VIDEO: Top 10 Football Plays of the Week, Week 13
Last fall, on its way to its second 6-Man championship since 2013,
Stratton/Liberty's football team collectively rushed for more than 4,000 yards. Then-sophomore
Jaret Lichty and senior Ethan Richmond each easily cleared the 1,000-yard mark for the season and combined for 48 touchdowns.
Call it a recipe for success.
Headed into Saturday's 6-Man championship game with
Fleming, the Knighted Eagles have taken a similar path. The team is closing in on 4,400 yards for the season, with Lichty (1,633 yards, 32 touchdowns) and senior
Trevor Frank (1,203, 20 touchdowns) doing the heavy lifting.
Stratton/Liberty (11-1) is making its third consecutive title-game appearance, while Fleming (12-0) hasn't played for the championship since winning back-to-back crowns in 2011-12.
The Knighted Eagles average nearly 62 points a game, and the only loss on the season came in the opener to Kit Carson. The Wildcats were undefeated and the top seed going into last weekend's semifinals, only to be upended by No. 4 Fleming.
Stratton/Liberty took down Cheyenne Wells 62-32 in the other semifinal. Lichty, Frank and sophomore
Charlie Clapper amassed 403 yards between them and six touchdowns. Lichty also caught a touchdown pass from senior
Zeke Craig, who has 16 touchdown passes on the season. That's come with numbers of 41-of-59 for the season, meaning Craig has tossed a touchdown nearly every four attempts.
Lichty and Frank also lead the team in tackles, and senior
Zach Armour has four of the team's 11 sacks.
On the other side, it's rare to see an undefeated squad seeded fourth, but that was where Fleming found itself headed into the playoffs. But the Wildcats put up three impressive victories, including last Saturday's triumph over Kit Carson.
Senior
Brandon Williams rushed for 251 yards and five touchdowns on the day, and junior
Brady Kuntz had 3.5 sacks and recovered a fumble.
The 16-point margin was the closest any team had come to Fleming this fall. Williams is closing in on 1,400 yards and has 28 touchdowns, and junior
Kade Comstock has passed for 22 touchdowns to only two interceptions. Kuntz has nine sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception, as the defense has forced 41 turnovers.
No team has claimed consecutive 6-Man titles since Fleming accomplished the feat earlier this decade.
While the state's three biggest classifications are in the quarterfinal round Friday and Saturday, the 2A, 1A and 8-Man ranks will play semifinal football Saturday. Those three championship games will be decided Nov. 30.
Here is a look at the playoff brackets for the rest of the state:
Semifinals
No. 4 Delta (10-1) vs. No. 9 Basalt (9-2), 1 p.m. Saturday No. 2 Sterling (10-1) vs. No. 3 Resurrection Christian (Loveland) (10-1), 1 p.m. SaturdayNotes: Both semifinals feature rematches from the regular season. Delta defeated Basalt 35-6 on Oct. 18 in Western Slope League play, and Sterling edged Resurrection Christian 13-7 in overtime in the season opener Aug. 30. … Delta is the only one of the four to have won a state championship (AA in 1960). … Sterling intercepted
Buck Coors four times in the teams' first meeting. The Tigers' defense has been stout all year, pitching three shutouts (including a 40-0 rout of Lamar in the quarterfinals). Save for an out-of-state loss in Nebraska on Sept. 20, Sterling has been dominant for much of the season. Quarterback
Brock Shalla has tossed 15 touchdowns. … Resurrection Christian has won 10 games in a row and Coors has passed for nearly 1,300 yards and 19 touchdowns. He's also rushed for more than 700 yards and 14 scores. … Delta's only loss came to Rifle. The Panthers edged Faith Christian (Arvada) 37-35 in the quarterfinals behind 358 yards and four touchdowns from quarterback
Nolan Bynum, who has 2,220 yards and 31 TD passes this fall. Senior
Hunter Hughes has caught 41 passes for 831 yards and 15 touchdowns. … Basalt needed overtime to upset top-seeded Rifle 21-14 in the quarterfinals. Junior
Matty Gillis has thrown 11 touchdowns, and the defense has 23 sacks.
No. 2 Holyoke (11-0) vs. No. 3 Limon (9-2), 1 p.m. Saturday
Notes: Three of these four teams were in the 1A semifinals last fall. Strasburg has been to three
Collin Russell, Strasburg
File photo by Geoffrey Sager
championship games in a row, Limon won the title last fall, and Centauri made the championship game in 2018. … Strasburg has pitched back-to-back playoff shutouts.
Collin Russell threw for two scores and rushed for two more in a 28-0 blanking of Highland (Ault) in the quarterfinals. … Centauri had three shutouts in its first four games. The Falcons routed Meeker 41-6 in the quarterfinals and have ridden a balanced offense that has amassed more than 1,000 yards through the air and more than 2,100 yards on the ground. Senior
Eric Maez has 16 touchdown passes to two interceptions. … Holyoke defeated Limon 14-12 earlier this month behind a big day from sophomore quarterback
Miles Sprague (9-of-13 for 214 yards and a touchdown). The Dragons shut out Colorado Springs Christian 27-0 in the quarterfinals. … Limon has won a state-record 17 championships. The Badgers' two losses came by a combined nine points to Strasburg and Holyoke.
Jeremiah Leeper and
Kory Tacha combined for 362 yards and six touchdowns in a 41-14 quarterfinal victory over Wray.
No. 3 Fowler (11-0) vs. No. 7 Pikes Peak Christian (Colorado Springs) (10-1), 1 p.m., Saturday
Notes: The Sedgwick County dynasty continues, as the Cougars are one victory away from a shot at a fifth-consecutive title. The team is 60-2 during that span and has posted four consecutive shutouts going into the semis. Sedgwick County defeated Dayspring Christian 56-16 on Oct. 11. … The Eagles defeated Vail Christian 38-28 in the quarterfinals. Sophomore
Garrett Krehbiel rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and junior
Christian Still had two TD passes. … Pikes Peak Christian upset No. 2 and previously undefeated Sanford 28-6 in the quarterfinals, with seniors
Nathan Seay and
Hudson Grant rushing for a combined 201 yards and three touchdowns. … Fowler hasn't won a title since going back-to-back in 2A in 1991-92. The Grizzlies held off Mancos 34-28 last weekend with a big ground game that went for 383 yards and four scores. Juniors
Joshua Daniels and
Jackson Bates have each topped 1,100 yards and have combined for 40 rushing touchdowns.
Quarterfinals
No. 5 Pomona (Arvada) (7-4) at No. 4 Regis Jesuit (Aurora) (11-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Lou Kellogg Stadium
No. 10 Eaglecrest (Centennial) (9-3) at No. 2 Ralston Valley (Arvada) (11-0), 7 p.m. Friday, NAAC
No. 6 Columbine (Littleton) (9-2) at No. 3 Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) (10-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Henry Blackburn, Fairview
File photo by Carl Auer
Eaglecrest was the only lower seed to reach the quarterfinals, taking down league rival Grandview (Aurora) 28-21 in the second round. … Fairview found itself in a second-round shootout with No. 9 Cherokee Trail (Aurora), holding on for a 36-34 victory.
Aidan Atkinson threw for 455 yards and five touchdown passes to
Henry Blackburn. …
Gavin Sawchuk rushed for 281 and three touchdowns in Valor's 34-9 victory over Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch). …
Nicco Marchiol threw four touchdown passes in Regis Jesuit's 49-7 victory over Highlands Ranch. … The only rematch of a regular-season game is Regis Jesuit and Pomona. The Raiders defeated the Panthers 23-13 in the season opener.
Class 4A // Bracket
No. 1 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) (10-1) at No. 9 Ponderosa (Parker) (8-3), 1 p.m. Saturday, EchoPark Stadium
No. 5 Pueblo West (10-1) at No. 4 Montrose (10-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
No. 6 Dakota Ridge (Littleton) (9-2) at No. 14 Heritage (Littleton) (8-3), 6:30 p.m. Friday, LPSS
No. 7 Chatfield (Littleton) (9-2) at No. 2 Broomfield (11-0), 1 p.m. Saturday, Broomfield
Charlie Offerdahl, Dakota Ridge
File photo by Lance Wendt
Heritage upset No. 3 and previously undefeated Vista PEAK Prep (Aurora) 27-12 in the first round. … Chatfield downed defending state champion Loveland 40-21 behind 203 rushing yards and two scores from senior
Malcolm Boyd. … Ponderosa, which has won seven in a row, held off 2018 runner-up Skyline (Longmont) 16-13.
Jack Hanenburg was 10-of-15 for 117 yards and two touchdowns. … Pine Creek's
David Moore III rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles' 48-13 victory over Longmont. … Broomfield quarterback
Zachary Kapushion threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles routed Grand Junction 35-9. … Dakota Ridge's
Charlie Offerdahl and
Ben Gultig combined for 215 yards and five touchdowns as the Eagles rolled past Fruita Monument 35-21.
No. 5 Conifer (11-0) at No. 4 Palmer Ridge (Monument) (9-2), 1 p.m. Saturday, Don Breese Stadium
No. 6 Frederick (10-1) at No. 3 Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) (10-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, District 20 Stadium
No. 7 Durango (8-3) at No. 2 Pueblo South (10-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, Dutch Clark Stadium
Notes: The top eight seeds made it through the first round in 3A. … Green Mountain's
Trey Towndrow rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown as the Rams reached the quarterfinals with a victory over Erie. … Palmer Ridge's
Luke Mcallister picked apart Holy Family (Broomfield) in a 63-7 victory, passing for 332 yards and five touchdowns. … Conifer's
J.R. Hart was just as stellar in the Lobos' 38-21 victory over Fort Morgan, going for 394 yards through the air and four touchdowns. … Frederick senior
Jake Green rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns as the Warriors blitzed Thomas Jefferson (Denver) 45-14. … Durango took down Palisade behind 199 yards passing and 82 yards rushing from quarterback
Jordan Woolverton, who had two total touchdowns.
