The Monarch-Fairview football game Friday night appears to have something of a juicy backstory at its core.

At least, an interesting connection.

Nico Rizzello started 2024 as a backup quarterback at Fairview but later transferred to Monarch, where he became the season-opening starter for the Coyotes (3-1).

For just about anyone, it would have been hard to take Fairview’s starting QB gig away from Ki Ellison after the season he had in last fall. As a first-year starting sophomore, Ellison led the Knights to the 5A semifinals behind 2,873 passing yards — fourth-most in the state.

He’s been good so far in 2025.

Going into Week 4, Fairview (2-1) stayed at seventh in the Colorado Preps football rankings handily beating Boulder.

Monarch would likely move into 4A’s top 10 if it can pull off

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