The winds of change are blowing and fall is upon us. Football season is kicking into full gear.
Games have stars and wins and losses are starting to really matter.
One of the biggest stars in the young season is Columbine running back James Basinger. The senior has rushed for 275 yards, and 4 TDs in two weeks. The reigning Class 5A state champions are 2-0 this season with wins over ThunderRidge (40-15) and No. 5 Legend (16-14).
Basinger took centerstage against Legend, compiling 150 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
Up next for the Rebels, who are ranked No. 3 in the latest ColoradoPreps.com 5A poll, is Fossil Ridge (1-1) at 7 p.m., Thursday. Columbine is putting its 16-game winning streak on the line.
Basinger has proven he can be a featured back and stepping up. He rushed for 525 yards and scored seven touchdowns a year ago and is well on his way to surpassing those totals in 2024.
Rush to Judgment: Broomfield, ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A ColoradoPreps.com poll, has been playing smashmouth football in grand fashion. The Eagles have ousted Frederick (44-20) and Monarch (46-0). The Eagles are rushing for 319.5 yards per game and Colin Torres (228 yards) and Joseph Larsen (150 yards) are setting the pace.
Broomfield returns to action against Rocky Mountain (2-0), at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Wildcat Roars: Running back Amari Brown is having quite the season for Pueblo Central. Brown has helped the No. 8-ranked Cats defeat Discovery Canyon (41-34) and Eaton (32-7).
Against Discovery Canyon Brown had 237 yards rushing and two scores and 116 yards in the kick return game. He added 119 yards on the ground and three scores against Eaton.
Up next for Brown and Big Blue, is Alamosa (2-0) at 7 p.m., Thursday at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo. The Mean Moose have snared wins over Monte Vista (28-8) and Banning Lewis Academy (51-0).
Class 5A
No. 4 Valor Christian (2-0) at Salt Lake City East (3-1), 7 p.m., Friday
The Eagles have soared so far this year while upending Pine Creek (31-14) and Regis (17-0).
Junior QB Dawson Olk has been fueling the Eagles’ offense throwing for 423 yards and three TDs. Junior running back Chase Hanosh has added 163 yards rushing and one score. Olk’s top target has been Cash Spence, who has caught 12 passes for 274 yards and two scores.
Class 4A
No. 5 Mesa Ridge (2-0) at No. 6 Dakota Ridge (1-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Grizzlies are proving they are for real. Senior QB Bryce Riehl (527 yards passing, 6TDs and 111 yards rushing, 3 TDs) is the straw that’s stirring the Mesa Ridge drink. Dakota Ridge counters with junior QB Kellen Behrendsen (397 yards passing) and junior running back Landon Kalsbeck (215 yards rushing and 4 TDs). If Mesa Ridge can get by Dakota Ridge it will set up another key match-up with No. 9 Heritage at home, Sept. 20.
Class 3A
Pueblo East (1-1) vs. Pueblo South (1-1)
This isn’t the most highly anticipated game of the week, but it is definitely the biggest rivalry game.
East and South will square off with more than 10,000 spectators expected at historic Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo for the Cannon.
One of the top high school football rivalries in the state of Colorado, East and South’s football teams meet annually in “The Cannon Game,” a rivalry that began in 1959 and has morphed into an annual showdown with the victor taking home “The Cannon,” a real, working Civil War-era cannon.
Junior running back Justus Freeman leads the Eagles with 219 yards rushing and two TDs. South will answer with junior QB Caeden Herrera (418 yards and four TDs).
