9-20-24 Cherry Creek
The Scots will have their hands full this Friday as they host the Cherry Creek Bruins, who will travel 800 miles from Greenwood Village, Colorado, to Highlander Stadium to play the Scots.
To me, preparing for this football game would be like meeting someone on a dating app. You can read all about the person, communicate online and establish a relationship. Then when you finally meet your cute date in person you discover that she is actually a 52-year-old biker named Psycho.
HP coaches have spent this week studying film of the Bruins, but the Scots won’t actually know them until they take the field Friday. All we need to know about Cherry Creek is that the team reminds the HP coaches of Southlake Carroll. Great athletes, no weaknesses and a winning tradition.
Over the past five years the Bruins have won the Colorado state championship in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Last year they lost in the state finals. Not a bad five-year run.
Cherry Creek High School has 3,600 students. The school is located in the Highland Park area of Denver. This is their fourth game of the season and their third out-of-state. They opened the season with a rare loss, falling to Skyridge High School from Lehi, Utah, 24-14, then beating Millard North of Omaha, Nebraska, 42-10, and Regis Jesuit of Aurora, Colorado, 43-20.
Cherry Creek’s roster is an all-star team. Of the top 10 recruits in the state of Colorado, three start for the Bruins. Wide receiver Jeremiah Hoffman (#11, 6-0, 175), safety Aiden Knapke (#0, 6-1, 190) and left tackle Soren Shinofield (#68, 6-6, 280) are the team’s highest recruited players. All three have committed to D1 schools.
The Bruins’ quarterback is junior Brady Vodicka (#13, 6-1, 215) and their running back is junior Jayden Fox (#1, 5-11, 175). When the Scots run up the middle they will come in contact with giant nose guard Tufanua Lonatana (#64, 6-3, 303). The team is coached by former Cleveland Brown Dave Logan who, in addition to coaching, is the in-stadium announcer for the Denver Broncos.
Cherry Creek will not bring its marching band or its drill team. During the halftime festivities Highland Park will honor former Scots quarterback, former head coach and former athletic director Scott Smith. There will also be a special announcement of the naming the field at Highlander Stadium the Randy Allen Field.
Coach Allen has been the head coach at HP since 1999 and has lost only two home games, one of which was against a team from Arkansas that is similar to Cherry Creek. Coach Allen is the second winningest coach in the history of Texas high school football.
Last week the Scots played their third tough opponent of the season. The Jesuit Rangers are picked to win their 6A district that HP was in the last two years. Last season the Scots edged the Rangers, 15-13, at SMU’s Gerald Ford Stadium. Then last Friday HP beat them, 43-20, while piling up 504 total yards – 228 passing and 276 rushing. The stifling Scots defense held the Rangers to 12 yards rushing.
Scots receiver Benton Owens caught five passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Cannon Bozman caught five passes for 69 yards. Bozman was injured and is being evaluated. Cornerback Bryce Laczkowski is injured and stepping in for him will be Jonathan Boyanovsky.
My prediction is that the first half and the second half will seem like two different games. The teams have seen each other only on film. In the first half they will get to know each other in person. At halftime there will probably be some major adjustments by both teams.
When the game is over and the Cherry Creek team gathers, I predict that one of their players will shout, “Coach, WHO WAS that NUMBER 9?! We couldn’t tell on film but that linebacker was PSYCHO!”