Cherry Creek keeps rolling through Colorado high school football, and Northfield is the next team tasked with slowing the No. 1 Bruins.
The 5-1 Nighthawks head to the Stutler Bowl in Greenwood Village for a Thursday night showdown with a Cherry Creek team that has settled in after a few tight early tests. Northfield’s first loss came last week after a 5-0 start, a 24-21 defeat to Heritage. Cherry Creek’s only blemish was a forfeit in its season opener against Chatfield, a game the Bruins had originally won, 28-15.
The Bruins have recently started looking like the top-ranked team in the state. They survived back-to-back close calls, beating Legend in overtime and then rallying late to slip past Valor Christian, 16-15. Since then, they’ve put together more convincing work, building a 31-0 halftime lead in a 37-21 win at Cherokee Trail and then blanking Arapahoe, 42-0, at home last week.
Northfield arrives with its own numbers that demand attention. The Nighthawks have scored 205 points and allowed 98, and senior tailback Kaeden Williams has been the centerpiece of the offense with 822 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
For Cherry Creek, this marks the fourth Thursday night game of the season, but it will also be the last one. The Bruins’ final three regular-season games are all scheduled for Fridays.
Junior quarterback Bentley Unruh gave Cherry Creek another lift in last week’s win after missing several games with an injury. Against Arapahoe, he completed 15 of 19 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, Unruh has thrown for nearly 900 yards and 11 scores.
In Other News...
Colorado Defense Showed Real Progress Before One More Painful Breakdown
Colorados defense gave the Buffaloes something real to build on in a recent matchup with Texas Tech, especially up front. Sanata Hopper was everywhere for stretches of the game, and the unit as a whole kept Texas Tech in check for most of the afternoon, allowing Colorado to stay competitive deep into the contest and limiting the Red Raiders to just 12 points through three quarters.
The encouraging part for Deion Sanders was the overall trend, even if it came with the familiar sting of another late lapse. Colorado showed better structure and energy than it has at other points this season, but the final breakdown erased much of the good will from the earlier effort. The challenge now is turning that improved early resistance into something that lasts through the finish. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Took A Big Hit Before A Crucial Stretch
BYUs offense is heading into a rough stretch without one of its most important pieces. Running back LJ Martin went down with a lower-body injury against TCU, and the Cougars are bracing for a significant stretch without their lead runner as they prepare for a matchup with Notre Dame and other games beyond that.
The loss puts more pressure on an already shifting offensive plan, with quarterback Bear Bachmeier likely to shoulder a bigger load while the rushing attack waits for Martin to return. For a team trying to navigate a pivotal run of games, the absence of a back who has been central to the ground game changes the feel of everything around it. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Bye Week Could Decide Whether This Slide Gets Any Worse
Colorados three-game skid has been shaped as much by the injury report as by the scoreboard, with the Buffaloes trying to keep a season from drifting while key pieces have been in and out of the lineup. Sack leader Nate Lester has been missed on the edge, and the passing game has also felt the strain with DeAndre Moore Jr. and Scudero either sidelined or limited at different points, leaving the offense short of its usual options as the losses piled up.
The bye week now offers a chance to reset before the next stretch of games, and the staff will spend it trying to get healthier in spots that have been thin for weeks. Colorado also has to sort through the defensive depth chart, where freshman Preston Ashley had started to carve out a role at nickel before missing Week 5, another reminder of how quickly the roster has been stretched. [Read more 🡒]