While other divisions embark on the postseason play, teams in Class 3A finish up the regular season with games this weekend.  Palisade and Roosevelt have clinched league championships but the other conference titles are still undecided going into the final week.  Colorado Preps previews the top games this week and also sets up the possible scenarios in each conference race.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LANCE WENDT

 

CENTRAL WEST

Palisade became league champion with their win at Glenwood Springs last week and they enter the week #5 in RPI.  In all likelihood, the Bulldogs will be at home in round one of the playoffs.  They close at home against Eagle Valley.

The key game involves Summit at Steamboat Springs on Friday.  Both are on the playoff bubble as the Tigers are 15th in RPI and Steamboat Springs 20th.  Summit has not been to the postseason since 2008; a win probably gets them there and it will also wrap up second in the conference race.  Steamboat Springs last qualified for the playoffs in 2009 and reached the state championship game.  They’ll look to end a two-game skid by winning their final regular season game.

Summit enters off a hard fought 23-22 win over Eagle Valley last week.  Jack Schierholz threw for 147 and ran for 83 yards in the win.  Aidan Collins ran for two scores and also caught six passes for 42 yards.  Jackson Segal and Eli Krawczuk each recorded 10 tackles to help the Tigers stay alive for the postseason.

Steamboat Springs opened 6-1 but has lost two straight; giving up 102 points in losses to Palisade and Battle Mountain.  Stopping the run defensively has been difficult as the Sailors gave up 421 yards on the ground to Palisade and 345 to Battle Mountain.  QB Jake Hamric has countered with 581 yards passing with four touchdowns in the same stretch.  He did throw four interceptions last week and must cut down on the turnovers for the Sailors to stay in the playoff discussion.

 

DENVER PREP

Thomas Jefferson (4-0) is alone in first by one game over George Washington and Riverdale Ridge (both 3-1).  They fought past GW a couple of weeks ago but still need to beat Riverdale Ridge this week to win the championship outright.  The Spartans are just 18th in RPI so claiming the league championship may be their only route to the playoffs.  George Washington is #16 in RPI but ironically would be bumped from the field by TJ if the bracket was released today.  Riverdale Ridge, which can earn a share of the title by upsetting TJ, is #23 in RPI and may need to win the championship to find their place in the bracket.

Thomas Jefferson is riding a four-game winning streak which includes an important 27-18 win over George Washington two weeks ago.  They stayed alone atop the league race last week by outscoring Denver North 25-0 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 54-28 decision.  The Spartans wore down the Vikings with their power running game; generating 396 yards and seven scores on 51 attempts.  Nagge Levy exploded for 200 yards and two scores; Dmitri Haralambopoulous added 111 with three scores and Austin Lindegren scored twice and totaled 60 yards.

RIverdale Ridge lost to George Washington 37-14 three weeks ago but has responded by taking out Kennedy and Lincoln by a combined 74 points.  QB Nate Bishop is the key offensively.  The junior has thrown for 1,013 yards and 11 TDs including 171 yards in the league loss to GW.

 

NORTH CENTRAL 1

It’s very cut and dry in this conference as Lutheran and Green Mountain meet this week to decide the top two spots.  Both clubs are 4-0 so no tiebreakers will be needed to determine the champion.  Lutheran has won each league game by at least 40 points and has outscored those four opponents by 182 points.  Green Mountain downed Littleton 68-8 but the three remaining conference wins are by four, 15 and 14 points.  So based on margin of victory against common opponents, Lutheran has to be considered the favorite.

Both teams seem to be safely in the bracket with Lutheran #3 in RPI and Green Mountain #12.  Evergreen is 11th and should be a third league member to earn their place in the bracket.

Green Mountain averages 221 yards rushing and has reached the end zone 24 times in the running game.  That’s their key as the Rams must control tempo and time of possession against the high powered Lutheran offense.  And they must not let the Lions build a quick two or three score lead very early in the contest.  Nowell Dacres leads the run game with 533 yards and Dom Sanchez has 429 yards.

Lutheran averages 52 points a game and totals 210 yards passing and 245 rushing a game.  Clayton Jacobs has 1,527 yards and 19 TDs against just two interceptions this year.  He also has 11 scores on the ground.  There are many weapons across the offensive roster but Ryan Allen is the top receiver (22 catches) and Ryan Kenney the top rusher (649 yards).

 

NORTH CENTRAL 2

Holy Family (3-1) has completed their league schedule and whether the Tigers end up second or with a piece of the top spot depends on the outcome between Mead and Frederick.  The Mavericks claim the championship with a win and leaves Holy Family in second with a win but Frederick creates a three-way tie for the championship if they grab the victory.  Mead is 4th and Holy Family 6th in RPI so they both will find their names on the playoff bracket when the pairings are released on Sunday.  Frederick is 14th and considered on the bubble.  A win will get them in for sure and even with a loss, the Warriors will get a boost in strength of schedule in playing the Mavericks.

The ground game may determine the Mead-Frederick winner.  The Mavericks have the ability to throw the football but their run game generates 211 yards a game with 24 touchdowns this season.  Evan Morris has 767 yards and 13 TDs and totaled 172 yards with three scores in a key victory two weeks ago against Holy Family (35-32).

Frederick’s numbers are even more impressive as the Warriors average 344 yards per game with 37 touchdowns on the season.  Patrick Ayres is 89 yards shy of 1,000 for the season and has a team high 19 touchdowns.  Two of those came against Holy Family in conference play; a game the Warriors dropped in overtime (42-35).  They still managed 275 yards rushing with Bryce Conover also throwing for 181 yards and two scores.

 

NORTH CENTRAL 3

Roosevelt is the league champion as they’ve beaten both second place Fort Morgan and third place Northridge over the past two weeks.  The Riders are also the top team in RPI so they’re playing to be the number one playoff seed.  Fort Morgan is #2 in RPI and #3 in the consensus ranking so they’re also in line for a very high seed in the playoff bracket.  Northridge is #15 in RPI so they’re on the bubble and could use a win over Niwot this week to feel better about their wildcard chances.

Roosevelt finishes at Mountain View and Fort Morgan steps away from the league for a high level non-league test with Holy Family.  The Tigers are #6 in RPI so that outcome could have a big impact on where the two teams are placed in the pairings.

Holy Family and Fort Morgan have a common opponent in top ranked Roosevelt.  And the Mustangs fared much better as they lost by seven points (14) compared to 42 for Holy Family (49-7).  The Tigers though faced Roosevelt back in week two and are a much different club as evidenced by their 42-35 win over Frederick earlier this month.  They also pushed Mead before falling 35-32.  That schedule has kept the Tigers in the top 10 of RPI despite the 6-3 overall record.

Fort Morgan survived for a 23-20 win over Northridge last week.  The Mustangs led 23-7 in the fourth quarter but then watched the Grizzlies return two fumbles for touchdowns to tighten up the game.  They’ll need to avoid those types of turnovers to get by Holy Family.

 

SOUTHERN 1

Durango has clinched the league title and will close their regular season at Sand Creek.  A win there should give the Demons a home game in round one.  They’re only 9th in RPI but sit fifth in consensus rankings and the gap between fourth and seventh seems to leave the Demons as either the fifth or sixth seed in the playoff bracket.

Discovery Canyon wrapped up second place by beating Harrison last week.  They finish with Sierra in week 11.  The Thunder are #10 in RPI and will be a playoff team.  No other league member will be in the bracket.

Durango’s defense has not allowed a point in October; blanking Harrison, Discovery Canyon and Sierra by a combined 148-0.  Last week ended with a forfeit to Mitchell.  Piedra Vista NM was the last team to dent the scoreboard against the Demons getting a touchdown on September 24th in a 48-7 loss.

Cole Matava tops the defense with 75 tackles.  They’ve created 19 turnovers including three apiece from Ean Goodwin and Luke Wesley.

 

SOUTHERN 2

Pueblo South moved past Pueblo Central 35-6 last week and that win kept the Colts into sole possession of the conference.  They must still get by Pueblo County this week to clinch the title outright as a loss likely creates a three-way for the lead between the two and Pueblo East.  East is favored in their final matchup with Pueblo Centennial (1-8).

RPI wise, all three clubs are in solid position to earn a playoff berth.  South is 7th in RPI, East is 8th and County 13th.

Jace Bellah continues to lead both the Pueblo South offense and defense.  He’s been involved in 17 touchdowns while combining for over 13-hundred yards of offense.  On defense, he’s created five turnovers with two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.  Ray Aragon (5) and Mateo Esquivel (4) have also combined for nine interceptions for the big-play Colts defense.

Pueblo County’s lone league loss came to Pueblo East (13-7) but recorded three impressive wins since; beating Canon City, Pueblo Central and Pueblo Centennial by a combined 113 points.  Cody Lanier has a team high 994 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns.  QB Peyton Miller is next in rushing with 617 yards and six scores with another 581 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

 

NOTE:  If the playoffs opened this week, the bracket may shape up in this order.  After using league races and RPI standings to determine the qualifiers, we true seeded the bracket based on current consensus rankings.  The pairings seem are in good shape but the committee may swap Northridge with either Green Mountain or Evergreen in making the trip to Durango.  Of course, RPI and consensus rankings will change based on results this week.  Thomas Jefferson (#18) is the only league champion or current conference leader outside the top 16.

  • #1 Roosevelt vs #16 Thomas Jefferson
  • #8 Pueblo South vs #9 Frederick
  • #4 Mead vs #13 Green Mountain
  • #5 Durango vs #12 Northridge
  • #3 Fort Morgan vs #14 Pueblo County
  • #6 Holy Family vs #11 Evergreen
  • #2 Lutheran vs #15 Discovery Canyon
  • #7 Palisade vs #10 Pueblo East