Top 3A Games of Week One

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is just weeks away from kicking off, 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 3A classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Thursday, August 24th</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Fredrick at Holy Family</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season opener between Fredrick and Holy Family should be an exciting matchup, especially with both programs having playoff expectations. The last meeting between the two was an exciting contest that ended in a 27-26 victory in favor of the Holy Family Tigers. Both teams made postseason appearances, with Holy Family falling in the first round and Fredrick falling in the second to the 3A state runner-ups.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Fredrick Golden Eagles graduated a significant number of seniors, adding responsibility to players like <strong>Kamarly Davy</strong> (2024 LB/RB), <strong>Gavin Ishmael </strong>(2025 QB), <strong>Tavan Haggerty </strong>(2025 WR/DB), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1288146' first='Burke' last='Eismann']</strong> (2025 TE). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Holy FamilyTigers return <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='251263' first='Rylan' last='Cooney']</strong> (2024 QB), <strong>Dominic Gabriel</strong> (2024 RB/LB), <strong>Ashton Erickson</strong> (2024 ATH), <strong>Jaxon Grable </strong>(2024 WR), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1596411' first='Monte' last='Samaras']</strong> (2025 WR), giving them the experience needed to be a potential breakout team.</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">Lutheran (MO) at Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lutheran Lions will open their season with a game against a talented Vista Ridge (4A) on August 18 before traveling to St. Peters, MO, to challenge the Lutheran Cougars in what will essentially be a tie-breaker between the two programs. The Lions the matchup in 2021, while the Cougars won last year's game. So far, neither team has won at home, heightening the interest in this game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lions finished as the 3A state runner-ups and return a significant number of starters, making them a possible favorite to reach the state final again. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='143625' first='Ryken' last='Daugaard']</strong> (2024 QB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='251278' first='Joseph' last='Ciccio'] </strong>(2024 WR), <strong>Landen Mroczek</strong> (2024 DL), <strong>Colin Strum </strong>(2024 OL), <strong>Reichen Posey</strong> (2024 DE), <strong>Samuel Smolen </strong>(2024 FS), <strong>Peyton Garrett</strong> (2024 DE), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='381210' first='Keaton' last='Reiman']</strong> (2024 OL/DL) are just a few of the state-contending players who will be returning this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Durango at Farmington (NM)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Durango Demons will travel to New Mexico to take on the Farmington Scorpions. With the distance between the programs being about an hour's drive, it should come as no surprise that these two programs are no strangers to one another. Durango has won three of the last five games against Farmington, including last year's meeting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Demons graduated a good amount of players last year, one of whom joined the roster at Oklahoma. The charge for this season will be led by returning players like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='147555' first='Tyler' last='Harms'] </strong>(2024 QB), <strong>Jaxon Fancher </strong>(2024 ATH), <strong>Julian Rodriguez </strong>(2024 LB), <strong>Kaleb Roberts </strong>(2024 WR/ATH), <strong>Jackson Hubertus</strong> (2024 DE), and <strong>Jaylen Jeffries</strong> (2025 DL) as the Demons look to make a deep run in the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->