Over the seven conferences in Class 4A, there are only four games set for this week pitting winners of conference openers against one another. Those matchups feature Erie at Brighton, Fruita Monument at Fountain Fort Carson, Loveland at Skyline and Aurora Central at Vista Peak.
PHOTO BY LANCE WENDT
For Loveland-Skyline, their matchup continues what’s been a good rivalry of late. The Red Wolves picked up a 27-26 victory last year in what was one of the best regular season games during COVID. Skyline picked up a 20-15 decision in 2019 and of course Loveland picked up a dominating 62-14 win in the 2018 state championship. Before the most recent three matchups, Loveland had won eight in a row but they had not played since 2009.
Based on the first six weeks of this season, Loveland is likely favored. The defending state champions have just one loss to 5A Ralston Valley and they did not have talented QB Garrett Harstad on the field for that one. In five games played, Harstad has generated 681 yards and 10 TDs but he has plenty of help in the run game from Drew Foley (458 yards) and Tyson Williams (314). Together, they’ve scored eight attempts.
Skyline picked up a nice win over Greeley Central last week and got a good effort from Kaden Box in his first varsity start. He threw for 234 yards and tossed a TD. Logan Miller caught that scoring toss and finished with five catches. Wynn Drewes led the ground game with 148 yards and three TDs.
Defensively, Loveland will rely on Ian Loomis and Dylan Lindgren to slow down the Falcons attack. Loomis leads the Red Wolves with 86 tackles including seven sacks as part of his 14 tackles for loss. Lindgren has 60 tackles and has helped Loveland force seven turnovers.
Both clubs could use a win for their RPI standing. The Red Wolves are 11th in RPI and the Falcons 16th. Each would like to reach the top eight to receive a first round bye in the expanded 24-team playoff format.
Longmont is the third team that posted a Northern 2 league win last week. They’ll seek a 2-0 league start against Greeley Central.
The Fruita Monument-Fountain Fort Carson matchup is the top attraction in the Southern 2 chase. The Wildcats handled Rampart 47-8 in their conference opener while Fountain Fort Carson survived four interceptions in a 7-0 win over Mesa Ridge.
The Trojans were able to overcome the turnovers because they generated 241 yards rushing and gave up just 16. Dezmen Oliver picked up 153 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown in the third quarter. Fruita also ran it well against Rampart; finishing with 247 yards including 123 on just four carries from Kaison Stegelmeier. The Wildcats also had a good day throwing the football as Corben Rowell completed four of six attempts for 103 yards and two scores; connecting with Peyton Nessler and Cole Jones on the scoring plays.
The teams are tight in RPI with Fountain Fort Carson 13th and Fruita 15th. Much like Loveland and Skyline in their matchup, the winner can move closer to the top eight and a first round bye.
Pueblo West moved past Coronado in their league opener last week. They’re at Mesa Ridge this week and the Grizzlies will be a tough out as they look to avoid an 0-2 start. While the Grizzlies gained just 16 yards rushing, QB Noah Ramirez completed only 13 of 31 passes for 121 yards.
The winner between Aurora Central (5-1) and Vista Peak (4-2) moves to 2-0 in the Metro 2 and likely tied with Denver South for the conference lead. South head to Grand Junction and will be heavily favored against the Tigers.
Central has won five straight since falling to Falcon (14-6) in their season opener. The defense has been very strong; posting four shutouts with the only points during the win streak allowed to Adams City. Simeon Veasly has 51 tackles to pace the Trojans with Brian Weatherford adding 36 and Marcus Howard 34. Howard has 12 sacks and overall the Trojans have created 17 turnovers.
Their schedule though is a bit suspect as wins have come against teams that have combined for just four wins in 31 games thus far. Vista Peak has losses to Heritage and top 10 Ponderosa so they’ve been a bit more tested. They’ve also played Falcon and edged them 13-7.
In last week’s win over Centaurus (44-12), Vista Peak generated 461 yards of offense including 148 yards and two touchdowns rushing from Christien Manning. QB Jordy Ruiz was also sharp; hitting 15 of 19 attempts for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Both went to Jordan Mayfield who caught seven passes for 163 yards overall. That offense will try to become the first team to score on Aurora Central since week one.
Vista Peak is 14th in RPI with Aurora Central 22nd. Both teams would be in the expanded 24 team playoff bracket this year but the winner solidifies their place in the bracket a bit more.
Erie (6-0), Brighton (3-3) and Broomfield (2-4) scored opening wins in the Northern 1 division last week. Erie and Brighton are the only two clubs within the conference with winning records and they collide on Friday. Erie’s Jeff Giger faces one of his former teams as he led the Bulldog program for the past two years.
They will be favored as the Tigers have been impressive every week; outscoring opponents 282-69. The offense has scored at least 29 points in every game including 150 over the past three in wins over Longmont, Skyline and Silver Creek. Blake Barnett directs the offense as the sophomore has been involved in a whopping 21 touchdowns already. He needs six yards to reach 1,000 in passing and 40 to top 500 on the ground.
Two other threats are Caleb Thiesen with 811 yards and 12 TDs on the ground and Caden Lettis with four touchdown catches.
Brighton seems to be hitting stride at the right time. Following a 1-2 start, they’ve won two of three; sandwiching wins over Greeley West and Greeley Central around a week five loss to Dakota Ridge. Other losses to Chatfield and Falcon so the Bulldogs have been challenged quite a bit. Nathanial Griffeth is their key as the QB has 798 yards and six touchdowns through the air. Half of those scoring passses have gone to Jackson Kroll. Jordan Leete (364 yards) and Max Cisneros (240) have combined for 12 touchdowns in the run game.
A win keeps Erie very strong in the race to earn a first round bye in the postseason. Brighton is 25th and squarely on the playoff bubble. Broomfield seeks a second straight and third in four games as they visit Silver Creek. The Raptors are 24th in RPI and the Eagles 29th.
Palmer Ridge was the number one team in Class 4A before games last week but a loss to Montrose means the Bears must take out Ponderosa this week to stay in the Southern 1 chase. It won’t be easy as Ponderosa is right now among the best teams in the state. They’ve won five straight since an opening blowout loss to Legend and that stretch has pushed them to fourth in RPI. Palmer Ridge is 3rd so it should be a great contest.
Both teams are relying quite a bit on young quarterbacks. Freshman Andrew Heidel threw for 147 yards and two TDs in the Mustangs win over Air Academy last week. He’s led them to 131 points over the last three games. Zac Pekarek added 119 yards and two TDs rushing while Cape Olsen led the defensive effort with 10 tackles.
Sophomore Derek Hester went for 134 yards and three touchdowns in Palmer Ridge’s loss to Montrose. He also had two interceptions. Connor Cook led the run game with 72 yards while Holden Wright earned 14 tackles on that side of the ball. KJ Smedley and Dylan Cole each added 11.
Now while those three posted solid defensive numbers, they and the rest of the Bears spent too much time on the field against Montrose. The Indians rallied from a 21-14 deficit at halftime to win 28-21. Palmer Ridge had just offensive possessions for the entire second half as Montrose controlled the football. The key stretch was an 82 yard drive that took 10 minutes off the clock following a Palmer Ridge turnover. Loveland used the same strategy to blow past the Bears for the state championship last Fall.
Vista Ridge also picked up a conference win last week as they downed Heritage 42-7. It was their third straight and pushed them to 4-1 overall. The Wolves head to Air Academy this week and Montrose entertains Heritage.
The remaining two conferences, the I-25 and the Metro 1, feature schedules where week one winners all face week one losers. The best matchup of the six is probably the Metro 1 battle between Chatfield and Bear Creek. They’ve combined for eight wins and while Chatfield is the favorite, Bear Creek is much better than what they displayed in the loss to Dakota Ridge last week. Dakota Ridge heads to Standley Lake to face the young Gators and Golden should get the “W” at Wheat Ridge.
In the I-25, Cheyenne Mountain visits Liberty, Falcon goes to Palmer and Thornton is at Widefield. Cheyenne Mountain, Falcon and Widefield all start the weekend 1-0 in a conference that can only send their league champion to the playoffs.
