The regular season for Class 2A football is set to conclude this week and there are several issues to be resolved, league championships are chief among them.
The highlight of the week comes on Thursday as Eaton heads to The Academy with the League 3 title firmly on the line. Other squads will battle through the weekend for the automatic berth in the state playoffs with brackets set to be released on Sunday.
(1) The Classical Academy at (7) Elizabeth
The Titans are looking to cap an undefeated regular season and also claim the League 4 title in their first year in the grouping. Sophomore Andrew Brown had a solid day through the air in TCA’s win over Kent Denver last week. He threw for 216 yards and three scores. Ethan Aragundi added 71 rushing yards and two scores.
Elizabeth still just has one loss to its name and would love to capture the league championship in the final week of the season. The Cardinals had a week to get healthy with Alameda having to forfeit last week. They’ll probably rely heavily on Ethan Stone who has 558 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to his name this season.
Montezuma-Cortez at (2) Delta
It was a welcome return to the field for quarterback Ty Reed. In the big win over Bayfield, he didn’t need to throw the ball a lot but he was effective when he did. He finished his night completing 4 of 7 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Delta never lost a step without him, but now has a chance to do something special with the standout sophomore back under center.
(3) Eaton at (5) The Academy (Thursday)
The battle for the League 3 championship comes down to two top-10 teams who are also jockeying for playoff positioning. In last week’s 47-7 win over Faith Christian, six different Eaton players scored rushing touchdowns. Walker Martin needed just five completions to go over 100 yards and one of them also went for a touchdown.
The Wildcats battled to a 21-7 win over Berthoud behind yet another solid day from quarterback Isaiah Eliot. He threw for 166 yards and a touchdown and added 80 rushing yards and a rushing score. The play of the quarterbacks in this game could be the deciding factor for the league title.
(4) Basalt at Aspen (Thursday)
With at least a share of the league title already in hand, the Longhorns need just one win to complete an undefeated regular season. They put up 42 points in the first half last week against Coal Ridge and Cooper Crawford had a day running the ball. He finished with 186 yards and three scores.
(6) Florence at La Junta (Saturday)
The Huskies have claimed the league title and will try to finish its League 7 slate with an undefeated record when they head to La Junta on Saturday. Last week against Alamosa, Lincoln Nix rushed for 187 yards and Levi Paxton threw for three touchdowns en route to a 42-20 win. The only loss Florence has suffered this season is to Limon.
(8) Moffat County at Grand Valley
The Bulldogs bounced back from their loss to Basalt in a big way last week, drubbing Aspen 60-14. Evan Atkin looked unstoppable and he ran the ball eight times for 246 yards and five touchdowns. Another performance like that should give Moffat County a solid playoff seed when the bracket is released in a few days.
(9) Alamosa at Woodland Park
Despite losing to Florence a week ago, the Mean Moose still face a must-win against the Panthers in order to secure the No. 2 spot in the league. Kasey Jones was able to throw for 216 yards and two scores against the Huskies, but the offense overall wasn’t able to keep pace with Florence through 48 minutes of play.
(10) D’Evelyn at Valley
With a league title already in hand, the Jags are trying to close out the regular season on a strong note before diving into the postseason. Things appear to be trending that way looking at last week’s win over Prospect Ridge Academy. Austin Bushlack threw for 187 yards and four touchdowns in the win and is emerging as a quarterback that can lead a dangerous team into the postseason.
