Three Top Ten Out of State Matchups
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Colorado’s top three teams per the Colorado High School Activities Association 5A rankings (CHSAA) will be playing out of state opponents who hold top-ten spots within their borders. Top-ranked Cherry Creek will travel to Arizona to match up against Chandler,…
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Continue ReadingColorado’s top three teams per the Colorado High School Activities Association 5A rankings (CHSAA) will be playing out of state opponents who hold top-ten spots within their borders.
Top-ranked Cherry Creek will travel to Arizona to match up against Chandler, the Grand Canyon State’s second-ranked team. The Cherry Creek Bruins have won the last two 5A state titles, whereas the Chandler Wolves are coming off of their fifth straight 6A title win.
The second-ranked Valor Christian Eagles will host Washington’s ninth-ranked Eastside Catholic on Friday night, which will be featured on ESPN.
Third-ranked Columbine will be traveling to Las Vegas, NV to face off against ninth-ranked Faith Lutheran.
Cherry Creek (2-0) at Chandler (1-0)
This game has the makings of being one of the best contests of the week between two programs with dominating histories in their states. Between Cherry Creek’s relentless defense and Chandler’s high-powered offense, this game should be a very exciting one.
For the Bruins, the defensive front will be applying heavy pressure by way of Blake Purchase Blake Purchase 6'4" | 230 lbs | DL Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 DE), Hank Zilinskas Hank Zilinskas 6'3" | 255 lbs | OL Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 DT), and Chase Brackney Chase Brackney 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 DE). Sophomore middle linebacker Angelo Petrides will be key in controlling the box while adding to the arsenal of the line when needed. Senior defensive backs Tyler Tolbert (S) and Charles McKiever III Charles McKiever III 5'11" | 165 lbs | DB Cherry Creek | 2022 State CO (CB) will be expected to be the aces tasked with keeping the skies clear against a very talented core of Chandler receivers.
Bruins quarterback Christian Hammond Christian Hammond 6'2" | 180 lbs | QB Cherry Creek | 2023 CO (2023) has been very impressive with his decision making through the first two games of the season, having completed 19 of his 28 attempts for 218 yards and four touchdowns. Chandler’s secondary will have its hands full with the Bruin’s elite receiving core led by the unguardable Ismael Cisse Ismael Cisse 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 WR), CSU commit Ky Oday Ky Oday 5'10" | WR Cherry Creek | 2022 State CO (2022 WR), shifty Kyair Johnston Kyair Johnston 5'7" | WR Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 WR), and sure-handed Cooper Pollard Cooper Pollard 5'10" | 160 lbs | WR Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 WR). The Bruins also have a powerful running back tandem featuring Carlson Tann Carlson Tann 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Cherry Creek | 2023 State CO (2023 RB) and Keegan Holles Keegan Holles 6'1" | 190 lbs | RB Cherry Creek | 2022 State CO (2022 RB), who will be entering this game with a combined 238 yards and four touchdowns off of 20 total carries.
For Chandler, the spotlight will shine heavily on Blaine Hipa Blaine Hipa 6'2" | 200 lbs | QB Chandler | 2022 State AZ (2022 QB) and Ca’Lil Valentine Ca’Lil Valentine 6'0" | 175 lbs | RB Chandler | 2024 State AZ (2024 ATH). In their season opener, Hipa completed 17 of his 28 attempts for 255 yards and three touchdowns, while Valentine had three receptions for 91 yards, one receiving touchdown, five carries, 24 rushing yards, and one touchdown.
A few other extremely talented Wolves to keep an eye out for are Quaron Adams Quaron Adams 5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH Chandler | 2022 State AZ (2022 ATH), Noah Sauni (2022 LB), Dominic Hanger Dominic Hanger 6'0" | 195 lbs | LB Chandler | 2023 State AZ (2023 LB), and Justice Spann (2024 WR).
Valor Christian (2-0) vs. Eastside Catholic (1-0)
After winning their first two games of the season, the Eagles will be playing their first home game this Friday night against the Eastside Catholic Crusaders.
Elite running back and Oklahoma commit Gavin Sawchuk Gavin Sawchuk RB Valor Christian | 2022 State CO (2022 RB) already has 396 yards and five touchdowns off of 63 carries so far. Colton Allen Colton Allen 6'3" | 195 lbs | QB Valor Christian | 2022 State CO (2022 QB) has played the first two games as a premiere game manager, completing 24 of his 41 attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Colton Rose (2022 TE/DE) has caught eight passes for 153 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Eagles have been led by Liberty commit Jordan Norwood (2022 LB) who has a team high of 14 total tackles and one pass deflection. Senior defenders Cayden Hawkins (2022 LB) and Andrew Hale (2022 S) have 13 total tackles a piece, while Hale also recorded two pass deflections. Valor’s upcoming contest will be televised on ESPN, giving the Eagles an opportunity to showcase their talents and prove why they are consistently ranked as Colorado’s number one-ranked team.
Junior quarterback Brady McKelheer will be expected to lead the offensive attack for the Crusaders, along with Masen Uribe (2023 RB), 6-foot-6 tight end Gabe Hoffmann Gabe Hoffmann 6'6" | 245 lbs | TE Eastside Catholic | 2023 State WA (2023), and two-way seniors Dallas Daley Dallas Daley 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Eastside Catholic | 2022 State WA (WR/OLB) and Drew Sanidad Drew Sanidad 5'8" | 160 lbs | DB Eastside Catholic | 2022 WA (WR/DB).
Eastside Catholic’s defense will be looking to contain one of the top running backs in the country, and they will be leaning heavily on their defensive front and linebacker core to do so. In addition to Daily and Sanidad, Lj Imo (2023 DT), Tyler Hill (2022 DL), and Nehemiah Faleulu (2022 OLB) will be facing one of their toughest challenges yet.
Columbine (2-0) at Faith Lutheran (1-1)
The Columbine Rebels will be traveling to Las Vegas in hopes of returning victorious by way of another impressive performance from senior running back Seth Cromwell Seth Cromwell 5'10" | 215 lbs | RB Columbine | 2022 State CO . Through two games, Cromwell has a total of 313 yards and six touchdowns from 25 carries offensively, while leading the defense in total tackles with 18 from his linebacker position.Tyree Hayes Trusty (2023 RB/LB) is the Rebels’ second-leading rusher with 25 carries for 289 yards and two touchdowns.
With a combined team total of 846 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, the true testament to Columbine’s successful ground game is the top-tier offensive line that paves the way for the backs.
In addition to Cromwell, the Rebels will be relying on seniors Grayson Headrick (DB/K), Jacob Clarey (LB/RB), Corray Logan (DE/TE), along with juniors Payton Wainwright and Cannon Burcar on defense to stave off Faith Lutheran’s offense.
The Crusaders’ offense will be led by talented quarterback Rylan Walter (2023) who has completed 27 of his 42 passing attempts for 373 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the first two games. Walter is an athletic quarterback who can use his legs to escape the pocket and take off for a huge gain when needed. Drais Bellamy (2022 RB/LB) leads his team in rushing yards (151) and carries (41), while Jordan Pollard (2022 LB/TE) leads the team in rushing touchdowns with two. Jaden Turner (2022 WR/DB) is one of Walter’s top receiving targets who has hauled in five receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown.
The pressure for Faith Lutheran will be on the defensive front and linebacker core led by Pollard, Vaea Tangitau (2022 LB/TE), and Dean Uata (2022 LB/TE).