Conference play finally gets started in Class 1A football and the opening schedule involves many traditional rivalries and very important games within conferences that may get just one playoff bid. Plus there’s a battle of unbeatens to open up the Tri Peaks league.
Top Five
Florence (4-0) at Rye (4-0)
With the two clubs coming for just 30 pass attempts for the season, its easy to say this one will be won in the trenches. Which ever team has a better running attack and avoids turnovers should grab the victory and a win to open play in the rugged Tri Peaks is very important. Win or lose, both clubs still have games with Colorado Springs Christian and Buena Vista before thinking about a league championship. Florence dumped Trinidad last week and Rye enters the game fresh off a bye.
The Huskies average 286 yards per game on the ground and that number includes basically one quarter last week before Trinidad took the forfeit. Overall the Huskies have 18 touchdowns on the ground including 10 from Owen Busetti. He’s the leading rusher with 596 yards with Jacob Kennedy next in line with 342. He’s also scored six times.
Rye rushes for 224 yards per game with 13 touchdowns through four games. Three backs have at lesat 200 yards; a group led by QB Hayden Polk with 234. The Thunderbolts defense is also playing well. They allowed their first points of the season in a win over Rocky Ford (13-12) after starting the season with shutouts of Ellicott, Crowley County and John Mall.
Rocky Ford is a common opponent. And that comparative score heavily favors Florence. They moved past the Meloneers 40-6 in their season opener while as mentioned, the Thunderbolts scored a one point win two weeks ago.
Paonia (2-2) at Hotchkiss (3-1)
We think this one could determine a playoff berth. Meeker is favored to land the Western Slope crown and the league most often gets two bids and sometimes three. It’s our belief the runner-up is in but the third place team may have difficulty getting in due to the depth of the Tri Peaks and North Central this season.
Another thought for both clubs and all teams in Class 1A is to find a way into the top 14 of RPI. There’s a good bet that champions from both the Foothills and Santa Fe conferences will be outside the RPI top 16 but still get in automatically as conference winners. In that scenario, teams ranked 15th and 16th in RPI would be bumped from the playoff field unless they are also conference champs. Hotchkiss is currently 8th in RPI and Paonia 14th.
The Eagles have had a weird season. Both wins are by the exact score of 17-14 while the Eagles have failed to score in either of their losses. They again rely on the running game which has been held to 130 yards per game this season. Three runners sit between 100-190 yards for the season with Logan Green topping the list.
Hotchkiss dropped a non-league game to Meeker in the opening week but has since produced wins over Clear Creek, Coal Ridge and Steamboat Springs. The Bulldogs are a bit more explosive on the ground; scoring 13 touchdowns while totaling 282 yards a night. Jace Peebles is the top threat. He’s scored five times with 538 yards.
Both teams have played and beaten Coal Ridge. Margin of victory was narrow in each as the Eagles grabbed a 17-14 win and the Bulldogs 7-6.
Series wise, Paonia has won six straight including a 41-0 shutout last year. The previous two games were very tight with Paonia winning 28-21 in 2017 and 7-6 the year before. Hotchkiss last won in 2012 by the score of 39-6.
Burlington (2-2) at Wray (3-1)
Conference schedule wise, Burlington ended up with the short end of the stick as they open the North Central slate at Wray this week followed by games with Holyoke and Limon. How they fare through this stretch will determine whether or not they make the playoffs and where they will be placed in the bracket.
Wray meantime faces the three big challenges in a four week stretch. After Burlington, they tangle with Wiggins and then go back-to-back with Holyoke and Limon. The good news is that the Eagles have the Cougars, Dragons and Badgers at home.
The Eagles have won three straight since an opening loss to Highland. They ran for 260 yards in a high scoring 35-21 win over 2A Brush last week. Tyler Collins topped the chart with 90 yards and Emmanual Huerta added 88. Junior Arambula added 69 yards and two scores. Collins also tossed two TD passes.
Defensively, the Eagles gave up 234 yards to Brush on the ground so look for the Cougars to try and establish the run. Braxton Erker has a team best four touchdowns rushing and Taylor Scott has three. Michael Gutierrez, with five TD’s, also has the ability to throw the football downfield.
Burlington topped Wray 19-8 last year; stretching their winning streak to four in the series. All four wins are by double digits but none by more than 16. Wray last won in 2014 with a 14-12 decision.
Rocky Ford (1-3) at Crowley County (1-3)
This is yet another rivalry game with serious league championship implications. The Santa Fe, as mentioned, will likely send only their conference champion to the playoffs and the race is probably between these two teams and Peyton (2-2). Crowley County is 21st in RPI and Rocky Ford 22nd and neither will get much help with strength of schedule within their conference.
As we’ve seen with other matchups this week, there is a common opponent with these two clubs. Each has played Rye. The Chargers fell to the Thunderbolts 28-0 while the Meloneers came up just one point short (13-12). That number benefits Rocky Ford but series history is heavily on the side of the Chargers. They’ve won eight straight in the series and allowed just 58 points in those games including four consecutive shutouts from 2012-15. Rocky Ford last won in 2010 (28-24).
Neither teams has had much offensive production this season. Rocky Ford has scored 31 points and allowed 105. Crowley County has totaled 29 but surrendered 112. Isiah Garcia paces the Meloneers with 407 yards and two TD’s passing; the Chargers get much of their offense from Adam Schulz (225 yards rushing).
Platte Canyon (0-4) at Clear Creek (1-3)
The same situation as the Santa Fe can be found in the Foothills where the race is wide open and only the league champion will likely get into the playoff bracket. So even though the teams in the matchup have combined for just one win thus far, one of them could make the 16-team field. Jefferson (2-2) has the best record of any league team but sits just 23rd in the RPI this week. But that’s still the highest of any league member as Clear Creek is #31 and Platte Canyon #33.
Completely different offensive philosophies will meet in this one. Clear Creek has rushed for just 155 yards all season so they will throw the football with Bode Baker. The freshman signal caller has completed 37 percent of his passes (28-76) for 429 yards and four TDs. Platte Canyon conversely, has attempted only five passes through four games. Brandon Patterson paces the running game with 364 yards.
Others to Watch
Centauri (3-1) at Center (3-1)
This game could have easily made the top five list but was placed here because we feel Centauri could roll to the easy win. Each team has played Olathe and the results are quite a bit different. The Falcons rolled the Pirates 41-0 while Center suffered their only loss in a 27-0 defeat. The Falcons have not given up a point to a 1A opponent; blanking Paonia and Buena Vista in addition to Olathe. Coach Kyle Forster’s club meets Monte Vista next week and wins in both will give them another league title. Center, which is coming off wins over Trinidad and John Mall in their last two, faces Monte Vista on the 24th.
Yuma (3-1) at Holyoke (4-0)
Yuma is much improved but it may still be difficult for the Indians to move up the North Central ladder because the rest of league is just as solid, if not better top to bottom, than in years past. The Indians will find out quickly if they can compete as they also meet Limon next week. Holyoke is 4-0 and has outscored opponents 107-33; including last week’s 24-21 escape of Highland. The Dragons scored 14 quick points, including a kickoff return by Seth Watson to start the game, but then held off a late Huskies rally. Watson finished with 53 yards and a TD on the ground. Blake Mosenteen picked up 91 yards and a score and also picked off two passes.
Estes Park (2-2) at Flatirons Academy (3-1)
There’s a very good chance the winner of this one will finish third in the Northern conference behind top 10 rivals Strasburg and Highland. Flatirons is #6 in RPI this week but we place them a bit behind Highland in the league race because the Huskies have a win over Wray while the Bison dropped their matchup with the Eagles. Jacob Dube rushed for 142 yards and three TD’s in the Bison’s win over Wiggins last week (33-18). He also threw for two touchdowns. Estes Park has beaten Sheridan (34-12) and Clear Creek (22-6) over their last two. It’s their first two-game winning streak since 2012 when they closed the regular season with four straight victories. They ran for 342 yards against Clear Creek including 159 from Elijah Kitchen and 118 from Cole Wallace.
