Pine Creek Football 2026 Preview, Players and Schedule | Top 25 Public HSFB
Series
2026 Teams to Know Season Preview: Pine Creek (CO)
Pine Creek returns 16 starters, a 1,500-yard runner and an experienced quarterback as the Eagles open 2026 with a national trip to South Florida.
Top 25 Public HSFB8/28/20266 min read
Pine Creek's 2025 season ended with the kind of score that stays with a team. The Eagles finished 7-4 and lost 21-18 to Mullen in the Class 5A playoffs. They were close enough to understand that the next step is not a rebuild. It is learning how to finish the handful of possessions that separate a good team from a long November run.
Trevor Hudson enters his second season with nine offensive starters, seven defensive starters and a senior back who ran for more than 1,500 yards. That is a strong base anywhere. Pine Creek will test it immediately by taking roughly 90 players, coaches and staff members to South Florida for a Broward County Classic matchup with Western.
Team Snapshot
Team: Pine Creek Eagles
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Head Coach: Trevor Hudson
2025 Record: 7-4
2025 Finish: CHSAA Class 5A playoff qualifier
Returning Starters: 9 offense, 7 defense
The Offense Can Begin With Xavier Lukes
Xavier Lukes gives Pine Creek something every experienced offense wants: an answer before the snap gets complicated. He ran for 1,537 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, production that forces a defense to tighten the box and prove it can tackle him for four quarters. The Eagles do not have to manufacture an identity. They can begin with Lukes and build everything else off the attention he creates.
Brady Walden makes that approach more dangerous because he has already produced in several roles. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound senior threw for 673 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, ran for 355 yards and five more scores, and added 132 receiving yards with another touchdown. He is not confined to one picture, which lets Pine Creek change formations and responsibilities without changing personnel.
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Jackson Minton's work at center is part of what makes the skill talent usable. Nine returning offensive starters should mean cleaner protection calls, fewer negative plays and more freedom to move Walden around. Brayden Plunkett adds another two-way option at receiver and defensive back, while Phoenix Jenkins gives the rotation another experienced player the Eagles can trust.
A National Opener Should Reveal the Growth Quickly
The trip to face Western is more than a change of scenery. Pine Creek will deal with travel, South Florida heat and a talented opponent before most Colorado teams have settled into their normal routine. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern at West Broward High School, and it should tell Hudson how well 16 returning starters handle pressure outside their comfort zone.
Defensively, Dylan Emmons gives the front a player who can create difficult downs, and Jayson Lightfoot provides experience behind him. Plunkett's two-way value matters here too. The Eagles allowed 57 to Legend and 42 to Cherry Creek during the 2025 regular season, so continuity has to produce better communication and fewer explosive breakdowns against the top of the schedule.
Players to Know
Xavier Lukes, RB
Lukes returns after rushing for 1,537 yards and 18 touchdowns. Those numbers make him the center of the scouting report, but his greater value is how he can keep Pine Creek ahead of the chains and reduce the number of obvious passing downs Walden has to solve.
Brady Walden, QB/ATH
Walden accounted for 11 touchdowns as a passer, runner and receiver in 2025. His size and versatility let Pine Creek create different looks without losing its senior leader, and his decision-making will determine whether the experienced offense becomes efficient as well as explosive.
Dylan Emmons, DE/DL
Emmons is the front-line defender Hudson highlighted entering the season. Pine Creek needs him to create pressure without forcing the secondary to cover forever, especially against the athletic teams waiting in Florida and in Colorado's Class 5A schedule.
Jackson Minton, C/OL
Minton is the communication point for a line that should be one of the strengths of a nine-starter returning offense. His ability to keep the interior clean is what allows Lukes to stay downhill and Walden to use every part of his game.
Jayson Lightfoot, DB
Lightfoot gives the secondary a returning voice and a player trusted to hold up in coverage. The Eagles need his experience to become steadier play against opponents capable of changing a game with one missed assignment.
Brayden Plunkett, WR/DB
Plunkett can help on both sides of the ball. He gives Walden another target and gives the defense another experienced coverage option, the kind of two-way value that becomes especially important during a long trip and a demanding league schedule.
Phoenix Jenkins
Jenkins is another member of the returning group Hudson identified as important to the 2026 rotation. His opportunity is to turn familiarity with the system into dependable snaps that keep Pine Creek from becoming too narrow around its best-known players.
Complete 2026 Schedule
Aug. 28: at Western (FL), Broward County Classic
Sept. 4: Northfield
Sept. 11: Arvada West
Sept. 17: at Castle View
Sept. 25: Fountain-Fort Carson
Oct. 1: Regis Jesuit
Oct. 9: at Eaglecrest
Oct. 17: Valor Christian
Oct. 22: at Legend
Oct. 31: at Heritage
Biggest Question
Can 16 returning starters make Pine Creek more composed when the playoff game tightens?
The Eagles already have enough returning production to win regular-season games. The separator will be what happens when an opponent removes the first answer. Pine Creek needs Walden to protect the ball, the line to keep Lukes from living behind schedule and the defense to prevent one explosive play from becoming an entire bad quarter.
That is why the Western trip is useful. It gives this experienced group an immediate test of communication, conditioning and response before the Colorado schedule begins.
Bottom Line
Pine Creek should be better than its 7-4 record suggests because the most important parts of the offense are back and the defense has seven returning starters to organize around. Lukes gives the Eagles a proven engine, and Walden gives them flexibility.
I see a team capable of making a longer Class 5A run. The question is whether all that experience changes how Pine Creek handles the final four minutes of the game that ended its season a year ago.
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