Top 2A Games of Week One

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is just weeks away, bringing a sense of eagerness to programs and the fans as time approaches. The first set of games has some heavy-hitting matchups slated for late August, many of which are highly anticipated.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This article will briefly preview three of the most intriguing games of the first week in the 2A classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Friday, August 18th&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Basalt at Summit (3A)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Basalt Longhorns had an undefeated season last fall before falling in the quarterfinals to Eaton, the 2A state champs. The Summit Tigers were a 3A team playoff team last year that fell in the first round to Fredrick.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Longhorns graduated a lot of their role players, giving more opportunities to <strong>Noah Johnston </strong>(2024 QB/LB), <strong>Paul Schenck</strong> (2024 DL/RB), <strong>Mav Dombrowksi</strong> (2024 LB/TE), <strong>Will Daniel</strong> (2025 DE), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297803' first='Will' last='Tarallo']</strong> (2026 WR). The Tigers were heavy with seniors last fall but will return guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='805010' first='Jackson' last='Archambault'] </strong>(2024 WR), <strong>Ben Elam </strong>(2024 RB), and <strong>Emilio Jain</strong> (2024 WR).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Friday, August 25th</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Elizabeth at D'Evelyn</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Elizabeth Cardinals are a talented squad that reached the first round of the playoffs and are expected to return a good amount of their starters. The D'Evelyn Jaguars are another talented team that reached the first round of the playoffs. The Jaguars fell 38-24 to the Cardinals in last season's opener, undoubtedly emphasizing this game for both programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elizabeth will return <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='143631' first='Cooper' last='Connelley']</strong> (2024 RB), <strong>Ethan Stone</strong> (2024 WR), <strong>Cash Randle</strong> (2024 WR), <strong>Jackson Zander</strong> (2024 LB), and <strong>Wes Noe </strong>(2025 LB). D'Evelyn will be led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='276504' first='Bradley' last='Fuller']</strong> (2024 WR), <strong>Sambo Heng</strong> (2024 RB/LB), <strong>Russell Balcer </strong>(2024 WR), <strong>Carter Larsen</strong> (2024 OL/DL), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232187' first='Kafui' last='Fiadonu']</strong> (2025 DL).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Saturday, August 26th</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">The Classical Academy at Eaton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Classical Academy Titans made a deep run during last fall's postseason before falling to Delta in the semifinals by seven points. Eaton went on to win its third-consecutive state title after losing the season opener to the Titans by three points. Knowing how close these teams were to having a rematch in the state championship game makes this season's opener a 2A game to circle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Titans graduated a hefty amount of seniors but have <strong>Michael Wu</strong> (2024 RB/TE), <strong>Campbell Gaw</strong> (2024 LB), <strong>Jaren Texer</strong> (2024 WR/DB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1471067' first='Andrew' last='Brown']</strong> (2025 QB), and <strong>Riley Romine</strong> (2025 RB/LB) to lead the charge. Eaton graduated a decent number of seniors but return guys like <strong>De Angelo Rosa</strong> (2024 RB/LB), Zack Maske (2024 LB), <strong>Benson Hood</strong> (2024 DB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232181' first='Gunnar' last='Clary']</strong> (2025 DE/OLB), and <strong>Connor Davey </strong>(2025 RB).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->