At least three playoff positions are still undecided as we enter the final week of regular season play in Class 4A.  Palmer Ridge, Ponderosa, Dakota Ridge, Broomfield and Fountain Fort Carson seem to have secured a place in the bracket but there’s a long list of contenders battling for one of the other three.  PHOTO BY LANCE WENDT

In our mind, those three spots will be determined by outcomes of four games.  Skyline plays fellow unbeaten Loveland, Pine Creek faces 5A Regis, Pueblo West goes up against Rampart and Brighton tangles with Windsor.  The Skyline-Loveland winner gets to 6-0 and we believe will qualify for the playoffs and Pine Creek could also earn a berth by downing Regis.  In that scenario, five teams could lay claim to the final berth including the Loveland-Skyline loser, the winners of Pueblo West-Rampart and Brighton-Windsor along with Montrose and Vista Ridge.

Going into the final round of games this week, consensus rankings have Pine Creek #6, Loveland #7, Montrose #8, Vista Ridge #9, Skyline #10, Pueblo West #11 and Brighton, Windsor and Rampart all tied for #12.  Spots six through nine are separated by just eight points and then there’s a five-point gap to #10.

We won’t spend much time on defense in previewing the Loveland-Skyline matchup on Thursday because we expect a high scoring battle.  The Falcons average 42 points a game and has beaten every opponent by at least 13 points.  Loveland sits at nearly 41 points a night with only one of their games decided by less than 29 points (Monarch 14-3).

QB Chase Silva directs a Skyline offense generating 520 yards a game and has been involved in 20 touchdowns through the first five games.  Grayden Bridwell has added five TD’s rushing while Nick Peterson, with three touchdown receptions, headlines a very good group of receivers.

Three players rushed for at least 100 yards as Loveland downed Longmont last week.  Garrett Harstad led the way with 153 yards and added another 89 yards and two scores passing.  Zack Ratowsky finished with 135 and Joe Killian chipped in 108.  On the season, the Indians churn out 383 yards per game with 24 touchdowns on the ground.

The game is also a rematch of the 2018 state championship game easily won by Loveland 62-14.  Silva is the only current player for either team that contributed in that game; finishing with 133 yards passing and 12 yards rushing.  He also threw four interceptions.

Pine Creek is coming off a tough 21-20 loss to 5A Legend last week.  A win there would have likely gotten them a playoff berth regardless of the outcome against Regis this week.  The Eagles trailed 14-0 at halftime but put together a strong half in a rally that fell one point short.  They scored the potential tying touchdown midway through the fourth quarter but misfired on the ensuing extra point.

Comparison scores against Legend make Pine Creek the favorite this week.  While they suffered the narrow loss, Regis was taken out 31-7 in week three.  The Raiders though have won their last two and also need a win to feel good about their 5A playoff chances.  A loss could drop them out of that bracket.

Four comparison scores can be used for Brighton and Windsor as they’ve played nearly identical seasons.  Both clubs are 4-1 with losses to Broomfield.  The Bulldogs lost to the Eagles 30-21 in week two and the Wizards fell 17-14 in overtime last week.  Each has also beaten Heritage, Erie and Silver Creek.  Windsor has won those games by a combined 72 points and Brighton 37.

Windsor played from behind in last week’s loss as they trailed Broomfield 14-0 in the first quarter.  They scored the tying touchdown in the final minute but a turnover in overtime cost them a chance at the win.  Dax Polka scored two more touchdowns but the Wizards were held to a season low 139 yards rushing.  Jaden Kennis also missed much of the game due to injury which hurt them defensively and in the passing game.

Brighton features three very good offensive weapons in Nathanial Griffeth, Vershon Brooks and Eli Bowman.  Griffeth has 527 yards and 4 TD’s passing, Brooks has a team high 509 yards and three scores on the ground and Bowman enters week six with 19 catches for 379 yards.

Rampart (4-1) and Pueblo West (3-1) both last played against Fountain Fort Carson but they had differing results.  The Rams kept their playoff hopes alive by upsetting the Trojans 17-14 last Thursday while West has not played since falling 35-21 in week four.

The game will be physical and likely determined in the trenches as both teams want to run the football.  West averages 316 yards a game and has scored 16 touchdowns.  QB Cole Brinkley has the most scores (6) and has 274 yards for the season.  He’s also totaled 390 yards and four more touchdowns through the air.  Jeremiah Sanchez leads the Cyclones with 380 yards and Hunter Johnson has 358.  The two have combined for eight touchdowns.

Rampart gets 284 yards rushing per game and has reached the end zone 18 times.  Cale Cormaney leads the way with 11 touchdowns and Logan Candeleria has five.   Both scored in last week’s win over Fountain Fort Carson and Cormaney ended up with 138 yards.

Despite tough losses to Palmer Ridge and Ponderosa the last two weeks, Montrose remains #8 in our Colorado Preps consensus rankings.  Our numbers are unofficial of course, but they remain a very strong playoff candidate.  The Indians though will lose some RPI points when they line up against winless Grand Junction Central this week and that could make or break their playoff chances.  The race is that close.

Vista Ridge is #9 in the consensus polling.  Right now, the Wolves do not have a game on the schedule as Air Academy has gone into quarantine.  There has been talk they could play 3A power Pueblo South which would be a good matchup for both clubs.  The Wolves need a game as their scheduled contest with Pueblo West last week was also cancelled due to COVID.  Not playing could leave them outside the bracket.

Palmer Ridge (4-0) will take the week off as they work though the second week of quarantine.  They did not play Fruita Monument last week and will miss this week’s highly anticipated battle with Ponderosa (5-0).  Those “byes” should not impact their post season chances.

Ponderosa likely clinched a playoff berth by beating Montrose 21-14 last week.  They’ve picked up a sixth regular season game and will host Longmont this week.

Dakota Ridge (5-0) should be in the bracket but they could use some help in RPI for seeding purposes.  They’re favored against longtime Jeffco rival Chatfield (2-3).

Broomfield (5-0) is also in after beating Windsor.  They finish up the schedule with Erie (3-2) and the Tigers as always will be a tough out.  Mason Veve, with 775 yards and 11 TD’s rushing, is their top offensive threat.

Fountain Fort Carson (4-1) looks to bounce back from the Rampart loss against Mesa Ridge.  The Grizzlies are 1-4 on the season but have momentum thanks to last week’s 65-0 blowout of Air Academy.  They ran for 375 yards and seven scores.  Nikarius Algood totaled 133 yards and three touchdowns and Cash Cheeks checked in with 107 yards and a score.

 

Below are the current consensus rankings as presented by Colorado Preps.  These rankings are unofficial but they tabulate vote totals from the four polling metrics used in deciding playoff qualifiers; MaxPreps, Packard, CHSAA and RPI.

 

CLASS 4A RPI MaxPreps CHSAA Packard TOTAL
1 Palmer Ridge 6 10 9 10 35
2 Ponderosa 7 9 8 7 31
3 Dakota Ridge 2 8 10 9 29
4 Broomfield 8 5 7 3 23
5 Fountain Fort Carson 10 3 3 6 22
6 Pine Creek 7 4 8 19
7 Loveland 4 6 5 15
8 Montrose 1 6 1 4 12
9 Vista Ridge 9 2 11
10 Skyline 1 5 6
11 Pueblo West 5 5
12 Brighton 4 4
Windsor 2 2 4
Rampart 3 1 4