This week is when things get really interesting. The regular season has moved into league play for Class 5A teams, which can mean new life for teams who didn’t get out of the gate all that fast to start the year. 

Conference champions are guaranteed a playoff spot so even for the top teams in the RPI still have plenty to play for in order to leave nothing to chance. The quest for those league titles and automatic berths begins right now as each game will make the postseason picture clear up a bit more each week.

PHOTO BY LANCE WENDT

This week we look at some of the key league matchups that will certainly play an early role in determining future champions and automatic playoff qualifiers.

  • Smoky Hill at Grandview
  • Chaparral at Regis Jesuit
  • Fairview at Legacy
  • Cherry Creek at Cherokee Trail
  • Ralston Valley at Mullen
  • Pine Creek at Legend

The action begins Thursday night as Smoky Hill travels to Legacy Stadium to take on Grandview. This Centennial League opener looks interesting for a few reasons. First off, the Wolves recovered nicely last week against Horizon after dropping their first game two weeks ago against Ralston Valley. 

They kept the ball on the ground as Moosah Alsaffar gained 127 yards and scored a touchdown. There was some excitement in there as well as Evan Johnson gave the special teams unit a boost with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown. 

Where things get interesting in this matchup is looking at a common opponent. Both Smoky Hill and Grandview worked for one-point wins over Pomona. Grandview got theirs in Week 1 while Smoky Hill got theirs last week. That came thanks to a big performance from Marvin Jones III who ran for 166 yards and two scores.

Chaparral got back in the win column last week, beating Fairview 28-13 to snap a two-game skid that took them out of the CHSAANow.com top 10. The Wolverines got back to basics and kept the ball on the ground as Kylan Wilson ran for 151 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered a fumble on the defensive side of the ball. Brayden Munroe also grabbed himself an interception off Fairview freshman quarterback Bekkem Kritza, who has shown no shyness when it comes to airing it out.

Regis Jesuit dropped to 3-2 after losing to Cherry Creek 34-14 last Friday. Those two losses on the board for Regis are to Valor and Creek, the top two teams in the classification. The Raiders will likely try and make a bit of a statement this week to show that their No. 6 ranking in the coaches poll is a bit low for their liking. Zavier Carroll had an admirable performance against a tough Cherry Creek defense, running for 70 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll like get his carries early this week to try and open up the offense and make the Raiders more consistent offensively than they could be last week against the Bruins.

Legacy got off to a tough start this season but has won two of its last three games and can put itself in a good spot with a win over Fairview this week. In five games, Braelon Tate has been a solid running back, going for 629 yards and six touchdowns for the Lightning. He’ll be crucial in keeping Kritza off the field which is the best way to beat the Knights on any given week. Even if Kritza gets pass happy, Braden Keith will be hunting for interceptions as he has a team-high three of them this season.

Fairview’s home loss to Chaparral wasn’t what they had in mind last week and would love to rebound in a big way. Last week was the first time this year that Kritza has been held under 300 passing yards so that is surely a mark he hopes to hit this week. He has done a great job spreading the ball around this season as Grant Page leads the team with 473 receiving yards while Ben Holly has hauled in four touchdown passes.

On top of Thursday’s Centennial League opener, there is another one at Legacy Stadium on Friday. Cherry Creek will make the trip down the road to take on Cherokee Trail with both teams sitting firmly inside the top 10, as they have been for most of the season. 

The Bruins beat Regis 34-14 last week in one of their closest wins of the season. Jumping out to a fast start has been the key as they took a 17-0 lead in the first half which allowed them to play the game they wanted in the second. They struck on an 81-yard touchdown pass from Christian Hammond to Ky Oday all but put away the game. The Bruins have been methodical on offense and tough on defense which has them thinking about a third straight state title.

The Cougars hope to spoil a bit of that fun, and know it’s no easy task. Ciaran Hyslop and Logan Brooke had complete control of the Cherokee Trail offense in last week’s win over Denver East. The Cougars need that control again to stay in this game. Among the many things he has done well this year, one of them has been limiting turnovers. He has thrown 16 touchdowns to just three interceptions and if he takes care of the ball, it’ll give the Cougars a better chance to pull off the upset.

Mullen is hoping that a tough non-league schedule will pay dividends as they open the season with one of their many challenges. Ralston Valley is one of just three undefeated teams remaining in 5A and Mullen has a chance to right its ship and get back into the conversation as a top 5A team with a win.

Kyle Krebs will have to a big piece of that picture. The senior has been good at gaining yards, totaling 614 through five games. Scoring touchdowns has been the issue as he has three of the team’s five total rushing touchdowns. For Friday’s clash, the defense also has to step up and that tone will have to be set by Ishmael Aceves as he leads Mullen in tackles with 44. 

Ralston Valley has looked steps ahead of their opponents all year. In its five wins, the team has only seen one top-10 opponent in Grandview but still came away with a 24-13 win. They’ve been steady on offense with three players rushing for over 100 yards on the season, Diano Benallo leading the way with 214. 

Although Pine Creek remains a 4A team, the Eagles play in the 5A South league and will take on teams a class above them for the remainder of the season. Legend is no cakewalk as the Eagles found out last year. The 21-20 win for the Titans was every bit the thriller fans were hoping for when they piled into EchoPark Stadium. Bryce Vaz is hoping to generate a similar result as he has been a beast for Legend. He runs for 140 yards per game and has scored nine of the team’s 11 rushing touchdowns. That has opened up the offense for Colton Warner, who has 858 passing yards and nine touchdowns.

The Eagles are typically a tough team on the defensive side of the ball and they’ll have to live up to that reputation to get payback for last year’s loss. Kael Reeves-Dunbar leads the Eagles with four sacks on the year and the defense has forced seven turnovers already. Once they get the ball back, they’ll lean on Josiah Roy (637 passing yards, 540 rushing yards) to get the ball down the field and punch it into the end zone.

As always, Colorado Preps will provide score updates and results on the website throughout the weekend. These games and more will also be covered on the Scoreboard Show as games start concluding on Friday night.