AURORA | A capsule look at the 2018 Class 5A state football first round playoff matchup between No. 22 Poudre and No. 11 Cherokee Trail:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
NO. 22 POUDRE (4-6) VS. NO. 11 CHEROKEE TRAIL (7-3)
7 p.m., Nov. 2 at Legacy Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Poudre and Cherokee Trail meet for the first time ever in the playoffs and only the second time ever, but the second time in the same season. The Cougars won a non-league meeting with the Impalas by a 35-0 count back on Sept. 14 in a game in which they rolled up 175 yards in the air and 189 on the ground…Cherokee Trail has missed the postseason only once in the past 11 seasons and that came in 2017, while Poudre make their second straight playoff trip and third in the past five seasons.
POUDRE (4-6): The Impalas finished 1-4 in the non-league portion of the regular season — including the loss to Cherokee Trail — but coach Marty McVicker’s team found much more success in Front Range League as they won three of their last five contests, including a 35-14 win over Fossil Ridge in its regular season finale Oct. 26…Poudre has achieved a near statistical balance offensively, as it has 1,769 yards rushing and 1,197 yards passing, but tilts towards a more successful ground game. Junior RB Tate Satterfield (who rolled up 178 yards and three touchdowns in the season finale) has gained 1,109 yards and scored 12 times, while junior QB Sergio Tarango has called his own number on several occasions and has rushed for 384 yards and five touchdowns, while he’s thrown for 1,108 yards and five more scores (though he’s been intercepted 10 times). Senior WR Josiah Stribling and sophomore WR Duante Davis each had more than 359 yards receiving and have combined for four touchdown catches…Defensively, the Impalas have yielded nearly 30 points per game for the season, but just 24 in league play (including 56 points allowed to high-flying Fairview). Poudre is led by junior LB Jacob Kasubick and senior DB Kobi Salinas, who have each been credited with 67 tackles on the season, while senior DL Michael Scott leads a modest pass rush with 4.5 sacks. The Impalas generate just over one turnover per game on the season.
CHEROKEE TRAIL (7-3): The Cougars missed the playoffs during a 4-6 2017 season in the first campaign under coach Joe Johnson, but have been markedly improved in 2018. Cherokee Trail won its first six games of the season, then dropped three of its final four in Metro East League play, though all came to top-five seeds in No. 3 Cherry Creek, No. 4 Eaglecrest and No. 5 Grandview…The Cougars came out of the gate firing on all cylinders with senior QB Grant Ciccarone under center (1,132 yards passing and 12 touchdowns), but a broken collarbone suffered early in the league opener put him on the sideline for the remainder of the regular season. Sophomore Jayden LaVigne came on and has been an efficient replacement, as he’s thrown for 202 yards and four touchdowns in three-plus contests. He’s made good use of senior WR Sean Roberts, who has more than 500 yards receiving and has made a number of trips to the end zone, while five other Cherokee Trail receivers have 113 or more yards receiving, topped by junior WR Donovan Swift (228 yards) and senior WR Jeordon Holmes (161), with Swift leading Holmes four touchdowns to three. Senior RB Malik Sparrow has taken a pounding with a heavy workload, but has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns as the main threat that includes speedy junior RB Torrey Sanders…Defensively, Cherokee Trail has yielded just under 20 points per game overall, but a few more against the high-powered offenses in the Metro East. The Cougars have a very talented defensive backfield led by senior DB Myles Ruiz — who shares the team lead in interceptions with Roberts with four apiece and draws the opponents’ toughest wide receiver — along with junior S Matty Bartels, the team’s leading tackler who has a trio of interception himself, plus senior DB Kobe Sconiers. Junior DE Kobe Thompson leads an effective pass rush with 11 sacks, while six other players have recorded three or more on the season. Senior LB Dakota Rodriguez is a key figure on defense for the Cougars, while junior DL/LB Austin Jandik is a sparkplug in the trenches…On special teams, Roberts also handles the placekicking duties and missed only two of his 32 extra point attempts and Sanders is a dangerous return man with a kickoff return touchdown to his credit.
WINNER GETS: The Poudre-Cherokee Trail winner moves on to the Nov. 9-10 second round against No. 6 Ralston Valley (8-2), one of eight teams that received first-round byes.
