5A Preview – Week 2

Class 5A football teams roll into week two with several traditional rivalry games highlighting the schedule.  Results from many will directly impact which teams may end up in the playoff bracket at the end of the season.

Maybe the top game in that category is found in the Centennial between #6 Grandview and #7 Eaglecrest with both teams coming off solid week one victories.   Coming off a wild 62-50 win over Cherokee Trail last week, the Raptors will likely feel really good about their playoff chances if they score another high quality win.  Eaglecrest was very explosive on offense last week and was also aided by two 95 plus yard kickoff returns for touchdown by Seyi Oladipo.

Grandview bested Arapahoe 34-7 behind 255 combined yards from QB Jacob Burr.  He threw for 161 yards and a score and also added 94 yards and another TD on the ground.  Evan Johnson also caught five passes for 103 yards.  Defensively, the Wolves created four turnovers and picked up seven tackles apiece from Marcus Williams and Malique Singleton.

Defending state champion and top ranked Cherry Creek remains the team to beat in the Centennial and most likely all of 5A.  They moved past pesky Smoky Hill 35-14 last week.  While the Bruins allowed 199 yards passing, they limited the Buffs to just 37 yards on the ground.  Next up, the Bruins tangle with Cherokee Trail who has some defensive concerns to fix before facing the explosive Bruins attack.

Two games inside the Jeffco put more long-time rivals on the same field as Pomona goes to Lakewood on Thursday and then Arvada West challenges Columbine the next night.  The Rebels (#2) and Pomona (#4) are both top five clubs and will be favored to reach 2-0.

Columbine downed Rock Canyon 39-13; picking up 284 yards and five touchdowns rushing.  Seth Cromwell was a big factor on both sides as he led the offense with 116 yards and three TDs and added five tackles defensively to tie Emilio Duran for team-high honors.  Overall the Rebels defense had three sacks and intercepted three passes.

Arvada West tasted victory for the first time since 2018 in beating ThunderRidge 30-23.  The Grizzlies were missing 16 starters but after an 0-10 campaign in 2019, the Wildcats were more than ready to celebrate.  QB Evan Hurlburt completed just 12 of 31 attempts but finished with 27 yards and two TDs.  One scoring toss went to Ean Lee who caught seven passes for 158 yards.  On defense, both AJ St James and Charlie Smith had interceptions.

Pomona has #5 Ralston Valley lurking in week three so the Panthers must avoid looking past Lakewood to that huge showdown.  In their week one win over Chaparral (35-0), the Panthers controlled both lines of scrimmage; totaling 381 yards rushing while limiting the Wolverines to just 77 total yards.  Connor Walklett (6), Juju Howard (5) and Marcus Geypens (5) combined for 16 tackles while Deion Maes and Junior Gonzales each picked off a pass.  QB Jack Pospisil paced the offense with 148 yards rushing and Dominick Nichols added 71

Lakewood played well in a tough 17-14 loss to Highlands Ranch as the Falcons booted through a 52-yard field goal as time expired.  The Tigers lost to Pomona 23-0 a year ago.

The first of many expected tight battles inside the Front Range is set for Friday as Rocky Mountain heads south to #9 Fairview.  Both teams are coming off rare shutouts in first week victories.  Fairview moved past Poudre 19-0 as they blanked an opponent for the first time since week two of 2018.  That win came over an opponent from Florida so their last in-state shutout came against Northglenn (40-0) on October 27th, 2017.  Rocky Mountain held Prairie View off the scoreboard (28-0) for their first shutout since Since September 8th, 2017 when they toppled Fossil Ridge 30-0.

The Lobos defense this week is tasked with slowing down the spread passing attack of Fairview.  New QB Liam O’Brien was very good in his first start; completing 32 of 45 attempts for 350 yards and three scores.  Grant Page had nine catches for 117 yards and two scores; Jay Barry caught eight balls for 77 yards and Liam Huber caught six for 66 yards.  Barry also added two interceptions and Huber collected nine tackles and two sacks.

In other top 10 matchups, #3 Valor Christian is heavily favored against Rock Canyon and #8 Regis should get the win at Chaparral.  Ralston Valley had three different scheduled opponents in week one and earned a win against the third one (Battle Mountain) on Saturday.  The defense limited the Class 3A Huskies to 133 yards of offense but will face much more talent and a short turnaround in a Thursday affair against Mullen.  The Mustangs are chomping at the bit to get on the field after missing game one on the backend of quarantine.  They finished 2019 at 4-7 but start the season with a new direction under first year coach Jeremy Bennett.

Outside the rankings, one game to keep an eye is Castle View-ThunderRidge.  Both teams have question marks on their rosters as this point.  As mentioned, the Grizzlies were without 16 starters and several other reserves in week one and may be missing some of those kids again this week.  Castle View did not play in week one as they were finishing up a quarantine but the Sabercats finally get on the field this week.

PHOTO IS PROVIDED BY LANCE WENDT