October 29, 2007 9:47 AM
Week 10 forecast
CLASSIFICATION CLASHES
All Rocky games of the week are Friday unless otherwise noted.
Class 5A: Finally, the postseason is here. And don’t think the first round will be void of intrigue. Last season the Nos. 21- and 26-seeded teams posted upsets, meaning Cherry Creek, which faces No. 21 Ponderosa, and Highlands Ranch, which will meet 26th-seeded Rangeview, are on notice. Overall, we like Horizon at Pomona, Smoky Hill at Rocky Mountain and Overland at Denver East as the top openers.
Class 4A: The city title will be decided when George Washington and Denver South meet in a late afternoon contest. While both teams certainly would like to be crowned Denver Prep League champion, this one is more important for GW. The Patriots, seeded 26th in the latest wild-card points, make the playoffs only with a win, while Denver South (11th in playoff points) appears to be in the brackets, regardless.
Class 3A: The South Metro League is a scramble for the third and final automatic playoff berth. Four teams enter the final weekend tied for third place. Each has their postseason fate in their own hands, as defending state champion Alamosa will be at No. 8 Florence, while Harrison travels to Woodland Park.
Class 2A: Several first-round games look enticing, but none as good as fourth-ranked Erie at No. 6 Kent Denver. The host Sun Devils have won six in a row but will be facing a Tigers team whose only losses came against the classification's top two teams — Faith Christian and Holy Family.
Class A: The home teams are heavy favorites in the first round, with one exception. Del Norte will play host to No. 9 seed Peyton. The Panthers are worth a major look, having lost only to No. 2 Limon and No. 4 Byers this season.
Class A 8-Man: No doubt about the game to watch among the playoff openers — No. 8 Sedgwick County at seventh-ranked Simla.
Class A 6-Man: Again, the home teams are expected to advance, but don’t count out Idalia. The two-time defending champion Wolves will be at second-ranked Fleming.
Just missing the cut: Class 3A offers a good playoff warmup, as No. 2 and undefeated Falcon will be at ninth-ranked Rock Canyon in a nonleague contest. .
Give us your take on the top playoff games of the week.
TV TIME
Catch this prep football action on the tube this week:
Friday: FSN Rocky Mountain will announce its game coverage later this week.
MOVING UP, OUT
The Class 3A rankings needed some major adjustment, as four teams in the top 10 lost in Week 9. Out are Summit and Mountain Range; in are Rock Canyon and D'Evelyn as they try to hold their spots in the regular-season’s final week. This is the final week of the regular season for Class 4A and 3A.
WEEK 9 REWIND
Austin Kinnison celebrated his 18th birthday in a big way in Highland’s 18-0 victory against No. 8 Lyons in the Class A 11-Man North Central League. It is the first time the Huskies have qualified for the state playoffs in 32 years. Kinnison rushed for 146 yards and scored both touchdowns. Highland also had two great goalline stands to hold of the Lions.
Speaking of goalline stands, Roosevelt pulled off a couple of its own, stopping Class 2A's No. 5 Eaton on the Rough Riders 1- and 2-yard lines. The stops led to a 7-3 victory for the Rough Riders against the Reds. Roosevelt scored the winning touchdown on a 32-yard fumble recovery by Nathan Wilson in the first quarter.
Simla's Jake Toney returned two kickoffs of 75 and 84 yards and scored three more rushing on runs of 19, 2 and 50 yards as the Cubs beat Pikes Peak Christian 66-18 in the first round of the Class A 8-Man playoffs.
Luke Northam of The Classical Academy became the first 1,000-yard rusher in school history topping the mark in the Titans 51-0 victory against Lake County. He has 1,085 yards this season.
Dayspring Christian defeated Maranatha Christian 68-20 in the 8-Man playoffs behind a stellar efforts from Jared Sanderfeld and quarterback Luke Greener. Sanderfeld scored touchdowns on runs of 62 and 47 yards and caught a 48-yard pass from Greener. Greener completed eight of nine passes for 170 yards and passed for four touchdowns. He also rushed for a 63-yard score.
Rocky Ford's A.J. Romero pulled off a hat trick of sorts in the Meloneers' 35-0 victory against Custer County. Romero scored on a 63-yard run, a 25-yard pass reception and a 20-yard interception.
Hoehne's Kurtis Paradisa, who rushed for 264 yards, scored five touchdowns and also returned a fumble recovery 85-yards for a score in the Farmers' 69-12 victory against Holly.
Discussion
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Questions? Comments? Talk to Us.
October 31, 2007
5:34 AM
Terri writes:
I heard that Caleb Pavy broke the state kicking points record, well next year it will be broken again by Mullen's Dalton Lane. Dalton's timing to attend Mullen was to his disadvantage for football, but his fresman year he was the only freshman to suit for Varsity and played a key role in several games, the most important being the play-off win over Arvada West. Watch out for this young man next season, he may be small in stature, but he kicks big and is going for the record. His real dream is to help the Mustangs to a State Championship win.
November 2, 2007
8:34 AM
Tim writes:
The 4A playoffs are going to be great this season! Ralston Valley & Broomfield look to be favorites. But last year, teams from Loveland & Wheat Ridge made the title game & neither was expected to be there. Good luck to all the playoff teams!
November 2, 2007
10:40 AM
Anonymous writes:
I would have to agree with Tim that 4A playoffs are going to be exciting. However, I don't think there is a favorite. RV could have been beat 3 times by tough Mt. Plains league opponents. Broomfield has played one quality team. I would guess that a team from the Mt. Plains league will win it again. Two of the three that made it will probably be in the semi-finals.
November 2, 2007
11:57 AM
Charles writes:
Oh don't ya just love playoff time! Good luck all if you worked hard enough to make it! Enjoy the off season if you didn't! 3A should be interesting again. The southern league had 3 of 4 spots in the final 4 last year including an all southern final. My prediction is another southern final. In any case, best of luck to all teams and leave all you have on the field! It's do or die time!
November 7, 2007
3:49 PM
WestSlopeHead writes:
The 4-A seedings looked pretty strange. How (6-4) Montrose got a 7 seed, and Fountain-FortCarson (9-1) draws a 10-seed, even tho they're ranked higher in the Final RMN Rankings. Oh well, we'll know the answer Dec 1st.
November 7, 2007
3:49 PM
WestSlopeHead writes:
The 4-A seedings looked pretty strange. How (6-4) Montrose got a 7 seed, and Fountain-FortCarson (9-1) draws a 10-seed, even tho they're ranked higher in the Final RMN Rankings. Oh well, we'll know the answer Dec 1st.
November 12, 2007
3:41 PM
ron writes:
the only reason pavy broke the record was because mullen recruits and because of that they win each game by about 6 or so touchdowns 6 pat's a game plus 5 more playoff games adds up to about 10 more games than an average kicker, that record is useless when your talkin about mullen