There’s not a bunch of quantity in the top games list for Classes 1A and 2A but the schedule is loaded with quality. A top five matchup gets the slate underway on Thursday and continues with tournament play on Friday and Saturday. We preview the best battles.
CLASS 1A
Thursday: #4 Kit Carson vs #5 Limon (2A)
Even though the game will serve as the undercard to the potential record setting girls’ matchup, this is still a very good contest of top five clubs. It’s the season opener for the Wildcats while the Badgers look to rebound from a home loss to Ignacio last Saturday.
The Badgers will have a huge size advantage going in as they feature three players at least 6-4 or taller in their regular rotation. That list includes senior Logan Marx and juniors Alex Carr and John Jaklich. Kit Carson meantime has just two players listed above six feet in seniors Peter Hornung and Brock Weiand.
Kit Carson ended last year with 16 wins and went 1-2 at the state tournament to finish sixth overall. They fell to state finalist Sangre De Cristo in the quarterfinals but stayed alive with a 42-39 win over Walsh. They then lost to Evangelical Christian (68-51) in the consolation finals.
They do return their top four scorers from the club including senior Jayden McCombs-Farmer. He averaged 12.6 points a game and was second on the club with 6.4 rebounds. For good measure, he added nearly three assists and three steals a night. Sullivan Farmer (9.0), Cordell Farmer (8.1) and Brayden Bogenhagen (7.1) also return. Bogenhagen paced the club with 59 three’s and Farmer added 45. Overall, the Wildcats dropped in 178 treys and outside shooting is a major piece of their offensive puzzle.
Limon also returns talented guards Camden Smithburg (16.2) and Kory Tacha (10.6) who combined for nearly 27 points a game as sophomores. Sophomore Brady Rockwell is also added to the lineup as the Badgers will easily rotate eight to nine players on a regular basis.
Friday: #2 Evangelical Christian vs Cotopaxi
This one won’t receive much attention statewide but it has the chance to be a very good game. The Eagles and Pirates collide in the opening round of the Evangelical Christian tournament but it might be better suited for the finals on Saturday. Both clubs are 2-0 going in.
Because of location, Cotopaxi doesn’t receive a ton of press but they’re led by Chance Guliford who averaged 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game as the Pirates topped Cripple Creek and South Park last week. Those numbers continue a high-level career as he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds as a sophomore and 24 and 14 as a junior. Standing 6-7 with the ability to shoot the three, he’s a difficult matchup for most opponents.
Four other Pirates average at least six points a game led by Peter Belt (12.0) and Zac Van Esselstine (7.0). Freshman Ty Coleman has been a nice boost scoring 6.5 points a game; a number matched by Jonah Bertolino.
Upsetting ECA won’t be easy as the Eagles return six of their top seven scorers from a club that won 21-games last season and earned the consolation crown at the state tournament. Jason Holt (21.7) is a player of the year candidate and depth offensively comes from the likes of Sam Mote (8.9), Jonah Aragon (6.2) and Judah Alexander (5.8).
The winner gets either Rye or Fountain Valley in the championship and both will be favored in either matchup.
CLASS 2A
Thursday: #3 Fowler vs Centauri (3A)
Thursday: #10 Sanford vs Lamar (3A)
We group these two games together as they represent the top half of the bracket of the La Junta Holiday Shootout. Winners collide in the semifinals on Friday and the survivor should pick up the tournament championship on Saturday. Fowler and Centauri are both unbeaten while Sanford and Lamar seek their first win of the young season.
Fowler, just five days after playing in the eight-man state championship game, rolled Rye 54-29 in their season and conference opener. Juniors Val Leone (18) and Gabe Proctor (17) led the way with a combined 35 points; including five three pointers. Johnathon Mobbley added 12 points. All three were integral parts of the Grizzlies run to the third-place trophy at last year’s 2A state tournament.
Centauri is the defending tournament champion and they opened this season with three wins over Olathe, Moffat County and Sargent by a combined 113 points. The Fowler matchup should be their first tough test of the season.
Stats have been posted to MaxPreps for this year but the Falcons expected every player back from last season’s club except for leading scorer Martin Garcia (11.6). Noah Sowards (8.2), Baron Holman (7.6) and Alec Holman (7.1) are the top returning scorers but three others averaged at least five points a game a year ago.
Sanford and Lamar are both 0-1 and each lost to Alamosa in the opening week. The Indians came up short by 13 points (50-37) and the Savages lost by 10 (56-46). Those comparison scores set up what should be a very good battle.
The Indians return just two of their top six scorers from last year; Clay Canty (9.5) and Thomas Faucette (8.0). The Savages graduated their top two scorers but the next 13 return so expectations are very high. Damian Ramos netted 21 in the loss to Alamosa and Luis DeLatorre added 11 but the team connected on just 19 of 63 shots (30%).
Other teams in the bracket include Monte Vista, Del Norte, Swink and La Junta. Play begins Thursday at 4:30pm with the championship game set for Saturday at 7:00pm. Games on Thursday and Friday are split between La Junta high school and Otero Community College with all eight games on Saturday slated for the Tiger Gym.
Friday: #1 Yuma vs #9 Wray (projected)
As we mentioned in our girls report for the week, these two in-county rivals may square for a second time this season at the Goodland KS Topside Classic. They each play on Thursday and if they end up with the same result, they will battle on Friday in either the semifinals or consolation bracket. Yuma meets McCook NE at 4:00pm and Wray challenges Colby KS at 6:00pm. Regardless of the results, they both play at 4:00pm on Friday.
Game one between the two took place last Saturday with the defending state champions earning a hard fought 49-40 win. Yuma led by just one point after three but outscored the Eagles 18-11 in the fourth quarter. The Eagles hit just 33 percent of the field and was 5 of 21 from the three-point line. Samuel Uyemura led the way with nine points while the trio of Jaden Dodsworth, Junior Arambula and Justin Pecar each added eight.
Friday: #8 Holly vs Springfield
A good rivalry matchup for both clubs as they continue to prep for the annual Lamar Holiday Classic next week. The Wildcats have a second game this weekend as they also visit Rocky Ford on Saturday while this marks the only contest of the week for the Longhorns.
With a record of 116-9 over the past five years, Holly has been one of the top teams statewide each season but enter this year with several new faces in the lineup. They placed fourth in Class 2A last season but lost six of their top seven scorers to graduation. That group provided nearly 47 points per game. Brigden Parker (14.3) is the top returnee but the Wildcats will need more production from the likes of Diego Tamayo and Omar Moreno, among others, to keep up their great success.
It’s been awhile since Springfield has beaten Holly. The Wildcats have won the last eight in the series with the Longhorns last win coming in 2015 when the teams split four matchups overall. They enter the game on Friday with a 1-1 record after splitting two games at their own tournament last week; beating Sierra Grande 59-54 and falling to Hugoton KS 67-24. The Longhorns are junior dominated as classmates Darien Schaller (25), Dakota Mort (20), Luke Hutches (18), Uriel Roman (9) and Hayden Lasley (8) scored all but three of the team’s points on the week.
Friday: #2 Highland vs #10 Eaton (3A)
Another good rivalry up north as the two teams are separated by about five miles in Weld County and this matchup could be high scoring. Highland averaged 75 points a game while running to the 2A state finals last year and has continued their high scoring ways here in 2019. They were limited to 60 points in an opening win over Peyton but has since played three straight games with at least 80 points. That includes a nice 80-62 win over 3A Frontier Academy earlier this week. Senior Tate Bessire is off a hot start with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals per game. Bowen Tolle is next with 16 points and seven rebounds a night and Holden Morgan has added 10 and seven through four games. Jase Bessire’ scoring is lower so far this year (9.7) but he’s handing out over six assists and pulling down eight boards a game from his guard spot.
Eaton (2-1) averaged 70 points a game at home during last week’s Northern Colorado Roundball Classic. They topped Basalt and Academy by a combined 73 points but then were knocked off by 4A Fort Morgan (73-66) on the night. The Reds, who also meet Machebeuf on Thursday, feature double figure scorers in Bryce Leafgren (17.7), Scott Grable (15.0), Nic Inda (10.0) and Gage Butler (10.0). Ryan Ure is also very close to a double double with 9.7 points and 12.7 rebounds each time out.
