Two games must still be played to officially put week one in the books, but with apologies to Limon and Yuma who play on Monday and Fowler-Caliche who collide on Tuesday, Colorado Preps looks at results from the opening weekend of football for our list of top wins for the week.
Below are the picks for the best ten wins of the season with a few additional notes tacked on at the end. Photo is provided by John Contreras.
HOLYOKE: After giving up two touchdown passes in the first six minutes, the Dragons were in a 14-0 hole to Highland but rallied all the way back for a 22-20 overtime win. Both clubs are returning playoff teams and each has hopes to making the reduced eight team bracket but Holyoke gets a major leg up in the race. Miles Sprague tossed two TD passes his younger brother Wyatt and then added the game deciding two point conversion in overtime.
WOODLAND PARK: The Panthers have not been to the post-season since reaching the 3A state finals in 2000 but their road win at #10 Alamosa (2A) gets them started on the road of ending that streak. The win was one of just two wins statewide by a unranked team over a top 10 opponent. Mason Pyles threw TD passes to Tyler Baldus and Bryson Cox in the win. Braden Roskam added 86 yards and the third score on the ground.
WIGGINS: The Tigers were the second unranked team to upset a top 10 opponent as they stunned #7 Bennett (1A) 21-6. The defense was stout against Bennett’s running game; limiting them to just 138 yards overall. Cole Kerr ran for all three scores and led Wiggins in both rushing (154 yards) and passing (105). The Tigers must still get through the rugged North Central slate as they seek a playoff bid for the first time since 2015.
HIGHLANDS RANCH: All it took for the Falcons to edge Lakewood was a 52-yard field goal as time expired in a 17-14 victory. Andy Thompson booted the game winner in giving the Falcons the opening week decision. It was the Falcons fifth win in their last six regular season games dating back to last season. Now they focus on a key stretch against local rivals such as Mountain Vista, ThunderRidge and Rock Canyon.
EAGLECREST: In a 5A playoff field reduced from 24 to just eight teams this year, any head-to-head win inside the rugged Centennial has great value. And the Raptors gained a highly important and crazy 62-50 win over Cherokee Trail on Friday. Eaglecrest took their first lead with 3:50 left on a JP Luketu TD run and then following an interception from Ty Robinson, another big run by Luketu set up the clinching TD by Neo Abney with 2:00 to play.
BRIGHTON: Coming off their first playoff appearance since 2014, the Bulldogs opened the 2020 season with a very solid 32-17 win over Longmont. It avenged a frustrating 20-14 decision to the Trojans a year ago. Eli Bowman ran for two touchdowns and caught a third for the Bulldogs. The defense also limited Longmont to just 50 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Next up for Brighton is a tough test with defending state runner-up Broomfield.
HOLLY: In a wild back and forth game between two teams that will push for a playoff spot in eight man, the Wildcats survived for a 48-44 decision over Haxtun. It was the fifth straight regular season win for Holly as they won their final four games of 2019 before falling to Sanford in round one of the playoffs.
SANFORD: We thought the Sanford game with Soroco would be one of the better eight man games in week one but the Indians made quick work of the Rams with a 40-0 lead and running clock late in the second quarter. Kelton Gartrell scored three first half TD’s and Gauge Lewis got the running clock started when he returned an interception for a score late in the first half.
MEEKER: With very little prep time, the Cowboys collected a nice 36-14 victory over Moffat County on Friday. The game was set up during the week as Meeker lost their first scheduled game with Ignacio and Manitou Springs could not play against Moffat County so the local rivals got together for a very rare meeting on the football field. The Cowboys led 20-14 at intermission then scored the only points of the second half.
LA JUNTA: The Tigers won the head coaching debut for Drew Sission but it wasn’t easy. The Tigers got kickoff returns for TD’s from Anthony Torrez and Jeremiah Martinez and the defense then stopped Englewood on fourth and goal from the one with under a minute to play.
NOTES: Some kudos go to both Severance (2A) and Banning Lewis (1A) as the programs won the first game in school history in their first-ever varsity programs. Severance blanked Arvada 39-0 and their first-ever points were earned on a safety from Caden Donovan. Banning Lewis knocked off Jefferson 27-16 as Ben Early caught three TD passes, intercepted two others and also recovered a fumble. Granted ThunderRidge was missing double digit starters but Arvada West (5A) will still enjoy their first win since 2018 as they edged the Grizzlies 30-23 on Saturday. A-West lost all 10 games in 2019 and not experienced a victory since beating Legend 25-7 in the first round of the 2018 playoffs. Green Mountain (3A) used a touchdown return to grab a 21-14 win over Northridge on Thursday. The Grizzlies had tied the score at 14 but then booted the kickoff out of bounds. The Rams then decided for a rekick and returned it for the game winning score. Loveland (4A) gave notice they will contend for a playoff berth as they ran for 532 yards and six TD’s on the ground in their win over Heritage (49-23). Zack Ratowsky (217) and Garrett Harstad (113) combined for 330 yards and five scores rushing. Dove Creek (8man) avenged a playoff loss to Vail Christian last year (66-30) by beating the Saints 52-20 in the season opener. Mountain Valley (6man) also topped Walsh for their fifth straight win in regular season play.
