Three top 10 matchups dot the Class 1A Football schedule this week but only two of them involve a potential league championship. #7 Meeker entertains Paonia with the first place in the Western Slope on the line and #1 Limon battles #5 Burlington for the same scenario in the North Central. The third meeting is from the same conference with the winner between #8 Wray and #10 Holyoke moving into a second-place tie.
Meeker has won the last two games with Paonia but last year’s 31-14 win was the first meeting decided by more than six points since 2012. Meeker also won in 2016 (12-7) when it snapped a five-game skid to their league rivals. Both teams are 2-0 in conference play so the winner stands alone atop the standings with two weeks to play.
Both teams have been dominant through two weeks of Western Slope play. Paonia has slammed Hotchkiss and Olathe by identical 41-0 scores while the Cowboys downed Grand Valley 34-7 in their opener and followed up with a 34-0 shutout of Cedaredge last week.
Shutouts are not new to Paonia as each of their four wins are by shutout. They’ve also failed to score in their two losses so every game they’ve played has resulted in one team not getting on the scoreboard. Against Meeker, the Eagles will look to run the football with running backs Anthony Felice, Jesse Burns and Sackett Chesnik along with QB Grey Neal. The goal is to control clock and keep the Meeker offense off the field.
Sophomore QB Ryan Phelan connected on 15 of 18 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over Cedaredge. He had a touchdown toss to Jacob Shelton, Andy Kracht and Eli Hanks. Kracht matched a season high with eight catches for 137 yards. The running game, with 147 yards, was also effective as Tannen Kennedy collected 87.
The outcome is also important to RPI standings as both teams remain in the running to host a first round game either as a league champion or wildcard. Paonia is 8th this week with Meeker 13th. Olathe was in the top five earlier this month but the Pirates are now 11th going into their game with Hotchkiss on Friday. Grand Valley is the next highest ranked team at #21.
Limon looks to snap a two-game losing streak to Burlington when they visit the Cougars on Friday. Both games were decided by one point with Burlington winning 29-28 last year and 7-6 two years ago. Each time, the Cougars landed the league championship with a win and their scenario is the same this week. Coach Glynn Higgs’ club has already beaten Wray and Holyoke so a win puts them in control as they will be favored against Yuma and Wiggins in their final two games.
Its’ the other way for Limon as they’ve yet to face either Wray or Holyoke so even with a win, the Badgers will need two more wins over ranked teams before claiming the championship.
Limon has been dominant this year beating opponents by a combined 223-47 score and those numbers include wins over likely playoff teams Strasburg, Crowley County and Meeker. That trend has continued in league play with the Badgers leading Wiggins 27-0 after one quarter and Yuma 20-0. Because of those early starts, the Badgers have been able to rest key players and keep them healthy for the closing three week stretch.
QB Cannan Bennett has attempted just 18 passes in league action; completing nine for 132 yards and three touchdowns.  Kory Tacha has just nine rushing attempts the last two weeks with 68 yards. He scored three times against Yuma. Hauk Hubbard did not carry the ball against Wiggins but had 11 attempts for 120 yards vs Yuma. Jaron Carpenter (33) is the leading tackler but has just three over the past two weeks.
Over the same stretch, Burlington has been in two dogfights. The Cougars’ defense was the difference in the league opening win over Wray (19-8). Burlington kept Wray’s offense off the scoreboard as the Eagles scored on a safety and interception return. In last week’s win over Holyoke, the Dragons kicked a field goal in their overtime possession for a 10-7 lead. Burlington then scored the winning touchdown on a fourth and goal situation from the two.
The Cougars ran for 200 yards on 50 carries last week. Braden Witzel finished with 84 and Taylor Scott 72. Witzel though hit only three of 21 passes for 29 yards and also tossed three interceptions but we expect him to be more effective this week. Defensively, the Cougars limited Holyoke to 88 yards on 38 carries. Daniel Tena had eight tackles, Scott and Witzel had seven while Kaden Meurisse, Coby Ingram and Woody Aguilar each finished with six.
Only the winner between Wray and Holyoke will remain in the league championship discussion. Â Â If Burlington also gets a win, then the survivor is likely looking at best a second-place finish since both have lost to the Cougars.
Wray ran for 328 yards and six touchdowns in last week’s win over Wiggins. Leading rusher Cade Hillman had just five carries for 81 yards but Emmanual Huerta picked up 162 yards and four touchdowns.  Holyoke is coming off a loss for the first time this season.
RPI wise, Limon remains #1 this week with Burlington #5. Both teams could end up hosting first round games as either a league champion or wildcard team. Holyoke is 10th in RPI with Wray 15th so the league is very close to getting four post-season bids.
Look for #3 Peyton and #9 Crowley County to keep rolling through the Santa Fe league schedule. At the start of the season, their meeting on October 20th was expected to determine the top two spots and nothing has happened to change those predictions.
Peyton goes to Rocky Ford on Friday. The Panthers have outscored opponents 262-31. Despite the blowouts, the Panthers are not getting a lot of attention. JD Hart is having a big year with 1,012 yards rushing and 14 TD’s. He’s been over 100 yards in every game including two games of over 230.
Crowley County is coming off a forfeit win over Trinidad but the Chargers did some see some action as they picked up a Foundation game with a sub varsity team from Pine Creek. That should keep them in game shape ahead of their meeting with John Mall in Walsenburg this week. The Panthers are 2-4 following a 46-0 loss to Peyton. Wesley Van Matre is their top threat with 661 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
#4 Centauri wrapped up the Southern Peaks title with their 45-8 win over Monte Vista last week. The Falcons led 28-0 after one quarter and 42-0 at the half. Coach Kyle Forster’s team picked up a defensive and special teams’ touchdown in the win. They’ve already put a mark in the win column this week with a forfeit from Dolores.
Centauri is fourth in RPI this week and may be the only league team to get a playoff bid. Center is on the bubble (17th) but strength of schedule hurts the Vikings as they have the 33rd most difficult schedule. Monte Vista also remains in contention at #20 and the Pirates host Ignacio this week. Center has a non-league game with St Mary’s.
#6 Colorado Springs Christian and Florence appear headed to a showdown for Tri Peaks championship. They meet in the final week of the season.
The Lions rolled Buena Vista 47-0 last week and totaled 513 yards rushing in the win. Peyton Brones picked up a career best 312 yards with four touchdowns. Joe Dunn also had 122 yards with two scores. The two leads the Lions into a road game at Rye on Friday and face a defense that’s given up 40 points in three games this year.
Florence has won four straight since a loss to Peyton (41-0). The Huskies have moved past Rye and St Mary’s in league play but could face a test at home versus Buena Vista this week. The Demons will try to forget about last week’s loss but will need to be better against the run. Florence also likes to pound the football with running backs Rayden Swallow (738 yards) and Owen Busetti (471). They’ve combined for 16 touchdowns. QB Joshua Martinez also has four TD’s on the ground.
Look for the winner between Highland and Cornerstone Christian to end up second to Strasburg in the Northern conference. That’s been the case the past two years and Highland has won both games. The winner also gets into better position for a wildcard berth. Both are on the bubble this week with Highland 18th and Cornerstone 19th in RPI.
The Huskies are coming off a strong effort in a 18-0 loss to Strasburg last week. The defense played well enough to get the win as they held the Indians to a respectable 196 yards rushing and only 15 yards through the air. The Huskies though, could not muster enough offense totaling just 77 yards overall with four interceptions.
Cornerstone Christian suffered early losses to Wray and Yuma but has responded with wins over Wiggins, Estes Park and Lyons. Zach Dube leads the team in rushing (362) and passing (277). He’s rushed for 295 yards in the last two weeks after managing just 67 in the first four.
#2 Strasburg sits third in the RPI standings this week and has the strongest schedule in the division. They could take a hit there as they face winless Pinnacle this week.
Platte Canyon took another step to landing the Foothills crown by beating Jefferson last week (32-6). Both teams were unbeaten in league play but the Huskies jumped to a 20-0 first quarter lead and let their running game take over from there. Trevor Tinajera picked up 136 yards and scored three times. Liam Murphy completed just three passes but the completions totaled 134 yards.
The Huskies open the week tied with Manual atop the standings. Platte Canyon should get to 3-0 when they go to Sheridan while Manual plays host to a Jefferson team needing a win to stay in the league championship chase. Game three in the conference has Clear Creek at Lake County.
The RPI standings this week have Platte Canyon bumping up to 14th. Clear Creek is 24th with Jefferson and Manual checking in at spots #31 and #32. At this point, it’s likely only the league champion gets invited to the playoffs.
