For now, the Cannon booms black.
This week, the 49th edition of the Cannon Game will be played at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo. It’s one of two longstanding Pueblo rivalry games that see the Dutch fill to near capacity, the Bell Game between Pueblo Central and Pueblo Centennial being the other.
Pueblo South won last year’s game 26-13, a crucial win considering the 2022 showdown ended in the second quarter after a fight broke out. Pueblo East was ahead 23-0 at the time and when the game was ended by officials, district administrators decided that East was the victor and the Cannon boomed yellow for the year.
South earned it back with a solid win in 2023 and would like to hang on to it again. Both teams enter the game with 1-1 records. The Eagles beat Fort Morgan 35-0 in Zero Week then lost to Discovery Canyon 32-14 last week.
Pueblo South opened its season with a loss to Mead and turned around to beat Falcon 35-21 in Week 2.
Colts quarterback Caeden Herrera has thrown for 418 yards and four touchdowns in their two games this season. On the flip side, East sophomore quarterback Dolphka Lewis has split time with fellow sophomore Dion Allsworth. They’ve combined to throw for 312 yards and three scores, and neither has thrown an interception this season.
Dan Mohrmann (Colorado Preps editor-in-chief): Throw stats, numbers and pretty much all logic out the window in this game. These Pueblo rivalry games exist in a world that all other Colorado towns and cities only dream of for their high school football teams. Control is the name of the game and that comes both with time of possession and emotion. South’s stability at QB is a big plus and if Herrera can sustain drives, I like the odds of the Cannon booming black for another year.
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Class 5A
There aren’t any top 10 clashes this week so the spotlight turns to Colorado’s top passer. Austyn Modrzewski has a great chance to have another standout performance as Mountain Vista heads to Cherokee Trail. Modrzewski needs just seven passing yards to eclipse the 1,000 mark for the season and considering he’s averaging 331 per game, that accomplishment seems likely.
Cherokee Trail is sitting at 1-1 and is coming off a 35-7 win over ThunderRidge. Tyson Smith has thrown for 316 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Doug Ottewill (MHS editor-in-chief): In the spirit of some of the great quarterbacks that have come out of Colorado high school football – see Bill Musgrave, Ryan Clement, Chad Newton, Craig Ochs, Zac Robinson – Austyn Modrzewski might very well fit the same mold. Last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year is off to a start worthy of his senior season. Modrzewski already has an incredible 993 passing yards on the season to go along with 18 touchdowns – that’s a season for a lot of players, and we’re only three games in. But it’s not just his stats; when you watch him throw, he’s completing next level passes, down the field, up the seams and with touch and velocity, Plus he’s doing all of it against bigtime opponents – last year’s 4A state champ Erie who’s now competing in 5A, Arapahoe and No. 4 Valor Christian. Keep an eye on this kid, as his number could be video game-esque by season’s end.
Class 4A
After cracking the Colorado Preps 4A top 10 this week, Grand Junction is out to show that it’s the real deal. The Tigers travel to Denver North on Friday and quarterback Will Applegate has shown he’s willing and able to run through anyone to find the end zone. He leads the team with 134 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He’s also thrown for three scores.
Cody Roark (Former assistant coach at GJ): Grand Junction is back on the rise. Head coach Landon McKee has patiently built a strong foundation with the program as school enrollment and program participation has increased year over year. With Senior QB Will Applegate running the offense, the team has a combination of power and finesse at the skill player positions on offense and defense. With two wins over Rifle and Grand Junction Central, there’s some much needed momentum for them that warrants them in the Top 10.
Class 2A
A rematch of the 2A state title game will be played as Delta heads to Rifle. The Panthers lone loss this season came in the last few minutes against Palisade, but they still look like a contender in 2A. Quarterback Ty Reed is having another good season and Nay Soe is demonstrating that the Panthers depth at running back was a real thing last year.
Matt Meyer (contributing writer, Colorado Preps): The rematch of last year’s Class 2A state championship features two teams off to divergent starts.
After losing a heartbreaking season-opener to Palisade on a Hail Mary, Delta bounced back in a big way with 51-12 victory over Gunnison. That result is much more indicative of where the Panthers are at. Despite many new faces, Delta is still a state championship contender, especially with senior quarterback Ty Reed at the helm.
Rifle, meanwhile, is off to an 0-2 start and in the middle of a nonleague schedule that features five challenging, larger schools. Although the Bears are missing now-graduated quarterback and defensive back Logan Gross, this matchup against the Panthers will be another step in their growth prior to 3A Western Slope League play.
Class 1A
In perhaps the game of the week across all levels, Centauri heads to Buena Vista in a game that could genuinely establish one of these teams as top tier in 1A. Both are ranked in the top five of the Colorado Preps poll.
Centauri has wins over Meeker and Pagosa Springs on the strength of Parker Buhr’s effort on the ground. He ran for 278 yards and three touchdowns against Meeker.
The Demons are 2-0 thanks to close wins over Salida and Platte Valley. Eli Schuknecht has rushed for 404 yards and four touchdowns in the two wins.
Mohrmann: This is a fun one that I’m sad to miss. The top three teams in 1A have pretty much been established as Wray, Limon and Forge Christian so one of these teams might be the legitimate fourth team in the class. It’ll be a running fest and a good time for all in attendance.