Photo by Patrick Miller
Kain Colter, Cherry Creek
In a way, Cherry Creek quarterback Kain Colter was moments away from having his entire season vanish on the operating table. Thankfully, there was no operation, and his season on the football field still continues.
Colter, who plays both offense and defense, was injured early in the Bruins' season-opening game against Smoky Hill. He was chasing a fumble, and when he dove for the ball, he was hit by another player who also was going for the ball.
"It happened on the fourth play of the game," Colter said. "I went to grab a lost ball and collided with the other guy. It was just a freak hit, not intentional on anyone’s part. It was just part of the game. I played on it for a while. Right after it happened, I didn‘t think it was so bad. Sore, yes. But it was something I could still play on."
Colter scored the first two Cherry Creek touchdowns, the first on a 57-yard run and the second on an 11-yard sprint. He completed 5-of-7 passes for 56 yards and rushed seven times for 87 before he was pulled from the game by coach Mike Brookhart. His injury was diagnosed as a torn right labrum, and thoughts immediately raced to a lost season.
"I was actually scheduled for surgery last Thursday," said Colter, an all-state selection last season after leading the Bruins to a Class 5A state runner-up finish. "But I wanted to test it out and see what I could still do. The decision not to have the surgery at the last second, so to speak, was pretty good.
"At the time, I was just glad that I could play another game," Colter said. "I tried to throw after I was hurt, but really couldn‘t. I can still carry and catch the ball, though. No matter what happens, it is still painful, but I just want to play."
The decision also worked well for Cherry Creek, even though the Bruins lost to Eaglecrest 21-19 in their second Centennial League encounter. Colter, now playing receiver and part-time running back, scored on a 3-yard run and on a 16-yard pass reception from sophomore quarterback Wes Tabor.
"Kain won’t play quarterback, and that is a big loss for us from that standpoint," Brookhart said. "And, he will still play sparingly. He is such a great leader for us, and he is so driven to excel. A lot of his playing time will be considered, too, on how he feels and what he thinks he can do at the time.
"He was out of sync because of the position changes," Brookhart added. "We're so pleased to have him back, but we want to be careful on how things go."
Colter already has verbally committed to play college football at Stanford. He has talked with the Cardinal coaches and has been told they are still behind him 100 percent.
* Falcon’s Aaron Blevins continued his super season, rushing for 255 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Falcons (3-0) to a 35-7 victory against Alamosa on Friday. Blevins leads all classifications in rushing with 645 yards on 73 carries. He has scored nine touchdowns.
* Taylor Shaffer of Pagosa Springs has taken the state’s overall lead in passing. In three games he has completed 40-of-60 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns. He has yet to be intercepted. At the same time, his teammate, receiver Paul Hoffman, is the state leader in receiving yards, with 277. In total receptions, D’Evelyn’s Connor Davis leads the way with 17 catches. When it comes to completion percentage, Bear Creek’s Zach Thenell is at the top of the list with a 74-percent effort. He has completed 43-of-58 passes for 520 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception.
* It took three overtimes, but Cheyenne Mountain finally defeated Air Academy, 31-21, on an 18-yard field goal by Zach Yellen. The Indians improved to 2-0, while the Kadets dropped to 0-2.
* It pays to be versatile. Just ask Pine Creek’s Nick Markowski and Holy Family’s Jonathan Gerry. Markowski scored four touchdowns in the Eagles' 47-7 victory against Liberty on Friday. He tallied on a 1-yard run, 49- and 56-yard pass receptions and on a 102-yard pass interception. Gerry kicked field goals of 22, 49 and 28 yards and scored on a 94-yard run to lead the Tigers to a 15-6 victory against Brush. In addition, Sand Creek beat Widefield 35-21 behind the play of quarterback/defensive back Quadri Carter. Carter scored four touchdowns and had and interception.
* It doesn’t pay to drop the ball. Harrison sophomores Vaughn Wingo and Dre Lester rushed for 167 and 160 yards, respectively, but the Panthers also lost four fumbles in a 36-10 loss to Pueblo County.
* Nederland’s Alex King started for the first time in his varsity career at quarterback, leading the Panthers to a 33-19 victory against West Grand. King completed 9-of-15 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 69 yards, which included a 29-yard touchdown.
* It seems a bit early to be playing a homecoming game, but the results certainly turned out well for Boulder. The Panthers (2-0) beat Northglenn 38-14 in a Front Range League encounter to send the alumni and current student body home with good feelings. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to get rolling, as they scored four touchdowns within a four-minute, 15-second span in the second quarter. Receiver Blake Gouin caught five passes, which included two touchdowns, for 168 yards. Quarterback Blake Partridge completed 11-of-14 passes for 211 yards.
Games of the Week
Class 5A:
Bear Creek (1-1) vs. Chatfield (2-0), 7 p.m. Thursday
Two of the state’s top quarterbacks will vie in this Big 8 League opener at Jefferson County Stadium, and the key will be how the opposing defenses handle the players with the strong arms. Bear Creek is coming off a 40-13 victory against Fruita Monument behind four touchdown passes from Zach Thenell. Thenell has passed for 520 yards in the first two games. Running back Lucas Lockett rushed for 143 yards against Fruita and also must be contained. Chatfield improved to 2-0 with a 17-10 victory against Ponderosa in which defense played a predominant role for the Chargers. Quarterback Sam Stratton passed for 90 yards and one touchdown.
Class 4A:
Golden (1-1) at Heritage (1-1), 7 p.m. Thursday
Again, another set of top quarterbacks will pit their skills against one another. Mitch Griebel of Heritage passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 43-18 victory against Denver South last week. The Eagles also look to Josh Meyer, who had 141 rushing yards against South. Golden was beaten 42-7 by defending state champion Wheat Ridge last week, but Demons quarterback Ryan Stokes managed 289 yards passing and a touchdown; however, two costly interceptions hurt the cause. He has thrown for 640 yards this season.
Class 3A:
Pueblo Central (2-0) at Falcon (3-0), 7 p.m. Friday
Falcon has been flying high the past few weeks and last week beat Alamosa 35-7. In order for Central to be successful, the Wildcats will have to slow Blevins, the state’s top rusher. Blevins rushed for 269 yards against Alamosa. Central beat Woodland Park 42-14 in its last outing, with Keanu Valdez rushing for 147 yards.
Class 2A:
Platte Valley (2-0) at Faith Christian (2-0), 7 p.m. Friday
Faith Christian, ranked No. 2 in the Colorado High School Coaches Association/MaxPreps pool, has yet to allow a touchdown this season. The Eagles beat Eagle Valley (41-0) and Colorado Springs Christian (44-0). No. 4 Platte Valley has given up only touchdowns, beating Roosevelt 7-6 and Denver Christian 52-6. Micah Twedell has been the catalyst for Faith Christian, while Derek Lepore has been steady at running back. Tyler Wilson had three sacks last week against Colorado Springs Christian. For Platte Valley, Clay Flot and Jordan Smith have stood out in the running game.
Class A: Burlington (2-0) at Akron (2-0), 7 p.m. Friday
This is a monster game in the classification, as Burlington hopes to put an end to Akron’s 41-game winning streak. Jordan Hottinger rushed for 230 yards last week to lead Akron to a 42-7 victory against Denver Lutheran. Colin Eberhart has been the go-to guy for Burlington. He rushed for 234 yards against Lamar in the opener and added 123 against Wray last week in a 27-7 victory.
Class A 8-Man:
Merino (2-0) at Sanford (2-0), 1 p.m. Saturday
Rankings, among other things, will be at stake as No. 1 Merino travels to play No. 3 Sanford. The game will be played in Fowler. Merino defeated Stratton 48-0 last week while Sanford was a 32-0 victor against Fowler.
Class A 6-Man: Fleming (2-0) at Peetz (1-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Fleming, which has been led by Jason Carwin and Justin Stone, beat Briggsdale last week 61-34 while Peetz was beaten by No. 3 Otis 70-29. However, the Bulldogs still are dangerous and hope to rebound against No. 4 Fleming.
Follow MaxPreps Colorado editor Gerry Valerio on Twitter for Colorado high school sports updates.