Cherry Creek smokes nationally ranked Skyridge to start 4-0. Does any Colorado team stand a chance against Bruins?

GREENWOOD VILLAGE The Massey Ratings require a recalibration Utah s Skyridge entered Friday s challenge against Cherry Creek as the No squad in the nation while the Bruins were ranked No But the Bruins made those computerized rankings look buggy They used a fast start and a furious finish to smoke Skyridge - at the Stutler Bowl avenging their lone loss last season in the process It was Cherry Creek s third mastery over an out-of-state club in as multiple weeks after hanging on to beat Cardinal Mooney Florida on the road two weeks ago and dominating Millard North Nebraska last week The performance against Skyridge suggests that Cherry Creek owners of five of the last six Class A titles is more than just a juggernaut in a flyover football state This year s Bruins whose highest national ranking entering Friday among the three major services in Massey MaxPreps and Rivals was No have the size speed and talent to play with just about anyone This was a championship for everyone who underestimates Colorado ball declared Cherry Creek star running back Jayden Fox who had three TDs and over yards rushing They say we re not a football state we don t have good enough athletes but this battle established this plan has those athletes those star players No the Bruins aren t a national heavyweight like Mater Dei St John Bosco Bishop Gorman or Southlake Carroll But they possess a blue-chip frontman in defensive lineman Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais a Washington commit who is a Navy All-American They have one of the the majority dynamic running backs in Colorado in Fox a UConn pledge who went scorched earth on Skyridge And they have a slew of other Division I recruits around those headliners No wonder Cherry Creek s had a tough time finding in-state opponents to fill out its non-conference schedule Fox was nearly untackleable in open space on Friday When he got even the slimmest margin of daylight he took off While senior quarterback Brady Vodicka tossed three TDs and sophomore Elijah Cromwell was a complementary ground threat Fox was the unstoppable star The Cherry Creek defense also set the tone early with interceptions by Michigan State commit Braylon Hodge on the competition s opening drive and then a pick-six by fellow senior linebacker Tate Matthews on the Falcons second drive That gave Cherry Creek cushion for when Skyridge s QB Division I prospect Kaneal Sweetwyne caught fire in the third quarter The match started for them a little bit like the encounter started for us last year in Salt Lake Cherry Creek head coach Dave Logan declared Their quarterback is about as good as we ve seen in a long time and so we tried to change up fronts coverages disguises We made particular plays early and we needed them because that s an excellent association Cherry Creek coach David Logan congratulates the group after the encounter against Skyridge at the Stutler Bowl Friday Sept in Greenwood Village CO Cherry Creek won - Rebecca Slezak Special to The Denver Post With those two interceptions and Fox s first carry in between leading to a -yard figure Cherry Creek went up - just seconds into the encounter The Bruins never looked back despite Sweetwyne settling into the battle and engineering four scoring drives to keep the Falcons from getting boat-raced Alijah Landrum-Hamilton s slick moves on a screen pass led to a -yard TD and Fox added on a -yard TD burst as Cherry Creek took a - lead into half On the opening drive of the third quarter the Bruins marched the field capped by Louisiana Tech pledge Vodicka s -yard TD pass to senior tight end Ty Goettsche BYU After Skyridge made a third-quarter push and cut the result to - the Bruins used a field goal a clutch defensive stop and a -yard TD run from Fox to put the championship on ice On an outside zone play Fox shed several tacklers and outran the Falcons secondary to quiet the Skyridge sideline and fan section which had been energized up to that point We started to feel like we won but we had to remember we have to play for minutes Fox mentioned We went out in the fourth quarter and did what we did at the beginning of the championship By the time another Matthews pick set up Vodicka s TD pass to senior tight end Anthony Betti making it a -burger with left the encounter had turned into a homecoming celebration for Cherry Creek Can any Colorado group beat the Bruins this year Odds seem slim After a bye Pine Creek is the Bruins final non-conference challenger a band the Bruins beat - last year After that Cherry Creek s Centennial League slate should offer a challenge or two but also more than a sparse running clocks Related Articles Colorado high school football How Post Preps Top teams fared in Week With Marquise Reese seamlessly following record-setting act reloaded Mountain Vista is potent once again Colorado high school football scoreboard Week Colorado high school football games to watch in Week Colorado high school football rankings Week Ralston Valley lurking after back-to-back blowouts Valor Christian is widely viewed as the one squad with the athletes and muscle in the trenches to keep up with Creek but the Eagles have lost four straight to Logan s Bruins since Judging by Cherry Creek s first four weeks Valor or anyone else in Colorado will need to play nearly perfect to beat the Bruins as Legend almost did in a - loss in last year s championship Cherry Creek s lost only three in-state games since the championship to Columbine and league games to Grandview in and Arapahoe in This - start shows what we can do Tate Matthews declared All teams should be watching out for us coming up Good luck Colorado Skyridge will send you its tattered battle plans during its long trip back to Utah Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams