When Limon and Wray finally decided the Class 1A championship last season, a matchup nearly everyone in the classification expected, the result turned heads.
Limon, which finished one of the most dominant runs in recent memory behind a defense that allowed just two points in its last seven games, crushed previously unbeaten Wray 42-2.
Coaches and fans alike wondered: Could Limon or Wray have competed for a 2A title? How would they have fared in the 3A playoffs? To refresh, Wray earlier had handily beaten two of Class 2A’s semifinalists.
“If they went up two classifications,” Peyton coach Shane Kelley said, “they’d still win a bunch of games.”
A moot discussion, though, because both teams return this season for another run at the 1A title.
Limon, which owns a 26-game winning streak and two consecutive titles, again enters the season as the team to beat. The Badgers are ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News poll. Wray starts as No. 2.
Limon will make a run at its third title in three years behind all-everything quarterback Tyson Liggett, a multiple track champion and all-state basketball and baseball player. L.D. Meier, perhaps 1A’s best linebacker, and an overall speedy team will be Limon’s backbone.
“I think my defense is going to be really good,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer said.
Wray counters with a bruising rushing attack. The Eagles will run Nick Williams, an explosive tailback, and Dex Cure, a punishing back at 6-feet, 200 pounds, behind 6-6, 285-pound center Nate Minton.
Of course, neither team’s path to the title game is set. Limon will have to fend off up-and-coming Byers for the South Central Conference title and survive a significant nonleague schedule that includes a trip to Akron in the third week.
Wray, meanwhile, will have its hands full in the toughest conference in 1A. At least four teams will scrap for three spots in the North Central. Among Wray, Akron, Lyons and Holyoke, one heavy-hitter will not be invited to the postseason. Akron begins the season ranked No. 3, Lyons No. 5.
Del Norte, of the Southern Peaks/West Central Conference, is ranked No. 4. Coach Greg King’s team again will try to race past teams with its speed, something that is rooted in a top-notch track team. The Tigers will battle with Center, a 2004 semifinalist and the most surprising turnaround team last season, Sanford and Custer County.
Grand Valley, of the Western Slope Conference, is a team several coaches mentioned as a team to watch. The Cardinals have had a solid group of young players waiting to come of age, and this should be that year. They’ll compete with West Grand and Hayden, along with Meeker, Rangely and Paonia, for three league playoff spots.
Dolores, a semifinalist the past two seasons, has lost just two games since 2003 and has qualified for every postseason this decade. The Bears will go for another conference title in the lowest-enrollment league in 1A.
Rye rounds out the top 10 and is the front-runner in a tight Santa Fe Conference.
