Games of the Weekend: Week 6

There were some stellar in conference games during week 6 with upsets, blowouts, and buzzer-beaters and we finish it off with the games of the weekend. Friday Eaglecrest versus Smoky Hill Friday gives us a Centennial league battle between two teams in the Top-10 that have been playing some very solid ball and match up extremely well with one another. Smoky Hill is a team that has been led by the No.1 junior in the state, Jalen Weaver (19.1 ppg) but even he took a backseat in their last game against Arapahoe when Senior guard Quinten Rock had his best game of the entire season where he exploded for 37 points on the night. Rock was surgical in the game as he hit four 3-pointers but also was able to impact the game in other ways as well. He was aggressive and got to the Ft line, but he also finished with three steals as well which the Buffaloes turned into points. When he is in a zone like that with players such as Weaver, Anthony Harris Jr., Deangelo Horn and Jordan Whitaker also playing their roles this will be a very difficult team to beat and all of their players will have to be at their best when they matchup against Eaglecrest. Eaglecrest is coming off of a battle that came down to the final quarter where they came up just a bit short against Cherry Creek but there were positives to take away from in the game. Once the Raptors started to take care of the ball and run their offense, they began to click and they got back into the game. Zion Ruckard had 16 points in the game but it was not one of his usual performances and if there is one thing I do know, it is that he will bounce back in a major way in this game. Look for him to find himself early and against Cherry Creek Ty Robinson had one of his best games of the season. He was aggressive, impactful on both ends of the floor and also had his shots falling for him. He hit four 3-pointers in the game and also got to the free-throw line. Against Smoky Hill, however, he will have to get inside and affect the game if they want to hang around in that game. Expect a close yet high scoring battle where both teams push each other and steal momentum. Grandview versus Cherry Creek Both teams are coming off of close league wins. For Creek, their win was a bit more impressive as they took down the No.3 team in the state in Eaglecrest and it was behind the play of their leading scorer Julian Hammond III who dropped 26 points in the win. Creek is a team full of very solid guards as they have a great defensive duo in Myles Purchase and Sebastian Cole who turned the Raptors over and flipped those turnovers into points in the Bruins favor. Chance Hausman (6.2 ppg & 7.2 rpg) gives them an inside-out presence but Cherry Creek also has players such as Davey Hands, Gunnar Helm and Arden Walker that can come in and do some damage. Those X-factors will have to step up against Grandview. For Grandview, it is as we talk about often, Caleb McGill and Lian Ramiro. McGill is putting up 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game and Lian Ramiro is at 15.0 ppg and he is also dishing out 4.7 assists as well which is an interesting stat when you think about it because that means any assist is going to McGill. They are going to take the shots and have high usage but one thing that stood out in their last game was the help they received from Senior big man CJ Thomas. Thomas put up 12 points and also grabbed nine rebounds as well. A much-welcomed addition for McGill and Ramiro. The three combined for 51 of the team’s 55 points. If Thomas can continue to provide that type of production, Grandview has a better chance – this will be a close game and battle of a team with multiple guards that can score versus a team that has a skilled big man that should take over. Who knows what to expect here. Saturday Chaparral v. Mountain Vista Chaparral is a team that has seemed to have found their groove. They just beat Columbine and also followed it up with a win against Douglas County so expect them to be in a rhythm. Against Douglas County they had four players finish in double figures and have been getting a more concerted effort from different guys. They have a scorer in Kobe Sanders, a true guard in Jeremiah Coleman, a big outside threat in Aaron Jacobs and their big man down low in Joel Speckman. Additionally, other players have stepped up and have shown that they are ready to take over when called upon. Maverick Patten has stepped in and given them great minutes, Keaton Crockett has been an X-factor and Keegan Ruth just had his best game as well. They are putting it all together. Mountain Vista is a deep team that has so many weapons, they are just trying to figure it all out and it is taking some time. A big chunk of their successful team from last season graduated so they are putting it all together now and have been getting mixed results but one thing that is for certain is you are going to get a hard-fought game every single time you play them. Senior wing Reece Kelly is leading the team in scoring at 16.8 points a game but they have also had junior guard Ben Bowen step right into his role and take over as well. Bowen is averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds as well. While that duo is pretty good, they are best when they are getting solid contributions from everyone else. With other key players on the team such as Rhys Pulling, Spencer Thomas, and Nathan Miller this is a team that should be winning more games. They are a team that is slowly figuring it out but with a team, with this much firepower they can never be taken lightly Lamar versus Vanguard Whenever you get a chance to see Vanguard play this year – go see them. They have a special player in the No.1 player in the state that plays the right way. He is leading all of 3A in scoring at 26.6 points a game which is also at the top of the state but he also dishes the ball (5.5 apg) and boards (13.8 rpg) with a great supporting cast with players such as Joseph Padilla (17.5 ppg), Ryan Lair (9.6 ppg) and others that can go for big games as well. This is a pretty good team that is on a mission. On the other hand, we have a Lamar team that is off to a stellar start at 8-3 and it has not been spoken about enough. This is the chance for them to prove their worth. They have two players in Michael Woodall (10.9 ppg) and Luis DeLatorre (10.0 ppg) who are averaging in double figures and will have to BOTH step it up if they want to take down one of the favorites in all of 3A. But that also means Juan Canales and Damian Antonio Ramos must elevate their game to a level it has not been to this year as well. Expect this game to be a telling one on either end.