It was a very exciting opening weekend of the football playoffs on Friday and Saturday with several clubs ending playoff winning dry spells and a few others scoring first-ever victories.  Some streaks were extended and others came to an end.  We review the past couple of days on the gridiron.

Colorado Preps provides playoff histories of each school in Colorado and it’s public information on this website.  Just click on the Playoff Histories tab, select football and then you can search by class, by school and by matchup.  Also feel free to provide us with additional notes on your school by emailing [email protected].

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LANCE WENDT

 

BREAKING THE DRY SPELL

  • Sierra Grande’s 39-36 win over Kim/Branson on Saturday marked their first victory in the postseason since 1985.  The Panthers had just two prior playoff wins and both came in 1985 as they reached the state championship game that year.  They had been outscored by a total of 176 points while losing their previous five playoff contests.
  • Cheraw chalked up their first playoff win since 1993 as they moved past Arickaree/Woodlin 54-22 on Saturday.  It was just the third playoff win in school history with previous victories coming against Hi Plains in 1993 and Peetz in 1990.
  • Idalia captured back-to-back state championships in 2009 and 2010 but their first round win over Briggsdale last Friday (63-14) was their first since those title runs.  The Wolves were 0-2 in-between wins falling to Prairie in 2018 and Kit Carson in 2016.
  • Akron beat Calhan 47-22 on Saturday; registering their first playoff victory since 2016.  That season they reached the state finals before falling to Sedgwick County in the championship game.  Their only previous playoff game since 2016 came in 2018 when they fell to Rangely in the first round.
  • Yuma’s win over Strasburg was their first in the playoffs since beating Rye in 2013.  Saturday’s game was just the third postseason affair for the Indians since that win as they lost to Limon the next week after beating Rye and then fell to Colorado Springs Christian in the 2019 opening round.
  • University picked up a first round upset in Class 2A; downing 5th seeded Moffat County 28-14 on Saturday.  For the Bulldogs, it was their first playoff win since 1985.  That beat Fort Lupton 28-0 in the first round that season.  It was also just the third playoff win in school history (3-10).
  • Elizabeth won the 2010 Class 3A state championship and their win at Bayfield on Saturday was their first postseason win since.  They had dropped four straight in the playoffs before blanking Bayfield 17-0.  It was also their first ever playoff win as a 2A school with all previous victories in either Class 3A or eight-man.
  • Brush knocked out Basalt 43-23 on Saturday to record their first playoff win since 2015.  It was also their first playoff appearance since that season.  The Beetdiggers now have 72 wins all-time in the playoffs.
  • Fort Collins scored their first playoff win since 2014 as they downed Chaparral last Friday.  It was also just their third postseason appearance since beating Rampart in the first round that season.
  • Golden won a playoff game for the first time since 2002 as they moved past Cheyenne Mountain in round one.  The Demons made the finals in 2002 but lost to Monarch 42-35.  This is their third appearance since 2002 with first round losses coming in 2017 and 2019.
  • Bear Creek beat Windsor on Saturday to score their first postseason win since 2014.  This is also just their third playoff visit since that year.
  • Denver South’s win over Mesa Ridge was their first since 2016 and just the 12th all-time in school history.  In 2016, the Ravens topped Vista Ridge 14-0 and this year is just their second trip to the playoffs since that victory.

PLAYOFF FIRSTS

  • North Fork became a school over the summer when consolidation brought former rivals Paonia and Hotchkiss together.  The Miners earned their first playoff visit in their first season and their 38-25 win over Wiggins on Saturday is their first-ever playoff victory.
  • Severance started varsity football in 2019 and this season marks the first time in school history they’ve qualified for the playoffs.  They responded with a 35-7 win over Platte Valley to earn the first postseason win in their short history.
  • Rock Canyon celebrated a playoff victory for the first time in school history.  The Jaguars were 0-6 all-time in playoff games and had been outscored by a total of 179 points in those losses.  That losing skid came to a close with their wild 52-49 win over Smoky Hill last Friday.  The Jags are also in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

EXTENDING AND ENDING STREAKS

  • Sedgwick County ended a 23-game playoff winning streak with the home loss to Sanford on Saturday (36-18).   The Cougars had won the last six state championships in eight man; the longest such streak in eight-man football in Colorado history.  They also share the overall state record of six consecutive titles with Valor Christian and Limon.  Before Saturday, the Cougars last suffered a playoff loss to Granada in a first round game in 2014.  Sedgwick County, as a program, is a stellar 25-4 all-time in postseason battles.
  • Limon’s win over Bennett on Saturday was their 12th straight in the playoffs.  The Badgers are the three-time defending state champions in Class 1A and also top the state with 20 championships in school history.  The Badgers won 14 in a row from 2003-06 where they won three state titles from 2003-05 and then reached the semifinals in 2006.  Limon also went 27 straight playoff games without a loss from 1959 through 1968 which includes a tie with Springfield (13-13) in the 1964 state championship game.
  • Strasburg’s streak of reaching the 1A state finals ends at five as the Indians lost at home to Yuma on Saturday (35-20).  Strasburg joined the 1A division prior to the 2016 season and had reached the championship game each year until this season.  They won back-to-back crowns in 2016-17 before ending up second to Limon each of the past three years.

SPRING FOOTBALL CARRYOVER

Had a coach reach out last week and ask how many teams that played in the spring season last April and May made the playoffs here in the Fall of 2021.  With the Class 3A brackets officially released earlier today, we can now say that number is 10.  Thomas Jefferson, which captured the 4A spring championship, opens their playoff run against Roosevelt this week but the other eight teams went a combined 4-5 in round one.

  • 1A:  Buena Vista (beat Gunnison)
  • 2A:  Northfield (lost to Classical Academy)
  • 2A:  Classical Academy (beat Northfield)
  • 2A:  Basalt (lost to Brush)
  • 4A:  Aurora Central (lost to Ponderosa)
  • 4A:  Vista Peak (lost to Pueblo West)
  • 4A:  Denver South (beat Mesa Ridge)
  • 5A:  Fort Collins (beat Chaparral)
  • 5A:  Far Northeast (lost to Columbine)