Class 4A spring football season preview

With the unorthodox 2021 spring football season getting set to begin soon, we take a look at the schools who opted to play in the spring and compete in Class 4A this year. Class 4A sees a similar format to Class 5A, with six schools competing in the North and South divisions for the classification. Out of the 12 schools, eight will qualify for the postseason and compete for a state championship, which will be crowned at CSU-Pueblo just like the fall season did. <h2><strong>Teams competing in Class 4A</strong></h2> The North division will be headlined by three teams who finished .500 or better. Leading the way are the Thomas Jefferson Spartans, the lone playoff team from the 2019 fall season. Denver North just missed out on the playoffs despite a 6-4 record and Kennedy went 5-5. Rounding out the rest of the division are three teams looking to get some more wins this season in Centaurus (2-8), George Washington (1-9) and Lincoln (1-9). In the South, Harrison leads the group after going 9-2 and reaching the Class 3A playoffs in 2019. Also moving up to Class 4A for the spring are Skyview (3-7) and Sierra (1-9). Rounding out the rest of the division is Falcon (5-5), Gateway (2-8) and Aurora Central (1-9). <h2><strong>Players to watch in Class 4A</strong></h2> <h3><strong>Jabree Barry, 2021, 5’7, 125, WR/DB, Skyview</strong></h3> Barry is a versatile player who can make plays all over the field, particularly in the passing game. He was a receiver that Skyview got the ball to regularly and he led the team with 31 receptions for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and he had three games with seven receptions in 2019. Those ball skills also allowed him to record three interceptions in the secondary on defense. Barry is one of the more productive receiver/defensive back players that will play in Class 4A this spring. <h3><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56029" first="Erick" last="Covington"], 2021, 6’1, 180, QB, Gateway</strong></h3> Currently lighting it up on the basketball court, Covington will also be a dual-threat quarterback expected to put up some big totals and give Gateway a chance to win some games this spring. In his junior season, he threw for 1,311 yards, rushed for 869 yards and scored 29 total touchdowns. He is a shifty runner in space that can make a defender miss, but the lefty can also stand in the pocket and fire the ball deep down the field with his arm strength. With a few schools still being considered per his Twitter page, the stat-stuffing Covington looks to have another productive season and to try and help Gatweay rack up more wins this spring. <h3><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58935" first="Jonathan" last="Lozano"], 2022, 6’2, 280, OL/DL, Falcon</strong></h3> Lozano came into this school year as one of the top offensive line prospects in Colorado for the Class of 2022. At 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds, he has great size on the interior of the offensive line. He is a good pull-blocker who will lead the running back in space and get up to the second level, but he is just as good moving interior defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage in the power game. And when he is engaged with a defensive player, they tend to stay latched on to him for the duration of his block. <h3><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22608" first="Jaseim" last="Mitchell"], 2021, 6’3, 190, QB, Harrison</strong></h3> Another quarterback with solid numbers returning this spring is Mitchell. He does a good job throwing on the run and Harrison did a good job moving the pocket to fit his strengths. He can fire it in a tight window on the short routes, but he will also allow his receivers to go deep on double moves or longer routes and hit them in stride. The end result was 1,280 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through the air in 2019. When the play breaks down, Mitchell has the athleticism to tuck the ball and run for extra yardage (217 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns). He has a good receiver core with him, so Mitchell may be poised for a solid passing season. <h3><strong>Corey Roberson, 2021, 6’0, WR/DB, Denver North</strong></h3> There were many plays where Roberson was the deepest man on the field from his safety spot, but then he had to come downfield with his speed to make tackles in space. Roberson will not shy away from contact at his position and is a good last line of defense, and his speed helped him record 18 total tackles. But where he shined most was in the pass game and breaking up passes by the opposing team. He recorded four interceptions and five pass breakups in 2019, showing good ball skills and the ability to play tight coverage. In a league that features many dual-threat quarterbacks, Roberson will be a factor slowing them down for Denver North. <h3><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22546" first="Avery" last="Shunneson"], 2021, 6’1, 225, LB, Thomas Jefferson </strong></h3> He’ll be a track &amp; field athlete at Princeton next year, but before then, you may find Shunneson flying all over the field from his linebacker position for Thomas Jefferson. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Shunneson recorded 103 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 2019. Lining up at the outside linebacker spot on the line of scrimmage, he has a multitude of ways to get in the backfield, from overpowering offensive tackles with a bull rush or hitting the gap and using his speed on a stunt. At the point of contact, he runs through a player, making for a hard, efficient tackle. Shunneson is another bright star on the defensive side to watch in Class 4A this spring.