In looking at new Class 1A football conference alignments during the summer, it didn’t take long to figure out the meeting between Peyton and Crowley County would determine the Santa Fe championship. And the schedule in week nine has finally brought that game to us. They collide in Peyton on Saturday (7:00pm) and the winner lands the championship and automatic playoff bid.
Peyton is 2nd and Crowley County 10th in RPI this week so both teams are headed to the playoffs regardless of the outcome. The winner though should land a conference game at home and both teams want that early advantage.
Neither team has been pushed by a conference opponent. The Panthers have outscored their three rivals 124-6 and Crowley County has downed Rocky Ford and John Mall by a combined 76 points plus they have a forfeit over Trinidad.
Both clubs have the ability to run the football. JD Hart, with 1,097 yards and 17 touchdowns, paces the Peyton attack while Crowley features a more balanced attack with Tyler Schwartz (617 yards) and Jorge Valdez (337). Those two have combined for ten scores.
At quarterback, Peyton has more experience as Trevor Walker is in his third year as the starter and Adam Schultz is in his first year there with Crowley County. Walker has thrown for 396 yards and is second to Hart with 428 yards on the ground. He’s scored six touchdowns in each manner. Schultz has 511 yards and nine touchdowns through the air and is also the second leading rusher with 432 yards and six scores.
On the defensive side, Nate McLarty tops the Peyton defense with 74 tackles including 17 for loss. Clay Sims has 65 stops and Brandon Hussey 51. Colton Murry also has four interceptions. Crowley County has big play ability through Lane Walter with four sacks. The team has 14.5 and 25 tackles for loss. Zac Auchterloine has a team high 34 tackles and Jaden Harris 32.
Forced turnovers are basically even. Peyton has created 11 through seven games. Crowley County has 10 for the six games they’ve played.
Schedule wise, Peyton has the advantage there as the Panthers’ slate is rated the 6th toughest in 1A compared to 26th for Crowley. The Panthers have quality wins over likely playoff teams Florence, Colorado Springs Christian and Platte Canyon. Crowley County’s best win is against Yuma (33-10) as the Indians are 17th in RPI this week. They lost to Limon 40-6.
Meeker is a second team that can clinch a league championship this week as the Cowboys grab the West Slope crown by beating Olathe. Coach Shane Phelan’s club is 3-0 in league play and leads the Pirates and Paonia by one game. Meeker downed Paonia last week so another victory this week sews up the title.
Even though Olathe sits second, comparison scores are not on their side. Meeker topped Paonia 32-0 last week and Paonia rolled Olathe 41-0 the week before. That’s a difference of 73 points over a two-week span.
Meeker QB Ryan Phelan has missed only 10 of 56 passing attempts in league play. He can direct the Cowboys to the WSL championship this week against Olathe. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BOBBY GUTIERREZ
To say that Meeker QB Ryan Phelan has been hot of late is almost an understatement. In three league wins, the sophomore has connected on 46 of 56 pass attempts for 812 yards and eight touchdowns. He hit on 15 of 17 for 223 yards and three scores in last week’s win over Paonia. He also gained 63 yards rushing to finish second to Kelton Turner’s 72. Stephen Walsh caught two touchdown passes and finished with four receptions for 106 yards.
Defensively, the Cowboys limited Paonia to 81 yards rushing. Olathe by comparison surrendered 319 to the Eagles. Tannen Kennedy paced Meeker with 13 tackles last week.
The Pirates were much better against the run last week as they held Hotchkiss to 135 yards and only six through the air. They sit 13th in RPI points and a win probably locks up a playoff berth.
Meeker is 9th in RPI with Paonia 12th and Cedaredge 19th so the WSL is on the verge of landing four playoff bids. Paonia hosts Grand Valley (26th) this week while Cedaredge is favored at Hotchkiss.
Meeker and the Peyton-Crowley County winner are trying to join Centauri as league champions in 1A. The Falcons have wrapped up the Southern Peaks title but they have a very good non-league test with Florence this week.
The outcome is very important to RPI standings. Centauri is 4th this week and Florence is 7th so the winner will have a leg up in seeding, especially if both end up with league titles. The Huskies meet Colorado Springs Christian next week for the Tri Peaks championship. The Lions are 6th in RPI this week.
Buena Vista is a common opponent for Florence and Centauri. Both have wins over the Demons with the Falcons taking a 41-7 decision earlier in the season and the Huskies scoring a 31-0 win just last week. Both teams ran the football well. The Huskies picked up 291 yards including 114 from Joshua Martinez and 106 from Owen Busetti. Centauri collected 262 with Taj Cornum (82), Mason Claunch (75) and Deontay Martinez (74) combining for most of the yardage.
Centauri though probably has the better passing attack. Eric Maez threw for 137 yards and a TD against Buena Vista. He has 571 yards on the season with nine touchdowns.   The Huskies have just 168 yards through the air this season and have attempted only 38 passes.
Colorado Springs Christian looks to keep pace with Florence in the Tri Peaks by beating in-city rival St Mary’s. A win clinches a top two finish setting up a winner take all game for the title with Florence next week. Colorado Springs Christian has outscored their first two league opponents 87-0.
Buena Vista also meets Rye and the winner should end up third in the league. Both teams are in the playoff chase with Buena Vista 11th in RPI and Rye 20th.
Second place in the Southern Peaks will go to the winner between Monte Vista and Center. The game is very important to both teams as they try to jump into the RPI top 16 and gain a post-season bid. Monte Vista is 18th and sits .025 behind the 16th position. Center is 24th and is .06 away from the top 16. The Pirates have played the 15th strongest schedule in 1A and the Vikings 34th.
Coming off a huge 48-0 win over Burlington last week, Limon looks to avoid a letdown against Wray. The Badgers sit alone atop the North Central but cannot clinch with a win unless Holyoke is also upset by Wiggins. Limon and Holyoke collide next week and if both teams win this week, the outcome will decide the top three spots in the league standings.
The Badgers defense faced just 25 plays from Burlington last week and held Burlington minus 12 yards on the ground and they also intercepted four passes; including two from Cannan Bennett. Bennett also threw for 191 yards and two scores and added 73 yards and another TD on the ground.
Freshman Jeremiah Leeper put together a career-best 108 yards rushing with a score. Kory Tacha also added two touchdowns. The overall effort kept Limon #1 in RPI and in position to land the top overall playoff seed.
Wray is coming off a 30-18 loss to Holyoke which dropped them to 15th in RPI and squarely on the playoff bubble. They were limited to just 148 yards rushing and also tossed four interceptions. It was the first game where the running game did not generate at least 214 yards.
In other league action, Yuma goes to Burlington and Holyoke is at Wiggins. Both remain important to the playoff picture as the league has a chance to get five teams into the 1A bracket. Along with Limon and Wray, Burlington is #5, Holyoke #8 and Yuma #17.
Strasburg sits alone atop the Northern standings with a one game edge on Highland, Cornerstone Christian and Estes Park. The Indians blanked Highland 18-0 earlier this season but have Estes Park this week and Cornerstone next week left on the schedule. Unless Cornerstone is upset by winless Pinnacle, Strasburg can’t clinch this week.
The Bobcats are coming off back-to-back wins over Pinnacle and Lyons and have gotten solid play from freshman QB Collin Reetz. He threw for 118 yards against Pinnacle and topped that with 143 and two scores against Lyons. Cole Wallace was also a factor with 97 yards rushing against Pinnacle and Barry Johnson picked up 76 vs Lyons.
Still it’s a major step up for Estes Park against Strasburg. The Indians are the two-time defending state champions and are a perfect 13-0 in league play since joining 1A in 2016. Their 18-point win over Highland this year was the narrowest margin of victory in any league contest over that stretch. Michael Spence ran for 118 yards and two scores in the win and Jon Walters, with three interceptions, sparked the defense. Overall the defense held Highland to 60 yards rushing and 17 passing.
Strasburg (3rd) is the only league team to have locked down a playoff berth. Highland, which is favored at home against Lyons, sits 16th. Cornerstone (22nd) and Estes Park (28th) likely need to land a title to get in and that means one of them beating Strasburg in the next two weeks.
Because unbeaten league leaders Platte Canyon and Manual don’t square off until next week, the Foothills champion won’t be known until then. The Huskies host Lake County on Saturday and Manual goes to Clear Creek the night before. RPI has not been kind to the league this year with Platte Canyon sitting 14th, Clear Creek 25th and Manual 27th.
Manual is 3-4 overall with all three wins coming in conference play. They’ve been outscored overall (155-138) but have topped league foes 86-32. Cory Jones ran for a season best 148 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s key win over Jefferson.
Clear Creek’s two-point loss to Platte Canyon could cost the ‘Diggers a second straight playoff berth. They must win this week and then have Manual knock off Platte Canyon next week to create a three-way tie for the championship. Then their hopes will depend on a tiebreaker.
Lucas Gerding continues to lead the Clear Creek offense with 1,198 yards and 10 TD’s through the air. He’s also the top rusher with 628 yards and nine scores.
