Denver Post preps editor Kyle Newman breaks down the big games to watch in Week 1 of the 2017 Colorado high school football season.
Poudre (1-0) at (0-0), Thursday 7:30 p.m., Shea Stadium:The Impalas are coming off a 48-6 beatdown of in Week 0 as senior running back J.T. Erickson and senior quarterback Troy McFadden each racked up three touchdowns in the first half alone. But Poudre faces a much tougher test in the as coach Ric Cash and Mountain Vista are sure to come out hungry after a 30-point win over the Impalas in a shootout last year.
No. 4 Mullen (0-1) at No. 2 (1-0), Friday 7 p.m., Valor Stadium:These elite programs are coming off markedly difference Week 0 outcomes. Mullen in a game in which the Mustangs’ lone bright spot was the performance of senior running back Alonzo Moon, while Valor Christian pitched a second-half shutout en route to an impressive triumph over Nevada powerhouse Faith Lutheran. Will the talented and experienced Mullen defensive front be able to rebound from last week by containing Valor Christian’s primary weapons in do-everything junior Luke McCaffrey and junior running back Joshia Davis?
Nederland (0-1) at Justice (1-0), Friday 7 p.m., Recht Field:In an eight-man football clash, Beth Buglione — who in June was named the — coaches her first game for the Panthers, who had to forfeit their season opener due to a lack of eligible players. But Buglione’s intensity should parlay into a focused effort for Nederland, which faces that came up just short of the playoffs last season and is highlighted by junior wideout/linebackerJustin Hunyadi.
No. 5 (0-0) at No. 1 (0-0), Friday 7 p.m., Stutler Bowl:Both teams have proven quarterbacks — junior Alex Padilla returns for Cherry Creek after a broken thumb derailed his 2016 season, while 6-5 senior Justin Lamb is back for Regis Jesuit. Both teams boast Division I talent on defense, such as Cherry Creek senior nose guard Gunnar Garcia and Regis Jesuitsenior linebacker Tama Tuitele, in the .
4A No. 2 Broomfield (0-0) at Legacy (0-0), Friday 7 p.m., North Stadium:This city rivalry returns with Legacy having won six of the last nine showdowns, including a grinding 14-9 victory last season. But junior quarterbackSteven Croell and the Broomfield offense has been molded through the fire of their run to last season’s title game, andsenior linebacker Noah Jenson will anchor the defense against a Lightning team that also returns its quarterback, senior Alec Lewis, as well as an array of experienced skill players.
4A No. 1 (0-0) at ThunderRidge (0-0), Saturday 7 p.m., Shea Stadium:In what is probably the most intriguing cross-classification clash of the week, defending 4A state champion Pine Creek heads to to take onThunderRidge and its new head coach Doug Nisenson, who was hired after Joe Johnson departed for . It will be up tojunior linebacker Ethan Frasier and senior linebacker Jaret Strasheim, the Grizzlies’ leading tacklers in 2016, to contain Pine Creek’s rushing attack led by sophomore sensation David Moore III.
