AURORA | A primer for the two football games involving Aurora teams scheduled to be played on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
DOHERTY (0-4) VS. REGIS JESUIT (3-1)
6 p.m., Lou Kellogg Stadium
Regis Jesuit bounced back from its lone loss of the season — a Week 3 defeat at the hands of unbeaten Legend — with a 42-0 victory over Douglas County (recap, here) and will try to pick up another South League victory when winless Doherty visits. Regis Jesuit will celebrate a group of 23 seniors during its last regular season home game and try to get to 4-1 with a scheduled contest against powerhouse Pine Creek waiting in Week 6. Coach Danny Filleman’s Raiders remain in the hunt for a spot in the smaller Class 5A state playoff field. Senior running back David Dody got into the end zone twice in the win over Douglas County and has scored at least one touchdown in all four games, while the two players that took snaps under center last game senior Andrew Kulick (2 rushing touchdowns) and sophomore Exander Carroll (1 passing touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown) accounted for the other four scores. Carroll threw for a season-high 143 yards against the Huskies with a touchdown pass to senior Adam Zdanowicz. The Raiders have been adept at forcing turnovers with 10 in four games as five players have at least on interception (led by senior Charlie Doubet with two) and both seniors Eddie Maxfield and Cooper Aye have recovered two fumbles. Doherty had a brutal schedule in its first four games as it faced Valor Christian, Legend and Pine Creek — which have a combined record of 10-0 — and dropped a three-point game to 1-1 Douglas County. The Spartans, who have been hurt by turnovers, have found some success on the ground with junior Dylan Mercer and sophomore Kaden Becker, who both are over 200 yards and have scored on the ground, while senior Kade Unberhagen has 259 of the team’s 368 passing yards and two of its three receiving touchdowns.
GRANDVIEW (2-2) VS. CHEROKEE TRAIL (2-2)
7 p.m., Legacy Stadium
The annual meeting between Cherokee Trail and Grandview is also a big one, no matter what the records are, and this one just happens to come when both teams have the same record and desperately need a victory to have any chance of getting into a shrunken Class 5A state playoff field. Coach John Schultz’s Grandview team stopped a two-game losing trek with a quality victory over Smoky Hill in Week 4 (recap, here), while coach Joe Johnson and Cherokee Trail has put an opening two-game losing streak behind it to win two games in a row, including a 35-14 non-league win over Rocky Mountain (recap, here). Both the Wolves and Cougars suffered their defeats to Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek, which are both undefeated. Grandview’s defense has played well on the season and has 5A’s interception leader in junior Kahden Rullo, who has had at least one pick in every game and is part of a defensive backfield that has stood up to a variety of challenges as part of a defense that has generated 12 turnovers. Junior running back Moosah Alsaffar rushed for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns against Smoky Hill, giving him 552 yards and five scores in four games as the team’s primarily ballcarrier. Senior fullback Spencer Schwartz has scored in the running game and passing game and given help to a young, progressing offensive line that has suffered some losses due to injury. Junior KB Broadus had a three-touchdown game (two rushing, one passing) in a rotation under center with senior Jacob Burr in a combination that is likely to continue. Junior Evan Johnson has been a dynamic receiver and special teams weapon. Cherokee Trail has improved by leaps and bounds on the defensive side and allowed an average of just 17.5 points per game in its last two after giving up 111 points in its first two games. Senior Elijah Graham had two interceptions in the second half of the Cougars’ game with the Lobos and junior Jack Love has picked off a pass in back-to-back games to boost a unit with eight forced turnovers and 13.5 sacks, including 4.0 from senior Mason Maddox. Cherokee Trail’s offense didn’t score against Cherry Creek, but has scored at least 35 points in the three other games. Senior quarterback Jayden Lavigne threw four touchdown passes in the win over Rocky Mountain and connected with speedy junior Jack Pierce 15 times (for 205 yards and two scores) in the game, while he also found seniors Nate Burke and Sam Hart on scoring passes. Senior Nate Gaye Jr. has racked up a team-high 344 yards rushing, with junior Ciaran Hyslop just behind at 324 with one less game running behind a line featuring massive junior Travis Gray and others.