Ralston Valley is atop the hockey poll. (Evan Gustafson/The Review)
Ralston Valley, the defending champion and off to a 3-0-0 start this year, leads the first CHSAANow.com hockey poll of the season.
The Mustangs are outscoring opponents 25-3 thus far. They received all five first-place votes this week.
Monarch, last season’s runner-up, is second. The Coyotes own a 12-1 win over Liberty to open the season.
Columbine, also off to a 3-0-0 start, is No. 3 this week. The Rebels did not make the postseason last year after going 5-14-0.
Mountain Vista, yet to play a game, is No. 4, and Cherry Creek rounds out the top 5. Regis Jesuit is sixth, and is followed by Dakota Ridge, Steamboat Springs, Aspen and Standley Lake.
Fossil Ridge, meanwhile, went from sixth to fourth after going 3-0 last week. The standout win was a 58-51 win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest.
The 5A ranking continued to be led by Denver East, which has also started 3-0 at the Great Western Shootout in Utah. Overland remained in the No. 2 spot despite going 1-2 at the same tournament.
Highlands Ranch rounds out the 5A top 5.
The other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Regis Jesuit continues to be atop the 5A girls basketball ranking. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Fossil Ridge and Ralston Valley have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A girls basketball poll.
Fossil Ridge is off to a 4-0 start, including in-state wins over Chaparral and Fruita Monument, as well as a 2-0 showing in Wyoming. The SaberCats are No. 9 this week.
Ralston Valley is No. 10 in the poll. The Mustangs went 2-1 last week with a loss to Rock Canyon, but beat Cherry Creek and then-No. 3 Arapahoe. Arapahoe dropped out this week.
The No. 1 teams from last week all stayed put. So Regis Jesuit (5A), Broomfield (4A), Holy Family (3A), Yuma (2A) and Caliche (1A) all continue to lead their respective polls.
Horizon 28, Lakewood 18, Cherry Creek 15, Arapahoe 14, Rampart 9, Chaparral 6, Bear Creek 4, Pine Creek 4, Denver East 3, Grand Junction 1, Palmer 1.
Dropped out
Arapahoe (3), Cherry Creek (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Broomfield (10)
2-0
125
1
2-0
2
Pueblo South (3)
1-0
118
2
1-0
3
Mesa Ridge
2-0
106
4
2-0
4
Pueblo West
3-0
63
6
3-0
5
Palmer Ridge
3-0
50
8
3-0
6
Sand Creek
1-1
48
5
1-1
7
Valor Christian
3-0
45
–
3-0
8
D’Evelyn
2-2
44
3
2-2
9
Silver Creek
3-0
41
–
3-0
10
Elizabeth
1-0
36
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Montrose 21, Conifer 4, Longmont 4, Pueblo County 4, Delta 2, Canon City 1, Mullen 1, Thompson Valley 1, Windsor 1.
Dropped out
Montrose (7), Canon City (9), Air Academy (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (13)
2-0
130
1
2-0
2
Pagosa Springs
1-0
100
2
1-0
3
Centauri
3-0
86
5
3-0
4
Lamar
1-0
74
4
1-0
5
Eaton
3-0
64
7
3-0
6
St. Mary’s
0-0
56
6
0-0
7
Peak to Peak
1-0
35
9
1-0
8
Valley
0-0
34
8
0-0
9
Kent Denver
3-0
33
–
3-0
10
Sterling
2-1
24
10
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Bishop Machebeuf 23, Olathe 16, Faith Christian 7, Clear Creek 6, Grand Valley 5, Jefferson Academy 4, Manitou Springs 4, Estes Park 3, Coal Ridge 2, Denver Science & Tech 2, Platte Valley 2, Salida 2, Brush 1, Classical Academy 1, Trinidad 1.
Dropped out
Denver Science & Tech (3).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (7)
2-0
88
1
2-0
2
Akron (1)
1-0
76
2
1-0
3
Peyton
1-0
63
4
1-0
4
Lutheran (1)
1-0
57
3
1-0
5
Holyoke
1-0
45
6
1-0
6
Sangre de Cristo
3-0
37
5
3-0
7
Meeker
1-0
25
10
1-0
8
Paonia
1-1
20
7
1-1
9
Simla
1-0
18
–
1-0
10
Liberty Common
4-0
16
–
4-0
Others receiving votes:
The Vanguard 15, Wray 9, Highland 6, Hoehne 5, Del Norte 4, Limon 4, Rye 3, Heritage Christian 2, Kiowa 1, Springfield 1.
Dropped out
Rye (8), The Vanguard (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Caliche (5)
2-0
67
1
2-0
2
Eads
1-0
57
2
1-0
3
Norwood (2)
2-0
55
5
2-0
4
Idalia
2-0
43
4
2-0
5
Stratton
0-0
41
3
0-0
6
Kit Carson
0-0
34
6
0-0
7
Dove Creek
2-0
23
–
2-0
8
Hi-Plains
0-0
15
7
0-0
9
Belleview Christian
3-0
14
–
3-0
10
Holly
2-0
9
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Wiley 6, Briggsdale 5, Prairie 5, Walsh 4, McClave 3, Centennial 2, Jim Elliot Christian 1, South Baca 1.
Golden sophomore Ryan Blodgett, left, drives on Elizabeth junior Jake Gavitt during the semifinal of the D’Evelyn/Golden Preview Classic on Friday night at Golden High School. Blodgett scored 19 points, while Gavitt had a game-high 29 points in the semifinal that Golden rallied to win 80-70. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — Golden boys basketball coach John Anderson knows at least one thing about his team early on this season — the Demons don’t fear deficits.
Golden rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter to Elizabeth on Friday night at Golden High School. The Demons dominated the second half to pull away with an eventual 80-70 victory in the semifinal of the D’Evelyn/Golden Preview Classic.
“We played well together in the second half and rebounded well,” said Golden junior Cole Greff, who led the Demons with 21 points. “I think the biggest thing we did was control our turnovers and we controlled the pace.”
Golden’s 27-point fourth quarter propelled the Demons (2-0) into the championship game against Class 4A Jeffco rival D’Evelyn (2-0). The Jaguars handled Pueblo Central 74-63 in the other semifinal that was played Friday night at D’Evelyn.
Golden sophomore Cole Harris, right, looks for an open teammate while being guarded by Elizabeth junior Stuart Eurich on Friday night. Harris had a pair of 3-pointers in the first quart for the Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)
The tournament title game — 7 p.m. Saturday at Golden High School — will be the first of three scheduled meetings between Golden and D’Evelyn on the hardwood this season. The two league foes will meet twice in conference games in January and February. Anderson doesn’t mind facing the D’Evelyn in a non-league game during the first week of the season.
“I don’t know if playing D’Evelyn three times is great, but I want to beat them. It’s been awhile,” Anderson said. “It’s a good early season test against one of the better teams in the state.”
Friday, the Demons were able to overcome a great night from Elizabeth junior Jake Gavitt, who finished with a game-high 29 points. Gavitt was one of four Cardinals in double-digits scoring. He was also a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.
“(Gavitt) just knows how to score,” Anderson said. “Our goal was to make him shoot over our bigs. If he gets to the rim he is pretty tough.”
Golden’s defense stiffed in the fourth quarter, limiting Elizabeth to just four field goals. Gavitt hit a 3-pointer with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Demons’ lead to 72-70, it was the Cardinals final points as Golden finished the game with a 8-0 run in the final minute.
Seniors James Christiansen (14 points), Ryan White (12 points) and junior Aaron Stone (11 points) were the other big scorers for the Cardinals. However, Golden bench outscored Elizabeth’s reserves 13-0.
Golden junior Cole Greff, far left, snags a rebound away from Elizabeth’s Stuart Eurich and Brandon Severinson on Friday night at Golden High School. Greff had a team-high 21 points for the Demons in a 80-70 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Golden junior Ryan Thistlewood, a transfer from Ralston Valley, hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points after not scoring in the first half. The junior’s 3-pointer with 5:39 tied the game at 63.
“I like shooting 3s. That’s pretty much what I do,” Thistlewood said. “I just had to stay focused and find my shot.”
Golden hit eight 3-pointers on the night. Sophomore Cole Harris hit a pair in the first quarter. Junior Jesse Capul added one in the second quarter, but the biggest probably came from junior Phil Katzman. The 3-pointer from Katzman with 2:50 left in the game extended Golden’s lead to 72-67.
“We didn’t know how good of an outside shooting team we would be,” Anderson said. “We’ve hit some pretty big 3s the last couple of nights.”
The Demons’ frontcourt tandem of Greff and sophomore Ryan Blodgett combined for 40 points. The 6-foot-5 Blodgett scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter while playing with four fouls the majority of the final quarter.
Elizabeth led nearly the entire game leading up to the fourth quarter.
“(Golden) made some good adjustments in the second half and we couldn’t adjust back to it,” Elizabeth coach Mike Boss said. “Offensively we are fine. Defensively we’ve just got to get better.”
The Cardinals will face Pueblo Central in the third-place game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at D’Evelyn.
WESTMINSTER — Holy Family, the No. 1 team in the 3A girls basketball poll this week, improved to 2-0 with a 52-38 win over 5A Mountain Range on Thursday.
Sophomore Katie Chavez led the way for the Tigers with 10 points and seven assists. Lindsey Chavez had nine points, while Megan Mcgillin and Maggie Spitzer each had eight. Mcgillin also had eight rebounds, two assists and three streals.
Abby Brich had 11 points for Mountain Range in the loss. Lauren Bohan had 10.
