The football playoffs roll into semifinal showdowns for Class 5A, 4A and 3A.

The curtain is about ready to drop on another amazing football season as the top teams in 5A, 4A, 3A are pitted in state semifinal games this weekend with all of them focus on state championship glory.

There are plenty of interesting storylines to follow and here are a few to dive into as the semifinals are set begin.

Class 5A

No. 7 Fairview (12-0) vs. No. 6 Legend (11-1), 1 p.m., Saturday, EchoPark Stadium

When talking about potential 5A state football champions in 2024 these two teams that likely were not in the conversation.

Well, the Knights and Titans didn’t get that memo.

Now the two squads are battling each other for a right to be in the 5A state championship game against the winner of top-seeded Cherry Creek (11-1) and No. 5 Valor Christian (11-1), who meet in the other semis at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Fairview has not lost a game in almost 13 months, the last one being a 42-14 loss to Fountain-Fort Carson to conclude its 2023 season.

This season everything has clicked for the Knights as they captured a huge upset of No. 2 seed Mountain Vista (49-45) last weekend.

The stars of that game were sophomore quarterback Ki Ellison threw for 229 yards and 2 TDs and senior Jordan Rechel added 117 yards rushing and two scores.

Ellison has thrown for 2,609 yards and 25 TDs this season and added 243 yards rushing. Rechel has rushed for a team-best 881 yards and 19 TDs and he’s chipped in 901 yards receiving and seven more scores.

Defensively, Ryder Villarreal leads the way with 100 tackles.

Legend counters with a nine-game winning streak, its only loss coming against Columbine 16-14 on Sept. 6.

The Titans are directed by senior QB Nicholas Farley, who has thrown for 970 yards and 10 TDs. Farley has also rushed for 374 yards and nine TDs. Jaden Lawrence leads Legend with 955 yards rushing and 12 TDs. Lawrence also has 241 yards receiving and five more TDs.

Defensively, John Niedringhaus fuels his team with 97 total tackles and 17 tackles for a loss.

Legend is coming off a 35-16 upset of No. 3 Ralston Valley last week. Lawrence had 109 yards rushing in that victory.

Class 4A

No. 3 Pueblo West (11-1) at No. 2 Montrose (12-0). 1 p.m., Saturday

If it seems like these two standout teams just played, well, that’s because they did.

Back on Nov. 1, Montrose edged the Cyclones 27-24 at home.

West will get a chance at redemption – once again on the road – and this time the victor will advance to the 4A state championship to play the winner in the other semifinal between No. 1 Dakota Ridge (11-1) and No. 5 Broomfield (11-1).

The straw that stirs the offense drink for West is senior QB Gavin Lockett.

The senior has thrown for 1,148 yards and 14 TDs and he has rushed for another 1,271 yards and 21 scores.

In the 42-28 quarterfinal win over Heritage Lockett powered the Cyclones to the victory with a massive 292 rushing and 4 TDs and for good measure he chipped in 77 yards through the air for another TDs.

In the first meeting with Montrose, Lockett threw for 197 yards and two scores and had one interception. He ran for just 56 yards on 15 carries and scored once.

Maybe in this next meeting it is someone else who helps carry some weight for West like junior Zach Duran (836 yards rushing, 7 TDs) and senior Ryan Siebert (623 yards rushing and nine TDs).

Defensively, West is paced by Clay Conner, who has a team-best 67 tackles. Montrose has been dominant in the playoffs beating Frederick (44-22) and then thumping a talented Mesa Ridge squad 53-21.

The Red Hawks, who don’t have individual or team stats on Maxpreps.com, sped past Mesa Ridge thanks to a 32-point second-quarter outburst. Elijah Womack and Chase Mehan are the cylinders powering the Red Hawks’ engine on offense.

Montrose will find itself on the right path for victory 13 on the season it can once find a way to contain the sneaky and ultra-talented Lockett.

Class 3A

No. 3 Pomona (9-3) at No. 2 Mead (10-1). 1 p.m., Saturday

On paper, this seems to be the toughest of the two semifinal matchups – mainly based on their respective rankings in the state playoff field. The winner of this game plays the victor between No. 1 seed Thompson Valley (12-0) and Green Mountain (9-3), who also play Saturday at 1 p.m.

Pomona, which lost to Thompson Valley, 16-7 on Nov. 9 has since rattled off wins over Conifer (49-28), and Windsor (27-23).

The Panthers offensively get put in gear by junior Emmitt Munson, who has thrown for 611 yards and five TDs and rushed for another 1,072 yards and 11 TDs.

The Panthers took their largest lead over Windsor at 27-17 with a 51-yard touchdown run by senior Bauer Swazo on the first play of the fourth quarter and then held on for the win.

Mead and Pomona have a connection with the Mavericks’ head coach Jason Klatt being the son of legendary Pomona coach Gary Klatt.

Mead, which suffered its lone loss of the season to Windsor 13-7 on Nov. 1, is paced by senior QB Christian Hiner, who has thrown for 962 yards and 14 TDs and ran for 262 yards and four scores.

Ethan Elmore (613 yards rushing, and 6 TDs) and Noah Chapala (601 yards rushing and nine TDs) are Mead’s one-two punch on the ground.

There’s no doubt that this should be a slugfest. The difference is likely to come in the trenches and should provide plenty of drama.