AURORA | With a forfeit combined with three teams on bye weeks, only six Aurora area prep football teams did field work in Week 3 of the season.
Cherokee Trail, Gateway and Smoky Hill emerged victorious in a week in which momentum began to be generated with the nearing of league play.
Eaglecrest and Grandview earned wins in their first three contests and had byes in Week 3, in which they were joined by Cherokee Trail at 3-0 in the wake of a 31-7 road win over Rocky Mountain Sept. 10 at French Field in Fort Collins.
Coach Justin Jajczyk’s Cougars — who didn’t pick up its third win until Week 8 of last season — continued its prolific offensive start to the season, as they cracked the 30-point mark for the third time in as many contests. Junior quarterback Bryson Peterson racked up 318 yards through the air and connected with seniors Jordan Mitchell and Zay Thomas and junior Evan Smith on touchdown passes.
Junior Owen Newell gave Cherokee Trail balance with 72 yards rushing to go with a touchdown. Defensively, the Cougars held the opposition in single digits for a second straight week.
Gateway (3-1) came into a Sept. 10 matinee at All-City Stadium in Denver at the end of a very short week following its first loss of the season, a renewed rivalry contest with Rangeview with the Anvil trophy at stake.
Coach Rashad Mason’s Olys quickly got the bad taste out of their mouths with a 40-point opening half and went on to a 56-0 blanking of Abraham Lincoln (1-2). Junior Jake Brock took back a punt for a touchdown late and the defense recorded a late safety as Gateway scored its most points since it put up 69 in Week 8 of the 2023 season.
The Olys have matched their win total for all of last season with six games left in the regular season.
Smoky Hill (1-2) got into the win column for the first time and did so with payback from a lopsided loss to Rangeview in the 2025 season. The rematch came Sept. 11 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium and coach Brandon Alconcel’s Buffaloes were up to the challenge in a 22-6 victory.
Wearing the Cherry Creek School District uniforms used for Military Appreciation nights in honor of playing on Sept. 11, coach Brandon Alconcel’s Smoky Hill team scored twice in the opening half on touchdown passes from junior quarterback Tre Lynch to senior Lyndell Mcconico (which covered 46 yards) and junior Esimisian Were on a jump ball in the end zone.
The Buffaloes tacked on a long touchdown run by freshman Quentin Thomas to give them plenty of cushion as they snapped a nine-game losing streak stretching back to last season.
Coach Chris Lopez’s Rangeview team (2-1) — which scored nearly a combined 100 points in its first two games — got on the scoreboard late when sophomore quarterback Jayden Delatorre connected with junior Emmanuel Denney in the end zone.
Regis Jesuit returned to play in Colorado after a Week 2 victory in Spokane, Washington, and clashed with parochial school rival Mullen Sept. 11 at Lou Kellogg Stadium.
Coach Danny Filleman’s Raiders got off to a strong start with some big plays, which included a 76-yard touchdown pass from senior running back Joe Pron to senior wide receiver Andrew Mihm along with an interception return touchdown by junior Colt Jones, but a second half rally allowed the Mustangs (2-1) to escape with a 20-13 win.
Mullen scored 13 points to take a late seven-point lead as Regis Jesuit had a last gasp. Junior quarterback Luke Rubley connected with junior Theo Shelburn on a 54-yard gain that got the Raiders into the red zone, but an incomplete pass by Rubley on a 4-and-1 from the 6 yard-line turned the ball over on downs and the Mustangs ran out the clock.
Overland remains in search of a first victory after a 43-0 loss to Denver East Sept. 11 at Legacy Stadium. Coach Timothy Wright’s Trailblazers fell to 0-3 on the season.
The week mark moved to 4-4 when including a forfeit given to Aurora Central on Sept. 10, when Hinkley did not have enough players for the game. Coach Chris Kelly’s Trojans improved to 3-1, while coach Anthony Wilson’s Thunder sit 0-3.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
