Still some questions left to be answered as we enter the final week of Class 1A football.  Limon and Strasburg appear to have the top two seeds locked up but the order in spots three through six is still up in the air and the field must still determine an eighth playoff qualifier.  PHOTO BY NINA LEWIS / NINA’S ART

Let’s start with finishing out the playoff field as Holyoke, Colorado Springs Christian and Highland sit eighth through tenth and are separated by just .038 points in this week’s official playoff standings released by CHSAA.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays out because neither Holyoke nor Colorado Springs Christian has been able to line up a game this week.  The Dragons were slated to face Limon but the Badgers pulled out due to COVID and Peyton could not play Colorado Springs Christian for the same reason.

With those two teams likely earning a no-contest, Highland hopes to use a victory over Wiggins to jump past the Dragons and Lions into the playoffs.  The Huskies are favored as they’ve won three straight games while the Tigers have dropped their last four.

Holden Morgan has rushed for 521 yards and 10 TD’s while leading the Huskies past Yuma, Prospect Ridge and Burlington by a combined 116-7 score.  He’s also led the defense with 37 tackles and two interceptions over that same span.  On the season, Sam Hzindil has 543 yards with three TD’s passing including two scores to Kyle Howard who leads the Huskies with 10 receptions overall.  Daniel Shaffer, with 41 tackles, is second to Morgan in that category and Gavin Schnider has four of the team’s nine interceptions.

Wiggins remains a very young club that has taken some lumps through a brutal schedule this year.  An upset of the Huskies though gives them some positive thoughts heading into the 2021 season.  Sophomore QB Cole Kerry has over 900 yards of offense with six scores this season.  Logan Kerr tops the Tigers with 13 catches and Mohamed Ibrahim is the leading tackler with 47.

Yuma is #11 in the official rankings and could become part of the playoff discussion, but only if they upset Wray in the Harvest Cup and Wiggins does the same to Highland.  The Indians have won their last two games; beating Burlington 28-7 and Wiggins 49-16 since the frustrating home loss to Highland.  Clay Robinson remains the top offensive threat as the junior has 730 yards and 11 TD’s on the ground.  Louden Black (30 tackles), Yahir Trejo (28), Lane Remmich (24), Kail Cooper (24) headline a defense that must find a way to slow down Wray QB Tyler Collins.

Collins created 484 yards of offense and was involved in five scores last week as the Eagles lost a crazy game with 2A Platte Valley.  Platte Valley led the game 34-6 in the first half but Wray stormed back to within eight points twice in the second before coming up short 48-38.  Junior Arambula caught five passes and Bryant Schoenthal four and each scored a touchdown.

Despite the loss, Wray (.758) still sits fourth in the official playoff standings and remain in contention to host a first round game.  But that’s not a given right now as the Eagles are in a very tight battle with Florence (.778), Centauri (.741) and Hotchkiss (.731) for seeds three through six.  It appears highly likely that those four teams will be paired up in two first round games with results from this week deciding which teams head where.

Florence has a win in week six already as they’ve earned a forfeit over Trinidad.  But that decision could hurt the Huskies as the winless opponent will dent their RPI a bit.  Centauri (5-0) is favored over local rival Monte Vista (4-1) while Hotchkiss (5-0) should get past Cedaredge (3-2).

Centauri puts a 19-game Southern Peaks conference winning streak on the line against Monte Vista.  The Falcons last league loss came in 2016 (Center) and their last setback to Monte Vista was in 2015 (23-14).  Since that contest, the Falcons have rolled to rather easy victories; winning the last three in the series by a combined score of 128-17, including a 56-7 decision last Fall.

The Falcons have outscored opponents 300-15 on the season and put up 38 points last week despite missing quarterback McKay Russell.  Bryon Shawcroft stepped in quite nicely; completing 16 of 25 passes for 240 yards and two scores.  Baron Holman caught one scoring pass and ended up with six catches on the night.  Freshman Deven Brady caught the other and ended up with three receptions.  Mason Claunch got a chance to play a full four quarters and responded with a whopping 328 yards rushing and four TD’s on 28 attempts.

Monte Vista has won their last four and will need to establish their running game to upset Centauri.  The Pirates were limited to just 96 yards on the ground in the opening loss to CSCS but have totaled at least 227 yards and five touchdowns in every game since.  Their average was boosted in a lopsided win over Ignacio last week as they ran for 388 yards and eight scores.  Cobi Garcia led the attack with 193 yards and four touchdowns.  Hunter Pacheco added two scores and Evan Stults and Khegan Gunter each had one.

Monte Vista is #14 in the official playoff metrics and must beat Centauri to have any chance at the bracket but even in that scenario, their chances are very slim.  Centauri, as mentioned, is 5th and a win helps their chances at playing at home next week.

Hotchkiss also hopes to get a boost up the seed ladder by beating Cedaredge (3-2).  Comparison scores against league opponents make the Bulldogs a prohibitive favorite.  Mordecai White (476 yards) heads up a deep running game for the Bulldogs which also features Drayden Taylor (285) and Yahir Chavez (265).  Those three have combined for 14 of the team’s 21 rushing touchdowns.

Meeker (4-1) seems very secure as the seventh seed and probably can’t go up or down in the final week.  That result could send them on a road trip to Strasburg for the state quarterfinals which would be a rematch of the 2016 state championship game won by the Indians.  The Cowboys meet Paonia this week and should roll.  Other than the Hotchkiss loss, Meeker has outscored opponents 171-27 this year.  Paonia has totaled just 30 points through five games.

Limon (.992) has a very nice cushion over Strasburg (.813) in the race for the top seed.  Those two teams have combined to win the last four state titles and could be headed for a championship matchup for a third consecutive season.  The Badgers (4-0) are out for a second week as they continue to deal with COVID issues but should be ready for the post-season.

Strasburg should easily get to 6-0 as they meet Pinnacle.  The Timberwolves have scored just 15 points in the three games they’ve played so the Indians have a great chance to keep their scoreless streak intact.  They’ve not allowed a point this season.

 

Below are the official playoff standings released by CHSAA on Tuesday.  They will be updated once again after all games for week six are complete.  Official playoff brackets will be released on Sunday.

 

CLASS 1A RATING RECORD
1 Limon 0.992 (4-0)
2 Strasburg 0.813 (5-0)
3 Florence 0.778 (4-0)
4 Wray 0.758 (4-1)
5 Centauri 0.741 (5-0)
6 Hotchkiss 0.731 (5-0)
7 Meeker 0.709 (4-1)
8 Holyoke 0.648 (4-1)
9 Colorado Springs Christian 0.622 (3-1)
10 Highland 0.610 (3-2)
11 Yuma 0.544 (3-2)
12 Peyton 0.466 (4-1)
13 Wiggins 0.461 (1-4)
14 Monte Vista 0.457 (4-1)
15 Bennett 0.453 (2-2)
16 Gunnison 0.444 (2-3)