VIDEO: Pomona wide receiver Billy Pospisil's highlights in the 2018 Class 5A state championship.
The lasting memories of the 2017 football season featured prolific offenses at its best.
Last December,
Palmer Ridge (Monument) quarterback
Ty Evans carved up the
Erie defense to the tune of 309 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears rolled to a 46-21 victory and their first Class 3A state championship.
Pueblo South rode its passing attack to its first-ever 4A state title, defeating defending state champion
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) 25-14. Ryan Marquez, Max Borghi and the high-octane Pomona offensive held off a talented
Eaglecrest (Centennial) squad in a 56-49 shootout to capture the 5A title – the school's first since 1988.
So when the 2018 campaign kicks off Thursday night with 11 games – followed by a full slate Friday – programs across the state will remember those seven schools that walked off the field with a championship trophy held high. The pursuit for state glory begins in earnest this week, rolling all the way through to the season's final day on Dec. 1.
A handful of teams have changed classifications based off enrollment. Among the changes: Pueblo South drops down to 3A and
Bear Creek (Lakewood) moved to 4A;
Bennett moves to 2A after earned the top seed in 1A.
Rifle is now in 2A, while
Longmont moved up in joining 4A.
This fall, the title games in 2A, 1A, 8-Man and 6-Man will be Nov. 24; the three biggest classifications will play for a championship on Dec. 1. The 3A and 2A title games will be played at a neutral site.
With that in mind, here is a closer look at 10 games to watch across the seven classifications in August and September, along with a handful of other key games:
Class 5A
• Pomona at Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch), 7 p.m., Sept. 7The 5A non-conference schedule is loaded with some impressive contests, but Valor Christian and Pomona is always a can't-miss prospect. The teams have combined to win the past three state titles, with the Panthers making the championship game three years in a row. Player of the Year Max Borghi is now at Washington State, but Pomona returns
Theorius Robison (833 yards, 14 touchdowns) at running back to help fill that void.
Colten Muller saw some time at quarterback when Ryan Marquez was injured last fall, and Washington State commit
Billy Pospisil (67 catches, 1,591 yards and 18 TDs) will be his top target. … Valor Christian saw its run of eight consecutive title-game appearances come to an end with a quarterfinal loss to
Grandview (Aurora). Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey takes over as coach for Rod Sherman, with quarterback
Luke McCaffrey (who split time with Blake Stenstrom a year ago) returning.
Joshia Davis led the team with 901 rushing yards as a junior.
• Eaglecrest at Grandview, 7 p.m., Sept. 28Speaking of the Wolves, they close a tough September with a Metro East League game with 5A runner-up Eaglecrest. Both teams saw their season end at the hands of Pomona in the postseason. Grandview lost some key pieces but coach John Schultz always has the Wolves in contention. … Eaglecrest also graduated a number of talented players, including quarterback Jalen Mergerson and Kenny Wanting. The Raptors do return some size and experience on the line.
Honorable mention: Highlands Ranch at Eaglecrest, 7 p.m., Aug. 24; Mullen (Denver) at Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village), 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Cherry Creek at Pomona, 7 p.m., Sept. 13; Columbine (Littleton) at Highlands Ranch, 7 p.m., Sept. 14; Doherty (Colorado Springs) at Fairview (Boulder) , 7 p.m., Sept. 14; Regis Jesuit (Aurora) at Mullen, 7 p.m., Sept. 14; Pine Creek at Valor Christian, 7 p.m., Sept. 14; Ralston Valley (Arvada) at Arvada West, 7 p.m., Sept. 27.
Class 4A
• Palmer Ridge (3A) at Pine Creek (4A), 7 p.m., Aug. 24Opening week includes what could be one of the state's best games of the regular season. Defending 3A
Ty Evans, Palmer Ridge
File photo by Jeffrey Tucker
champion Palmer Ridge visits 4A runner-up Pine Creek on Friday in an inter-classification matchup. Palmer Ridge ran the table a year ago, and 3A Player of the Year Ty Evans lit up the scoreboard. The quarterback threw for more than 3,600 yards and 42 touchdowns, with then-sophomore
Anthony Roberson II hauling in 69 passes for nearly 1,500 yards.
Raef Ruel rushed for 22 touchdowns as a sophomore. … Pine Creek fell to Pueblo South in the 4A title game, one year after winning it all. The Eagles return all-state running back
David Moore III, who nearly eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark as a junior and who had 23 touchdowns. Pine Creek's defense returns some talent as well off a unit that posted six shutouts.
• Broomfield at Loveland, 6:30 p.m., Aug. 30A rematch of a 2017 quarterfinal features two teams that have enjoyed plenty of success. Broomfield, the 15th seed a year ago, held off Loveland 28-27 in overtime before falling to eventual champion Pueblo South by a touchdown. Second-team all-state quarterback
Steven Croell returns to guide Broomfield's offense. … Loveland was undefeated before meeting up with the Eagles in the quarterfinals. All-state running back
Zach Weinmaster rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior, and
Riley Kinney is back at quarterback. The Indians were fairly young in 2017 and have plenty of experience.
Honorable mention: Fruita Monument at Pueblo West, 7 p.m., Aug. 24; Windsor at Vista Ridge (Colorado Springs), 7 p.m., Aug. 30; Chatfield (Littleton) at Rampart (Colorado Springs), 1 p.m., Sept. 1; Windsor at Ponderosa (Parker), 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Pueblo West at Pine Creek, 7 p.m., Sept. 21; Fruita Monument at Chatfield, 7 p.m., Sept. 14; Longmont at Skyline (Longmont), 7 p.m., Sept. 21; Loveland at Windsor, 11 a.m., Sept. 22.
Class 3A
• Roosevelt (Johnstown) at Pueblo East, 7 p.m., Aug. 24After winning three consecutive 3A state titles, Pueblo East took a step backward last fall. But the Eagles still nearly upset eventual runner-up Erie in the first round.
Luc Andrada had 16 touchdown passes and rushed for 10 more scores.
Kain Medrano racked up 721 receiving yards and nine of Andrada's scores. … Roosevelt was the No. 3 seed but fell to Palisade by three points in the quarterfinals.
Trent Beall had 2,335 all-purpose yards and led the team in passing and rushing.
• Erie at Pueblo South, 7 p.m., Aug. 31Erie stormed through the postseason before running into Palmer Ridge in the title game. But the Tigers return one of the state's elite rushers in senior
Noah Roper, who had more than 2,600 yards on the ground last fall and scored 36 touchdowns. … Reigning 4A state champion Pueblo South makes the move to 3A, and the Colts have a challenging first month of the season (including Palmer Ridge). The team's prolific passing attack that produced 48 touchdown passes graduated quarterback Zach Cozzolino and a number of talented wide receivers, including Player of the Year Marcell Barbee.
Honorable mention: Durango at Palisade, 7 p.m., Aug. 30; Pueblo East at Palmer Ridge, 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Pueblo South at Palmer Ridge, 7 p.m., Sept. 21; Pueblo East at Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs), 7 p.m., Sept. 21; Erie at Mead, 7 p.m., Sept. 28.
Class 2A
• Kent Denver (Englewood) at La Junta, 7 p.m., Sept. 14Two years removed from a state title and the 2A runner-up a year ago, La Junta moves forward with a new
Jon Nuschy, La Junta
File photo by Lance Wendt
coach in Ty Buderus. But the Tigers have the returning Player of the Year in quarterback
Jon Nuschy, who rushed for nearly 1,400 yards and scored 22 touchdowns as a junior.
Jacob Tafoya was an all-state defensive lineman. … Kent Denver draws No. 5
Faith Christian (Arvada) a week before facing the second-ranked Tigers. The Sun Devils were the No. 2 seed a year ago but were upset by
Resurrection Christian (Loveland) in the first round. A defense that had 47 sacks took a number of hits to graduation.
Honorable mention: Faith Christian at Resurrection Christian, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Kent Denver at Faith Christian, 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Resurrection Christian at The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs), 1 p.m., Sept. 15; Platte Valley (Kersey) at Eaton, 6 p.m., Sept. 15; Alamosa at Bayfield, 7 p.m., Sept. 28.
Class 1A
• Limon at Strasburg, 7 p.m., Sept. 21Strasburg dropped down to 1A last fall and took it all the way, defeating Centauri (La Jara) 10-7 in two overtimes in the title game. The team lost a lot to graduation, including Player of the Year Hunter Bergstrom, but had some freshmen (
Trystan Graf,
Collin Russell) make an impact. … A young Limon team reached the semifinals as the No. 10 seed before falling to Centauri. Hauk Hubbard rushed for more than 1,300 yards as a junior and was all-state. Cannan Bennett tossed 12 touchdown passes and rushed for eight more.
Honorable mention: Burlington at Strasburg, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Centauri at Paonia, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Peyton at Florence, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Strasburg at Bennett (2A), 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Meeker at Limon, 1 p.m., Sept. 15; Wray at Burlington, 7 p.m., Sept. 28.
Class A 8-Man
• Hoehne at Sedgwick County, 7 p.m., Aug. 31Two-time defending state champion Sedgwick County brings the state's longest winning streak into the season at 23 games. The Cougars dominated the competition a year ago, rolling past West Grand 42-6 to win the 8-Man championship. All-state running back
Layne Green returns after rushing for nearly 1,700 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. … Hoehne was upset in the first round of the postseason, but returns plenty of talent. The Farmers rushed for nearly 4,000 yards in 2017, and leading rusher
Trysten Moltrer (1,174 yards, 13 TDs) was only a junior. Moltrer also led the team with six interceptions.
Honorable mention: West Grand (Kremmling) at Caliche, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Fowler at Sargent, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Holly at Fowler, 7 p.m., Sept. 21; Merino vs. Haxtun, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 21; Caliche at Dayspring Christian (Greeley), 1 p.m., Sept. 22.
Class A 6-Man
• Peetz at Stratton/Liberty, 2 p.m., Sept. 15This mid-September game is a rematch of the 2017 title game, won by Peetz. The Bulldogs used a fourth-quarter rally to surge past the top seed. Peetz returns all-state running back
Bryson Long, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior, though Player of the Year Logan Sircy graduated. ... Stratton/Liberty opens the year ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. The Knighted Eagles have a brutal first month with games against three top-five teams in Prairie, Peetz and Otis. Quarterback
Tyson Lichty tossed 13 touchdowns a year ago and
Eltan Yarger was the team's second-leading rusher and top tackler.
Honorable mention: Peetz at Otis, 7 p.m., Sept. 24; Prairie at Stratton/Liberty, 7 p.m., Aug. 31; Kit Carson at Arickaree/Woodlin, 7 p.m., Sept. 7; Stratton/Liberty at Otis, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 21; Otis at Prairie, 7 p.m., Sept. 28; Cheyenne Wells at Kit Carson, 7 p.m., Sept. 28.
