Football roundup: Smoky Hill coach Tom Thenell wins No. 200; top-10 matchups around the state

Smoky Hill football coach Tom Thenell won the 200th game of his career on Friday night when his Buffaloes beat Adams City.

Thenell, who has also coached at Bear Creek and Mullen, is now 200-112 in his career, which began in 1992.

Smoky Hill, now 8-0 this season, beat Adams City 51-7. In two years at Smoky, Thenell is 18-1 at a program that hadn’t won more than four games from 2007-2017.

The Buffaloes are now also 7-0 in the Metro 10 League with two games to play. But with wins over both Prairie View and Far Northeast, who are 5-2 in league play, Smoky Hill has clinched the league title, assuring themselves of a second-straight playoff berth.

2A: (2) Sterling 24, (3) Platte Valley 6

Sterling jumped out with two quick touchdowns, including a fumble return for a score, in the first quarter, and turned that momentum into a huge win.

“We knew coming in all week who the opponent was and what was at stake tonight,” Sterling coach Rob Busmente told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids did a great job during the week of preping during practice.”

Busmente added that the game was “from start to finish, probably one of our most complete games that we’ve played this season.”

Of the two early touchdowns he said: “Jumping out fast and creating some momentum early was a positive, and we were able to maintain that level through the rest of the game.”

Sterling is now 6-1, with the lone loss coming out-of-state to Scottsbluff, Neb. The Tigers are in first place in the Patriot East at 3-0.

5A: (2) Cherry Creek 41, (8) Eaglecrest 3

Cherry Creek made a statement with a huge top-10 win in the tough Metro East League.

The Bruins built a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and only continued to extend their lead in the second half.

Julian Hammond III threw two touchdown passes for the Bruins, who also got rushing touchdowns from James Walker II and Jayle Stacks. Chase Penry and Connor Page had receiving touchdowns.

With the win, Cherry Creek pushed its record to 8-0 overall, and 3-0 as the lone remaining unbeaten in the Metro East.

2A: (5) Delta 35, (7) Basalt 6

It was all Delta as the Panthers raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to the big win.

Brandon Butler had two rushing scores in the win, and Nolan Bynum rushed for a score and passed for another.

Delta is now 6-1 this season, including 2-1 in the 2A Western Slope League.

6-man: (2) Fleming 63, (9) Briggsdale 14

Fleming locked up the North League championship with the big win.

“Especially the second half, we just started executing well,” Fleming coach John King told the Scoreboard Show. “Sticking with our blocks longer, and people on the back side, really trying to work hard and take their angles. It just kinda started clicking.

“We kind of wore them down a little bit,” King added. “We have really good depth this year for 6-man.”

Fleming is now 8-0 overall, and 5-0 in the North.

Notables:

In a big 6-man matchup, No. 1 Kit Carson topped No. 10 Granada 56-40.
In 8-man, Sargent upset Dove Creek 26-24.
Lamar beat La Junta in the Whistle Game for the first time since 2014 with a 20-14 win.
Manual beat Jefferson 26-20 in double overtime.