AURORA | With the arrival of Week 5, conference play in prep football began to get its legs under it and five of the 11 Aurora area programs came out with victories.
After the midway point of the 10-game regular season, only one local team remains undefeated in Eaglecrest, which was joined in the winners circle by Aurora Central, Gateway, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill.
Coach Jesse German’s Eaglecrest team guarded against a letdown from its epic win in its Centennial League opener (see story, here) with a quality 27-13 road win at Mullen Sept. 25 to keep pace with two other teams (Cherry Creek and Northfield with no losses in the early going of league play.
The Raptors got off to a 5-0 start to the season for the third time the past five seasons with another strong defensive performance — as it kept the Mustangs (2-3, 0-2) — off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter after they had built a 27-0 lead. That advantage came with great work on the ground from junior Clyde Surrell IV, who finished with 128 yards rushing and found the end zone three times.
Junior quarterback Will Brinkman and senior Jack Steiner connected for a touchdown pass to round out the scoring for Eaglecrest, which has scored 21 points or more in four of its five contests this season.
The win total for Gateway — which won just three games all of last season — is now at four in the wake of a come-from-behind 28-24 win over Lakewood Sept. 25 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Coach Rashad Mason’s Olys (4-1 overall, 1-0 in 4A Metro 7 League) faced a 10-point deficit to the Tigers (3-3, 1-1) at halftime and as late as just over a minute left in the third quarter, but after that, senior Lyric Wynn tipped the tables. Wynn racked up 192 yards rushing and much of that came on touchdown runs of 35 and 80 yards in the third quarter, while his third TD run of the night stood up as the winning points.
Lakewood got down in the red zone and had one final play to go for the win, but Gateway came up with a stop to seal the victory.
One night earlier on the same field at APS Stadium, Aurora Central pulled of a rally of its own in a 28-26 defeat of Thomas Jefferson that secured its fourth win of the campaign.
Coach Chris Kelly’s Trojans (4-2, 1-1 in 4A Metro 7 League) fell into a 14-0 deficit in the second quarter before big plays began to come, starting with a kickoff return touchdown from junior Elijah Pittman following the Spartans’ second touchdown.
Then it was the Markell Perkins show, as the senior standout had two rushing touchdowns (including a 76-yarder that stood up as the eventual game-winning score) as well as an 82-yard fumble return touchdown. Perkins finished with 160 yards rushing and added 74 yards passing.
The second win of the season for Smoky Hill came Sept. 25 and included a bonus, as a 52-7 defeat of area rival Overland made sure the Wagon Wheel traveling trophy went nowhere.
The Buffaloes (2-3 overall, 1-1 in 4A South Metro League) got three scores on the connection between junior quarterback Tre Lynch and senior Esmisian Ware, including a 64-yarder late in the third quarter (which Ware took to the end zone despite losing his shoe) that invoked the running clock mercy rule. Freshman Ja’rell Hill rushed for two touchdowns, while senior Lyndell McConico and freshman Quentin Thomas also had ground scores for coach Brandon Alconcel’s Smoky Hill team.
Coach Timothy Wright’s Overland squad (0-5, 0-2) got a 65-yard touchdown pass from junior Bryson Riordan to senior Josiah West for its only points.
Regis Jesuit got another huge performance from junior Colt Jones en route to a 43-28 Homecoming victory Sept. 25 at Lou Kellogg Stadium.
Jones — a key performer on both sides of the ball for coach Danny Filleman’s Raiders (2-3 overall, 1-1 in 5A Southern League) delighted the home crowd with 159 yards receiving and two touchdowns, while he also picked off two passes defensively and took one back to the end zone.
Junior quarterback Luke Rubley found senior Andrew Mihm with his third touchdown pass of the game, while seniors Benjamin Bacon (107 yards rushing) and Joe Pron (97) both scored rushing touchdowns.
Grandview had hoped to keep pace with Eaglecrest and other teams atop the Centennial League standings, but coach Tom Doherty’s Wolves dropped a 10-6 decision to upstart Northfield Sept. 25 at Legacy Stadium in a battle of unbeatens.
Junior Neelein Shead Jr. gave Grandview (4-1 overall, 1-1 in Centennial League) an early lead, which lasted until the fourth quarter, when the Nighthawks (5-0, 2-0) blocked a punt, hit a big pass play and scored a short touchdown for what held up as the winning points.
Cherokee Trail dropped its second straight after a 3-0 start, but coach Justin Jajczyk’s team had to deal with back-to-back defending 5A state champion Cherry Creek Sept. 24 at Legacy Stadium. Despite two touchdown passes from quarterback Bryson Peterson to fellow junior Rayshon Stanley (110 yards receiving) and a rushing score from senior Dorian Harris, the Cougars fell to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Centennial League).
Rangeview visited winless Brighton Sept. 25 and built a double-digit lead by halftime, but surrendered 24 points in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss. Coach Chris Lopez’s Raiders (2-3 overall, 0-2 in 4A Big 8 League) got two touchdown passes from sophomore Jayden Delatorre to junior Alijah Braddock, plus a rushing score from junior Gavin Garcia.
Hinkley and Vista PEAK Prep both remained winless, but both were in tight ballgames.
The Thunder scored their first points of the season Sept. 24 in a road game at Jefferson, as senior Jeremiah Bailey returned a kickoff for a touchdown and also scored on the ground as part of a 100-yard day, but coach AJ Wilson’s team fell to 0-4 with a 14-12 defeat.
Coach Kyle Reese’s Bison (0-5, 0-2 in 4A South Metro League) took on Chaparral Sept. 26 at EchoPark Stadium and were in it all the way before they fell 21-14. Junior Isaiah Clint threw a touchdown pass to senior Josiah Hurd and junior Mekhi Jones rushed for a touchdown for Vista PEAK Prep.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
