CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIP
(2) Limon (11-1) at (1) Akron (12-0)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
What’s up? Akron, on a 24-game winning streak, has won seven consecutive postseason games… The Rams, defending champions, last lost in the postseason to — who else? — Limon in 2005. The Badgers then were finishing a run of three consecutive state titles… Don’t discount Akron’s defensive run this season. The Rams have allowed only 38 points in 12 games, an average of barely more than a field goal per game. And this with a 5-foot-6, 140-pound nose tackle — Chris Gebauer, one of Class 1A’s best… Limon has scored more than 45 points in five games. The Badgers put up fewer than 25 points in just two games… Badgers sophomore quarterback Matt Brown is nearing 2,000 yards passing… Limon owns 71 playoff victories all time — by far the most in the state, at any level. Limon’s 17 state titles also are a record… Both teams are making their fourth title-game appearance in the past five years.
What’s next? Simply put, and without hyperbole, Limon and Akron are Colorado football’s two best small schools the past 10 years. One or both have played for the state title every year since 1999. After Saturday, they will have accounted for seven of the eight state titles this decade. In essence, this is the latest in an ongoing rubber match between the Badgers and Rams on the season’s biggest stage. The state’s Eastern Plains will buzz.
Nick Groke
