The Arvada Bulldogs are off to their best start in four years, grinding through a couple of high-scoring games in consecutive weeks to forge a 3-0 record and join the Colorado Preps Media Poll rankings in Class 2A at No. 10.
At this point, a playoff appearance is definitely a realistic goal.

Since dropping to 2A in 2016, Arvada has posted two winning seasons and even in the most recent year it started 3-0 (2019), the Bulldogs couldn’t get into the playoff field.

However, Glemon Allmon’s team seems to be hitting a different stride in 2023.

Senior quarterback Trevor Lucero has already thrown 15 touchdown passes in three games, and his completion percentage of 67.9% has been instrumental in AHS keeping drives alive and scoring at a feverish pace (45.7 points per game). Oh yeah … Lucero’s shiftiness has also produced a 9.3 yards-per-carry average on 24 attempts with another two rushing touchdowns to his name. Jerriah Arellano has hauled in eight of Lucero’s TD tosses (he has 12 catches overall).

Christian Lake is another senior who is crushing it early on in his final season. Lake has amassed six sacks, leading a team that has produced 13 QB takedowns already.

Wins over Prospect Ridge, Littleton and Englewood are nice. But the schedule will continually get more grueling as the season wears on in the Patriot League West. Even a chance to play 1A Middle Park (2-1) this week is a chance to get better.

Inner-mountain tussle

Gunnison and Buena Vista haven’t met too many times in their recent history, with the Cowboys and Demons having five contests against each other since 2007. However, this 2023 rendition appears on paper to be quite a dandy.

Will it top last year’s 21-20 win for the Cowboys? That remains to be seen. But early in this season, there’s already going to be a lot on the line when they clash Friday night.

The teams currently rank sixth (Gunnison) and eighth (Buena Vista), respectively, in the 1A Select Media Poll. Gunnison is 4-0 for the second time in Paul Vickers’ three years at the school, and they’re looking for more. And Buena Vista is looking to build on last week’s 14-12 victory against Centauri and getting a jump-start in the Western Slope League schedule.

The Demons have flown to the football so far, producing 11 turnovers. And Caleb Camp has been an early-season MVP on both sides of things, not to mention special teams.

While Meeker might have a say about things, these two programs are gunning for the league title and it might be foretold with Friday’s outcome.

West Grand faces a giant opponent

It’s hard not to allow a lot of points in 8-man football, but West Grand (3-0) is proving it can be done. The Mustangs have held two of their three opponents to six points or less, and only allowed Calhan 22 points.

Elbert (3-0) is an entirely different animal, though, and when the teams go head-to-head Friday night it’ll likely be a last-to-get-the-ball-wins kind of scenario between a pair of capable offenses. Elbert does not divulge statistics on MaxPreps, but the Bulldogs have posted an impressive 54.7 points per game so far in rising to No. 9 in the 8-man poll.

West Grand’s Blake Terryberry will have to be very, very good to keep pace, but the sophomore has already shown a good head on his shoulders with a 7-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a heady 7.1 yards per carry when he decides to pull it down and run.

The rest of the story

While the 6-man slate features some heavyweight matchups at the top, as highlighted by Colorado Preps on Wednesday, one saucy little ditty that might not garner as much attention is Primero against La Veta on Thursday night. Both teams are 2-1 and have a couple of premier players to watch for. For Primero, it’s junior Brett Kendall, who has averaged 203 total yards a game; For La Veta, it’s Kade Andreatta with his six touchdowns (three rushing, three receiving).