With just two weeks left in the regular season, a few Class 3A football teams can start thinking about league championships but only one team can clinch a title with a win regardless of what else happens this week. A few other teams can wrap up titles with wins if other results go as they need.
The one club that controls their league title aspirations this week is Green Mountain. Coming off an impressive 41-7 decision over Evergreen, the Rams are in control of the Mt. Metro and wrap up the crown by beating Kennedy this week. Quinn Meinert ran for 114 yards and a touchdown in the win while QB Trey Towndrow threw for 105 and ran for 83 and scored a touchdown in each manner. Trey Corkin also caught five passes as the Rams improved to 3-0.
Green Mountain leads Evergreen and Conifer by one game in the standings and has handed both their only league loss. That puts them in position to clinch this week.
Evergreen and Conifer collide in the annual Mountain Bowl and the winner will stand alone in second. Both need a win boost their playoff chances as the Cougars are 16th in RPI and would be the last team invited to the post-season if pairings were released before games this week. Conifer sits 22nd. Green Mountain is in great shape overall as the Rams have bumped all the way to second in RPI thanks to their recent hot streak.
Palisade, Harrison and Pueblo East all stand alone atop their conferences and can clinch league titles with wins this week as well; but other teams within their division must suffer losses.
Pueblo East is the South-Central leader and they take on Pueblo Central this Friday.  To claim the title, East must get a win and then have Pueblo County also get by Durango. East leads the Demons and Pueblo South by one game in the conference standings.
Luc Andrada has played at a high level in his third year as the starting quarterback. The senior needs 148 yards to reach 2,000 for the season and enters week 10 with 21 touchdowns against just three interceptions. With 47 catches for 678 yards, Marvin London is his favorite target but Kain Medrano seems to be the biggest scoring threat. The senior has 30 catches but nearly half (13) have gone for touchdowns. Kaeden Bowman is another target. He has 25 catches for 410 yards with three scores.
Pueblo Central has dropped three straight but has been very competitive in conference games; dropping decisions to County, Durango and Centennial by a combined 33 points. Nico Martin has rushed for 747 yards and Aureious Drew 334.
Durango looks to bounce back from a 21-10 home loss to Pueblo South last week. The Demons were to held to 97 yards rushing and 237 yards of offense overall. The loss dropped them to seventh in RPI but they still remain in great shape for a playoff bid even if they don’t land the league title. South improved to 3-5 with the win but they sit 15th in RPI based on playing the strongest schedule in Class 3A.
Pueblo East is 3rd in RPI with Pueblo Centennial (21st) and Pueblo County (23rd) still clinging to playoff hopes.
Harrison goes to Sand Creek (0-8) on Friday and a win there gives the Panthers the Southern title if Canon City also beats Mitchell. If Mitchell earns the victory, the Marauders will challenge Harrison for the championship in the final week.
The Panthers have outscored their first three league opponents 156-14 and their offense has been very effective. In the three league victories, Harrison has rushed for 882 yards and 15 TD’s and added another 641 yards with six scores through the air. The Panthers are 4th in RPI and should be planning to host a playoff game in round one.
While Canon City and Mitchell are both 2-1 in league play, neither won a non-conference game this year. The winner most likely ends up second regardless of what happens over the final two weeks. Canon City is 28th in RPI and Mitchell is 40th so both teams need a league championship to earn a playoff bid. The road is more difficult for Canon City as they’ve already lost to Harrison. Mitchell lands the championship with a win this week and an upset of Harrison next week.
Palisade sits alone atop the Western Slope (3-0) with a one game edge on Glenwood Springs, Battle Mountain and Summit. The Bulldogs are the champions with a win over Battle Mountain if Glenwood Springs also beats Summit.
Numbers favor Palisade. They rolled Glenwood Springs 42-14 two weeks ago and then Glenwood bounced Battle Mountain 48-3 last week. Glenwood Springs and Summit also have a common opponent in Conifer. The Demons won 41-20 and the Tigers lost 55-7.
QB Cam Tucker is in the running for player of the year honors. He leads Palisade with 1,129 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He’s averaging 141 per game and over eight yards a carry. Jason Bruce (534) and Cole Tscherter (400) have also combined 934 yards and nine touchdowns.
Palisade is also number one in the RPI this week and lead second place Green Mountain by .030 so the Bulldogs are in position to get the number one overall playoff seed. Glenwood Springs (18th) and Battle Mountain (19th) are the next two league teams on the list.
The most attractive game of the week is likely found in the Central between Palmer Ridge and Lewis Palmer. The game became very important following the Rangers’ 30-27 win over Discovery Canyon last week. The result left Palmer Ridge alone in first with Lewis Palmer and Discovery Canyon a game back. If Lewis Palmer can post a second straight top five upset, they will create a three-way tie for the lead entering the final week of the regular season.
The Rangers trailed 20-13 at halftime but outscored the Thunder 17-7 in the second half. Evan Walsh was the difference as he finished with 318 yards rushing on 37 carries with two touchdowns. It was his second straight game over 300 yards and Walsh has totaled 615 yards and six scores in the last two games while averaging over eight yards a carry. Walsh sits at 1,292 yards and 15 TD’s on the season and will likely be called upon often again this week as the Rangers look to keep the high-powered Palmer Ridge offense on the sidelines.
The Bears have won five straight and are averaging 42 points a game over that stretch. The defending state champions are coming off a solid 35-8 win over Thomas Jefferson last week; a win that finally got them into the top 16 of RPI.   Their strength of schedule will receive another boost against Lewis Palmer this week and Discovery Canyon coming up next week.
Ty Evans completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for 135 yards against Thomas Jefferson and has 1,542 yards with 20 TD’s on the season. He had eight interceptions over the first three games but has just two since. Raef Ruel ran for 93 yards and Noah Brom 77 last week. Ruel, with 588 yards and 10 TD’s, is the top rusher on the season.
Five Bears have at least 11 catches on the season but Anthony Roberson continues to be the top target. The junior has 31 catches and seven touchdowns. Sophomore Kaden Dudley is next with 19 catches and four scores.
Discovery Canyon should rebound against Lutheran this week but if Lewis Palmer knocks off Palmer Ridge this week, the Thunder’s championship hopes are greatly damaged. If the Thunder and Lewis Palmer both win out, the Rangers land the title based on head-to-head. Their best hopes are for Palmer Ridge to win this week and then beat the Bears in the regular season finale.
Concerning RPI, Discovery Canyon fell to 6th in RPI this week with Lewis Palmer bumping up to 13th. Palmer Ridge is 14th.
Champions in the North Metro and North Valley won’t be crowned until the final week.  Mead and Frederick share the North Metro lead and they square off in week 11. It’s the same setup in the North Valley where Erie and Fort Morgan are both 3-0 and will collide in the final week of the season.
In the latest RPI standings, Erie is 5th and in the best shape. Frederick, Fort Morgan and Mead are in spots 10-12.
Mead is coming off a 56-7 blowout of Holy Family where they rushed for 427 yards including 227 and three scores from Nathan Bailey. They meet Denver North this week.
Frederick also ran for over 400 yards (417) in their win over Denver North. The Warriors host Skyview this week and will again be at home for the Mead showdown next week.
Fort Morgan goes to Niwot on Friday. The Mustangs beat Roosevelt 27-21 in their league opener but have outscored their last two rivals by a combined 73 points. JP Hamer (1,083) went over 1,000 yards last week and has 492 yards in three league wins.
Erie is on the road to Thompson Valley. They’ve posted three league wins by a combined score of 142-3. On the season, the numbers are 351-71. Noah Roper went over 5,000 yards for his career earlier this year and is quickly trying to run down 6,000. He needs 409 yards yet this season to get there.
