Sixth-year Rye head football coach Conner Pigg says that senior Dylan Hurne is “a class act” and that “he’s got a surplus of everything a coach looks for in a player.”

On Friday night against Center, he put that surplus of athleticism on display.

Carrying the weight of a bad game against Center as a sophomore with him into this latest rematch, Hurne was an absolute beast in a 42-14 win, as he amassed a school-record 403 yards rushing on just 25 carries — one of the state’s biggest ground-game performances on record.

According to CHSAA records, Hurne’s performance was just outside the top 22 recorded single-game marks — just below Derek LaVelle’s 409 yards in a game between Aurora Christian and Calhan back in 1992. Montbello’s Leonard Jones holds the state record with 584 yards in a game in 1999.

Hurne also scored six times in the contest to double his season touchdown total to 12.

“Dylan was looking and expecting to score every time he touched the ball at Center,” coach Pigg said. “His first carry of the game went for 65 yards and was good for a touchdown, he recorded another 65 yard touchdown in the second half, two more touchdowns that were 40(-plus) yards and two red zone TD’s.

“Despite the thunder and rain, Dylan seemed to find solid footing all night. Whether we were running inside, outside, or off tackle Dylan proved powerful and elusive for the duration of the game.”

Rye (2-1) takes on Trinidad (0-3) this week in Class 1A non-league action.

Otis overwhelms Idalia

The 6-man Otis-Idalia matchup was a marquee event last week that turned into a lopsided affair thanks in part to the Bulldogs’ timely passing attack.

The Bulldogs only attempted eight passes all game, but three of them went for touchdowns. While Erick Thorn was busting off runs at 22 yards a tote, Tayte Smith managed 155 total yards and caught all three of those TD passes from sophomore QB Austin Hornung.

Undefeated Otis (4-0) — No. 2 in this week’s Select Media Poll — next tackles La Veta (2-2) this week.

Lamar’s big chance

While there are no top-10 matchups on the docket 2A this week, the Lamar Thunder (3-0) have a chance to make people start looking their way as they host the Berthoud Spartans (3-0, No. 5 in the Select Media Poll) on Friday night.

Jason Tice’s team already has more wins than each of the past two seasons, grinding out a couple of low scoring games the past two weeks to set up this nonleague matchup between teams about 240 miles apart.

The Thunder have a solid defense with a mix of young players and savvy veterans. Austin Thacker, a senior, has 25 tackles and four sacks so far while the team has produced seven interceptions collectively.

They’ll need that ball-hawking mentality Friday against the Spartans, who’ve averaged 400 yards a game behind seniors Darin Davidson, Alex Larson and Joey Finnegan, among others.

The rest of the story

Dove Creek hops the border this week to take on Monticello (Utah), hoping to improve to 4-1 in 8-man play. Taber Dejane has had a stellar start to the 2023 season, averaging 233 all-purpose yards per game.

Simla continued its onslaught of wrecking opponents last week, dropping Sedgwick County, 41-6. The Cubs have allowed just 12 points through four games.