Conference races will either come into clear view after this weekend, or become much more murky. Two clubs enter the week with the opportunity to lock up their respective divisions with a victory, while many others are in a fight to keep their postseason hopes alive.
The Arkansas Valley crown is up for grabs on Thursday when second-ranked Fowler (6-0, 8th RPI) visits McClave (3-3, 23rd RPI). Even with a loss, the Grizzlies would still be in the playoff field, due to a very high RPI, but winning the division appears to be the only way for McClave to get into the postseason.
Fowler has scored the second most points in the class (337), but its been the stingy defense that has helped propel the Grizzlies to their lofty rank. They have only surrendered 69 points, an average of 11.5 a game, good for fifth best in the state. Gabriel Proctor has been a tackling machine this season, racking up 83 tackles. The next three defenders on the list have combined for 92. Included in that group is Orin Carnes, who leads the team with six sacks and two fumble recoveries. Braxton Bates leads the unit with four interceptions.
McClave has rolled to three straight wins, all in league play, but the Cards still have games with Holly and Hoehne on the docket. Their three losses to begin the season came against teams currently in the top 11 of the RPI (Sanford, Pikes Peak Christian, Elbert) and the Cardinals were outscored 144-6 by those quality opponents. In contrast, the wins during this streak have come against teams in the bottom six of the RPI and have a combined record of 2-16. This will only be the fourth match-up between Fowler and McClave since 2012, with the Grizzlies owning a 2-1 edge. They won last year’s contest 40-24 with Jackson Bates rushing for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Seventh-ranked Vail Christian (6-0, 1st RPI) heads into Thursday’s game with Gilpin County (1-5, 32nd RPI) needing to win one of the next two games to secure the Northwest title. The Saints already own the tiebreaker over their nearest challengers, so they win the conference if they finish with fewer than two league losses. They field an offense and defense that are both ranked in the top 10 of the classification. The Saints have scored 40 or more points in four games, and held all but one opponent to 16 points or less. The running attack has been the key this season, with four different players gaining more than 300 yards coming into the week. Chris Cappel (546) and Simon Nowicki (530) lead the way, with Jamison Lee (442) and Micah Sharpe (321) rounding out the group. All four are seniors.
Gilpin County opened with a brutal stretch of Caliche (4-2, 12th RPI), Merino (5-1, 3rd RPI), and Sedgwick County (7-0, 5th RPI), all of whom were ranked in the top five at the time the Eagles faced them. They were outscored 182-40 by that trio. That was followed up by a pair of league losses before the Eagles got into the win column last week by blanking Plateau Valley (1-6, 34th RPI) 40-0. Stephen King amassed 286 all-purpose yards in the win, running for 125, and adding 99 yards receiving and 62 on an interception. Blake Boulter ran for two scores and also threw for one.
This has been a very lopsided series, with the Saints winning all 11 meetings since 2004. Last year, Vail Christian jumped out to a 36-6 halftime advantage and cruised to a 52-18 victory. Lee threw for 130 yards and ran for a team-leading 106. King topped the Eagles with 170 yards and he accounted for all three touchdowns. Two of those were on the ground and the other came on a reception from Boulter.
Fourth-ranked Mancos (5-1, 4th RPI) enters Thursday’s game against Norwood (2-5, 18th RPI) looking to rebound from last week’s 52-24 loss to #3 Sanford (6-0, 2nd RPI). The Bluejays only trailed 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, but they were outscored 30-6 over the next two frames and could not recover. Chase Moore ran for 135 yards and three scores, and Breccen Morelli added 103 yards and a TD on the ground, but he struggled throwing the ball, only completing four of 18 attempts in the contest. Morelli did turn in a solid effort on defense, registering 10 tackles with two sacks. Colt Fury led the Bluejays on that side of the ball with 11 stops. He also recorded a pair of sacks, giving him five on the season.
Norwood just has not been able to find a rhythm this season. The Mavericks opened the season 1-1, but then went through a four-game losing streak. All of those losses were either to teams that are ranked or garnered votes this week. The last of those losses came by way of forfeit two weeks ago. The Mavs broke that skid with a 52-6 victory at home against Del Norte (2-5, 29th RPI) last week. Jamar Rankins only needed 10 carries to pile up 144 yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore only had 126 yards and three TDs entering the game.
The Mavericks own an 8-2 lead in the series with Mancos, but the Bluejays have taken the last two meetings. Mancos won the 2017 match-up 22-14 and backed that up with a 34-12 win last year. Moore tallied 223 yards and two touchdowns in that winning effort.
Sanford and Dove Creek (5-1, 13th RPI) share the lead in the Mountain Division, a game ahead of Mancos, and they will meet next week. The conference crown could be at stake, if both can earn wins this week. The Indians travel to Del Norte on Friday, while Dove Creek is home against Sargent (4-2, 16th RPI).
The current six-game winning streak of Sanford is the longest for the Indians since 2013, when the program also won six straight. The Indians finished that season 8-3, losing in the quarterfinals. They have won four of the last five meetings with Del Norte, including a 58-8 decision last year. Sanford registered seven sacks, picked off four Tiger passes, and recovered a fumble. Kelton Gartrell, who scored two rushing touchdowns, also added a punt return for a score. Del Norte has dropped three straight games this season, all in league play, after opening the year 2-1. They have allowed 58, 58, and 52 points in the losing streak.
Dove Creek has responded to an early season loss at Rangely (4-2, 9th RPI) to win four straight. The Bulldogs are averaging just a tick under 57 points during that winning streak, and have only allowed a total of 66 points in that stretch. Chorbin Cressler leads the offense with 913 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, and 522 yards with seven touchdowns passing. Gauge Thompson (593 yards) and Gage Bailey (445 yards) have combined for more than 1000 yards and each has six rushing TDs.
Sargent currently holds the final playoff spot, but the Farmers might need to win two of their final three to maintain that position. After this week, they close out with games against Del Norte and Sanford. Blake Behil and Kage Pepper both have more than 500 rushing yards to lead the offense, while Payton Brown and Wyatt Cross have each added more than 200 yards on the ground. The Farmers have had the upper hand in the series with Dove Creek, winning the last five clashes. The last two have been very lopsided, with Sargent winning 62-12 two years ago and 76-20 last year.
Saturday’s biggest contest has #4 Merino hosting #6 Dayspring Christian (5-1, 6th RPI) in the Plains division. Merino is tied for the league lead with top-ranked Sedgwick County, who has a bye this week, and they square off in two weeks. Dayspring Christian fell to the Cougars 56-16 last week, so they need a win to stay in the race for the division title.
Merino fought off #9 Caliche last week, 28-6, despite giving up 265 yards on the ground to the Buffs. The Rams also coughed up a pair of turnovers in that victory. DCA will present a different challenge, as they put the ball in the air 39 times last week, throwing for 235 yards against Sedgwick County. They were also bitten by the turnover bug, giving the ball away three times in the loss. This has been one of the more closely contested rivalries in the Plains division, with Merino holding a 10-9 edge dating back to 2004. However, the Eagles have won seven of the last ten, including a 26-8 victory last year.
Other games to keep an eye on this week include #7 Pikes Peak Christian (4-1, 7th RPI) hosting Dolores Huerta Prep (1-5, 36th RPI) on Friday, as the Eagles try to nail down the Southern crown for the second straight season. Friday will also have two key games in the Northwest, with Rangely hosting Soroco (5-1, 17th RPI) and Hayden (2-4, 33rd RPI) hosting West Grand (4-2, 10th RPI). Rangely and West Grand appear to be safe in the chase for postseason berths, but Soroco currently sits just outside. Also, if Vail Christian slips up against Gilpin County on Thursday, West Grand and Soroco still have title hopes in the division with victories.
