Week eight is shaping up to be a very critical week for conference races across the state.  There are 20 games on the schedule featuring league leaders against one another and in a few cases, winners can actually clinch league championships.
Colorado Preps will expand the list of important games on Monday but below is the list of those where winners stay in first and losers fall off the pace.
 

CLASS 5A

Columbine at Ralston Valley
Cherry Creek at Eaglecrest
Regis at Doherty
NOTES:  Cherry Creek and Eaglecrest are both 2-0 in the Centennial and 7-0 overall so the winner not only gains control of the league chase, they also stay in contention for the top overall playoff seed.  Columbine and Ralston Valley are 2-0 in the Jeffco and sit tied with Pomona in first place.  The Rebels and Mustangs collide while Pomona meets Mullen in week 8.    Doherty and Regis are tied with Fountain Fort Carson at 2-0 for the top spot in the South conference.  Both are also 3-4 overall so it should be a good contest.  Fountain Fort Carson will be favored at home against Chaparral.
 

CLASS 4A

Fort Collins at Loveland
Gateway at Ponderosa
Greeley West at Brighton
Mesa Ridge at Pine Creek
NOTES:  Loveland and Fort Collins were both week one winners in the Longs Peak conference so they share the very early lead with Skyline.  The Indians will be favored as they have three more wins overall than the Lambkins.  Gateway’s only win of the season came last week in their Metro league opener with Aurora Central and they tangle with a Ponderosa club that has won four consecutive games.  The winner should stay tied with Montrose atop the standings as the Indians meet Denver South.  Greeley West blew past Longmont and has now won five straight.  The Spartans, through one week of Northern division action, have the lead with Broomfield and Brighton.  One team will fall off the pace when Greeley West and Brighton face off.  Broomfield meets Mountain View.  Pine Creek and Mesa Ridge joined Grand Junction Central as opening week winners in the Southern 1 conference.  They continue their long-standing Colorado Springs rivalry this week with a share of first place on the line.
 

CLASS 3A

Discovery Canyon at Thomas Jefferson
Frederick at Holy Family
Canon City at Harrison
Glenwood Springs at Palisade
NOTES:  Discovery Canyon and Thomas Jefferson are both top 10 teams but one will fall off the early pace in the Central division.  Both teams picked up wins in the opening conference game and share first place with defending state champion Palmer Ridge.   Frederick and Holy Family were not challenged in posting North Metro league wins over the weekend.  They share first place with Mead who was the third league team to post a win.  Holy Family and Mead also face off in week nine.  Harrison moved to 6-0 with their 42-0 win over Falcon on Saturday. The Panthers are joined atop the Southern division race with Canon City and Mitchell.  Canon City is coming off their first victory of the season in a shutout of Sand Creek.  Palisade and Glenwood Springs renew their long-standing rivalry in week eight and the winner will stay in the Western Slope lead.  Battle Mountain (5-1) was the other week one winner and they go to Steamboat Springs.
 

CLASS 2A

Faith Christian at Bennett
Platte Valley at Sterling
Resurrection Christian at Eaton
NOTES:  Faith Christian and Bennett both 2-0 in the Flatirons and are tied with D’Evelyn atop the standings.  The lower falls into sole possession of third place as the three remaining league teams are all 0-2.  Nothing will be official this week, but realistically we could see league championship games played in both the Patriot East and West.  Platte Valley goes to Sterling on Friday and both teams enter the game at 2-0 in the league chase so the winner will stand alone in first.  It’s the same scenario in the West as Resurrection Christian meets Eaton.  The Cougars also have a win over Berthoud on their resume so they virtually lock up the title with a victory.
 

CLASS 1A

Limon at Burlington
Paonia at Meeker
NOTES:  League champions could be crowned in these two races this week.  Limon and Burlington both sit at 2-0 in the North Central and the winner will stand alone.  Burlington has already beaten Wray and Holyoke so the Cougars will be in great shape if they post the win.  Limon has not faced the two other ranked teams yet.  Paonia and Meeker have made it through the first two weeks of the Western Slope without a loss.  Friday’s winner can wrap up the championship with another victory in week nine.
 

EIGHT MAN

No first-place games on tap
NOTES:  The only conference that has two teams sharing first place is the Plains conference where Sedgwick County (4-0) and Caliche (3-0) are both unbeaten.  They will square off in week nine.  Hoehne, Front Range Christian, Mancos, West Grand and Pikes Peak Christian all have sole possession of first place in their respective conference.
 

SIX MAN

Stratton/Liberty at Arickaree/Woodlin
Prairie at Peetz
Manzanola at La Veta
Granada at Kit Carson
NOTES:  Stratton/Liberty and Arickaree/Woodlin are the last two unbeaten teams standing in the rugged East Central.  Each team in the conference is either ranked or has been ranked at some point of the season and all five clubs should make the playoffs.  The Knighted-Eagles and Indian-Mustangs have a combined record of 10-1.  Peetz won the state championship last year but it was Prairie that won the Northern conference title as they beat the Bulldogs late in the season.  The two clubs meet again this Friday with the league championship likely going to the winner.  Each team has a two-game edge on all other league clubs.  The survivor between Manzanola and La Veta gets the South-Central championship.  Manzanola opened 4-0 but has lost two straight.  La Veta opened 0-3 but has captured their last three games.  The Kit Carson-Granada winner officially clinches the Southeast championship.  Both are unbeaten with at least a two-game lead on all other teams.  The game is the final conference contest for Kit Carson while Granada has a game with Walsh left on the schedule.  Mountain Valley has clinched the Southwest championship.  Genoa Hugo wraps up the Central with a win over Edison this week.