Our 3A Football preview for the week involves a look at several early matchups of potential playoff teams. And there are three contests pitting first week winners against one another. A fourth contest features the two best clubs from out west on the same field and the fifth is a meeting of returning state quarterfinalists. Plus, we toss in a few more.
Best Five
Skyline at Mead (Friday)
A good local rivalry between two quality teams continues here in 2019 and both programs enter with momentum from week one victories. Skyline moved past Westminster 37-6 and Mead thumped Lewis Palmer 47-7. Not surprisingly, both teams had excellent offensive numbers but they earned the wins in different fashion. Skyline picked up 229 yards and five touchdowns passing from Chase Silva while Mead ran for 355 yards in their win. Nathan Bailey, with 206 yards and two touchdowns, led that attack. QB Brady Veltein also added a pair of scoring passes; both going to Prestin Tilema. Silva had support from Skyline teammates Grayden Bidwell (3 TD catches) and Mike McKrola (110 yards rushing).
Discovery Canyon at Roosevelt (Friday)
This is another battle of clubs that posted impressive wins to open 2019. Discovery Canyon drubbed Mountain View 55-14 while Roosevelt stunned Pueblo East 38-21. The win was surprising as the Riders were just 4-6 last season while the Eagles reached the state finals in 2018 and have three state titles since 2014. Braeden Saya played a huge role in the win as the QB ran for 77 yards and threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring strikes went to freshman Tucker Peterson. Cooper Walton (79) and JT Baughman (74) were also effective in a ground game that generated 239 yards overall. This game begins a tough month-long non-conference stretch for Discovery Canyon as the Thunder also line up against Pueblo South, Holy Family and Pueblo East before league play begins.
Pueblo South at Erie (Friday)
Roosevelt opened eyes across the state last week and so did Pueblo South thanks to their double-digit win over Holy Family (49-25). The Colts opened last season 0-4 but used the strong schedule for RPI points to make the playoffs. They have that same schedule this year but began the stretch with a solid win. QB Logan Petit led the Colts with 212 yards and three touchdowns; two of them to Jackson Dickerson, who caught nine passes on the night. George Longoria, with 180 yards, paced the ground game. Defensively, the Colts limited Holy Family to just 20 yards rushing on 26 attempts but did allow 234 yards through the air. Erie played their first game in four years without Noah Roper as their main offensive weapon but still managed 42 points in their win over Evergreen. The game was actually scoreless at halftime; then the two teams combined for 75 second half points. On defense, the Tigers look for improvement from week one where they surrendered 224 yards passing and another 242 on the ground.
Palisade at Durango (Friday)
Durango rolled past Pagosa Springs 47-0 in their opener but should be in for a much stronger test against a veteran Palisade club that will be seeing their first action of 2019. The Bulldogs scored a defensive minded 20-3 win in last year’s matchup. Cam Tucker, who finished with over 22-hundred yards of offense last year, picked up 79 yards rushing and another 25 passing in last year’s win. He led the offense to a pair of first quarter TD’s that stood up through the entire game. Everett Howland ran for 176 yards and three TD’s for Durango last week. QB Jordan Woolverton was also sharp; hitting nine of 14 attempts for 171 yards. He also scored twice in the running game.
Harrison at Green Mountain (Friday)
Neither team played last week, but this is a very good matchup of returning conference champions who also reached the state quarterfinals a year ago. Green Mountain though returns much more talent in 2019 and should be favored here. Their offense will again be led by QB Trey Towndrow, who finished 2019 with over 1,000 yards both running and throwing. Quinn Meinert, with 1,103 yards rushing and Trey Corkin, with 735 yards receiving, are also back in the Rams lineup. Defensively, the Rams get back 10 of their 11 tacklers of which nine are seniors this year. Harrison meantime must replace a starting QB and top runner from a club that won 11 games last year. They picked up a 34-21 win over Green Mountain in last year’s opener but only four yards rushing from that game return. Seth Fuller is the main returning offensive threat. He caught seven passes against the Rams last year. Davonn Stevens had eight tackles in last year’s matchup and also returns.
Others to Watch
Lewis Palmer at Evergreen (Friday)
Both teams look to earn a mark in the win column after opening 2019 with setbacks. Lewis Palmer fell to Mead 47-7 and Evergreen came up short to Erie 42-33. The Cougars could have a big night on the ground. They generated 242 yards against Erie while the Rangers allowed 355 to Mead. Evergreen QB Griffin Lauritano began the season with a solid effort; throwing for 224 yards and running for 128 last week. He was involved in four touchdowns. Rangers QB Alex Weaver competed eight of 17 attempts for 139 yards and a score.
Brush at Fort Morgan (Friday)
Fort Morgan has won five straight in the county series with Brush last scoring a win during their 2A state championship run of 2013. Since that game, the Mustangs have outscored the ‘Diggers 151-20. Brush is 1-0 this year thanks to a hard fought 14-6 win at Wiggins last week. Fort Morgan makes their season debut and must find replacements for the starting QB and top runner from a team that won eight games last season.
Glenwood Springs at Holy Family (Friday)
This matchup served as one of the more entertaining early games as Holy Family scored a 50-35 victory. The Demons though were senior oriented a year ago and may have to rely heavily on Elliot Walz to open the season. He ran for 54 yards and picked up four tackles in last year’s battle. Holy Family looks to play better than in last week’s loss to Pueblo South. They moved it well on offense but could not slow down the Colts attack. Calahan Carter threw for 234 yards and 2 TD’s in his first game back from injury but the defense gave up 475 total yards.
