Our Friday Game Day report looks at a very busy and very important night of football action. The regular season wraps this weekend for teams in 5A, 2A, 1A, 8man and 6man so league championships and playoffs berths will all be finalized.
Our list of contests in 11-man football all have a role in helping to determine league champions. Conference winners have already been clinched in the eight and six-man ranks so the games mentioned impact league and RPI standings.
Contests listed in italics are games where we will visit with the winning coach or a media representative on our Scoreboard Show tonight. It airs from 9:30-11:00pm each Friday on the Colorado Preps Radio Network.
Please note that the games we select are Friday contests only. We produce a similar report each Saturday for contests slated for that day.
For our weekly audio preview, please listen to our latest Colorado PrepsCast where we run through the top games for the entire weekend.
A list of conference champions is available and we’ll update the story through the weekend. And you can see league standings by clicking here. Simply choose your division and the standings come up and will be updated as each game goes final.
CLASS 5A
Westminster (7-2) at Smoky Hill (9-0)
Cherry Creek (9-0) at Grandview (8-1)
ThunderRidge (7-2) at Castle View (7-2)
Ralston Valley (7-2) at Pomona (6-3)
NOTES: Big final Friday for the division as all four games have a heavy impact on league championships and the playoff picture. Smoky Hill clinches the Metro 10 title with a win over Westminster and that’s very important as the league is only guaranteed one berth and will get no more than two. Westminster falls to third with a loss and that likely eliminates the Wolves from the playoff picture. A win by Westminster and then Denver East on Saturday creates a three-way tie for the top spot. Cherry Creek is the Metro East champion with a win over Grandview. The Wolves create a three-way with Eaglecrest if they hand the Bruins their first loss. ThunderRidge and Castle View are battling for second place in the Metro South and the winner could get a first round bye. It’s the same story for Ralston Valley-Pomona in the Metro West.
CLASS 4A
Standley Lake (6-2) at Fruita Monument (6-2)
Dakota Ridge (4-4) at Wheat Ridge (4-4)
Broomfield (6-2) at Brighton (4-4)
Air Academy (6-2) at Rampart (6-2)
NOTES: Standley Lake is the Pioneer champ with a win in Grand Junction over Fruita Monument. Both teams are 3-0 and tied for the conference lead. The Wildcats cannot clinch this week because third place Vista Peak picked up a win last night and those two collide next Friday. Dakota Ridge must get a win over Wheat Ridge to keep pace with Bear Creek and Chatfield atop the Jeffco. The Bears and Chargers were winners on Thursday and sit 3-1 in the conference. Dakota Ridge is 2-1 and Wheat Ridge 1-2. Broomfield needs a win to stay tied with Longmont for second in the Northern conference. The Trojans were winners on Thursday and moved to 3-1. Neither team can catch Greeley West as the Spartans clinched the title with their win over Windsor. Rampart starts the night tied with Pueblo West atop the Southern 2 conference and Air Academy is one game back. West meets Widefield.
CLASS 3A
Palmer Ridge (6-2) at Lewis Palmer (5-3)
Green Mountain (6-2) at Kennedy (4-4)
Pueblo County (3-5) at Durango (5-3)
Battle Mountain (6-2) at Palisade (7-1)
NOTES: Coming off a great win over Discovery Canyon, Lewis Palmer needs to beat the defending state champions to remain in the Central division race. They’re one game back of the Bears who play Discovery Canyon next week. Neither team can clinch this week. Green Mountain lands the Mt Metro title with a win at Kennedy. Conifer and Evergreen are tied for second and they also play this weekend. Durango must win to stay a game back of Pueblo East in the South Central. The Eagles rolled Pueblo Central last night and clinches the league title with a Durango loss today. Palisade looks to sew up the Western Slope title with a win over Battle Mountain. The Huskies are tied for second with Glenwood Springs and Summit who also square off this weekend.
CLASS 2A
Faith Christian (6-2) at D’Evelyn (7-1)
Bayfield (6-1) at Salida (8-0)
Machebeuf (5-3) at Kent Denver (7-1)
Brush (4-4) at Platte Valley (8-0)
Aspen (6-2) at Basalt (7-1)
Rifle (7-1) at Moffat County (3-5)
NOTES: It’s championship day across the division as all the remaining league champions will be crowned. The top two games are winner-take-all contests for championships as Faith Christian-D’Evelyn battle for the Flatirons crown and Bayfield-Salida square off for the Intermountain title. Kent Denver and Platte Valley win the Colorado and Patriot East titles with wins but losses could create three-way ties atop the leagues. Aspen is the Western Slope champion with a win over Basalt but a loss leaves the championship to Rifle if they get by Moffat County. Basalt can only land the title with a win if Moffat County also beats Rifle.
CLASS 1A
Florence (7-1) at Colorado Springs Christian (7-1)
Holyoke (7-1) at Limon (8-0)
Yuma (3-5) at Wray (4-4)
Clear Creek (5-3) at Jefferson (5-3)
NOTES: The winner between Florence and Colorado Springs Christian lands the Tri Peaks title. Both teams are unbeaten in league play and both have won six straight since an early loss to Peyton. Limon clinches the North Central championship with a win over Holyoke. If that happens, Burlington is second and the Dragons drop to third. If Holyoke and Burlington win, the two are tied with Limon atop the standings. Yuma and Wray are playing for fourth in the conference but the winner should get in the playoffs while the loser will be left on the bubble. Wray is 14th in RPI and Yuma 18th. Clear Creek must beat Jefferson to have any chance at the Foothills title. They trail Platte Canyon by one game in the race and the Huskies can clinch by beating Manual tomorrow.
EIGHT MAN
Springfield (4-4) at Holly (6-2)
Sanford (6-2) at Sargent (6-2)
Dayspring Christian (3-4) at Akron (5-3)
NOTES: With all league champions already crowned, the matchups on our list involve league and playoff positioning. Holly is second to Hoehne in the Ark Valley with a win over Springfield. The Longhorns though create a three-way tie for second with a win if Fowler also beats Las Animas as expected. If Mancos beats Dove Creek, then the winner between Sanford-Sargent is second in the Mountain. Sargent gets the spot with a win regardless of what else happens. Dayspring Christian-Akron are playing for third in the Plains conference.  Akron is 7th in RPI and Dayspring Christian is 16th. The Eagles need a win to likely get in. They also want out of the 16th spot as that club probably won’t get in since Pikes Peak Christian is only 22nd in RPI but stills get in as a league champion.
SIX MAN
Stratton Liberty (8-0) at Kit Carson (7-0)
Cheyenne Wells (5-2) at Otis (5-3)
Manzanola (5-2) at Granada (4-4)
Fleming (5-3) at Idalia (4-4)
NOTES: League champions have already been determined and some teams will be missing players due to the National FFA convention but there are a still few important games. Heading that list of course is the Stratton/Liberty-Kit Carson matchup. The winner should land the top overall playoff seed and that team also becomes the favorite for the state championship. The remaining games impact RPI. Otis and Cheyenne Wells are both in the top 10 of RPI and their outcome will affect almost the entire top 10 placements. Manzanola is a league champion but still could be on the road in round one unless they score the win over Granada — and even then, it’s not a lock. Fleming is 8th and Idalia 9th in RPI so the winner may get a home game with the loser heading out on the road next week.
