Week 3 of the high school football season begins on Thursday night as several teams look to solidify their status as top teams in the state.
Several teams ranked in the CHSAANow.com polls are in action Thursday and each game is starting to weigh a bit more as teams get deeper into the regular season.
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Class 5A
Cherokee Trail at (5) Columbine:
In two games this season, Columbine has totaled 561 rushing yards as a team which is pretty standard for the Rebels. Josh Snyder leads the way with 270 total yards and is averaging over 13 yards per carry. The Cougars are going to have to slow down Columbine and play some ball control football of their own as they look to rebound from a loss to Rocky Mountain.
Lakewood at (7) ThunderRidge:
The Grizzlies followed up a solid win over Arvada West in Week 1 with a convincing win over Douglas County. Alexander Kambesis leads the team in rushing yards with 176 and he has found the end zone four times. He also grabbed an interception in the win against the Huskies. Lakewood is off to a rough start to the season and would love to put together a competitive effort against a ranked ThunderRidge team.
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Class 4A
(5) Broomfield at Vista PEAK:
The Eagles are looking to follow up a blowout victory over Holy Family with their third win in a row to start the season. Cole LaCrue has already thrown for five touchdowns and ran for another three. Ryland Boehmer leads the team with 218 rushing yards. Mikhail Benner has been solid in the secondary as he has grabbed two interceptions. The Bison have kept each of their first two games close and have come out with a win and a loss in the process.
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Class 3A
(10) Discovery Canyon at (2) Lutheran:
A game of the week candidate for sure, but it’s certainly the game of the night for Thursday. The Lions were initially going to cancel their contest with Mead after sitting through a lightning delay on Friday, but the teams opted to finish the game on Monday with Lutheran getting the 19-7 win. Discovery Canyon, meanwhile, has been its slow, methodical self in starting the year 2-0. The Thunder’s defense has already forced six turnovers this season and taking the ball away from Lutheran would be a huge help if DCC is going to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Mountain View at (5) Green Mountain:
Offensively the Rams have been good. Twelve different players have rushing attempts and the team has 491 total rushing yards on the year. Max Choboian leads the effort with 94 yards (on just eight carries) and a touchdown. Defensively, the Rams have been great. They have yet to surrender a point and look to extend that streak against the Mountain Lions.
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Class 2A
(2) Delta at Palisade:
The Panthers moved to 2-0 thanks to a forfeit win over Eagle Valley last week. An injury to quarterback Ty Reed will leave them shorthanded so it’ll be interesting to see how the offense looks against a 3A team that is no stranger to tough matchups.
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Class 1A
Banning Lewis at (8) Yuma:
Yuma got everyone’s attention with a big win over Sterling in Week 1. The team then went to Wyoming and came back with another win to sit at 2-0 on the year. Jack Blecha has rushed for 224 yards in those two games and Silas Baucke has a team-high three rushing touchdowns. Banning Lewis quarterback Sam Bell has thrown for seven touchdowns already and if he can lead his team to a win, the Stallions could creep into next week’s top 10.
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6-Man
Idalia at (4) Arickaree:
Logan Wright has been one of the best runners in the state, totaling 451 yards and 10 touchdowns in just two games. He is a big reason the Bison are 2-0 and they look to continue that winning streak when they host Idalia.
