This is the most fun part of the year for us, we get to recognize outstanding performances from players. We name an Offensive, Defensive and Wildcard player of the year for freshman newcomers, sophomores, and upper classmen. The wildcard can be an offensive player, defensive player or special teams player, at the discretion of the editing and selection team.
Congratulations to all of our winners!
Freshman Offensive player of the year:
Jackson Craig from Timnath. He had over 800 yards passing and is probably one of the best pro style QBs we have seen in a while. We were able to watch a couple Timnath games and we were extremely impressed with his vision accuracy and velocity. He has poise in the pocket (which seemed to collapse very quickly) that no freshman has any business having.
Freshman Defensive Player of the Year:
Ivan Hochhalter from Timnath and Casen Pridemore from Salida. This one was too close to call. Casen had more tackles, but Ivan added some stellar interceptions. Having watched both these guys play we can’t say enough about either of them. Absolute wrecking balls on the field. Ivan in particular has a fearlessness in his play style that makes him a lot of fun to watch. Casen is about as technically sound as anyone we have seen. These guys have great years ahead.
Freshman Wildcard of the year:
Completing the sweep for an oustanding Timnath class of 2027 is TE Jackson Barker. He had almost 400 yards receiving and in the one Timnath game we caught its clear the QB to TE connection here is going to be a problem for people for the next 3 years. He is big, he is strong, and has great hands. This will be a fun one to watch.
Sophomore Offensive Player of the year:
Yianni Balafas from Kent Denver. 73% completion rate, 137 passer rating, 25 TDs. Hes part of the outstanding class of Sophomore QBs across Colorado. The thing that stuck out watching him was his command of the offense. He is in control of the offense more than any sophomore should be at that age. We have to give credit here to his offensive line as well. He had outstanding protection while surgically picking apart defenses. We absolutely love his accuracy and ability to deliver at any level of the field.
Sophomore Defensive Player of the year:
Tripp Skewes from Kent Denver. His defensive numbers are crazy. 32 TFL and 22 Sacks. 3+ per game is just a crazy number. We did watch one game and he was every bit as good as his numbers say. The thing that struck me watching him was his speed and range. He is fast and his closing speed is even faster. This guy is going to be an absolute terror for years to come.
Sophomore Wildcard of the year:
Ritchie Bruno from Brush And . 1300 yards rushing, 13 TDs. 93 tackles, 16 TFL. All around outstanding. Ritchie is always involved in the game and in the playoff game we watched he was all over the place. Brush has a great crew of young players and he is at the center of it all.
Upperclassman Offensive Player of the year:
Ty Reed from Delta. Ok where to start. His passer rating (119), TDs (24) or his performance in the championship game? He’s an athlete through and through and was impressive in every single area this season. He has been consistently excellent through his high school career and this is a young man we would love to see recruited (in state even would be great!).
Upperclassman Defensive Player of the year:
Grayson Isenhart from Coal Ridge. We absolutely loved watching Grayson play. He was an animal all over the field and was the embodiment of “swarm to the ball”. We felt like he was in on every single play all season. He had 29 TFLs, a couple sacks, and a mind blowing 101 assisted tackles.
Upperclassman Wildcard of the year:
Logan Gross from Rifle. First of all he is 6’5, runs like a gazelle and has a Rifle (pun intended) for an arm. We were able to catch a couple games this year and man is he fun to watch. His passing stats are great but where he really showed something was on the ground. He has a graceful style in the way that he plays that everyone should enjoy.