Ever since Centauri joined the Class 1A division in 2012, their annual meeting with Monte Vista has decided the top spot in the Southern Peaks and the race has followed that pattern again in 2018. Results from the contest and a few others will help shape the 1A football playoff bracket in November.
#3 Centauri has won four of the six regular season meetings and with it claimed league championships. They topped Monte Vista twice last year; downing the Pirates 27-2 in the regular season and again 35-7 in the state quarterfinals. Monte Vista’s last week came in 2015 (23-14) and also posted a win in 2012 (21-6).
Both teams are coming off very easy wins in conference openers as Centauri rolled Center 55-19 and Monte Vista stuffed Dolores 52-0. Â Â And both teams should run the conference table after this week giving Friday’s winner another conference championship.
Defense has been the strength of Centauri as they’ve given up only 35 points in their four wins including quality wins over Paonia (38-0), Olathe (39-9) and Buena Vista (41-7). They led Center 41-0 after just one quarter last week so their first unit on both sides of the ball will be well rested and healthy going into the Monte Vista showdown.
The Falcons defense will focus on slowing down the Monte Vista running game. That’s where the Pirates have shown great improvement. Starting 0-3, Coach Manny Wasinger’s club generated a total of 259 yards on the ground but has totaled 729 over the last two weeks while beating Rocky Ford and Dolores. Against Centauri last year, the Pirates picked up 169 yards in the regular season loss and 137 in the playoff game.
Win or lose, Centauri is in great shape concerning RPI standings as they entered the week 2nd. Monte Vista is 21st but a win over the Falcons will boost those numbers. Center is 19th and is a third team from the Southern Peaks alive for a playoff bid.
The Strasburg-Highland matchup has the same history but not as lengthy as Centauri-Monte Vista. 2nd ranked Strasburg dropped into Class 1A before the 2016 season and over the last two years, their game with the Huskies has determined first and second place in the Northern league. Cornerstone Christian may have a future say but that scenario could play out for a third straight year in 2018.
The last two games have not been close. Strasburg ran past Highland 59-22 in 2016 and scored a 42-0 shutout last October. But those scores are not surprising as the Indians have simply dominated league play since joining the Northern. Including last week’s win over Lyons (45-6), the Indians are 11-0 in conference games all have been decided by at least 35 points.
Strasburg had a running clock late in the first quarter last week so their first unit spent much of the remaining minutes on the sideline. QB Michael Spence leads Strasburg in rushing on the season but had just three carries in last week’s win. He still totaled 72 yards and scored twice.
Highland had a similar outing in blowing past Pinnacle 48-0 in their league opener. The Huskies had the ball for just 30 offensive plays but still scored six touchdowns or a score on every fifth play. Holden Morgan had just six carries but picked up 121 yards and two touchdowns.
The Huskies are 17th in RPI points entering the game but will be in great position for a playoff berth with a win. Strasburg is 4th and it appears the Indians are in the bracket as a wildcard even if they fall short on Friday.
Another league championship game could be sent in the Foothills where Platte Canyon meets Jefferson. This contest was originally slated for Friday but has been pushed back to 3:00pm on Saturday giving both teams one more day to prep.
Because of their 30-28 win over Clear Creek, Platte Canyon Can virtually clinch the league title with a win this week. A win puts them to 2-0 in conference play with future games against Sheridan, Lake County and Manual; three team with a combined record of 4-11. They would be favored in all three.
To beat Clear Creek, Platte Canyon used their running game to create a 30-14 lead and they held on from there. The Golddiggers scored twice in the fourth quarter but had a potential game-tying two-point conversion picked off by Liam Murphy. It was one of three interceptions on the day for Murphy and the fifth turnover created by the Huskies defense. Logan Blevins also picked off a pass and Brandon Patterson recovered a fumble.
That defense will face a similar pass-first offense against Jefferson this week. The Saints (4-1) have not posted stats from their 39-0 league opening win over Lake County last week but through four games QB Devon Kemp completed 61 of 130 passes for 1,035 yards and 12 TD’s. His favorite target has been Kurvonte Rice. He has a team high 31 catches for 565 yards and has caught nine of the 12 scoring passes from Kemp.
Platte Canyon’s win last week bumped them to 16th in the RPI standings so even with a loss they could remain a wildcard possibility. Jefferson is 24th and will move up with a win but the Saints may need to win the Foothills title to get a bid. Clear Creek dropped to 30th with last week’s loss.
Because top ranked Limon is in the conference, the game between #5 Burlington and #9 Holyoke is not considered the North Central league championship contest but it could be the feature game inside Class 1A this week. Expect a low scoring game as each club features a tremendous defense and both groups were on display last week as Holyoke edged Yuma 7-6 and Burlington fought past Wray 19-8.
The touchdown scored by Yuma last week was the first points posted against the Holyoke defense all season. They had surrendered only six points going in but those came on a kickoff return by Bridgeport Nebraska. Jesus Trejo led the defensive charge with eight tackles.
Burlington employed a bend but don’t break philosophy in their win over Wray. The Cougars allowed the Eagles 214 yards on the ground and another 69 through the air but kept the offense off the scoreboard. Wray scored on a safety and interception return. Taylor Scott recorded 17 tackles and Kaden Meurisse had 10. Pryce Mangus also scooped up two fumbles.
Offensively, the names to remember are Blake Mortensen of Holyoke and Braden Witzel of Burlington. Mortensen ran for 160 yards and scored the only touchdown last week. He now sits at 903 yards rushing for the season with seven scores and has been over 100-yards in four of five games. Witzel tossed two touchdown passes last week and finished with 129 yards. He also led the Cougars with 50 yards on the ground.
RPI standings give the North Central league a chance to get five teams into the 16-team playoff bracket. Limon is #1 this week with Holyoke and Burlington 8th and 9th. Wray is 14th and Yuma is one spot behind them at #15. Wray meets Wiggins this week and Limon entertains Yuma.
Improved league positioning the goal for both clubs when Colorado Springs Christian meets Buena Vista and Olathe takes on Paonia. The winner between CSCS and Buena Vista likely faces Florence in coming weeks for the Tri Peaks championship and the survivor of Olathe-Paonia should face Meeker for the Western Slope crown.
For #10 Colorado Springs Christian, their trip to Chaffee County is their league opener. The Tri Peaks is a five-team league so each member is away from the conference each week. The Lions spent their time away blasting Ignacio 49-0. It was the third consecutive shutout for the Lions who had blanked Platte Canyon and Ellicott in their previous two games.
The defense is led by Peyton Brones who has 44 tackles and has been involved in two of the Lions six forced turnovers. He’s also the offensive leader with 859 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. Brones gets help defensively from Elijah Burkett with 29 tackles and offensively from Joe Dunn with 363 yards and six touchdowns.
Buena Vista ended their two-game slide by downing St Mary’s 50-28. The game was not as close as that score indicates as the Demons led 25-7 after one quarter and 44-7 at halftime. They ran for 440 yards as a team and three players picked up over 100 yards. Matt Thompson, with 141, led that list while Drew Martin added 125 and Any Limoncelli 101. The trio combined for five touchdowns.
The Demons (7th) are also the highest ranked team in the RPI with Colorado Springs Christian 11th. Florence is 12th and the Huskies look for a 2-0 start in league play against St Mary’s this weekend.
Olathe and Paonia are both 3-2 on the season and both are coming off league opening wins last Friday. The Eagles had the easier time as they handled Hotchkiss 41-0 while Olathe survived for a 7-6 win over Cedaredge.
The Pirates allowed 177 yards and over five yards a carry against Cedaredge and will try to reduce both numbers against a good Paonia running game. The Eagles picked up 300 yards in their victory and scored six times. Anthony Felice led the group with 113 yards and Jesse Burns added 91. Sackett Chesnik also chipped in 57.
Paonia’s defense was good against the run last week. They allowed 111 yards but less than four yards per carry. This week they face the solid Olathe trio of Cesar Suarez, Elias Ramirez and Dedrix Waterman.
#7 Meeker topped Grand Valley 36-7 last week and sit tied with Paonia and Olathe atop the Western Slope standings. They go to Cedaredge this week and then contend with the Eagles and Pirates in the following two weeks.
All three league leaders are in the top 13 of RPI. Olathe is 5th and they sit the highest because they’ve played the second strongest schedule in Class 1A (according to RPI). Paonia is 10th and Meeker is 13th. Cedaredge (20th) and Grand Valley (22nd) remain in playoff contention as well.
#4 Peyton and #6 Crowley County appear headed for a showdown on October 19th to determine the Santa Fe championship. The Panthers and Chargers are a combined 10-1 on the season with the rest of the league sitting at 3-18. The two enter the week tied with John Mall but that will change when the two sets of Panthers meet in Walsenburg this weekend. Crowley County has already earned a forfeit over Trinidad and instead will play a foundation game against Pine Creek’s JV that will not count in the league standings.
