This is the last round of choose-your-battles before the five-week run of league games begin next week for Class 4A. Five squads still hold unblemished records. (A knowing up-nod at Pine Creek and Greeley West for collecting their scars on the Valor campus and 1900 miles away in Florida, respectively). Loveland has established itself as the front-runner and should stay that way this week. Heritage, Hinkley, and Vista PEAK try to go 5-0. And Montrose gets another test in the West — a game that gets top billing of the three meetings on my 4A football marquee for Week Six.
Thursday, September 27: #3 Montrose Indians at #5 Fruita Monument Wildcats
The marquee is blasting a beam of light towards the Western Slope for this Top 5 tussle at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction.
Through four games, 3rd-ranked Montrose (4-0, 0-0) has successfully picked off all of their Western rivals — including a homecoming win last week over a Palisade program they hadn’t beaten in fifteen years. (Credit that note to Andrew Kiser / Montrose Daily Press.) In this second of three straight weeks playing Top 10 opponents, the Indians now face a Fruita team they owned a six-game win streak against until suffering a one-point loss eleven months ago.
5th-ranked Fruita Monument (3-1, 0-0) has stream-pressed quality victories over Pueblo West and Chatfield around their 4-point loss to Grand Junction Central. The Wildcats ran for 350 yards last week during a dominant performance over Grand Junction.
Friday, September 28: #6 Skyline Falcons at #8 Holy Family Tigers (3A)
Put fresh bulbs in the board.
After two different comeback attempts weren’t enough to avoid an emotional loss against #8 Longmont last Friday, now 6th-ranked Skyline (3-1, 0-0) travels down to Broomfield towards the challenge of trying to outscore a program that is also branded by success in yardage and scoring production.
The Falcons enter their final non-league contest averaging 437 yards and 6.5 touchdowns per game.
Through four games, Holy Family (3-1, 0-0) have recorded 424 yards and 5.75 touchdowns per outing.
Friday, September 28: Vista Ridge Wolves at #10 Ponderosa Mustangs
This is a non-league proving point for a pair of programs that have been in and out of the favor of Top 10 poll voters.
10th-ranked Ponderosa (2-2, 0-0) didn’t get any nods in the preseason and opened their season with consecutive losses to Class 5A squads, Legend and Valor. However, the recent victories over annually relevant 4A programs, Windsor and Dakota Ridge, have earned some intrigue about these 2018 Mustangs.
Preseason nods, in-house investigations, governing body rulings, suspensions, and a pair of low-scoring losses have built a complex story for Vista Ridge (2-2, 0-0) during the first month of football. And then, last week, the Wolves go and hold an offense like Rampart to 83 rushing yards forcing the Rams to throw 28 times with a 21% completion percentage. Okay. That is the defense that was discussed and projected before the off-field weirdness, two unimpressive losses, and an eight-point victory over a winless Bear Creek squad.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2014. The previous two seasons (2013 and 2012), Pondo’ and Vista Ridge were cycled together in the same league.
Other games with good reasons to be on radar:
Friday, September 28: #7 Heritage Eagles at Centaurus Warriors
Friday, September 28: Greeley West Spartans at Greeley Central Wildcats
Friday, September 28: Fort Collins Lambkins at #4 Broomfield Eagles
Friday, September 28: Vista PEAK Bison at Dakota Ridge Eagles
Saturday, September 29: Hinkley Thunderbirds at George Washington Patriots                                 Â
