This weekend on the gridiron features a pair of Pikes Peak region teams ranked in 4A’s top 10 and both will look to remain perfect this season.

Cheyenne Mountain enters this week as 4A’s No. 1-ranked school, has a 2-0 record and will host Air Academy, which ranks ninth, also at 2-0. This will be the first meeting between the Red-Tailed Hawks and Kadets since 2023.

Area athletes continued to thrive in their respective fall sports as the season progresses. Below are highlights from last week and upcoming contests to watch.

14ers

Name, year, school, sport                                                                                    

Hayley Helwege, sr., Colorado Springs Christian, flag football — CSCS had one of its best performances of the season and Helwege spearheaded that effort.

The Lions quarterback finished 13-of-20 passing for 175 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-0 victory against Bruce Randolph last week to give CSCS its second win.

Lawrence Galka, sr., The Colorado Springs School, boys tennis — In three matches this season, Galka has allowed his opponents to win just three games.

Galka, the Kodiaks No. 1 singles player, collected his third victory of the season last Tuesday in a 6-2, 6-0 sweep of Palmer’s Nathan LaDuke and improved to 3-0.

Colin Nowels, jr., Fountain-Fort Carson, cross country — Nowels ran sub-17 for the first time this season and did so in front of the home crowd in Fountain.

The Trojans runner ran a 16-minute, 55.45-second 5K race at the Trojan Cross Country Invite to finish first in the field of 70 competitors and eclipsed his time as a sophomore at this race by more than two seconds.

Maeve McKisic, jr., Cheyenne Mountain, field hockey — McKisic dominated the field in the Red-Tailed Hawks’ matchup with Dakota Ridge and the junior worked her magic in the victory.

McKisic earned a hat trick and finished the matchup with six points to help Cheyenne Mountain beat Dakota Ridge 8-0 on Thursday.

Anna Collins, sr., St. Mary’s, girls volleyball — The Pirates secured a victory against Salida last week and Collins helped her team hand Salida its first loss.

Collins finished with a career-high 18 kills in the five-set win against the Spartans and ended the night with a .304 hit percentage, her second-best mark of the season.

Alexander Schoolsky, jr., Palmer Ridge, boys tennis — Through nine matches this season, Schoolsky has yet to drop a set to a Pikes Peak region opponent.

The Bears No. 1 singles player is 7-2, has dropped just three games in his last three matches and beat Discovery Canyon’s Asher Davis 6-0, 6-1 last week.

Jocilyn Smithhart, sr., Fountain-Fort Carson, cross country — The Trojans swept the boys and girls races Saturday and Smithhart won her event by more than 20 seconds.

Smithhart clocked in first at the Trojan Cross Country Invite at 20:44.97 and secured her first victory of the season.

Adam Ragain, sr., Cheyenne Mountain, boys soccer — The Red-Tailed Hawks earned their first win against Pine Creek since 2022 and Ragain’s work at goalie ensured the victory.

Cheyenne Mountain beat Pine Creek 3-2. Ragain finished the match with a season-high six saves in 80 minutes.

Bo Franck, jr., The Classical Academy, football — Franck shined on defense for the Titans in their 56-13 win against Alamosa last week.

Franck had two interceptions, four tackles and deflected a pass against the Mean Moose and on offense hauled in three receptions for 38 yards.

Hank Kelley, sr., Coronado, football — Kelley tallied four touchdowns for the Cougars in their 47-6 win against Palmer and no Terror could match the senior’s athleticism.

Kelley scored three rushing touchdowns on 10 carries for 63 yards and had three receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Kelley had six tackles, which was tied for first on the team.

Lorenzo Arguello, sr., Peyton, football — Arguello delivered an offensive and defensive master class for the Panthers in their 48-6 win against Ignacio.

On offense, Arguello had a team-high seven carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, both of Arguello’s tackles were for a loss along with half a sack, and the Panthers senior caused and recovered a fumble.

Alyssa Leland, so., Coronado, softball — Leland had a stellar hitting performance in the 17-0 victory against Palmer and had half the Cougars’ RBIs in Tuesday’s win.

Against the Terrors, Leland finished 2-of-3 hitting with five RBIs, two runs, a double, a triple and a stolen base.

Taytum Kimbro, jr., The Classical Academy, softball — Kimbro nearly hit for a cycle in the Titans’ 21-9 win against Lewis-Palmer.

The Titans junior had a career-high five hits and tied a career high with five RBIs against the Rangers to go with two triples, a pair of doubles and a single.

Brooklyn Barnett, jr., Palmer, volleyball — Barnett’s play pushed the Terrors to their second win of the season and second consecutive sweep.

The Terrors’ outside hitter finished with a season-high 15 kills against Liberty and added a season-best three aces. The 5-foot-8 junior also had a pair of blocks to go with 13 digs.

Upcoming contests to watch

Football

4A No. 9 Air Academy at 4A No. 1 Cheyenne Mountain, 7 p.m. Friday

Both teams enter this contest 2-0 and aim to remain undefeated. For Cheyenne Mountain, a victory would give the Red-Tailed Hawks a 3-0 record in consecutive seasons. Should the Kadets earn the victory, it would be their first 3-0 start since 2021.

The Kadets have won both games this season by 17 points or more and junior running back Gavin Mather is averaging 127.5 rushing yards per game.

Cheyenne Mountain has yet to allow a score from its opposition in a pair of road games and the defense has forced eight turnovers.

Flag football

5A No. 6 Liberty at Palmer Ridge, 11:30 a.m. Saturday

The Bears are just outside of 4A’s top 10 at No. 12 ahead of this weekend’s matchup and look to slow down a buzz saw.

Aside from their 19-13 loss to 5A’s No. 2 Vista Ridge last Thursday, the Lancers have allowed just 20 points in four games and have yet to let an opponent score 20.

Palmer Ridge, in its first season, scored 30 points in two of its first three games and opened its inaugural season with a 32-0 win against Sierra.

Softball

4A No. 7 Falcon vs. Widefield (Widefield Parks and Rec), 3:30 p.m. Thursday

Two of the area’s top softball programs will duke it out on the diamond. The Falcons soar into this matchup ranked seventh while the Gladiators are just outside of the top 10 at 11^th in 4A.

These schools met Tuesday at Falcon and will compete again at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Widefield Parks and Rec. The Falcons and Gladiators have put a plethora of runs across the plate this season. Falcon averages 13.2 per game and Widefield is at 9.4.

Last week’s football scores

Sierra 52, Mitchell 6

Pueblo Central 22, Discovery Canyon 21

Rampart 48, Widefield 0

Pueblo East 44, Lewis-Palmer 6

Standley Lake 20, Harrison 14

Front Range Christian 44, St. Mary’s 14

Aurora Central 50, Doherty 8

Cañon City 40, Falcon 6

Grandview 45, Fountain-Fort Carson 17

The Classical Academy 56, Alamosa 13

Palmer Ridge 35, Mesa Ridge 12

Vista Ridge 48, Overland 6

Coronado 47, Palmer 6

The Pinnacle 6, Manitou Springs 0

Peyton 48, Ignacio 6

Stratton 30, Calhan 0

Elizabeth 59, Banning Lewis 0

Pueblo South 28, Liberty 14

Northfield 30, Pine Creek 14

Colorado Springs Christian 22, Woodland Park 16

Mountain Valley 55, Miami-Yoder 6

This week’s football games

Thursday

Branson/Kim at Hanover, 7 p.m.

Friday

Liberty at Falcon, 7 p.m.

Vista Ridge at Pueblo West, 7 p.m.

Sand Creek at Longmont, 7 p.m.

Denver South at Fountain-Fort Carson, 7 p.m.

Manitou Springs at La Junta, 7 p.m.

Ellicott vs. Palmer (at Garry Berry Stadium), 7 p.m.

Haxtun at Calhan, 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s at Las Animas, 7 p.m.

Lamar at Woodland Park, 7 p.m.

Trinidad at Peyton, 7 p.m.

Resurrection Christian at The Classical Academy, 7 p.m.

Colorado Springs Christian at Rye, 7 p.m.

Air Academy at Cheyenne Mountain, 7 p.m.

Pueblo East at Cañon City, 7 p.m.

Mesa Ridge at Scott (Kan.), 7 p.m.

Arvada West vs. Pine Creek (District 20 Stadium), 7 p.m.

Coronado at Harrison, 7 p.m.

Mitchell at The Pinnacle, 7 p.m.

Saturday

Lewis-Palmer vs. Discovery Canyon (District 20 Stadium), noon

La Veta at Miami-Yoder, 7 p.m.

Football rankings

5A/4A

1, Cheyenne Mountain (2-0)

2, Air Academy (2-0)

3, Fountain-Fort Carson (1-1)

4, Mesa Ridge (2-1)

5, Rampart (3-0)

6, Vista Ridge (2-1)

7, Pine Creek (0-2)

8, Coronado (1-1)

9, Sand Creek (1-1)

10, Widefield (1-2)

3A-1A

1, Palmer Ridge (3-0)

2, The Classical Academy (3-0)

3, Colorado Springs Christian (2-0)

4, Cañon City (2-1)

5, Peyton (2-1)

6, Sierra (2-1)

7, Banning Lewis (2-1)

8, Woodland Park (1-2)

9, Manitou Springs (1-2)

10, Palmer (1-2)