Fountain-Fort Carson remains a league favorite

Defending state champion Pueblo West is the team everyone is talking about in the 4A Pikes Peak Conference.

However, with only three starters returning on offense and four on defense from a team that surprised many last season, the Cyclones could be vulnerable.

Fountain-Fort Carson appears to be the favorite to win the conference outright after two consecutive seasons as cochampion with quarterfinal round playoff exits. With eight starters returning on each side of the ball, the Trojans could be in position to take a step forward. They took their first step with an impressive 14-7 win over Ralston Valley in a Week Zero contest.

"This is probably as much depth as I've had coming back in 23 years as a head coach," Trojans coach Mitch Johnson said. "We had a really good offseason, had kids that worked really hard. We feel really good about the senior class we have."

The Trojans lost three outstanding linebackers, including University of Colorado walk-on Guy Sergent, but return everyone else on defense. Senior defensive back Devyn Harris, who has an early scholarship offer from Wyoming, leads the unit. Up front the Trojans expect big things out of defensive tackles Chris Ellis, Frank Osjui and Erik Scott.

"We're going to feature one of the premier defensive players in the league, Devyn Harris," Johnson said. "We've got a couple of good young D-tackles. Every kid is excited about playing. Every coach is excited about coaching."

The offense is led by returning starters Quinton Lawson at running back and Mike DeBorja at wide receiver. Harris, also a running back, scored twice on long runs against Ralston Valley to give the Trojans an impressive 1-2 punch out of the backfield.

The offensive line is solid, led by tackles James Sexton and Travis Siliva and guards Scott, and Matt Welte.

"We're not sure where we stack up with everybody else around the city and around the state," Johnson said. "It's just so hard at the start of the season to find out where you measure up and find out what you've got."

Pine Creek shared the league championship with Fountain-Fort Carson and Pueblo West last year, but must weather the loss of option tandem Jake Roberson at quarterback and James Colvin at running back, as well as seven other starters.

The two returning starters, Gazette first-team offensive lineman Ryan Lockwood and second-team lineman Kai Jarmusz, give the Eagles a good foundation. Josh Chance is the quarterback.

"We run the true triple (option), so he is reading (defenses) and that's tough," coach Todd Miller said. "We're going to be fighting for everything we get."

The Eagles defense appears strong with five starters back including Gazette first-team linebacker Connor Stevens, a junior. Lineman Dean Carlo enters his third year starting.