After quite a few clubs used week one as a bye week, the second week of football features a full schedule of games in all classification. We trimmed the entire list down to our top five games in each classification and break them down. Full division rundowns will be posted throughout the week and we’ll recap all the contests during the Scoreboard Show Friday Night at 9:30pm.
CLASS 5A
Columbine at Ponderosa (Thursday)
Ralston Valley at Fairview (Thursday)
Highlands Ranch at Grandview (Thursday)
Poudre at Legend
Fountain Fort Carson at Eaglecrest
NOTES: Good schedule of matchups in the big school ranks and we didn’t even include out of state pairings for both Valor Christian and Cherry Creek. Poudre-Legend may be a surprise for the list but the Impalas were impressive in blanking Arvada West and Legend enters week two on an exciting win over 4A power Ponderosa in their annual rivalry game. Ponderosa looks to rebound from the loss but they have another tough assignment against a very physical Columbine team that blitzed Denver East in week one. Ralston Valley and Fairview were both solid in posting opening wins but one will suffer an early season loss this week. Highlands Ranch made the list despite a loss as they battled Eaglecrest to the end in a ten-point loss. The Falcons must tangle with another old Centennial foe on the road this week. Fountain Fort Carson and Eaglecrest both feature tremendous talent at many positions and easily could be the best game in 5A this week.
CLASS 4A (Updated)
Monarch at Dakota Ridge (Thursday)
Pueblo East at Longmont (Thursday)
Montrose at Grand Junction (Thursday)
Pueblo County at Pueblo West
Loveland at Broomfield
NOTES: Dakota Ridge opened eyes with their impressive showing over Rampart last week and the Eagles could easily jump into the 4A Top 10 this week. They meet a Monarch team that has had an extra week to prep for their season opener. The Pueblo East-Longmont game is also among the best early in the season but the contest may have lost some luster as the Eagles were thumped by Roosevelt last week. Longmont makes their 2019 debut at home on Thursday. Montrose and Grand Junction is a long-standing rivalry out west and both put together good showings in their opener. Montrose downed Central 44-20 while Grand Junction was not challenged against Palmer (55-0). County and West is the first in a long season filled with intense rivalries down south. West has to make the quick turnaround after going on the road to knock off Fruita Monument last Friday. County had the opening week off. Loveland heads to Broomfield in one of the premiere matchups of the week in any class. The Indians of course were dominant in rolling to a perfect season and 4A state title last year. They earned the second spot in the pre-season rankings. Broomfield is also a pre-season top five club and enters week two fresh off an impressive win over Legacy in the Mayor’s Cup.
CLASS 3A
Skyline at Mead
Discovery Canyon at Roosevelt
Pueblo South at Erie
Palisade at Durango
Harrison at Green Mountain
NOTES: It’s developing into a nice Longmont area rivalry between Skyline and Mead and both clubs have had tremendous success of last. Skyline reached the 4A finals last year and started the 2019 campaign by beating Westminster last Friday. Mead is a perennial playoff contender in Class 3A and captured an easy win over Lewis Palmer (47-7) in game one. No team made a bigger splash in week one than Roosevelt. The Riders topped Pueblo East 38-21 beating a team that’s been to the 3A finals four times in the last five years with three titles. Now they host a very good Discovery Canyon club that whipped Mountain View 55-14. Erie and Pueblo South were both impressive in the opening week. South clubbed Holy Family and Erie outscored Evergreen 42-33 in a game that was scoreless at the half. Both teams have rugged pre-conference schedules and the winner gets a huge leg up in RPI points. Palisade and Durango may be playing for top Western Slope honors in Class 3A. The Demons rolled Pagosa Springs in week one while Palisade took their bye. Harrison and Green Mountain is a good matchup of 2018 first round playoff wins. Both are expected to win conference championships again this Fall.
CLASS 2A
Limon at Lamar
Monte Vista at Alamosa
Resurrection Christian at Faith Christian
Eaton at Sterling
Classical Academy at D’Evelyn
NOTES: Lamar has not posted a winning record since 2014 (8-2) but the expectations are there this year as the Savages return a good list of talent from last year’s 4-5 club. They face defending 1A champion Limon in the season opener for both clubs. The Badgers lost 11 seniors to graduation but still opened the season ranked #1 in their class. Monte Vista meets nearby Alamosa in a tremendous San Luis Valley clash. The teams are separated by about 20 miles and both teams again have playoff aspirations in their division. With a 13-7 overtime loss to Sterling, Resurrection Christian fell short in their opener which marked the first regular season loss for Cougars coach Jeff Van Winkle. They hope to avoid falling to 0-2 on the road at Faith Christian. The Eagles did not play in week one but are considered a strong state championship contender. Eaton and Sterling remains a strong rivalry from when both were members of the same Patriot conference. Now the Reds are in the West and the Tigers the East but the game carries much importance to the early RPI standings. RPI and a quality conference win are also on the line for both Classical Academy and D’Evelyn. The Jags will open their season on Friday while the Titans popped 3A Sierra 46-8 last week.
CLASS 1A
Coal Ridge at Meeker
Colorado Springs Christian at Holyoke
Paonia at Centauri
Strasburg at Burlington
Florence at Peyton
NOTES: Since moving to the 1A division before the 2016 season, Strasburg has not dropped a game to Burlington. The Indians have won all three previous regular season matchups and a playoff pairing as well. They’re 1-0 this season while Burlington will see their first taste of game action on Friday. Colorado Springs Christian and Holyoke are both pre-season top 5 clubs this year. The Dragons are already 1-0 despite playing less than a full quarter of football. Their game with Haxtun was called with about a minute remaining in the first quarter due to the weather. The Dragons were on top 34-0. CSCS is coming off a semifinal appearance in 2018, their best playoff run in school history. Paonia and Centauri have battled many times in the recent past, both in the regular season and playoffs. It’s always among the most physical game for both clubs. Neither team saw action in week one. Florence and Peyton are both playoff teams in 2018. Numbers could be a bit thinner for the Panthers as they no longer combine with Calhan for their club. Florence rolled Rocky Ford in their opener. Coal Ridge and Meeker went to overtime a year ago with the Cowboys holding on for a 22-14 decision. Both are coming off wins last Friday.
EIGHT MAN
Sedgwick County at Hoehne
Akron at Holly
Dove Creek at Rangely
Sargent at Fowler
Caliche at West Grand (SAT)
NOTES: Hoehne lost just two games in 2018, but both came at the expense of Sedgwick County. The Cougars beat the Farmers in the opener and again in the finals to capture a fourth consecutive state championship. Sedgwick County may have the advantage again in this meeting as they have a game and win under their belt already while Hoehne will be on the gridiron for the first time. Dove Creek and Rangely are both 1-0 but the Panthers had the more difficult test to get there. They moved past Norwood 46-28 while Dove Creek easily handled a Utah opponent. Sargent and Fowler is a very good meeting to regular playoff members. Fowler was not tested in beating Swink (54-6) while Sargent used their bye in the opening week. Caliche and West Grand both posted strong double digit wins in season openers. Caliche took out Gilpin County while West Grand scored a weather delayed win at Calhan. Akron blew past Springfield in their season opener as the Rams made a statement that they could contend for a playoff berth this year. Holly is 0-1 but had a strong second half in a narrow loss to Dayspring Christian.
SIX MAN
North Park at Cotopaxi (Thursday)
Briggsdale at Sierra Grande
Stratton/Liberty at Prairie
Granada at Idalia
Manzanola at Eads
NOTES: North Park and Cotopaxi each moved to 1-0 easily with strong non-league wins last Saturday. The Wildcats popped Arickaree/Woodlin 36-8 and the Pirates ran all over Edison 61-18. The outcome this week will not impact league standings but could play a major role on where the teams are placed in the playoff bracket; provided both teams advance. Briggsdale is coming off a narrow 40-39 loss to Hi Plains/Flagler last Friday. It was a top 10 matchup and went down to the wire. The Falcons look to bounce back against a Sierra Grande that was very solid in an opening win over La Veta. Defending state champion Stratton/Liberty has another tough test on Friday. They came up short to Kit Carson in the state finals rematch last Friday and now tangle with another top five opponent as Prairie was ranked fourth in the pre-season polls. The Mustangs made quick work of Hanover (58-18) to start their season. Granada won the battle of Bobcats last week, using a strong second half (12-0) to beat Manzanola 24-14. Now they face an Idalia club that was outmatched by #3 Fleming (65-12). Manzanola looks to build on the strong showing against Granada against Eads. The Eagles rang up 61 points in an opening win over Genoa Hugo.
