Football roundup: Chaos reigns in Week 1 of the season

It was not a good week to be ranked as the 2015 football season began in earnest.

When the dust settled on Friday night, here’s what we were left with:

Three No. 1 teams lost on Friday night. 5A’s Valor Christian was clipped by No. 3 Pomona. 2A’s Brush, the defending champion, last to 3A No. 2 Fort Morgan, and 8-man’s Caliche fell to unranked Kiowa.
Ranked teams are just 35-23 so far in Week 1. That includes three ranked 4A teams which lost to unranked opponents on Friday alone.
In all, there have been 16 upsets so far in Week 1, including 13 ranked teams losing to unranked opponents.

To the games.

3A/2A: (2) Fort Morgan 47, (1) Brush 7

Fort Morgan controlled this rivalry game from start to finish — a game that had a new twist with new Brush coach Reid Kahl, who graduated from Fort Morgan.

“I consider Reid Kahl one of my good friends. When I got to Fort Morgan, the Kahls took me in,” Fort Morgan coach Harrison Chisum told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s tough coaching against friends. He’s an outstanding coach and I have a lot of respect for him. … I’m just glad it’s done and we’re still friends.”

Brush had won five consecutive games in the rivalry.

“It was a little more enjoyable this year,” Chisum said. “Five years in a row, they’ve had our number. To finally come out on top, it feels good. The boys did a good job.

“I didn’t realize it was five years. I think I was trying to forget some of those years. … It’s pretty nice to be able to start off with a win.”

8-man: Kiowa 12, (1) Caliche 6

In a rare low-scoring game, Kiowa knocked off the No. 1 team, and defending champions.

Kiowa led 12-0 after the first quarter, and it turned out to be all the points it would need.

The win avenged last season’s 49-6 loss to Caliche. Kiowa went on to finish 2-7 in 2014. This win actually snapped a six-game losing streak.

Conversely, Caliche had won nine games in a row — including a Zero Week game against Soroco.

4A: Loveland 36, (5) Denver South 18

Quarterback Ayden Eberhardt had four total touchdowns to lead Loveland to the upset of Denver South.

The senior rushed for three, and passed for another — and, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, kicked a field goal.

“Our quarterback is just a great, nifty little runner and can do things,” Loveland coach Wayne McGinn told the newspaper. “You don’t know where he’s going. I don’t know where he’s going half the time.”

6-man: (3) Arickaree/Woodlin 58, (5) Peetz 50

Arickaree/Woodlin, the defending 6-man champion, out-gunned Peetz in a shootout despite having a young roster.

“Our starting six or seven have a lot of experience, but they’re in some different positions this year,” Arickaree/Woodlin coach David Saffer told the Scoreboard Show. “And we’ve got a bunch of young kids and they’re just kind of learning high school football and adjusting to the speed and learning what it takes to win at this level.”

Notables

Arvada beat Sheridan 27-14, and in doing so, snapped an 18-game losing streak which dated to 2013. The Bulldogs’ last win came on Sept. 13, 2013, in overtime against Skyview. The program had been 1-22 over its past 23 games going back to 2012.
Manitou Springs recovered five onside kicks in its game against Faith Christian. Faith Christian, however, won 46-32.
It was a top-5 matchup in 2A as No. 5 Platte Valley beat No. 3 Strasburg 30-7.
Cross-classification showdown: 4A No. 7 Windsor beat 3A No. 6 Roosevelt 25-12.
In 3A, Mitchell beat Widefield 34-28 in double overtime. It wasn’t the night’s only extra time. 1A’s Olathe beat Hotchkiss in overtime, 29-27, and in 5A, Cherokee Trail beat ThunderRidge 22-15.
In 1A, No. 1 Paonia beat No. 7 Monte Vista 21-7.
Dakota Ridge, ranked No. 3 in 4A, opened with a big 38-9 win over 5A Monarch. “We challenged our kids all week that they needed to play physical and play tough,” coach Ron Woitalewicz told the Scoreboard Show. “Our kids really rose to that expectation.”
Eaglecrest led 5A No. 9 Ralston Valley 14-13 at halftime, but the Mustangs stormed back to take a 33-27 win. Ralston Valley nearly fell victim to a comeback of its own, as it held a 33-14 lead in the fourth quarter but had to hold on.
5A No. 6 Fairview led Grand Junction 21-0, but had to hold on for a 21-12 win.
Lakewood handed 5A No. 8 Fountain-Fort Carson its second straight loss, this one a 31-21 decision.
Douglas County rallied to beat Arvada West 27-26 late.
Chaparral played 5A No. 7 Grandview tough early, but the Wolves pulled away for a 29-12 win.
Six more Colorado teams played out-of-state opponents on Friday, going 4-2. Durango, Holly, La Junta and Sedgwick County all notched wins, while Wray and Montezuma-Cortez lost on Friday. So far in 2015, Colorado teams are 8-2 against out-of-state foes.