns at least 4 starters from last season. Defensively Burlington will return 7 of their top 13 tacklers from last season but will look for new leadership as they return just 1 of their top 6 tacklers from last season. |
| #5 | Monte Vista HS Made the Playoffs, lost in the Quarterfinals | Monte Vista made the playoffs last season falling in the Quarterfinals to Limon. Monte Vista was young in a few positions, and they hope to build on their success. Monte Vista offensively returns key pieces including QB Manny Jiron, RB Judah Howe, RB Nehe Sandoval, and WR Jeremiah McComas, but Monte Vista does lose key pieces mainly at WR & RB. The offensive line for Monte Vista will also be a strength returning 4 of their top 5 starters from a year ago. Defensively Monte Vista has a few holes to fill but return 7 of their top 13 tacklers from a season ago including 3 of their top 6. |
| #6 | Yuma HS Missed the Playoffs, went 4-5 | Yuma missed the playoffs last season 4-5 and finishing 5th in the tough North Central. Yuma RPI was hurt by two out of state opponents but in the MaxPreps Rankings they were ranked #13. Yuma brings back most of their offensive weapons with QB Iann Duran and RB Christian Thomson coming back. The offensive line for Yuma should also improve possibly returning all 5 starters. Defensively Yuma should be a top 8 unit returning 8 of their top 13 tacklers but must replace their top 2 from a season ago. |
| #7 | C.S Christian Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | C.S Christian made the playoffs last season falling in the First Round to Monte Vista. C.S Christian was a junior led team and look to bring back the majority of their offensive fire power. C.S Christian returns 2000-yard passer QB Fisher Tenpas along with RB Liam Smith, WR Silas Lambert, and WR Dom Gillin. The offensive line for C.S Christian has a few holes to fill possibly replacing 2 or 3 starters. Defensively look for C.S Christian to also improve returning 9 of their top 13 tacklers including 5 of their top 6. |
| #8 | Wiggins HS Missed the playoffs, went 1-8 | Wiggins missed the playoffs last season going 1-8 but did pick up a nice win over Meeker. Wiggins was a young team last season with most of their offensive production coming from sophomores and freshman. Offensively Wiggins returns QB Brock Forsha, RB Owen Erker, and RB Julien Towers. The offensive line for Wiggins could lose up to 3 starters from last year but should be a tough unit. Defensively Wiggins returns 8 of their top 13 tacklers from last year but lose key leadership returning just 2 of their top 5. |
| #9 | Buena Vista HS Made the playoffs, Runners Up | Buena Vista is your runners up from last season. Buena Vista fell in a great state championship game to Limon, 14 to 10. Buena Vista lost a very good senior class and will look to reload and make another run. Buena Vista offensively will look for a new QB but will return RB Casen Pridemore, RB Dexter Whitemore, and WR Joe Bearss. The offensive line for Buena Vista could be looking for 4 new starters if not all 5. Defensively Wray will also look to Pridemore and Bears to lead the unit as they are the only returning defensive players in the top 13. |
| #10 | Rye HS Made the playoffs, lost in the First Round | Rye made the playoffs last season falling in the first round to Wray. Rye took big strides last year and will look to make a deeper run this year. Rye returns QB Brady Baumgartner who had a very successful freshman along with RB Jackson Bjorum, WR Wyatt Scheid, and WR Chase Daniel. The offensive line will have the biggest question mark, losing 3 starters from last year. Defensively Rye returns 7 of their top 13 tacklers but lose their top 3 from a season ago. |
| Other Teams to Watch (Not in Order) | Wray, Byers, Platte Valley, Denver Christian, North Fork, Highland, Holyoke, Valley, Flatirons Academy, Cedaredge, Ellicott, Moffat County, Dayspring Christian |
MileHigh Prep Report 