One of the themes of this fall football season has been opposing athletic directors and coaches working together to make sure their players have every possible opportunity to compete. That continued this week, as more games were lost due to COVID-19 issues and injuries. PHOTO BY MARIAH SIGALA
Cotopaxi (1-2) was scheduled to host Cripple Creek-Victor (0-3) on Friday in a Southwest division contest. That game was significant in the fact that the Pirates had just seen the completion of a community driven project that resulted in permanent lights being installed around the football field, and it was to be their first game under those new lights. The Pioneers were forced to cancel and Cotopaxi was left looking for a new opponent.
That’s where Eads‘ AD and head coach Trey Eder stepped in. For the second straight week, the Eagles had seen their originally scheduled game canceled. Last week, it was Hi-Plains being unable to play due to a quarantine. This week’s opponent, Kit Carson (2-1), did not have enough healthy players after suffering several injuries in last week’s 74-18 loss at #3 Cheyenne Wells (3-0). Eder and his squad decided it was more important to get on the field than to take the forfeit from Kit Carson, and they will be making the trip to Cotopaxi on Friday night.
It will be an important game for the hosts, as the Pirates’ postseason chances took a major hit with last week’s 28-24 loss to Sierra Grande (2-1). Cotopaxi entered the week without a vote in the coaches poll, 18th in the MaxPreps, and 22nd in both the RPI and Packard rankings. A win over the fifth-ranked Eagles would be a huge boost in their efforts to return to the playoffs. For that to happen, they will have to contain the Eads duo of Damien Barnes and Porter Spady.
In last week’s 73-23 non-league win over Idalia (1-2), Barnes ran for 232 yards and five touchdowns, threw for 80 yards, and caught three passes for 69 yards and another TD. He led the state in rushing last season with just short of 2100 yards. Spady, his talented freshman mate in the backfield, added 222 yards and three scores on the ground, and snagged three receptions for 80 yards. Ty Wilson led a spirited defensive effort with 10 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Friday’s other big contest is a huge game inside the Southeast division, as #4 Granada (3-0) hosts fellow unbeaten and sixth-ranked Cheraw (3-0). Granada looks to be a postseason lock, as the Bobcats are currently ranked in the top seven of all four data points. Cheraw sits ninth or tenth in the MaxPreps, RPI, and Packard.
The Wolverines picked up a 54-24 league win over Walsh last week, with Cade Phillips throwing for 222 yards and four touchdowns. Trey Pearce caught eight passes for 125 yards and two scores, and Jacob Groves was on the receiving end of the other two TD passes. Braeden Harris kept the ground attack rolling, as the sophomore ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, the Wolverines held Walsh to just 143 yards of offense, with only 50 of that coming on the ground.
Granada jumped out to a 30-0 first quarter advantage over Branson/Kim (1-2) last week, and had the mercy clock rolling by halftime in the 52-14 win over the Bearcats. Dominic Coleman completed four of his five passing attempts, with all going for touchdowns. The junior tallied 140 yards through the air and 116 on the ground. He scored on two of his five carries. Freshman Lupe Martinez had a pair of TD receptions, and he led the Bobcats on defense with nine tackles.
This will only be the third meeting between the two programs, with Granada having won each of the previous two. Last year, Coleman threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a rushing score, in a 26-12 victory. Harris led Cheraw with 14 tackles.
Last week’s 73-39 loss to #8 Briggsdale (2-1) dropped Peetz to 2-1 on the season and has the Bulldogs in danger of missing the postseason for a second straight year. Peetz sits well back in all of the seeding criteria ahead of Thursday’s game against top-ranked Fleming (3-0). Fleming, on the other hand, is #1 in all four metrics.
Peetz only trailed Briggsdale 30-25 at the half last week, but the Falcons put together a 28-0 third quarter to pull away. The Bulldogs never really got the offense rolling, as they averaged less than four yards per play in the running game. Nolan Hill provided a spark in the passing game, as the senior caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. No other Bulldog caught a pass. He’s averaging seven receptions, 106 yards, and two touchdowns per game this season.
Speaking of struggling to get the offense going, Fleming had few chances to do much in the first half of its 32-8 win at #6 Prairie (2-1) last week. The Wildcats were limited to just eight snaps in the scoreless first half. However, Kade Comstock connected twice with Brady Kuntz for touchdown passes in the second half, and Chris Goss added two more scores on the ground, as the Wildcats picked up a huge victory. Kuntz also recorded a pair of sacks on defense, and Goss posted a game-high 17 tackles.
Fleming snapped a three game skid in the series with Peetz last season, earning a 55-18 victory over the Bulldogs. Overall, the teams have evenly split the last 18 meetings, 9-9. The Wildcats will have the home field advantage in this one.
Even with that loss, Prairie still sits in pretty good shape to earn one of the eight playoff spots. Along with their #6 ranking in the coaches poll, the Mustangs are fourth in the other three metrics. However, they are dealing with a number of injuries, including a concussion that was suffered by their leading rusher, Arek Wulf, in the loss last week. They travel to Walden on Saturday, for an important North division clash with North Park (2-1).
The Wildcats are coming off a 69-6 victory over Otis (0-3) last week, in which Hunter Sessions tossed three touchdowns and Evan Pieper scored three times on the ground. North Park also scored on a pair of fumble returns and a kick return, as well as a safety. Ale Nugent had two of those return TDs. They’ll be looking to buck history in this contest, as they’ve dropped three straight to the Mustangs, and five of seven overall meetings.
Saturday also marks the return to action for Mountain Valley (1-0) as the Indians missed the last two weeks due to COVID issues. They visit La Veta (1-2), needing a win to help their chances at making the postseason. The Indians finish the season with key clashes against Cotopaxi and Sierra Grande, and even one loss will likely be enough to keep them out of the final eight.
There is an important non-league tilt on Friday night, as Cheyenne Wells visits Genoa-Hugo. Last week’s win over Kit Carson has Cheyenne Wells in the top three of all data points, so the Tigers look to be in very good shape for a postseason berth. Genoa-Hugo, despite leading the Central division, has some work to do. The Pirates are tied for 6th in the RPI, but find themselves 11th in MaxPreps, 12th in the coaches poll, and 13th in the Packard.
Tenth-ranked Hi-Plains (1-1) returns to action on Monday, with an East division contest against #2 Stratton/Liberty (3-0). The Patriots had to miss last week’s game with Eads, and face a tough challenge in their return to action, as the Knighted Eagles are coming off a 62-0 thumping of Miami-Yoder (0-3) last week. A loss in that game will make it extremely difficult for Hi-Plains to qualify for the postseason.
Briggsdale was scheduled to host Idalia on Saturday, but received word late Wednesday that the Wolves would not be able to play that contest, as their school was going into quarantine. As of early Thursday, it looked like the Falcons would be unable to find a new dance partner. If they do not find a new opponent, they will be off until next week’s game with Fleming.
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