It’s been a rough beginning of the season for the defending small school champions in Colorado. For Delta, Limon, Mancos and Stratton, respectively, the next steps this weekend may be crucial as to what path they will follow the rest of the year.
Only Limon managed to sneak out of Week 1 with a victory, and the Badgers needed every bit of 48 minutes to put away Colorado Springs Christian. While the results may say more about the rise of the opponents they played than about themselves, Delta, Mancos and Stratton have some questions to answer.
Here’s a look at what each program did in their first game and what’s ahead in Week 2. Also noted are other movers and shakers in the early stages of the fall.
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Panthers stunned
Class 3A Palisade scored a late touchdown against Delta last Friday, capping a wild fourth quarter that saw 34 points scored and putting Delta at 0-1 on the season. Senior Ty Reed once again was efficient in throwing for 260 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for a score, but the Bulldogs had a key fumble recovery for a touchdown and logged another interception to help their cause. Delta will look to get on track this Friday with a home contest against Gunnison, which got shut out in its first game by a 32-0 score at Eagle Valley.
Badgers do enough
Limon was ahead of C.S. Christian 28-6 at half, so the Badgers were never really threatened in this one last Friday. Junior Aiden Kollath provided consistency at quarterback and also ran for four touchdowns, while non-senior players accounted for nearly 450 of Limon’s 485 yards of offense in the game. Next up is Flatirons Academy, who found itself on the short end of a 30-7 score last week at Highland.
Feeling blue
It’s hard to analyze games against out-of-state opponents, and for Mancos a 50-22 loss to Melrose (New Mexico) should be taken with a grain of salt. (Melrose won New Mexico’s 8-man state championship in 2023). For this game, the Bluejays were simply sloppy in losing six turnovers. Senior Brandon Vannest and his teammates will look to turn things around this week as they host perennial contender Sedgwick County (1-1) on Saturday.
Flip-flop
Cheyenne Wells and Stratton met last Friday in an early No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle, and a big third quarter for the host Tigers proved pivotal in a 53-40 win. Cheyenne Wells overtook the No. 1 spot in this week’s Colorado Preps poll on the strength of a rushing attack that went for 334 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Trey Scheler, who ran for more than 1,200 yards with 22 touchdowns last season, led the way in the opener with 169 yards and three scores.
Stratton now has three straight home games, beginning with Genoa-Hugo (0-1; lost 32-8 to Briggsdale in Week 1) on Thursday night.
Moving the needle
A smattering of teams jumped into the newest set of rankings across the state, but it seems no one made more of an impression than Forge Christian, which vaulted itself all the way up to No. 5 in the 1A poll after smothering Wiggins, 41-0, last Thursday. The Fury defense produced seven sacks and three turnovers, while senior Sullivan Strange racked up 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. FCHS will play at The Academy this Saturday.
Stay tuned
After winning its first 2A game last week, Strasburg will make the long trip southwest to take on Montezuma-Cortez on Saturday morning in an attempt to thwart the Panthers’ hot start. MCHS has outscored its two opponents so far by a 107-0 count — a far cry from last season’s 0-2 start.
