Castle Rock, CO

The Castle View Sabercat Football team will face its biggest and most important test of the 2016 season on Friday night when they take on the 3rd ranked team in 5A at Legacy Stadium in Aurora.  Eaglecrest (7-0) is presently tied for 1st place in the Mount Mckinley League and #3 in the State for the RPI playoff rankings.  The Colorado High School Athletics Association (CHSAA) recently adopted the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for playoff rankings and seeding.  To learn more about RPI, see http://chsaanow.com/rpi/faqs/.  

Eaglecrest comes off of an impressive win over Rangeview while the Sabercats renewed their season and post-season hopes with a thrilling and emotional victory over Rocky Mountain in Overtime last Friday.  

CV will be tested as the Raptors offense averages nearly 400 yards per game and is led by Junior RB, Kenny Wantings (#27).  Wantings is averaging nearly 100 yards per game on the ground and has scored 5 TD’s.  The Raptor’s running attack is well-balanced and Wantings is complimented by 2 additional scoring Backs in Jalen Mergerson and Victor Garnes, both of whom are Juniors and both have 6 TD’s each this year.   Garnes (#12) presents unique challenges because 5 of his 6 TD’s this season have come through the air and is the teams leading Receiver.  

While the Cats come in as underdogs, they are becoming healthier each week.  Senior Brayden Lucero returned to the lineup last week and contributed significantly on the offensive side of the ball.  Also becoming healthy is Sophomore Avery Jackson who rushed for nearly 120 yards last week.  Additionally, look for Dom Ursetta to be a key contributor in the matchup as he has provided explosive big plays, going back to the opener against Douglas County.  

Defensively, the Sabercats are becoming stronger too.  Led by a fierce presence on the front 7, the secondary is beginning to gel quite nicely as well.  Senior Safety Levi Verry has tackled and defended strongly while hard hitting FS Junior's Heath Helms and Josh Hermanstorfer provide enforcement against the run and pass.    

The Sabercats will need to strike an early blow the Raptor’s in order to knock them off guard.  Look for CV to get aggressive early and play their best football of the season.  As Eaglecrest prepares for the playoffs, CV is actually playing in the Playoffs which should make for great TV as Altitude Sports will broadcast the matchup as the Game of the Week.