Thursday night I attended Valor Christian’s drubbing of Overland at the Stutler Bowl. The Eagles, per usual, looked formidable – but they’re certainly not unbeatable. (Remember how everyone has whined for the past three years that Valor Christian will never be beaten? How life is just so unfair? Well, they’ve lost two already this season…) But, they didn’t lose this Centennial League matchup. The lopsided score – 45-20 – didn’t well-represent some fantastic plays from both teams, nor did it reflect a perfect fall evening for high school football. It is October, and indeed time to get out and check out the preps (it smells like football outside, for crying out loud).

With that in mind, here are my top-three “Friday Night Lights Specials” this week. As luck would have it, I caught up with my guy, Dan “The Dandy Prep Man” Mohrmann at the Valor-OHS game (read his full story here) last night, and these are the gems he’s recommending tonight…

Class 5A: (1) Cherry Creek at (10) Cherokee Trail

Says Mohrmann: “The Cougars made their way back in the CHSAANow.com top 10 after falling out last week. Their reward? A date with Dave Logan’s top-ranked Cherry Creek Bruins. The Creek defense has been stout this year, and following a 7-6 win over then No. 2 Pomona, the Bruins are showing that they are once again the team to beat in 5A. But there’s nothing a like matchup between two district rivals to potentially shake up the rankings this time of year.” Editor’s Note: Never count Cherokee Trail out. They’re always – always – athletic. Keep an eye on RB/DB Quincey Voss, who can change a game in a hurry.

A No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup is next in our series…