February in Class 2A Boys’ basketball opens with a big game this weekend as Simla and Peyton tangle for the Black Forest league lead.  The game is the lone head-to-head matchup of conference leaders on the schedule this week.
Both teams enter the game without a conference and Simla has already beaten third place Dolores Huerta, the Cubs could virtually clinch the title with a win.  They would have a one game lead with victories over the second-place teams and at least a two game edge on all other clubs with just two conference games left.
Peyton still has a road game at Dolores Huerta on February 8th so even with a win on Friday, the Panthers would still have work remaining before laying claim to the championship.
Friday’s game also begins a very difficult stretch for Peyton.  The Panthers also host 3A power Vanguard on Saturday with Dolores Huerta Prep and 1A ranked Evangelical Christian on the schedule for next week.  Byers is also a major road test coming up on the 12th.  The Panthers also host Swallows Charter the night before challenging Simla.
The Panthers have won five in a row since a surprising 30-point loss at Genoa Hugo.  The most difficult win in the stretch came in overtime against neighboring rival Calhan (60-55).  Brendon Younger (15.2) leads the Panthers in scoring and is the lone double-digit scorer on the season.  Brennen Meyers is next at 9.9 with Rod Gregg (7.3), Gavin Miller (7.2) and AJ Lashley (6.9) all getting about seven points per game.  Gregg is also the top rebounder (6.7).
Due to a postponement against Limon, Simla has played just one game since January 16th and that resulted in a 57-42 win over Thomas MacLaren.  The decision stretched their winning streak to three games following back-to-back losses to Yuma (48-40) and Byers (53-51).
A different player seems to step up each week for the Cubs and the evidence over the past three games supports the statement.  Cole Mitchell (11.1) leads the team in scoring for the year and he led the attack against Dolores Huerta with 18 points.  Joel George (9.4) and Gaige Ashmore (4.4) each scored 15 against Fountain Valley and Darias Harms (5.1) contributed a team-best 18 against Thomas MacLaren.
While much of the attention is on the Simla-Peyton clash, Byers is prepping for two difficult and important back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.  Both are on the road as well as the Bulldogs head to Yuma and then visit Denver Christian.  Game one is important to overall RPI standings as Yuma is 5th and Byers 8th.  Game two will impact district brackets as the Bulldogs are battling the Thunder and Limon for the top overall seed in that tournament.  Limon is 4th in RPI and Denver Christian 6th this week.
Byers opened the year 0-2 with last second losses to Cornerstone Christian and Strasburg but has won 10 of 11 since.  The only stumble came against 3A Frontier Academy 72-68 on the 19th.  They’ve also avenged the loss to Strasburg during the winning streak; downing the Indians 54-43 on the 12th.
An interesting matchup against Yuma will come on the inside between Hayden McCuen and Jake Chrisman.  McCuen comes off the bench to avoid early foul trouble, but the six-nine senior averages 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Chrisman is a Player of the Year candidate, stretches out to six-seven and leads Yuma with 14.8 points and 11.6 rebounds a night.
Another key could be Yuma’s freshman point guard Clay Robinson.  He averages nearly 10 points per game but against Byers, his most important could be dealing with the full-court pressure put forth by the Bulldogs.  Byers records nearly 10 steals per game.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are led by senior guard Brady Shelley at 13.4 points per game.  Zaine Mikita also chips in 12 points and five rebounds per game.
Other main contributors for Yuma include Steven Wells (8.8), Chase McCreath (7.9) and Jonathan Rascon (7.8).  The Indians have dropped two of their last three games but both losses are against Nebraska clubs.  They remain perfect against Colorado opponents.
Denver Christian (11-3) is among the hottest teams in Colorado.  The Thunder dropped their first three games but have won their last 11 and only two of the games have been decided by single digits.  Included in the run are quality victories over Limon (47-34) and Heritage Christian (58-33).
Eu Asefaw (13.3) and Jeff Amidon (11.0) continue to lead Denver Christian in scoring.  They combined for 24 points against Limon and the same against Heritage Christian.  The Thunder were dominant in Tuesday’s blowout of Denver Academy (81-26) as they led 22-3 after one, 35-8 at halftime and 67-10 after three.
That win also kept the Thunder unbeaten in the Mile High and tied with Highland for the conference leader.  Denver Christian also has an important league date with Dayspring Christian on Friday before they focus on Byers.  The Thunder host Highland on February 8th.
Friday’s winner between Sedgwick County and Wray could easily end up as the number two seed in the District tournament.  Wray has already lost to Yuma so getting to the top spot will be difficult for the Eagles but Sedgwick County can still get there as they don’t play the Indians until next week (February 5th).
The Cougars are 7-3 since Christmas with the only Colorado loss coming to Haxtun.  They’ve scored nice wins over Peetz, Otis and Merino in January and enter Friday off a 41-17 win over Leyton NE.
Wray has won four straight and six of their last seven including the thrilling 71-67 overtime win at Haxtun last week.  They sit at 7-6 which is already the most wins in a single season for the Eagles since the 2010-11 season (19-5).  Since that year, the Eagles had won just 18 total games.
Justin Pecar (13.2) and Sam Uyemura (12.9) and Junior Arambula (11.1) all average double figures with Lloyd Reynoso (9.2) also getting close.  Against Haxtun, Reynoso topped the scoresheet with 17, Pecar had 16 and Uyemura 13.
Holly (9-0) has a three game edge over Rocky Ford in the East and Fowler (7-1) leads three teams by three games in the West so there’s little excitement over the top spot in the Santa Fe conference.  The best race continues to be for the second spot in the West as Swallows Charter, Hoehne and John Mall all have four league losses.  None of those three college this week but Hoehne must tangle with Rocky Ford on Saturday and John Mall meets Holly on the same day.  Losses by both will leave Swallows Charter in second place as the Spartans take a break from league play this week.
In addition to John Mall on Saturday, Holly also entertains Swink on Friday.  Fowler hosts Rye on Friday and then visits Swink on Saturday.
It’s still very difficult to pick a favorite in the San Juan conference.  We thought Mancos had taken control of the league standings but the Bluejays came back to the pack a bit with last week’s loss to Telluride (62-56).  The Bluejays are now tied with 1A Ouray for the overall league lead but have just a one game edge on Telluride and Ignacio for the top seed in the district tournament.
Mancos has just one game this week as they go to Ridgway on Saturday.  Telluride and Ignacio meet on Saturday and the Bobcats also have a date with Ridgway on Friday.
The key game on the Western Slope is Saturday between 1A #1 De Beque and Plateau Valley.  The Dragons lead Plateau Valley and Vail Christian by one game.  The Dragons have beaten Vail Christian so a win puts them in great shape to land the championship.  A Plateau Valley win creates a three-way tie for the top spot provided the Cowboys also get by West Grand on Friday.  A loss though likely drops Plateau Valley out of the league title discussion as they’ve already lost to Vail Christian.
Stevenson Reynolds paces Plateau Valley in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (10.6).  The senior has scored double figures in every game this year and reached that number in rebounds in eight contests.  In the loss to Vail Christian, he went for 26 points and nine rebounds.  The Cowboys have won six straight since that loss.
Vail Christian bounced back from the De Beque loss to down Vail Mountain 78-61 on Tuesday.  They should gain two more wins to stay in contention as they host Hayden on Friday and then visit Caprock Academy on Saturday.
None of the top challengers in the Southern Peaks meet this week but conference games between Sanford, Del Norte and Sargent pick up next week.  In non-league play, the teams have been beating up each other as Del Norte topped Sargent, Sargent beat Sanford and then Sanford downed Del Norte.  All three teams are in action on Saturday.  Del Norte hosts Center, Sargent meets South Park and Sanford takes on Crested Butte.
Limon has a Union Pacific game with Burlington on Saturday.  The Badgers need a win to keep pace with Byers atop the standings. Both are unbeaten in conference action and will meet on February 8th.  Highland, as mentioned, continues to share the Mile High lead with Denver Christian.  The Huskies were scheduled to visit Gilpin County on Tuesday but the game was pushed back to Thursday.  They also host Dawson on Friday.