Colorado Class 3A State Semifinals Preview

It has been a shorter, yet somehow long, season with many challenges to face and there are just four teams left and still vying for a state title in each classification. The state’s elite teams have risen to the penultimate state with semifinals just about 24 hours away. With a full slate of semis on deck for Saturday, let’s take a look at each matchup and the game-changing recruits to keep an eye on, let’s continue with Class 3A. <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>No. 1 Roosevelt vs. No. 4 Pueblo South</strong></span></p> Roosevelt may be the No. 1 overall seed but the Roughriders are not unstoppable, as it took a last-second field goal from kicker Brecken Sawyer to survive a quarterfinal against Fort Morgan with a 17-16 win last week. In that game, which was clearly a defensive battle, Sawyer may have been the hero but [player_tooltip player_id="22698" first="Cooper" last="Walton"] was the star. The senior linebacker punched in both of Roosevelt’s offensive scores and also led the team with 11 total tackles on defense. Ryan Doucette (2023) had an interception and Jayden Botterill (2022) recovered a fumble. But while last week was full of exciting for Roosevelt, the Pueblo South team was forced to play the waiting game after their game against was cancelled less than 24 hours after the state brackets were released. Anxious to get going, last year’s runners-up have an exciting group that features the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="22715" first="Jace" last="Bellah"], [player_tooltip player_id="22590" first="George" last="Longoria"] and Luke Guarienti (2021). Longoria, a hard-running back at 5-foot-10, leads the team with 816 rushing yards on 129 carried and has scored 12 touchdowns in just four games. Guarienti, a six-foot receiver who is known for making big plays, is averaging 20.5 yards per game and has three touchdowns. Bellah, the Colts’ starting quarterback and best defensive back, has accounted for 792 yards of total offense and leads the Pueblo South defense in interceptions. <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>No. 2 Holy Family vs. No. 3 Durango</strong></span></p> There was a team when Durango quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="22656" first="Jordan" last="Woolverton"] and versatile back [player_tooltip player_id="50575" first="Ben" last="Finneseth"] were considered to be the best kept secrets in Colorado. Well, the secret has been out for some time now. In last week’s quarterfinals, Woolverton, who also had one of Durango’s four interceptions on defense, gashed Lutheran with 239 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns, while Finneseth racked up 130 rushing yards and two scores on just five carries. [player_tooltip player_id="58958" first="Nate" last="Messier"] (2022) also had 69 rushing yards, Kyler Reimers (2021) led the defense with 10 total tackles and Jeric Baruch (2023) ran in a touchdown for the Demons on their way to a 47-6 victory. As good as Durango’s standouts are, they’ll have a tougher time against a Holy Family defense that has allowed just 9.4 points through seven games and running back Trevin Johnson, who has 869 yards and 12 touchdowns behind offensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id="22531" first="Cord" last="Kringlen"], Thomas Pittenger (2021) and Brody Welch (2021). The Tigers defense also has a pair of big and talented defensive backs in 6-foot-2 Blake Neece and 6-foot-3 Oscar Sena. Holy Family also has Colorado’s No. 1 kicking prospect in [player_tooltip player_id="40905" first="Liam" last="Gray"], who also plays receiver for the Tigers. This looks to be a strength-on-strength contest between two teams that match up well with one another and it should be fun to watch.