The key word is most.
The high school football regular season has flown by in these last 11 weeks and for Class 5A, 4A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man, the playoffs begin next week.
Teams in 3A still have one more additional week before they enter the postseason.
There are naturally big games with high stakes all throughout the state, but here are the select games Mile High Sports is watching.
Class 4A
(1) Pueblo West at (2) Montrose
This might actually be the game to watch this week. On top of the SoCo 1 League title being on the line, this game between the Cyclones and the Red Hawks could be the game that decides the No. 1 seed in the 4A state tournament. It’s hard to imagine either team dropping below No. 4 when the bracket is released on Sunday, but everything is fluid in this final week.
Pueblo West has an extremely talented dual-threat quarterback in Gavin Lockett. He has rushed for over 800 yards and passed for another 749. The Cyclones as a team have rushed for over 2,700 yards which is a staggering number considering they’ve played in nine games.
But the crazy part is they certainly aren’t the best rushing team in this game. Montrose utilizes perhaps the best ground attack in the state. That was made clear in their win over Mesa Ridge on Oct. 18. The Grizzlies had cut the Red Hawks lead to 32-28 with 10 minutes left in the game. Plenty of time to get the ball back. Or so they thought.
Primarily going with Elijah Wilcox and Chase Mehan, the Red Hawks marched down the field and depleted the entire game clock to close out the win. With any luck, this game could also serve as a semifinal or state title game preview.
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Class 5A
(10) Chatfield at (6) Columbine
Although a league championship is out of reach for both these team, going into the playoffs after winning a tough game is massively appealing to both squads.
The Chargers are coming off a thrilling win over Arvada West where they entered the fourth quarter trailing by two touchdowns. Freshman Brycen Leal had a breakout game, rushing for 126 yards. Chatfield’s two losses this year are to league champion Ralston Valley and Denver East and they came by a combined six points.
Columbine lost a thriller to Ralston Valley a couple weeks ago which ended the Rebels’ 21-game winning streak. Columbine rebounded with a 49-20 win over Denver South, which was powered by James Basinger’s four rushing touchdowns.
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Class 3A
(5) Windsor at (3) Mead
The shine is off this game a little bit as Windsor is dealing with a load of injuries. That includes quarterback Kyle Phelps, who will miss the remainder of the season. Tripp Thomas will have to carry the load as he has rushed for 671 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.
Mead is one of two remaining undefeated teams in 3A, along with Thompson Valley who edged Roosevelt on Thursday. The Mavericks aren’t flashy, but they’re definitely efficient as they rush for 232 yards as a team. Quarterback Christian Hiner can also throw when he needs to as he has totaled 790 passing yards and 11 touchdowns this season.