Pueblo East and Pueblo South squared in the rival Cannon Game with more than 10,000 spectators at historic Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo on Sept 13.

The game was full of drama, especially in the final seconds. Junior running back Justus Freeman had a 7-yard TD run with 13 seconds remaining propelling the Eagles to a 21-15 victory.

The junior had 20 carries for 126 yards, including the game-winning TD and added four tackles on defense.

Freeman leads the team with 345 yards rushing and three TDs. Justus’ brother, Zion, is a former state champion wrestler at Pueblo East and his father Tony Freeman was as All-American wrestler at the University of Southern Colorado, now known as Colorado State University-Pueblo.

East improved to (2-1) on the season. The Eagles will travel to Denver for a 6 p.m. against Northfield (0-3) at Evie Dennis Stadium.

MOUNTAIN OF DEFENSE: The Mountain Vista Golden Eagles have been outright defensive this season.

The Golden Eagles, ranked No. 2 in the latest ColoradoPreps.com poll in 5A, have a perfect 4-0 record and the team’s defense has been shining all season.

MV has only given up 18 points this season, including shutting out Arapahoe (35-0) and Cherokee Trail (42-0).

Middle linebacker Carter Daniels has been leading the charge. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior has 40 tackles on the season, including 10 for a loss. Junior linebacker Quillan Gulick, a 6-foot, 190-pounder has added 25 tackles – five for a loss – as well.

The defense as a whole has tallied eight sacks, snared four interceptions and recovered three fumbles.

The Golden Eagles will have a bye this week before returning to action against Overland at 7 p.m., Sept. 26.

PERFECTION SO FAR: The season is still young, but several teams in Class 5A, 4A and 3A have been perfect as in they are sporting undefeated records.

The list includes:

Class 5A (8): Mountain Vista (4-0); Columbine (3-0); Ralston Valley (3-0); Chatfield (3-0); Fairview (3-0); Douglas County (3-0); Castle View (3-0); and Denver East (3-0).

Class 4A (8): Broomfield (3-0); Palmer Ridge (3-0); Montrose (3-0); Pueblo West (3-0); Vista Ridge (3-0); Grand Junction (3-0); Riverdale Ridge (3-0); and Bear Creek (3-0); Cheyenne Mountain (3-0).

Class 3A (8): Roosevelt (3-0); Thompson Valley (3-0); Mead (3-0); Pueblo Central (3-0); Skyview (3-0); Evergreen (2-0); Canon City (2-0); and Steamboat Springs (4-0).

Class 5A

Douglas County (3-0) vs. No. 8 Castle View (3-0), 6:30 p.m., Thursday at EchoPark Stadium, Parker

Well, one thing is for sure one of these teams will fall from the unbeaten ranks after this meeting.

A year ago, Castle View drubbed Douglas County 7. CV has won 7 of the last 10 meetings but Douglas County has claimed victory in two of the three games since 2021.

Castle View is coming off a dominating 51-6 victory over the Horizon Hawks last week. In. that game, Aaron Perry rushed for 181 yards and two scores and QB Derek Gordon threw for 214 yards and three TDs. Douglas County counters with Owen Coltman. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior has 173 yards rushing and five scores, while fellow senior receiver

Neither of these teams are ranked by ColoradoPreps.com but that could certainly change with who wins this battle.

Douglas County will counter with senior receiver Roman Saiz, who has caught eight passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Saiz had 230 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Class 4A

4A No. 6 Vista Ridge (3-0) at 5A No. 3 Columbine (3-0), 7:30 p.m., Thursday at Jeffco Stadium

This will be a quality early-season tests for two outstanding teams in different classifications.

Columbine, ranked No. 3 in the latest ColoradoPreps.com poll, turned plenty of heads a year ago when it won the 5A state championship. There’s nothing fancy about what the Rebels do. It is smashmouth football led by senior James Basinger (65 carries for 525 yards). Vista Ridge, No. 6 in the polls, has a chance to make a statement in this game – especially in 4A. The squad is paced by Gabriel MacFarland who has gained 408 yards on the ground and found the end zone four times.

Class 3A

No. 1 Roosevelt (3-0) at Rifle (0-3) 7 p.m., Friday

The Rough Riders have been quite impressive this season, winning games over talented foes Northfield (28-20); Holy Family (38-21) and Ponderosa (42-24).

QB Jasiah Ramirez has thrown for 367 yards and three TDs, while running back Luc Vigil has carried the load to the tune of 431 yards and two scores.

The trip to the Western Slope might be the only thing that slows Roosevelt down. Rifle will try and get on the winning track after only scoring 12 points total in three losses to Grand Junction, Basalt and Delta.

This game should be a good tune-up for the Rough Riders as they have games with Windsor (Sept. 27) and Pomona (Oct. 10) upcoming.