The high school football playoffs are reaching the exciting part of the season as state championship games will be played starting next week. The smaller classifications in Class 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man are all in semifinal action this weekend with 5A, 4A and 3A all heading into quarterfinals.
Complete scores and coverage of the football playoffs can be found over at ColoradoPreps.com, but here are a few games that are worth keeping an eye on.
Class 5A
Fairview at Mountain Vista, 7 p.m. Friday
Mountain Vista senior Austyn Modrzewski could finish his career with the best numbers for a quarterback in state history (please pick up the Dec. issue of Mile High Sports Magazine to learn more about that), but his only goal this week is getting by an undefeated Fairview team and getting himself and his teammates back to practice on Monday. Modrzewski has thrown for over 3,100 yards and 52 touchdowns this season. With four touchdown passes, he’ll tie the single-season record set by former Knights quarterback Aidan Atkinson.
Speaking of the Knights, a No. 7 seed is fairly low for undefeated team and they’d love nothing more than to show they’re the real deal. They’re coming of a 42-15 blowout win over Chatfield. Sophomore quarterback Ki Ellison doesn’t have Modrzewski’s numbers, but is a more than capable passer with 2,380 passing yards and 23 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Wyatt Keegan and Jordan Rechel have each picked off three passes this year and will try to bait Modrzewski into giving them a shot at a turnover or two.
Class 4A
Broomfield at Palmer Ridge, 7 p.m. Friday
Both Broomfield and Palmer Ridge have made it to the 4A title game in recent years. The Eagles topped Loveland in the 2022 championship game while the Bears fell short to Erie’s title bid last year.
Both teams started the season ranked high in the Colorado Preps polls before losses during the year knocked them down below the likes of Dakota Ridge, Montrose and Pueblo West.
The balanced combination of QB Darien Jackson (1,776 passing yards, 23 touchdowns) and RB Colin Torres (909 rushing yards, 10 TD’s) has been very effective all year. Broomfield’s lone loss on the season was a 10-point loss to 5A’s Erie.
This Palmer Ridge team is way more reliant on the run than it has been in years past. Avier Elvira has rushed for 1,430 yards and 17 TD’s to lead the ground attack. Quarterback Carson Campbell has been limited in the passing game. He has completed 48 of 85 passes for 660 yards and six touchdowns.
Class 3A
Windsor at Pomona, 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Losing Kyle Phelps to injury could have spelled doom for Windsor, but the Wizards haven’t lost a step. In last week’s playoff opener, the team rushed for over 300 yards in a 36-0 win over Mountain View. Mason Moore and Adrian Czyszczon each ran for over 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns in the win. They’ll likely be the workhorses again as Windsor looks to pull off the upset.
Pomona’s three losses would suggest they might be vulnerable in the 3A quarterfinals, but here’s the thing, those losses were to the No. 1 team in 4A (Dakota Ridge), the No. 3 team in 4A (Pueblo West) and the No. 1 team in 3A (Thompson Valley). Emmitt Munson has hit the 1,000-yard mark in the rushing attack and has scored 13 total touchdowns this season.
Quick hits:
Class 2A
TCA at Basalt, 1 p.m. Saturday
TCA left little doubt through various points of the season that it was the top team in 2A. Instead, the Titans have the No. 3 seed which means a road game in the semifinals. Quarterback Andrew Brown has thrown for nearly 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Basalt features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Will Tarallo and Will Daniel who will try to keep the TCA offense comfortable on the sidelines. This is a championship-worthy game that is unfortunately being played a week too early.
Class 1A
Limon at Forge Christian, 1 p.m. Saturday
In the early weeks of the regular season, Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer was aware of the talent on Forge Christian’s roster. And he wasn’t lying. The Fury look like a 3A team running through the 1A playoffs. Sullivan Strange has thrown for 1,660 yards and 27 touchdowns this season. Euli Tafoya and Dante Vigil have been equally effective on the ground, combining to run for over 1,400 yards. They’ve also scored a combined 18 touchdowns.