Football roundup: No. 6 Burlington beats No. 5 Wray in 1A

Class 1A’s North Central league features four teams ranked in this week’s top-10. So Friday’s league matchup between No. 5 Wray and No. 6 Burlington was of a little extra importance.

Burlington came away with an important 19-8 win over Wray, thanks in part to two touchdown passes from Braden Witzel, and some stout defense.

“It is a big win for us,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I was really proud of our defense. Two or three times, they were down inside the 20. And we were able to keep them from putting points on the board. I was just really proud of the kids.”

Taylor Scott opened the scoring for Burlington with a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. After a Wray safety, Witzel threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Burton with 4:42 left in the second.

The score remained that way until late in the fourth quarter. That’s when Wray cut it to 12-8 with 5:33 following an interception return for a touchdown.

Witzel and Burton then hooked up again for a second time, this one from 30 yards with 35 seconds left, to account for the final margin.

With the win, Burlington is now 1-0 in conference play — along with No. 1 Limon and No. 7 Holyoke, who also won on Friday night.

Colorado PrepsCast recap

3A: Niwot 20, Eagle Valley 14

Niwot football is now 3-2 after a 20-14 win over Eagle Valley. The Cougars ended a 19-game losing streak earlier in the year.

“Our kids have worked really, really hard, and it’s almost overwhelming at times for what they’ve sacrificed to try to get to this point,” coach Jeremy Lanter told the Scoreboard Show. “The rotating coaches they’ve had in that program, it’s nice to have some consistency and have some kids buy into that consistency.”

On Friday, Julian Molina rushed for two touchdowns for the Cougars, and Eric Ruiz also scored on the ground.

This is just the second time since 2008 that the team has won three games in a season.

“It is so important,” Lanter said of winning games. “Especially when you’re trying everything you can to keep kids motivated and inspired when they know that they’re looking at a 19-game losing streak. Especially for them to be chipping away at that, and they continue to pick up the hammer and pound the stone, and try to give themselves the best opportunity. But winning helps. Winning doesn’t fix everything, but it certainly does help.”

Photo of the night

It got quite foggy in Colorado Springs, where Pikes Peak Christian was hosting Simla:

Akron, Rifle among Week 6 victories heard on the radio

Notables

Game winning touchdown!!! Dakota Ridge 18, Vista Peak 13 @JeffcoAthletics @DRHS_Athletics pic.twitter.com/L2i5vpQvJ0

— Dakota Ridge HS (@DakotaRidgeHS) September 29, 2018

Dakota Ridge football scored late to give Vista PEAK its first loss, 18-13. Here’s video of the winning TD.
Erie’s Noah Roper went over 5,000 career rushing yards in a 41-24 win over Mead. Roper had four touchdowns and 291 yards rushing in this game.
In 8-man, No. 2 West Grandvew beat No. 7 Rangely 20-6 to stay unbeaten at 6-0.
Another top-10 battle in 8-man: No. 5 Hoehne shut out No. 9 Fowler.
In 3A, Pueblo Central is now 4-1 after going 2-18 over the past two seasons. “It’s been great, the kids have been a pleasure to coach so far,” coach Kris Cotterman told the Scoreboard Show. The Wildcats beat Sand Creek 47-6.
Pikes Peak Christian upset No. 10 Simla 20-12 in 8-man. Photos from the game are here.
In 6-man, No. 2 Kit Carson handled No. 7 Cheyenne Wells 64-0.
It was an offensive affair as No. 3 Otis outlasted No. 4 Prairie 64-59 in 6-man.
Roosevelt beat Glenwood Springs 16-10 in overtime.
4A Bear Creek got its first win of the season against a solid Windsor squad, 30-26.
The Academy quarterback Brandon Boston completed 12-of-15 passes for four touchdowns in a 40-0 win over Prospect Ridge. The Wildcats are now 3-2 in 2A.
Longmont’s Drake Engelking rushed for four touchdowns in his team’s 43-8 win over Silver Creek in 4A. The Trojans are 4-1.
1A No. 3 Peyton improved to 5-0 with a 42-0 win over Ellicott. JD Hart rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and also had a receiving score.
Luke McCaffrey threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another as 5A No. 2 Valor Christian shut out Castle View 35-0.
Denver East is now 5-0 in Metro 10 play, and 5-1 overall, after beating Westminster 13-7. The Angels host Smoky Hill next Friday in what could be a matchup of unbeatens in conference play, should Smoky win on Saturday.