League overview: The makeup of the Southern 2 League has broken things up from a regional standpoint. No longer are all the Class 3A Pueblo teams in the same league. Three of them are now in Southern 2 and are mixed in with three teams from the Colorado Springs area. Pueblo County and Pueblo South each finished the season with a 4-1 league record and have now been split, giving each team a chance to claim a sole league crown. The Colts are the only team in Southern 2 to have made the postseason in 2021 and come into the season as the favorites to emerge with the league title.
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Harrison
Head coach: Robert LeBeouf
2021 Record: 3-7 (3-2 Southern 1 League)
Returning All-State Players: None
Last season was certainly a step back from what the Panthers have been used to in recent years, but with plenty of young talent remaining on the roster, they should see significant improvement this year. Senior quarterback Diego Watt didn’t throw the ball a lot, but on 36 completions he totaled 475 yards. Like they have traditionally, Harrison will rely on the running game as junior backs TJ Washington and Carlos Preciado combined for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. When they need to go to the air, the Panthers top receiver is back. Isaiah Abeyta averaged 14.8 yards per catch and scored two touchdowns in 2021. Harrison opens the season against Cheyenne Mountain and will see district rival Sierra in its final regular season game.
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Lewis-Palmer
Head coach: Dustin Tupper
2021 Record: 3-7 (2-3 North West League)
Returning All-State Players: None
Consistency was perhaps the Rangers biggest problem last season. They’d grind out a 14-6 win over Coronado then struggle to score points in the next three weeks. Finding that consistency in 2022 is key to improving the win total and that may start with quarterback Kenton Kenley, who showed flashes as a dual threat last year. He threw for 294 yards and rushed for 267 and could be in line to assume the job full time. Luke Delange and Deon Torres can be good receiving targets for Kenley as they each averaged over 22 yards per catch last season. Delange, Evan Westfall and Luke BeBoer accounted for 75% of the Rangers interceptions on defense and all should be back in the secondary. The Rangers have some tough non-league games in Discovery Canyon and Palmer Ridge, which they hope should get them prepared for league play.
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Pueblo Centennial
Head coach: Jeff Wilkerson
2021 Record: 1-8 (0-4 Southern 2 League)
Returning All-State Players: None
There has to be a few goals in mind for the Bulldogs heading into the regular season. First, they should be looking to be consistently competitive in their games through the course of the season. Second, the Bell must ring red. Centennial has not won the Bell Game against Pueblo Central – high school football’s oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River – since 2018 and that’s too long a drought for either school’s liking. Blake Roberts will be one of the keys to getting that done after running for 434 yards as a junior. He looks ready for a more prominent role on the field this season. The one thing Centennial must do is tighten up defensively. The team gave up nearly 40 points per game which is a number that must come down this fall.
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Pueblo Central
Head coach: Kris Cotterman
2021 Record: 5-5 (2-3 Southern 2 League)
Returning All-State Players: None
The Wildcats seemingly hit their stride at the end of last September, winning three straight games (including the Bell Game) before hitting the tough part of their league schedule. They closed the season with a win over Canon City which could give them momentum heading into this fall. Perhaps one of the bright spots of their season was the emergence of running back Amari Brown. As a freshman he rushed for 427 yards and four touchdowns. He could take a major step forward this year and that would be a welcome sight for Cotterman. Kaden Clay was another fun underclassman to watch. He led the Wildcats with 274 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Michael Montoya will be the steady hand on defense after leading the team with 79 tackles. He also had two sacks, caused two fumbles and blocked a punt. The Wildcats open the season at Dutch Clark Stadium on Aug. 26 where they’ll take on Alamosa.
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Pueblo South
Head coach: Ryan Goddard
2021 Record: 8-3 (4-1 Southern 2 League)
Returning All-State Players: None
Goddard will bring a young team onto the field this season, but this is a program that has gotten used to winning consistently the last several years. Elijah Aguilar will get another shot at being the featured running back after rushing for 303 yards and three scores last year. There is excitement over what Ryan Lane will bring to the table after averaging 11.8 yards per catch and scoring a touchdown as a sophomore. The Colts also have playmakers returning in the secondary as Ray Aragon and Mateo Esquivel are both back after combining to pick off nine passes in 2021. Those stats are crucial, but Goddard knows that wins for his teams comes from the trenches and the effort the entire team gives through the course of the year. “Our success will depend on our success at the line of scrimmage on both sides and the intentional effort it takes to play at a high level,” he said. Although it’s no longer a league game, the Colts annual battle against East in the Cannon Game is must-see high school football. That game will be played on Sept. 23 at Dutch Clark Stadium.
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Sierra
Head coach: Joe Roskam
2021 Record: 1-9 (1-4 Southern 1)
Returning All-State Players: None
This is the second year of Roskam’s second stint with the Stallions (he was there from 2004-11) and he’s hoping that this season can be a bit of a pivoting moment for the program. He gets quarterback Ryan Stankiewicz back after throwing for 968 yards and eight touchdowns last fall. Stankiewicz has a couple of good receiving targets to throw to as Zhay Johnson and. Malachi Brown should take major steps forward for their junior seasons. Jakell Howard is the team’s leading returning rusher. He ran for 132 yards last year but could see those numbers improve when games begin next week. The Stallions have three non-league games against area teams as they’ll see Liberty, Air Academy and Mitchell before league play begins.
