Three games inside the rugged North Central draw the most attention in our Class 1A preview this week as results of each will help sort out the early playoff breakdown. Because of rankings, the Saturday pairing of #1 Limon and #10 Highland gets the most attention but the game between #8 Wray and Wiggins may be more important at this stage.
That’s because the Wray-Wiggins matchup is the only one of the three in the conference featuring two teams that won in week one. So the winner moves to 2-0 and is in much better shape to earn a post-season invitation next month.
The game also features two highly talented multi-threat quarterbacks who are the unquestioned leaders of their team. Both Tyler Collins of Wray and Cole Kerr of Wiggins led their team in rushing and passing in last week’s wins. Collins finished with 252 yards passing and 140 yards on the ground as the Eagles downed Burlington 43-16. Kerr collected 154 yards with three scores on the ground and completed 12 of 16 attempts for 105 yards passing as the Tigers stunned Bennett 21-6.
That win generated the most noise across the 1A ranks as Bennett was a pre-season top 10 club and a favorite to make the reduced eight team playoff bracket. Now Wiggins steps into the mix as a playoff team and another win this week puts them in position to earn their first trip since 2015. The defense also played well in holding Bennett to 138 yards rushing and less than four yards per carry. 13 players made a tackle for the Tigers but only one is a senior as they’re still a very young team. Individually, Pepper Rusher and Mohamed Ibrahim led the team with eight stops apiece.
Wray has won the last four in the series including a narrow 16-13 win a year ago.
Limon and Highland head into Saturday’s battle with different levels of momentum. The two-time defending state champion Badgers waited until last Monday to open the season but the delay did not bother them in a 40-0 win over Yuma. Kory Tacha, the reigning 1A player of the year, opened his senior year with 188 yards and four TD’s on just 12 carries. Jeremiah Leeper also reached the century mark; gaining 100 yards on 17 totes. Trey Hines was also sharp; hitting 8 of 12 passes for 88 yards and two scores. Both TD passes went to Alex Carr who’s size poses matchup problems for every defense.
Highland meantime, let go an early 14-0 lead in a 22-20 overtime loss to Holyoke last week. In overtime, the Dragons scored a touchdown and converted the two point try. The Huskies then got a 10 yard TD dash by Holden Morgan but failed on the game-tying two point conversion.
That loss puts the Huskies in a tough spot. They must upset the defending champs to avoid an 0-2 start which may knock them out of the playoff picture. Balance on offense was a strength last week as Morgan gained 160 yards rushing and Sam Hzindil added 154 and two scores through the air. Morgan also topped the defense with 10 tackles.
UPDATE: Burlington at Holyoke is cancelled for the week.
Burlington enters week two in the same situation as Highland as they need an upset of #6 Holyoke to prevent an 0-2 record. The Cougars fell behind Wray 18-0 in the first half and could not fully recover.
Junior QB Miles Sprague had a huge game in helping the Dragons past Burlington (35-18) last year; finishing with 369 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He was also the difference in the week one rally over Highland as he threw for 90 yards and two TD’s and added another 93 yards and a third score in the running game.
Wyatt Sprague caught four passes including the game winning score in overtime. On the ground, Carlos Legarretta led the Dragons with 103 yards. Defensively, Joey Beckner registered 15 tackles including six behind the line of scrimmage.
Two other games of note this week pit Peyton at Rye and Cedaredge on the road to Olathe. All four teams posted shutout wins in week one and winners get to 2-0 out of the gate.
The Peyton-Rye winner probably steps up as the top challenger to Florence and Colorado Springs Christian in a deep Tri Peaks league. Peyton ran 65 plays to just 40 for Center in a 26-0 blanking of the Vikings. The Panthers scored a TD in each quarter and picked up 181 yards rushing from Brandon Hussey and 71 from Dresden Howeth. Those same two players combined for 25 tackles with Zak Cobb also chipping in 10.
Rye should know their playoff status in three weeks as following Peyton, they line up with Colorado Springs Christian and Florence for their next two games. They beat Paonia 13-0 last week; allowing just 102 yards of offense. Hayden Polk had 12 tackles and Daniel Indgjer nine and together, they made seven stops behind the line of scrimmage. Overall the Thunderbolts forced five turnovers including two by Cooper Brower.
Cedaredge beat Del Norte 33-0 and Olathe rolled Trinidad 48-0 last week. Strong running games pushed both to victories so the team that wins the line of scrimmage this week should come out on top. The Bruins racked up 218 yards including 98 from Connor Brooks and 72 and two scores from Jacob Brown. Brown added 136 yards and a TD through the air.
Olathe picked up three scores from Xavier Waternman and two apiece from Wyatt Mansker and Gavin Hall. They’re seeking a fourth straight win over Cedaredge. They won 32-13 last year; 7-6 in 2018 and 21-14 in 2017.
Four other top 10 teams should pick up victories this week as #2 Strasburg meets Prospect Ridge; #4 Florence hosts Rocky Ford, #5 Centauri meets Dolores and #9 Hotchkiss entertains Paonia.
Strasburg handled Platte Canyon 41-0 last week behind 105 yards rushing from Trystan Graff and 98 from Collin Russell. Russell also tossed two touchdown passes. Prospect Ridge has been a varsity program since 2016 and won just seven games in their first four years. They did start this season impressively in beating Pinnacle 51-8 last week. Dylan Meredith ran for 194 yards and three scores. Alex Rodriguez contributed 95.
Florence faces a Rocky Ford defense that gave up 33 first quarter points and 399 yards to Centauri last week. The Huskies meantime gathered 356 yards on the ground in their 32-8 win over Gunnison. All 32 points came in the first half. Jacob Kennedy (145) and Owen Busetti (140) both had big days and each finished with two scores.
Centauri comes off that strong performance against Rocky Ford and could get a similar outcome vs Dolores. The Bears surrendered 38 first quarter points in a 52-0 loss to Hotchkiss. Centauri totaled 399 yards on just 31 offensive plays against Rocky Ford. Mason Claunch had 130 yards and four touchdowns on just six carries. He added another score in the passing game as McKay Russell finished with 147 yards and two TD’s through the air.
Blaine Peebles of Hotchkiss had the stat line of the week. He returned THREE punts for touchdowns in their big win over Dolores. That effort prevented the offense from seeing the ball very much but they still ran for 251 yards on just 15 attempts. Four players had at least 42 yards but no individual had more than three carries. The Bulldogs also had nine tackles for loss and four sacks. Adam Smith and Traycer Hall had 10 stops apiece.
Paonia is coming off a 13-0 loss to Rye and is a very young club this year.
UPDATE: A game for #7 Colorado Springs Christian this week remains up in the air. The Lions were slated to face Trinidad but the Miners have dropped out due to a large number of ineligible players (16). The Lions are hoping to pick up a game yet this week and University was a possibility but now we hear the Bulldogs will face fewllo 2A member Delta. The Panthers had their scheduled game with Middle Park called off as well.
