The high school football season is in infancy stages – Week 1 and Week 2 – are already in the books in Class 5A, 4A and 3A.
The world we live in wants instant gratification and hot takes and bold predictions.
That’s going to happen at least not this week anyway.
The angle for this week is simple. Are some teams as good as they seem? And on the other end, are some struggling teams as bleak as their records look?
In 5A, a pair of highly-touted preseason teams in Columbine (0-2) and Regis Jesuit (0-2) are winless and are trying to get their trains on track.
Meanwhile in 4A, Ponderosa (0-1) is trying to regroup after getting clubbed by Palmer Ridge, the No. 4 team in ColoradoPreps.com’s rankings, 42-14.
As for 3A, the coaching staffs at Green Mountain (0-1) and Pueblo South (0-1) have to be scratching their heads.
Both these teams came into the season with high expectations and came out flat in their respective openers. Green Mountain was trounced by Windsor 55-0 and the Colts were hammered by Mead 42-0 at home.
With some of these teams having more questions than answers, Week 3 might have some games that will fill in the blanks.
Below is a sample of some of those games.
Class 5A
No. 3 Legend (2-0) at Columbine (0-2), 7:30 p.m., Sept. 5
Legend has things rolling early in the season, collecting convincing wins over Fruita-Monument (63-10) and No. 9 Grandview (28-12).
Senior QB DJ Bordeaux, who is headed to Boston College next fall, has completed 29 of 43 passes for 388 yards and seven TDs and three interceptions. Bordeaux also has 111 yards rushing and two more scores.
Bordeaux’s two favorite targets are junior Kellen Marchand (11 receptions for 160 yards and four TDs) and senior Ryken Banks (4 catches for 102 yards).
Columbine, a tradition-rich state championship program, is starting 0-2 for the first time in 11 years. The Rebels suffered back-to-back losses to Vista Ridge (24-14) and ThunderRidge (26-6).
Halting Legend will be no easy task for Columbine and if the Rebels have any chance of getting in the win column, they are going to need big performances on offense from running back Mark Snyder. The senior has carried the ball 25 times for a team-best 218 yards and one touchdown.
Class 4A
No. 4 Heritage (1-0) at No. 10 (Class 5A) Arapahoe (0-1)
With the way CHSAA.com does its power rankings this is a big early season match-up from 4A Heritage and 5A Arapahoe.
Heritage is fresh off pounding Severance 46-13 in its season opener. The Eagles have a strong offense led by QB Jamison Seese who has thrown for 193 yards and two TDs and one interception.
Running back Mo Thenell had a huge opener. The senior had 16 carries for 171 yards and two scores. He also caught three passes for 114 yards and one TD.
Arapahoe, which was blanked in its season opener by Mountain Vista (20-0) on Aug. 29, is looking to rebound.
The Warriors need sophomore QB Theo Lee (85 yards passing in the season-opening loss) and senior running back Trajan Fraiser (17 carries for 76 yards) to have better games to slow down the Eagles and take aim at a victory.
Class 3A
No. 7 (Class 4A) Pueblo West (2-0) at No. 3 Pomona (1-0), 7 p.m., Sept. 5
Pueblo West is a stout football program that had to reload this year after losing a chunk of seniors from a year ago.
The Cyclones have wins over Loveland (17-7) and rival 3A Pueblo County (39-34) last Friday in the Pigskin Classic.
West has a ground and pound attack led by senior running back Zach Duran (33 carries for 207 yards and one TD) and junior QB Brendan Ray (51 yards passing and 124 yards rushing).
The Cyclones victory over Pueblo County was nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Hornets, trailing 39-7 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, recovered back-to-back onside kicks, had a fumble return for a touchdown and a big gainer on a halfback option pass to make things very interesting before the final buzzer.
West will have to clean up its mistakes and play fundamentally sound football against a strong Pomona squad.
Pomona hammered Kennedy (56-0) in its opener. The Panthers are paced by a solid rushing attack that will get a true test against the Cyclones. Senior Luis Santana had a team-high 52 yards rushing on only three carries against Kennedy.
