Six and eight-man teams have been playing conference games since the second week of the season and this coming weekend, clubs in 5A, 2A and 1A also join the league party. Classes 3A and 4A work through one more week of non-conference games. Here’s a look at our selections for the top games in each classification.
CLASS 5A
Eaglecrest at Grandview (Metro East)
Cherokee Trail at Arapahoe (Metro East)
Mullen at Columbine (Metro West)
Arvada West at Ralston Valley (Metro West)
Denver East at Westminster (Metro)
Legend at Fountain Fort Carson (South)
Valor Christian at Castle View (Metro South)
NOTES: Conference play begins across most of the big school division this week and that means major clashes in the Metro East and Metro West divisions. Eaglecrest, Grandview, Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek are all unbeaten in the Metro East while Columbine is 5-0 with Arvada West and Ralston Valley are both 4-1 inside the Metro West. Early games will set winners up for a run at a coveted league championship. Denver East and Westminster are tied with Smoky Hill atop the Metro 10. All three are 4-0 inside that conference. Smoky Hill entertains Boulder. Legend and Fountain Fort Carson are the only two teams in the South with more than one win entering league play. That winner could end up with the league crown. Valor Christian is 5-0 and favored to win the Metro South. Castle View is among the biggest surprises in the division at 4-1. ThunderRidge (4-1) is also in that conference.
CLASS 4A
Montrose at Fruita Monument
Greeley West at Greeley Central
Fort Collins at Broomfield
Vista Ridge at Ponderosa
NOTES: One more round of non-conference play in Class 4A before the league schedule gets going next week. It’s mostly rivalry games on the agenda including a nice one between Montrose and Fruita Monument. Both will be ranked in the Top 10 again this week. Montrose is trying for the complete sweep of Western Slope rivals as they’ve already beaten Grand Junction, Grand Junction Central, Durango and Palisade. Fruita lost to Central but has a win over Grand Junction. They do not face Palisade this year. Vista Ridge and Ponderosa both opened in the top 10 but lost their first two games. Both are back in the stride as each has won their last two. Greeley West is coming off a big win over Chatfield but still need focus against in-city rival Greeley Central. Broomfield looks for a fourth straight win following the opening loss to #1 Loveland.
CLASS 3A
Mead at Erie
Skyline at Holy Family
Niwot at Eagle Valley
Evergreen at Palisade
NOTES: Like Class 4A, this division wraps up the non-league schedule this week and the schedule is somewhat light as teams try to get in a bye or prep for next week’s start of conference action. Offense will be the showcase between Skyline and Holy Family as both teams feature high powered attacks. Skyline has scored 40 points in every win and put up 34 in last week’s loss to Longmont. Holy Family netted just 19 in an opening win over Pueblo South has scored 57, 34 and 43 points in the last three. Mead and Erie continues to develop into a nice rivalry. Mead had lost two straight before the win over Roosevelt two weeks ago (41-0). Erie has won each game by at least 21 points. Evergreen has won two straight including a win over Mead. Palisade ended their perfect start with a frustrating loss to Montrose as they surrendered the winning score in the final minute. Niwot and Eagle Valley both appear on the upswing. They combined for just one win in 2017 but each has already posted two marks in the win column this season.
CLASS 2A
Resurrection Christian at Berthoud (Patriot West)
Eaton at University (Patriot West)
D’Evelyn at Middle Park (Flatirons)
Alamosa at Bayfield (Intermountain)
Aspen at Delta (Western Slope)
NOTES: Important league games dot the first week of conference play in Class 2A. Resurrection Christian and Berthoud are joined by Eaton as teams from the Patriot West that are either in or have spent time in the top 10 this year. University is also improved and has split their first four games. D’Evelyn and Middle Park enter their league race with identical 3-1 marks. Faith Christian is just 2-2 but the Eagles could be favored but could see a challenge from the Jags-Panthers winner. Bayfield begins the run for another IML championship and they host a good Alamosa club in the league opener. The Moose are 3-1 after taking out Lamar last week. Aspen and Delta are two of the four teams with winning records in the Western Slope. They’re both 3-1 and the winner hopes to push Rifle and Basalt (both 4-0) for the crown.
CLASS 1A
Wray at Burlington (North Central)
Crowley County at Rocky Ford (Santa Fe)
Centauri at Center (Southern Peaks)
Hotchkiss at Paonia (Western Slope)
Clear Creek at Platte Canyon (Foothills)
NOTES: When new polls are released on Monday the North Central should again have four teams in the top 10, including possibly three in the top five. Two of those clubs are Wray and Burlington and they continue their long rivalry with an important early game in that conference. Limon and Holyoke face Wiggins and Yuma respectively and both are favored to reach 5-0 with victories. Crowley County and Peyton are the top two teams in the Santa Fe but we list the Chargers game with Rocky Ford as a good one as the two are good rivals. The winner between Centauri-Monte Vista usually grabs the Southern Peaks title but Center is off to a 3-1 start and hopes to break into the top two this year. Wins though have come against teams with a combined record of 2-10 so they will need their best game to upset the defending league champion Falcons. The Western Slope is likely 4-5 teams deep again this year so every week there will be an important game. We’ve selected Paonia-Hotchkiss as the best this week as the nearby rivals again compete in the North Fork Bowl. Jefferson (3-1) has the best record of any team in the Foothills but the winner between Clear Creek and Platte Canyon could very well end up with the championship.
EIGHT MAN
West Grand at Rangely (Northwest)
Hoehne at Fowler (Ark Valley)
Simla at Pikes Peak Christian (Southern)
Sargent at Norwood (Mountain)
Merino at Akron (Plains)
NOTES: West Grand and Rangely enter the Northwest schedule with perfect 4-0 marks and tied with Soroco for the best non-league record for any club there. The winner stays in line for a league championship and the loser will have some ground to make up over the final month of the regular season. Rangely has already doubled their win total from 2017. Fowler lost a tough one to Holly last week so the Grizzlies need a win over Hoehne to remain in the Ark Valley championship discussion. Hoehne and Holly also collide next week so the league title could be decided by the first week of October. Simla and Pikes Peak Christian are both 4-0 on the season and each has two conference wins already. The winner should end up their top trophy and a guaranteed playoff berth. Sargent and Norwood have both dropped a conference game and sit one game back of co-leaders Mancos and Sanford so it’s likely only the winner remains in the chase. Merino and Akron should battle with Caliche for second place behind #1 Sedgwick County in the Plains league.
SIX MAN
Cheyenne Wells at Kit Carson (Southeast)
Arickaree/Woodlin at Flagler/Hi Plains (East Central)
Stratton/Liberty at Idalia (East Central)
Briggsdale at Peetz (North)
Prairie at Otis
NOTES: We thought this week’s battle between Kit Carson and Cheyenne Wells would determine first and second but Granada spoiled those thoughts with a wild 80-64 win over the Tigers last week. Because of that loss, Cheyenne Wells needs to upset the Wildcats to remain in title contention. Kit Carson is 4-0 but has not played a strong schedule to this point. Stratton/Liberty and Idalia both won league openers last week so the winner will keep at least a share of first place. Arickaree/Woodlin is playing their first conference game at Flagler/Hi Plains. All five teams in that league are in the top 10. Peetz is 2-0 in the North and tied with Prairie for the conference lead (3-0). Briggsdale lost to Prairie earlier this year so they cannot afford another league loss. Peetz and Prairie meet on October 12th. Prairie and Otis are both 3-1 and has a lopsided loss to Stratton/Liberty on their resume. Both should be playoff bound so the outcome will impact the bracket pairings.
