Hunt for Colorado football postseason hitting overdrive

Video: Ashton Riley (Cherry Creek) highlights vs. Jordan, UT.

It's difficult to fathom that as September fades into the books, there are just five weeks left in the prep football regular season for a handful of classifications.

Once the calendar makes its turn to November, the postseason will have arrived for a number of teams. Which makes the month of October that much more crucial for every team in the state throughout all seven classifications.

The current rankings are sure to take a hit during the next month given that a handful of leagues dominate the standings and those teams will all play each other. In Class 5A, four teams from the Centennial and four from Jeffco are all in the top 10; 4A has four from Pikes Peak and three from Longs Peak; 3A has four from the Northern and three from the Western Slope; 2A has four in the Patriot, and 1A has three in the Western Slope.



In 8-Man, five teams from the Plains are currently ranked, while in 6-Man three teams each represent from the North and Southeast.

Here is a look at 10 games to watch from around the state for October (rankings from CHSAANow.com are from Sept. 28):

Class 5A
Friday, Oct. 2: No. 2 Columbine (Littleton) at No. 5 Mullen (Denver), 7 p.m.
Two teams which are enjoying a renaissance this fall tangle Friday in a Jeffco League clash. A year after winning only five games, the Rebels were victorious in their first four contests of 2015. Columbine has given up only two touchdowns, and the combination of quarterback Jake Lowry and running back Mikey Griebel has made for a winning formula.

Mullen may be among the state's biggest surprises. After winning only a combined 10 games during the previous three seasons, the Mustangs are off to a 3-1 start (the only loss came to No. 4 Regis Jesuit). Junior Jovan Tafoya has nine touchdown passes and the defense has intercepted eight passes.

Friday, Oct. 23: No. 1 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) at No. 3 Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch), 7 p.m.
Off all the games this month, few will generate more buzz than this state championship rematch. Defending champion Cherry Creek already has four impressive victories, though the Bruins have to get through top-10 teams in Cherokee Trail and Grandview before facing Valor.

Senior Ashton Riley leads Cherry Creek with 116.8 yards per game rushing, and the defense has 13.5 sacks in four games. Valor Christian dropped two of its first four games, but has played only one in-state opponent thus far. Quarterback Dylan McCaffrey has nine total touchdowns.



Other games to watch: Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) at No. 4 Regis Jesuit (Aurora), 7 p.m. Oct. 2; No. 8 Arapahoe (Centennial) at Heritage (Littleton), 7 p.m., Oct. 2; No. 10 Cherokee Trail (Aurora) at No. 9 Grandview (Aurora), 7 p.m., Oct. 9; No. 7 Ralston Valley (Arvada) at No. 6 Pomona (Arvada), 7 p.m., Oct. 23.

Class 4A
Friday, Oct. 2: No. 2 Vista Ridge (Colorado Springs) at No. 1 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs), 7 p.m.
Fresh off a big victory against Palmer Ridge, Vista Ridge gets its crack at defending state champion Pine Creek this weekend. The Wolves have scored at least 40 points in all four victories, and senior Elway Tubbs has thrown for more than 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Pine Creek hasn't allowed more than 13 points in a game this season, with senior Jack Wibbels leading the stout defense with five sacks. On the other side of the ball, seniors D'Andre Toliver and JoJo Domann have six rushing TDs apiece.

Thursday, Oct. 15: No. 4 Windsor at No. 3 Longmont, 7 p.m.
If No. 1 vs. No. 2 is a marquee matchup, so is this Northern League battle. Both teams won their first four games, with Longmont topping the 40-point mark each time. Four players have at least 200 yards rushing in a balanced rushing attack, paced by senior Conlan Berger (544 yards, nine touchdowns).

Windsor has been equally impressive. Junior quarterback Brad Peeples averages more than 120 yards rushing, and seniors Jake Shields and Landon Schmidt are a potent 1-2 backfield punch.

Other games to watch: No. 8 Durango at No. 9 Montrose, 7 p.m., Oct. 2; No. 7 Rampart (Colorado Springs) at No. 10 Palmer Ridge (Monument), 6 p.m., Oct. 9; Aurora Central at George Washington (Denver), 7 p.m., Oct. 16.



Class 3A
Thursday, Oct. 15: No. 4 Rifle at No. 2 Palisade, 7 p.m.
The always-tough Western Slope League is a gauntlet again this fall, with Palisade, Rifle and Delta all ranked in the top 10. Rifle, the state runner-up a year ago, faces Delta this weekend before matching up with Palisade in three weeks. Five players have more than 100 yards rushing, led by senior Tyler Bosshardt's 408.

Palisade was the only team to defeat Rifle in the regular season in 2014, and the Bulldogs are off to another strong start. The team knocked off Holy Family two weeks ago, and juniors Isaac Maestas and PD Riddle each have five rushing scores on the season.

Friday, Oct. 16: No. 5 Roosevelt (Johnstown) at No. 6 Holy Family (Broomfield), 7 p.m.
Two very different styles of offense clash in a Northern League tilt, with the Roughriders featuring one of the state's top ground games. Senior Carlos Ortega averages almost 150 yards a game, and junior Cameron Hurtado has six rushing scores. Roosevelt's only loss came to 4A's fourth-ranked Windsor.

Holy Family has the state's top passing attack. Chris Helbig already has more than 1,800 passing yards and 22 touchdowns; four wide receivers have at least four touchdown catches each. Berthoud and Mead are still on the schedule for both squads.

Other games to watch: No. 10 D'Evelyn (Denver) at Lewis-Palmer (Monument), 7 p.m., Oct. 3; No. 7 Mead (Longmont) at No. 8 Berthoud, 7 p.m., Oct. 16.

Class 2A
Friday, Oct. 2: No. 4 Platte Valley (Kersey) at No. 6 Eaton, 7 p.m.
The 2A Patriot League opens play this weekend, and it doesn't get much bigger than the Broncos vs. the Reds. Both teams reached the state semifinals a year ago, and with top-10 teams in Brush and Sterling still on the schedule, every league victory is key.



The Broncos dropped their opener to Resurrection Christian but won their next three games. Eaton's only loss came to No. 3 La Junta, but senior Dalton Waln has been unstoppable. Wain has topped 200 yards rushing in three of his four games, including a monster 313-yard, three-touchdown game last weekend against Manitou Springs.

Other games to watch: No. 2 Bayfield at No. 10 Gunnison, 7 p.m., Oct. 9; No. 5 Brush at No. 7 Sterling, 7 p.m., Oct. 23; No. 3 La Junta at Lamar, 7 p.m., Oct. 23; No. 1 Kent Denver (Englewood) at No. 9 Alameda (Lakewood), 7 p.m., Oct. 30.

Class 1A
Friday, Oct. 30: No. 1 Buena Vista at No. 5 Rye, 7 p.m.
With defending champion Paonia losing to 2A Bayfield last weekend, state runner-up Buena Vista moved into the top spot this week. Senior quarterback Keegan Wentz has led the Demons through the air and on the ground.

Rye opened the season with a victory over 2014 semifinalist Meeker, and the only blemish on the record was a one-point loss to Crowley County. Senior Trey Zupancic is averaging more than 170 yards per game on the ground.

Other games to watch: Crowley County (Ordway) at No. 7 Limon, 7 p.m., Oct. 23; No. 4 Cedaredge at No. 3 Paonia, 7 p.m., Oct. 30.

8-Man
Friday, Oct. 23: No. 1 Dayspring Christian Academy (Greeley) at No. 2 Sedgwick County (Julesburg), 7 p.m.
Another top-two matchup pits the state's highest-scoring offense (Sedgwick County) against a Dayspring Christian team that is no slouch itself when it comes to putting the ball in the end zone.

Both teams have top-five foes in Akron and Merino still on the schedule. Dayspring Christian quarterback Jonathan Cowles has tossed 10 touchdown passes this fall and added nine more rushing scores. The junior averages 15.2 yards per carry. Sedgwick County started the season with 94 points and the team has allowed only two touchdowns through four games.

Other games to watch: No. 4 Akron at No. 3 Merino, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2; West Grand (Kremmling) at Vail Christian (Edwards), 7 p.m., Oct. 30.



6-Man
Friday, Oct. 16: No. 2 Eads at No. 3 Kit Carson, 7 p.m.
Headed into the new month, five teams were still undefeated in the 6-Man ranks, and Eads and Kit Carson were among them.

Eads has scored at least 54 points in each of its first four games. The Eagles have to get past ninth-ranked Cheraw and Walsh before tackling the Wildcats, who they defeated in the quarterfinals last fall.

Kit Carson senior Caine Farmer has averaged more than 150 yards rushing a game so far and has 12 touchdowns to his credit.

Other games to watch: No. 7 Peetz at No. 1 Fleming, 7 p.m., Oct. 2.