Five games on the 3A football schedule this week carry great importance to the playoff picture. Nine of the teams involved remain playoff contenders and wins this week could improve or even secure their chance at making the bracket. Losses could also eliminate some. PHOTO BY BILL GRAY
Three of the matchups are top 10 pairings as #1 Roosevelt is home to #8 Fort Morgan, #2 Lutheran hosts #6 Holy Family and #5 Pueblo South meets #10 Canon City.
The Lutheran-Holy Family pairing is the headliner. Since about week two, this game has been circled on the calendar as one of the most important games on the regular season slate. The winner likely locks down a post-season berth and will be in contention for the top overall seed. The loser remains a strong contender but will need a win in week six to stay there.
Even though records are identical, we feel Lutheran has played the stronger schedule. Three of their wins are against teams at or above five hundred for the season (Discovery Canyon, Palisade and Pueblo County). Holy Family’s 29-3 win over Discovery Canyon is their lone such win. Lutheran also topped the Thunder 57-17.
Two keys going in could be a fast start and the ability to play from behind. Both clubs this season have jumped to quick double digit first quarter leads and have rarely trailed. If one team grabs an early two score lead, it will be interesting to see how the other responds.
Each team has tremendous offensive talent with the ability to score from anywhere on the field. Trevin Johnson, with 645 yards and nine touchdowns rushing, paces the Holy Family offense but QB Michael White has also compiled 562 yards with seven scores passing. Eight different players have caught a pass with Benton Daniels and Liam Gray combining for 18 receptions and seven touchdowns.
Lutheran has 28 touchdowns this year; almost evenly split between running (16) and throwing (12). Clayton Jacobs has been involved in 15 of them. He’s completed 67 percent of his passes for 819 yards and 12 TD’s and added three more on the ground. Dorian Pacheco (444) and Ryan Kenny (443) power the running game and have combined for 13 scores. Brody Donahue leads the Lions in catches (11) and receiving yards (201). Colton Thewes has just four catches but all four have reached the end zone.
Lutheran’s defense has forced eight turnovers, recorded 27 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Pacheco has 57 tackles and Kenny 46. Pacheco is also the only Lion with both an interception and fumble recovery.
For Holy Family, the defense has created 12 turnovers and Justin Trostel has been involved in a third of them. He has three interceptions and one fumble recovery. Brady Samaras tops the Tigers in tackles (25) and sacks (2.5).
Canon City prepped for the big showdown with Pueblo South this week by making quick work of Pueblo Central (42-7) on Monday night. Lucas Walcott set season highs in passing (235) and rushing yards (92) in the win. He was also involved in four touchdowns. Dylan O’Rourke also ran for 60 yards and two scores and Seth Newton caught five passes.
Against Pueblo South, the Tigers will look to slow down RB George Longoria. Through two games, the senior has rushed the football on 52 percent of the Colts 100 offensive plays. And he’s been effective, totaling 408 yards and five touchdowns.
Jace Bellah has added 436 yards of total offense with five combined touchdowns. The senior also has more two more interceptions; giving him nine over the last two seasons.
The game starts a brutal two game closing stretch for Canon City as they also meet Durango in week six. Wins in both easily get the Tigers into the playoffs; a split gives them a strong chance while two losses probably eliminate them. Pueblo South is favored next week against Pueblo Central so a win this week should push the Colts into the post-season.
Fort Morgan’s playoff future is likely on the line as they visit and challenge top ranked Roosevelt. The Mustangs (3-1) have a loss to Mead on their resume and a second loss will make it difficult to make the eight-team bracket. Other than Mead, Fort Morgan has dominated opponents; beating Mountain View, Frederick and Thompson Valley by a combined 70 points. Briggs Wheatley, Frank Ortega and Fernando Marquez are the top offensive threats with Eddie DePriest and Cael Langford lead the Mustangs defense.
Roosevelt outlasted Mead 21-20 in week two and their defense has not allowed a point since; blanking both Thompson Valley and Battle Mountain. Logan Pool (38) and Cooper Walton (37) lead the Riders in tackles. Walton also has 10 tackles for loss and Clayton Robinson has added eight to go along with 2.5 sacks. Brock Saya has two interceptions and Anthony Munoz two fumble recoveries.
On offense, the Riders average 171 yards passing and 225 rushing. Brig Hartson has 600 yards and 10 TD’s throwing the football and Keegan Sterkel has 350 yards and three scores running it. Keaton Kaiser (23 receptions) and Tucker Peterson (5 TD’s) are the top receiving targets.
We’re looking at the matchup between #7 Palisade and Conifer as a playoff eliminator. The loser falls to 3-2 and likely ends up not qualifying for the playoffs. Both are coming off quality and much needed wins; Palisade dumped Green Mountain 31-24 and Conifer rallied past Eagle Valley 28-27.
Keys for Conifer this week include holding onto the football and giving it on a regular basis to Noah Wagner. In their lone loss to Green Mountain (31-0), the Lobos committed six costly turnovers and Wagner ran for just 69 yards. In two games since, the Lobos are +7 in turnover margin and Wagner has topped 300 yards rushing in each game including 314 yards and four touchdowns last week. He pulled off a 97-yard touchdown run against Eagle Valley and also added the winning score in the final two minutes.
Palisade ran for 280 yards and four TD’s last week, but the key in beating Green Mountain may have been their passing game. They generated only 90 yards but had totaled just 75 yards in three previous games. That “balance” opened up some holes on the ground allowing Gabe Harrison (84) and Franklin Barks (83) to combine for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Julio Rodriguez added another 56 and also scored.
Despite last week’s loss, #9 Green Mountain (3-1) remains in playoff contention but beating Evergreen this week is a must. It won’t be easy. The Cougars are coming off a physical 17-8 loss at Durango last week that dropped their record to 2-2. That loss most likely eliminated Evergreen from the playoff picture but their strong schedule could keep them in contention. They must win their final two games to keep those slim chances open.
Darius Padilla and Allen Ortiz are coming off a high-level performance against Palisade as they connected on four touchdown passes in the loss.
#3 Durango and #4 Mead are both favored on the road this week but each could get pushed by a quality opponent who may be reduced to the role of spoiler.
The Demons face a Pueblo East club (2-2) that is coming off a Cannon Game loss to Pueblo South. Their other loss is against Canon City (21-18) so they’ve played well against top clubs. Durango ran for 285 yards in their win over Evergreen. Justin Woolverton earned 82 and Nate Messier 71 and both reached the end zone.
Mead makes the short trip to Mountain View (2-2). The Mountain Lions have fallen short to Fort Morgan and Conifer by a combined 21 points. They’ll look to break through against a Mavericks defense that has not allowed a point (eight quarters) since the overtime loss to Mead in week two. In that stretch, they’ve blanked Fort Morgan (35-0) and Northridge (42-0).
