For the past few weeks, Colorado Preps has laid out consensus football rankings and now we take the next step in using them to project playoff pairings across the state. Below are preliminary projections for Classes 2A, 1A, eight-man and six-man.
Please remember that league champions earn automatic bids into the bracket with the remaining slots filled by RPI. Once the qualifiers are determined, then the consensus rankings come into play for the seed order. For this round of projections, Colorado Preps simply lays out the bracket in seed order and then notes where changes could occur due to conference conflicts and travel distances.
SIX-MAN
#1 Cheyenne Wells vs #16 Eads
#8 Kim/Branson vs #9 Genoa Hugo
#4 Fleming vs #13 Otis
#5 Idalia vs #12 Briggsdale
#3 Granada vs #14 North Park
#6 Sierra Grande vs #11 Arickaree/Woodlin
#7 Prairie vs #10 Cheraw
#2 Stratton vs #15 Mountain Valley
NOTES: This bracket would involve some changes in the bottom three spots as North Park’s trip to Granada would probably be changed and Eads might not be paired with Cheyenne Wells due to a conference conflict. Otis in the 13th spot could also get involved there as well. Could see Mountain Valley sent to Granada, North Park to Stratton, Eads over to Fleming and then Otis off to Cheyenne Wells. That would eliminate some travel for North Park and also eliminate conference pairings in round one.
EIGHT-MAN
#1 Haxtun vs #16 Caliche
#2 Mancos vs #15 Byers
#3 Vail Christian vs #14 Fowler
#4 Sanford vs #13 Pikes Peak Christian
#5 Sedgwick County vs #12 Merino
#6 Dayspring Christian vs #11 Calhan
#7 Akron vs #10 Simla
#8 Dove Creek vs #9 Holly
NOTES: This bracket would be changed on at least two fronts as Sedgwick County-Merino and Haxtun-Caliche are conference conflicts from the Plains conference. To avoid those matchups, you could flip Byers and Caliche in the bottom two spots and also exchange Merino and Pikes Peak Christian at #12 and #13. But that creates quite a bit more travel as Merino would then visit Sanford and Caliche would have to go all the way to Mancos. It’s been done before on the eight man level so the committee could make those moves and leave the seeds intact everywhere else.
CLASS 1A
#1 Centauri vs #16 Banning Lewis / Peyton
#8 Holyoke vs #9 Meeker
#4 Wray vs #13 Highland
#5 Buena Vista vs #12 Gunnison
#3 Florence vs #14 Burlington
#6 Wiggins vs #11 Yuma
#2 Limon vs #15 Bennett / Platte Canyon
#7 Strasburg vs #10 North Fork
NOTES: Qualifying for the postseason bracket could get interesting in Class 1A as two leagues do not currently have a potential champion in the top 16 of RPI. Bennett and Platte Canyon share the Foothills lead with Bennett the highest of the two in RPI (#18). Banning Lewis and Peyton should battle for the Santa Fe title and they sit 19 and 20 in this week’s RPI. Regardless of where they finish two of those teams should enter the field as league champions and this week would bump Monte Vista and Flatirons Academy from the field. The Pirates and Bison are 15-16 in RPI this week. Concerning the bracket the main conflict is between Yuma and Wiggins as they’re from the same conference so the Indians would likely be exchanged with either North Fork or Gunnison.
CLASS 2A
#1 Eaton vs #16 Kent Denver
#8 Basalt vs #9 Elizabeth
#4 Resurrection Christian vs #13 Alamosa
#5 Severance vs #12 University
#3 Moffat County vs #14 Northfield
#6 Delta vs #11 Platte Valley
#2 Classical Academy vs #15 Academy
#7 Brush vs #10 Bayfield
NOTES: The only conference conflict involves University and Severance as both clubs are in the Patriot West division. In that scenario, University would likely be switched with Platte Valley and head to Delta while the Broncos matched up with Resurrection Christian. University could not switch with Alamosa as Resurrection Christian is also a member of the Patriot West. Travel wise, Elizabeth and Bayfield could be swapped at numbers 10 and 11 but that’s still a tough road trip for the Wolverines as there are no straight roads between them and Basalt.
