The playoffs are officially in full swing in Class 5A, 4A and 3A. The first-round games unfolded last week in 5A and 4A, while 3A, no thanks to Mother Nature’s visit from Old Man Winter last Thursday and Friday, was finally able to finish regular-season games.

Now, with the first round of the postseason being completed in 5A and 4A, all three classification – adding in 3A – all have 16-team brackets.

There are plenty of intriguing storylines to follow are here is a sample of games on the slate to digest.

Class 5A

No. 11 Arapahoe (8-3) at No. 6 Legend (9-1), 7 p.m., Friday, Echo Park Stadium.

Arapahoe High School’s football team is similar to the Dallas Cowboys from 2021-23 – the Warriors beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

Now, they have to differentiate from the Cowboys and not wilt against the best teams they face.

Arapahoe, which is riding a four-game winning streak, has a grand opportunity to write its own winning narrative against an ultra-talented Legend squad.

Arapahoe does come into this contest with a ton of momentum, especially offensively, after winning a shootout against No. 22 Douglas County 49-35 last week in the first round.

The Price was right for the Warriors as their senior QB Mitchell Price threw for 144 yards and three touchdowns and junior running back Jayden Tackitt had 147 yards rushing and one score.

Price has thrown for 20 TDs this season and Tackitt has 640 yards rushing and seven scores. Senior receiver Andrew Smart has been the team’s top target all season catching 61 passes for 975 yards and 13 TDs.

Price, Tackitt and Smart will have to be on their ‘A’ games Friday, or it might be a very long Friday night.

Legend has won seven games in a row since losing to reigning 5A state champion Columbine 16-14 on Sept. 6.

The Titans last played on Nov. 1 when they trounced Regis 31-3 in their final game of the regular season.

Senior QB Nicholas Farley has thrown for 812 yards and nine TDs and rushed for another 274 yards and eight scores. RB Jaden Lawrence leads the way with 733 yards on the ground and 10 TDs. He also has 18 receptions for 226 yards and five more touchdowns.

With this trio clicking and the Titans defense – which has only surrendered 47 points this season and posted five shutouts – standing tall it could spell doom for the Warriors.

Class 4A

No. 12 Vista Ridge (7-4) at No. 5 Broomfield (9-1), 10 a.m. Saturday

Vista Ridge started the state playoffs with a resounding 35-8 victory over Highlands Ranch in the first round last week.

Vista has played a brutally tough schedule and is sporting a 2-2 record in its last four games, including the playoffs.

Against Highlands Ranch, Vista QB Zayden Stevens has 1,467 yards passing for 14 TDs. RB Gabriel McFarland had a team-high 1,013 yards rushing and 11 TDs. Receivers Jamir Ford, a senior, and Aidan Vanaman, a junior, have five TDs each.

It is going to take a flawless game from Stevens, McFarland, Ford and Vanaman if they want to keep things close with Broomfield and spring an upset.

Broomfield, obviously, has other ideas.

Since the Eagles were upended by Erie 13-3 on Sept. 27, they have been soaring winning five consecutive games by outscoring their opponents 237-29.

Broomfield QB Darien Jackson has thrown for 1,554 yards and 19 TDs. RB Colin Torres powers the running attack with 903 yards rushing and five TDs. Receiver Mikhail Benner has 350 yards and six TDs.

With a win, Broomfield would go a long way in showing it is a state championship contender – not a pretender.

Class 3A

No. 9 Pueblo East (8-2) at No. 8 Discovery Canyon (8-2), 1 p.m. Saturday

These two teams have a long history together dating all the way back to 2014. Their tradition of slugfest games continued earlier this season when the Thunder struck for a 32-14 win over the Eagles on Sept. 7.

It was a great early season win for DC, but the Eagles are a totally different team that Thunder will meet on Nov. 16.

Since its setback to DC, East ran off a 7-1 record, with its only loss to Northfield 28-27 in overtime on Sept. 20.

The Eagles developed its offense with a slew of star players led by QB Dolphka Lewis. The sophomore is a two-way threat throwing for 1,113 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for another 964 yards and 18 TDs.

Lewis has also found a potent partner to fuel the Eagles’ offense in running back Justus Freeman, who has rushed for 1,147 yards and 10 scores. Add in a talented receiver core paced by Izaiah Trujillo, who has 39 receptions for 649 yards and 12 TDs and it is easy to see why the Eagles will be a tough out Saturday.

If DC, which has won seven consecutive games, wants to be celebrating this weekend, the Thunder needs to receiver big performances from QB Hayden Jones, RB Devon Baker.

Jones has thrown for 831 yards and 15 TDs, while also rushing for 759 yards and 16 TDs. Baker, meanwhile, has rushed for 640 yards and seven TDs.

If Jones and Baker can set the tempo and the Thunder defense can rise to the occasion it will be a DC party, but there’s no doubt East wants to and has the talent to claim the upset.