With the playoffs set to begin this week, it’s evaluation time for Colorado Preps.  We have spent the season making weekly projections on which teams would end up in the playoffs.  This project began in the pre-season before games actually started and now, we compare the actual teams in the bracket to our picks.

Overall, we projected 73 percent of the playoff clubs (41 of 56).  Class 2A was our best division where we correctly picked seven of the eight teams in the bracket.  We struggled the most in six and eight man where only five of the teams in each were correctly projected.

The breakdown by classification:

 

CLASS 5A (6 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Cherry Creek Cherry Creek
Valor Christian Valor Christian
Pomona Pomona
Fairview Fairview
Legend Legend
Cherokee Trail Cherokee Trail
Ralston Valley Eaglecrest
Grandview Regis

 

CLASS 4A (6 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Dakota Ridge Dakota Ridge
Loveland Loveland
Palmer Ridge Palmer Ridge
Pine Creek Pine Creek
Ponderosa Ponderosa
Fountain Fort Carson Fountain Fort Carson
Skyline Broomfield
Windsor Montrose

 

CLASS 3A (6 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Durango Durango
Pueblo South Pueblo South
Evergreen Evergreen
Fort Morgan Fort Morgan
Holy Family Holy Family
Roosevelt Roosevelt
Discovery Canyon Lutheran
Palisade Mead

 

CLASS 2A (7 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Delta Delta
Eaton Eaton
Lamar Lamar
Pagosa Springs Pagosa Springs
Platte Valley Platte Valley
Resurrection Christian Resurrection Christian
Sterling Sterling
Woodland Park Moffat County

 

CLASS 1A (6 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Centauri Centauri
Florence Florence
Holyoke Holyoke
Limon Limon
Meeker Meeker
Strasburg Strasburg
Bennett Wray
CS Christian Hotchkiss

 

EIGHT MAN (5 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Dove Creek Dove Creek
Fowler Fowler
Rangely Rangely
Sanford Sanford
Sedgwick County Sedgwick County
Dayspring Christian Merino
Holly Mancos
Pikes Peak Christian Crowley County

 

SIX MAN (5 of 8 correctly projected)

PREDICTED ACTUAL
Eads Eads
Fleming Fleming
Granada Granada
Prairie Prairie
Stratton/Liberty Stratton/Liberty
Cotopaxi Kit Carson
Idalia Cheyenne Wells
North Park Briggsdale

 

Based on playoff seed, the biggest misses came with Cheyenne Wells and Wray.  Neither was picked to make our bracket but the Tigers ended up as the third seed in six man and Wray number four in Class 1A.  Eaglecrest (5A), Broomfield (4A), Mead (3A), Hotchkiss (1A) all earned the fifth seed in their respective bracket; Merino (8man) and Lutheran (3A) were nabbed as six seeds while others either received the seventh or eighth seed in their respective bracket.

The job of predicting playoff teams was much easier once all regular season games concluded last Saturday.  After those games, we made another round of playoff projections and correctly picked all but four teams.

  • 5A:  7 of 8 (missed Cherokee Trail)
  • 4A:  6 of 8 (missed Pine Creek & Montrose)
  • 3A:  8 of 8
  • 2A:  8 of 8
  • 1A:  8 of 8
  • 8man:  7 of 8 (missed Crowley County)
  • 6man:  8 of 8