The cold snap felt through the Colorado is an indicator of a lot of things. The holidays are on the horizon and ski season is in full swing. For high school athletics, it means the state football playoff fields are getting smaller and smaller.
The Class 1A begin on Friday as Yuma travels to Colorado Springs Christian, who is coming off an upset win over Buena Vista. With just four games across the entire slate, each round of games should make for more competitive matchups which could make this week a lot of fun.
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(8) Monte Vista at (1) Limon, Saturday 1 p.m.
Limon continues to look like the favorite in the 1A bracket following last week’s 42-14 win over Flatirons Academy. Gabe Schubarth and Lohgan Bottjer combined to rush for 300 yards and they each scored three touchdowns on the day. The Badgers and Pirates didn’t meet in the regular season, but they have a common opponent in Holyoke. The Badgers got a blowout win over the Dragons in the regular season while the Pirates got a 28-21 win in the first round of the playoffs last week.
In that win, Monte Vista put together a solid rushing attack of its own. Kevin Cisneros rushed for 124 yards, Khegan Gunter ran for 108 and Andrew Chavez rushed for two touchdowns. Whoever controls the game on the ground is likely to advance to the semifinals.
(5) Yuma at (13) Colorado Springs Christian, Friday 6 p.m.
Yuma had little trouble with Rye in the first round. It was a ground control game as Ethan Goeglein and Nash Richardson each rushed for over 100 yards and they each scored two touchdowns. Yuma has shown the ability to get tough wins this season as it beat Wiggins back on Sept. 30. They lost close ones to Wray and Holyoke so they’ve been plenty battle tested thus far.
The Lions found themselves down 18-15 with just 55 seconds remaining. But Jace Velasquez connected with Casey Orawiec on two big passes, one of which was the game-winning touchdown. A shocking win over Buena Vista has given the Lions the belief that this team can move on to the semifinals.
(7) Centauri at (2) Strasburg, Saturday 1 p.m.
Strasburg opened its postseason with a dominant win over Burlington. Zach Marrero ran for 207 yards and scored two of the team’s five rushing touchdowns to pace his team to the win. He needs just 106 yards to eclipse the 1,500 mark for the season.
Centauri still looks capable of defending its state championship and has an excellent ground game to make that happen. Austin Stockebrand and Leighton Curtis have combined to rush for over 1,400 yards and they’ve each scored 11 touchdowns on the year.
(6) Wray at (3) Wiggins, Saturday 1 p.m.
Wiggins is a team that could surprise a lot of people over the next few weeks. The Tigers beat Wray in the final week of the regular season giving them a mental edge heading into this game. In last week’s win over North Fork, Julio Flores rushed for 145 yards and Cole Kerr added 126 and scored four rushing touchdowns.
In last week’s first-round win for the Eagles, Samuel Miesner rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns. If he can be as effective this week, the Eagles have a chance to score a big upset.
