With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, we provide a combination story on league races and top games set for the week. On this Super Bowl Sunday, all conference races are reviewed and games involving title chases are included.
Photo is provided by Vibrant Valley Photography in Alamosa.
CLASS 1A
5280: It’s a big week as league leaders Denver Waldorf and Flatirons Academy meet on Thursday. Both teams are 4-0 in the conference and lead Mile High Academy and Denver Jewish Day by one game. Mile High Academy can make a big move this week as they meet both Denver Waldorf on Monday and Flatirons Academy on Saturday. Wins in both will give them the inside track to the conference championship.
Black Forest: Edison goes to Pikes Peak Christian on Friday with the winner taking over the conference lead. Both teams are unbeaten against conference foes. Edison has also beaten third place Evangelical Christian so a win this week gives the Eagles complete control of the race.
High Plains: Kit Carson (3-0) leads Cheraw, Cheyenne Wells and Eads by one game in the league standings. They’ve beaten Cheyenne Wells and Eads and go to Cheraw on Friday so a win basically sews up the league crown. Cheyenne Wells has the edge right now for second as they scored a win over Cheraw last Friday.
Southern Peaks: Sangre De Cristo (4-0) leads Primero by one game and Cotopaxi by two. The T-Birds have wins over both challengers already so they’re in the drivers’ seat. Primero has also topped Cotopaxi so the order of the top three may already be set.
North Central: Fleming kept the race very tight with an upset of Briggsdale last Saturday. It was the Falcons first loss but they remain in first by one game over the Wildcats and Prairie. None of the three league leaders meet this week.
YWKC: Lone Star and Idalia have the top spot with one conference loss apiece. Bethune and Arickaree/Woodlin are just one game back so the race remains wide open. None of the teams are above five hundred for the season.
Ark Valley: Walsh and Kim/Branson hold down the top spot as both are unbeaten at this point. South Baca sits one game back in third place. Walsh and Kim/Branson meet on the 15th but the key game this week finds South Baca at Kim/Branson on Saturday.
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CLASS 2A
Black Forest: Dolores Huerta starts the week tied with Peyton in first as neither team has dropped a league game. Thomas MacLaren has one league loss and is alone in third. They host Dolores Huerta on Thursday.
Santa Fe: Fowler is in good shape here. The Grizzlies are unbeaten in conference and have a one game lead and win over second place Holly. The Wildcats took sole possession of second place by beating Crowley County last week. It was their second win over the Chargers this season. Hoehne and Rocky Ford have three losses apiece and share fourth. They play on Saturday.
Southern Peaks: Crested Butte and Sanford share the early lead at 3-0. Sanford won the first meeting 50-28 but the result did not count for the league standings. They meet meet for the second time this Saturday and the winner could end up with the championship. Crested Butte also goes to third place Del Norte on Tuesday.
Lower Platte: Yuma gained the top spot by beating Sedgwick County on Saturday. It was the first league loss for the Cougars and dropped them into a second place tie with Wray. They meet on Saturday with Sedgwick County playing at home. Yuma is in very good shape at 4-0 since they’ve beaten both the Cougars and Eagles.
Mile High: With Highland, Dayspring Christian and Denver Christian all unbeaten and Union Colony and Dawson only one game, this is a very tight race. It should open up a bit this week with three important games. Dayspring Christian probably has the most on the line as the Eagles line up with Highland on Wednesday and then with Denver Christian on Friday. Wins in both give them control of the championship battle. Another important game has Highland on the road to Dawson on Friday.
San Juan: Ignacio (6-0) tops Mancos (4-1) by one with Telluride and Ouray sharing third with two losses apiece. Ignacio’s toughest test this week is a fun non-conference rivalry game with Durango on Tuesday. Mancos can also create space for the top two clubs by beating Telluride on Thursday.
Union Pacific: Surging Burlington picked up an overtime win over Byers on Saturday so they remain tied with Limon in first place. Both teams are unbeaten but that will change when they face off in Burlington this Saturday. Byers slipped into a third place tie with Stratton/Liberty (1A). The Bulldogs are away from league play this week but have two very tough home games against Yuma and Denver Christian on Friday and Saturday.
Western Slope: DeBeque’s win over Vail Christian on Saturday gives the Dragons a very good chance to defending their league championship. The win was their 41st straight and kept them unbeaten in conference play. Vail Christian (5-1) slid to second but the Saints are still in good shape there as they lead four other teams by two games in the loss column. Those four are Meeker, Paonia, Plateau Valley and Rangely. One will fall off the pace when Meeker goes to Rangely on Friday. Plateau Valley could also lose some ground as they host DeBeque on Saturday.
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CLASS 3A
Intermountain: Sole possession of first is now in the hands of Alamosa as the Moose picked up a win over Centauri on Friday. The Falcons dropped to second but still lead Montezuma Cortez and Monte Vista by two games in the race for that position. Monte Vista also has the edge there as they beat Cortez on Friday. None of the top four square off this week.
Metro: Jefferson Academy (3-1) opens the week tied with Faith Christian (5-1) in second place and both teams are one back of unbeaten Lutheran (6-0). The Jags can make up some ground as they face the Eagles on Thursday and Lions on Saturday. Wins in both put them at the top of standings. Lutheran also has a nice non-league game at Sterling on Thursday.
Patriot: Resurrection Christian (5-0) can move very close to the league title by beating Eaton on Tuesday. The Reds (5-1) share second place with Sterling with University (3-2) in fourth. The Cougars have already beaten Sterling and University so a home win over the Reds this week gives them the tiebreaker over their top three challengers. A Resurrection Christian win also gives Sterling the inside track to second since they toppled the Reds last month.
Tri Peaks: Vanguard (8-0) and Manitou Springs (7-0) are tied in first with a two game edge on the rest of the conference. St Mary’s and Lamar (both two losses) share third place but will break that tie when they meet in Lamar this Saturday. Otherwise, non league games are the feature of the week as Manitou Springs entertains Manual on Tuesday and Vanguard heads to DSST-Byers on Thursday.
West Slope: It’s still very crowded at the top as Gunnison (5-1), Aspen (4-1), Coal Ridge (4-1) and Moffat County (4-1) all have a piece of first place. Delta (3-2) is in fifth place. Some sorting out will start to take place this week with Moffat County involved in the two most important meetings. They go to Delta on Friday and then host Aspen the next day.
Confluence: DSST-Byers (5-0) stands alone in first. They beat DSST-Green Valley last Monday and then Green Valley took out William Smith; leaving DSST-Byers as the lone unbeaten. Ridgeview Academy also has one league loss so they remain in the chase. They host DSST-Byers on the 19th.
Frontier: DSST-Montview and Sheridan (both 5-0) are in first place with Middle Park and Bennett both one game back. DSST-Montview goes to Bennett on Friday. They host Sheridan on February 13th.
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CLASS 4A
CS Metro: Harrison (8-1), Widefield (7-2) and Classical Academy (6-2) hold down the top three spots but the standings could change a bit when Classical Academy goes to Widefield on Friday.
Jeffco: Golden (6-1) leads Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain (5-2) by one game. Green Mountain created the second place tie when they outlasted Wheat Ridge in overtime last Friday. None of the three league leaders collide this week.
Northern: Longmont (8-0) has opened a two-game edge on Centaurus and Silver Creek (both 6-2). Longmont is at Silver Creek on Tuesday. The Raptors are coming off a loss to Centaurus last week which cost them sole possession of second place.
South Central: Pueblo East (4-0) is alone in first thanks to the Pueblo Central upset of Pueblo West last week. Both Central and West are 3-1. East has a tough week as they go up against both challengers. They’re at home for both. Up first is West on Tuesday and then Central on Thursday.
West Slope: Glenwood Springs (6-0) stands atop the race by one game over Steamboat Springs. The Sailors shared second with Summit before beating the Tigers on Friday night. Glenwood Springs faces Summit on the road this Tuesday with the rematch against Steamboat Springs set for February 15th.
Colorado 8: Conifer, Fort Lupton and Weld Central are all 3-0 and lead all others by at least two games. Fort Lupton heads to Weld Central on Friday so one of the leaders will fall off the pace. Conifer meets both the Blue Devils and Rebels next week.
Pikes Peak: Cheyenne Mountain (8-0) has basically locked up the title. They’ve already created a large three-game cushion over Sand Creek and they lead Discovery Canyon, Palmer Ridge, Air Academy and Lewis Palmer by four. Sand Creek looks to sew up second place with wins over Air Academy and Lewis Palmer this Tuesday and Friday.
Tri Valley: Mead (11-0) has a nice two game edge on Erie (8-2) with Windsor (8-3) another game back in third. None of those three meet over the next seven days.
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CLASS 5A
Centennial: It’s been close throughout the season but heading into this week, Cherry Creek and Grandview (7-1) have suddenly created a two game edge on Overland and Smoky Hill (both 5-3). Eaglecrest (4-4) is fifth in the conference but will likely remain in the statewide top 10. The third place tie will be broken on Friday when Overland meets Smoky Hill.
Front Range: Boulder (6-0) and Fairview (7-0) are up two games on Fossil Ridge, Horizon and Broomfield. The two in-city rivals meet on the 17th. Boulder has games with Legacy (Tuesday) and Monarch (Friday) this week. Fairview has a tough trip to Broomfield on Friday. None of the three third-place teams meet head-to-head.
Jeffco: Ralston Valley (2-0) and Dakota Ridge (3-0) are in first and lead Valor Christian, Columbine, Arvada West and Bear Creek. The Mustangs scored a big win over Valor Christian last week and can move very close to the title by beating Columbine on Wednesday. Dakota Ridge is off this week and will face Valor Christian on the 12th.
CS Metro: Pine Creek (7-0) has all but clinched this race. The Eagles are up by three games on Rampart, Fountain Fort Carson and Doherty (all 4-3). Pine Creek faces two of the second place clubs this week as they host Rampart on Tuesday and then visits Doherty on Saturday.
Continental: Legend (4-0) continues to stand alone in first with chasers Mountain Vista, ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon, Regis and Chaparral all just one game back in the loss column. Legend has a tough trip to Regis on Thursday. That’s two days after the Raiders go up against Chaparral. Rock Canyon and Chaparral also meet on Thursday.
City: Denver East and Northfield are the two remaining unbeatens but they don’t face off until the 18th. George Washington and Lincoln are both one game back. Lincoln faces both first place teams this week with Denver East first up on Tuesday followed by Northfield on Thursday. George Washington lost to Northfield last week and will challenge Denver East in the final week.
East Metro: Gateway and Rangeview are unbeaten but the Raiders are heavily favored. They’re 17-0 on the season while the Olympians have just six wins this season. Vista Peak, Brighton and Aurora Central all have one league loss and are tied for third. Gateway goes to Brighton and Rangeview is at Aurora Central this week. Both games are Friday.
Southwestern: It’s quickly turned into a two-team chase as Montrose and Fruita Monument (both 3-0) are two games up on all others. The first of two meetings between the Indians and Wildcats is this Tuesday and they will play again in Montrose on the 18th.
