Class 1A state semifinal preview

The question on everyone’s mind going into the 2020 season for Class 1A was whether we would see Limon face Strasburg in the championship game for the third consecutive season. Both teams are just one win away from making that a realty yet again. If it happens, it will also be Strasburg’s fifth straight time playing in the state championship game. They won in 2016 and 2017, but lost the last two times to Limon in the final. Standing in their way are an undefeated team in Centauri who will get to host one of the semifinal games this weekend, and a 6-1 team from the eastern plains in Wray with history against its semifinal opponent. Here is a preview of this weekend’s semifinal games in Class 1A. <h3><strong>No. 1 Limon vs. No. 4 Wray, Nov. 28, 1 p.m.</strong></h3> Limon had a big second quarter scoring four touchdowns to build up a lead before going on to win 41-15 versus Holyoke in the first round last week. The Badgers have the defending player of the year in Class 1A in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22618" first="Kory" last="Tacha"]</strong> leading the way. The 6-foot, 185-pound senior is an NCAA Division II prospect and is effective on both sides of the ball. From his running back spot, he has 570 rushing yards, 86 receiving yards and 13 offensive touchdowns. He also has 24 tackles on defense from his linebacker spot, and he is a key special teams player as the punter and return specialist. Tacha will be the player on the field to watch in this game. Another two-way player putting up solid numbers this season is Jeremiah Leaper. A 6-foot, 170-pound junior, he is second on the team with 562 rushing yards and had the most carries versus Holyoke, and he is the team leader with 2.5 sacks from his outside linebacker position. A few other defensive players who are standing out for Limon include linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58948" first="Ky" last="Bandy"]</strong> (47 tackles) and 6-foot-6 defensive back <strong>Alex Carr</strong> (three interceptions). No opponent has scored more than 15 points versus the Limon defense in 2020. Facing the No. 1 seed this week is another formidable opponent in the eastern plains in the No. 4 seed Wray Eagles. They also had a big second quarter with 24 points to build up a big lead towards a 38-13 victory over Hotchkiss. Wray also has a dominate two-way player to watch in Class 1A with <strong>Tyler Collins</strong>. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound quarterback is a dual threat in the offense with 1,131 rushing yards, 1,096 passing yards and 29 total touchdowns. He is coming off back-to-back games with 203 rushing yards. On defense, he is a versatile defensive back who can play against the run and the pass, and he is currently second in tackles with 61 this season. <strong>Junior Arambula</strong> is the other skill player and secondary man putting up big numbers for Wray. He is the team leader in receptions with 31 and is the go-to man for Collins to throw to, and he is the team leader in tackles with 64 while also picking up a pair of sacks. In the trenches, Wray has a strong two-way lineman in <strong>Tell Wade</strong> at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds who can create penetration and make plays in the backfield with a team-high 6.5 sacks. The two teams met each other in the 2019 regular season and Limon was able to get the win 40-9 on the road. <h3><strong>No. 6 Centauri vs. No. 2 Strasburg, Nov. 28, 1 p.m.</strong></h3> Strasburg cruised through the regular season and dominated the five opponents it played. In their first test of the season, the Indians had to hang on and get a defensive stop late to defeat the Meeker Cowboys 36-34 in the first round last Friday. <strong>Trystan Graf</strong> is the man that Strasburg likes to use to get the offense going. They will line him up in the backfield as a running back or split him out as a wide receiver. Then the goal is to get the ball in his hands with handoffs, jet sweeps and quick passes and let him use his speed. Graf had 21 touches and scored two touchdowns on offense in the win versus Meeker while contributing seven tackles on defense from his linebacker spot. The other weapon Strasburg likes to go to is wide receiver <strong>A.J. Hemphill</strong>, who caught six of nine passes split out at the wide receiver position. He also flew on the field in the secondary and on special teams to finish with a game-high 11 tackles versus Meeker. The goal for Strasburg this week is to bounce back on defense after giving up a season-high 470 yards last week. One area they hope to improve is slowing down the run game this week. <strong>Mattius Brown</strong>, an inside linebacker and offensive lineman who leads the team in tackles, will look to anchor the defense. Also look for senior defensive linemen <strong>Blake Coombs</strong> and <strong>Brian Amador</strong> to try and create more havoc along the front line this week. By virtue of a narrow 20-17 on the road in Florence last week, Centauri will get the opportunity to host Strasburg at home this Saturday. Centauri won thanks to a defense that was opportunistic in making plays in the backfield and generating turnovers. The defense recorded five sacks and recovered three fumbles, led by freshman <strong>Deven Brady</strong> with a sack, fumble recovery and 11 tackles. Defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22719" first="Mason" last="Claunch"]</strong> was flying to the football in the game and recorded a team-high 16 tackles (three solo). Leading the way in tackles this season is linebacker <strong>Zach Buhr</strong>, a player with a quick first step and ability to get past opposing lineman on the edge. Centauri likes to show balance on offense and has achieved that so far with an average of 235 rushing yards and 144 passing yards per game. Claunch is the lead man with 986 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground for the team. They can also find some big plays from the wide receiver unit which is led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58956" first="Baron" last="Holman"]</strong> thanks to his 6-foot frame and quickness in the open field. Look for Buhr, <strong>Peyton Polzin</strong> and <strong>Byron Shawcroft</strong> to also be some favorable targets to throw to in the passing game. This game will be a rematch of last year’s state semifinal game that was played at Centauri. In the 2019 meeting, Strasburg won 14-7 thanks to a stout defensive effort. Both teams also played for the state title in 2017 with Strasburg winning that game 10-7.