A massive rainstorm has caused widespread postponements of athletic events this weekend, including a slew of games or matches on Thursday.
Most schools have moved games to next week, or later in the month, but football teams have had an especially tough time rescheduling because of the week-to-week nature of the schedule.
With that in mind, the following is a statement from Harry Waterman, assistant commissioner in charge of football:
“Regular season games are the jurisdiction of the individual schools and school districts. Because of the number of conflicts that may occur, the individual schools and school districts are responsible for making the determination on any games to be rescheduled. Sunday is not an option for games to be rescheduled per CHSAA bylaws. Teams will be allowed to reschedule games to Monday, even if it means playing two games in a week.”
So, yes, we will be getting Monday Night Football next week.
Below is a list of postponements, for all sports. Are we missing a game? Email it to rcasey@chsaa.org.
The expectations were already high. Now, perhaps, things have been kicked up a notch.
ThunderRidge, coming off a 36-18 win over then-No. 3 Ralston Valley, took over atop the CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A this week. The Grizzlies had been No. 2, but jumped Valor Christian, which lost in overtime to Bingham (Utah).
Valor has yet to play an in-state opponent this season, and the four-time defending champion still received half of the first-place votes. Still, the Eagles are No. 2 this week.
Cherry Creek had its own big win last week — over then-No. 6 Pomona — and moved up on place to No. 3.
Grandview (No. 4) also moved up one place, and faces ThunderRidge this week.
Columbine went from No. 7 to No. 5 to round out the top five.
Ralston Valley settled in sixth following its loss, Regis Jesuit is seventh and Fairview is eighth.
The 5A top-ten is rounded out by two newcomers: Chatfield (No. 9) and Grand Junction (No. 10).
In 4A, Monarch continued its hold on the No. 1 spot. Denver South moved up to second, and the ranking added Standley Lake at No. 9.
Class 1A also got a new No. 1 team this week with Buena Vista taking over at the top.
Pomona 42, Cherokee Trail 40, Arapahoe 34, Douglas County 20, Doherty 8, Horizon 4, Legend 2, Mullen 2, Mountain Range 1, Mountain Vista 1.
Dropped out
Pomona (6), Cherokee Trail (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Monarch (19)
2-0
192
1
2
Denver South (1)
2-0
170
3
3
Pueblo West
2-0
120
7
4
Montrose
3-0
113
5
5
Wheat Ridge
1-1
98
2
6
Falcon
2-0
96
6
7
Loveland
2-0
88
8
8
Pine Creek
1-1
70
4
9
Standley Lake
2-0
31
–
10
Windsor
1-1
29
9
Others receiving votes:
Montbello 15, Dakota Ridge 14, Mesa Ridge 14, Durango 13, Pueblo Centennial 9, Longmont 7, Vista Ridge 5, Sand Creek 4, Ponderosa 3, Widefield 3, Green Mountain 2, Pueblo South 2, Thompson Valley 2.
Dropped out
Dakota Ridge (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Silver Creek (8)
2-0
124
1
2
Discovery Canyon
3-0
97
2
3
Rifle (4)
2-0
89
3
4
Holy Family
2-0
80
6
5
Conifer
2-0
79
5
6
Palisade
2-0
53
8
7
Lutheran (1)
3-0
50
9
8
Coronado (1)
3-0
45
–
9
Roosevelt
1-1
35
7
10
Elizabeth
1-1
28
4
Others receiving votes:
Eagle Valley 16, Pueblo East 15, Northridge 10, Erie 4.
Dropped out
D’Evelyn (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Platte Valley (7)
2-0
79
1
2
Brush (1)
2-0
64
4
3
Kent Denver
1-1
62
3
4
Florence
1-1
45
2
5
La Junta
2-0
40
6
6
Strasburg
2-0
36
8
7
Eaton
1-1
33
5
8
Manitou Springs
1-0
18
10
9
Lamar
2-0
16
9
10
Bayfield
1-1
12
–
Others receiving votes:
Fort Lupton 11, Denver West 7, Faith Christian 7, Ridgeview Academy 6, University 2, Aspen 1, KIPP 1.
Ralston Valley junior Collin Root (9) and ThunderRidge linebacker Clay Johnson (10) both leap for a pass in the first half Saturday at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
ThunderRidge’s early game of keep-away set the tone for the Grizzlies’ 36-18 victory over Ralston Valley on Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
In the football matchup between the No. 2 and No. 3 Class 5A teams in this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll, ThunderRidge ran 25 offensive plays to Ralston Valley’s three in the first quarter.
“We just came out a little bit flat and we weren’t executing,” Ralston Valley senior quarterback Jacob Knipp said. “ThunderRidge had a good scheme. They ran the ball, took a lot of time off the clock and we couldn’t get a roll going.”
The Grizzlies moved the ball systematically most of the night on the ground with the power running of Matt Stanley. The tailback had 31 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown.
ThunderRidge quarterback Brody Westmoreland had a strong night on the ground with 14 carries for 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The senior’s 4-yard diving effort into the end zone with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter gave the Grizzlies their biggest lead of the night at 36-12.
Westmoreland was effective through the air, too, going 7-for-10 for 85 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
“I’m more satisfied with how well we played as a team,” Westmoreland said when asked if the two passing or two rushing touchdowns were more rewarding. “Our defense stepped up big time to shut Ralston Valley down and our offense came together.”
ThunderRidge (2-0) will host Grandview (2-0) next Friday night in an attempt to keep its unblemished record intact.
“I still think we have stuff to work on, but we are getting there,” Westmoreland said.
Ralston Valley junior Anthony Vessa (36) hangs on to tackle ThunderRidge running back Matt Stanley during the Class 5A non-league game Saturday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
Ralston Valley (2-1) suffered its only regular season loss to ThunderRidge last season before advancing to the 5A semifinals. The Mustangs went on a nine-game winning streak last year after the setback to the Grizzlies.
“You’ve got to take the positives along with the negatives,” said Knipp, who finished 13-for-19 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns. “This whole game will make us better.”
The Mustangs’ offensive managed a pair of big plays in the fourth quarter while playing catch-up. Knipp connected with senior Kevin Meadows for touchdowns of 53 and 51 yards in the final quarter. Junior running back Andrew Wingard scored the Mustangs third touchdown while carrying the ball 16 times for 90 yards.
“I just try to play with as much heart as I could. We gave it all we had,” Meadows said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to work on.”
Ralston Valley next chance to improve will come on the Western Slope when it faces Grand Junction (3-0) at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Stocker Stadium.
We’ve got a No. 2 vs. No. 3 showdown on our hands this Saturday in Class 5A football.
ThunderRidge, following an impressive showing, bumped up one spot from its preseason No. 3 ranking in this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll. And Ralston Valley, the Grizzlies’ opponent this weekend, went from seventh to third after two big wins.
Valor Christian remained in the top spot, and garnered 22 of the 23 first-place votes. Cherry Creek stayed put at fourth, while Grandview (No. 5) and Pomona (No. 6) swapped spots.
Columbine is seventh in the 5A ranking, and Cherokee Trail dropped from second to eighth following its loss to Chatfield.
Regis Jesuit moved up one spot to ninth, and Fairview is the lone new team to the 5A poll, at tenth. The Knights edged Chatfield with 42 total points to the Chargers’ 38. Grandview and Arapahoe are also just on the fringe.
The 4A ranking continued to be led by Monarch, and added Montrose (No. 5), Loveland (No. 8) and Dakota Ridge (No. 10).
Silver Creek stayed on top of 3A, which added Palisade (No. 8), Lutheran (No. 9) and D’Evelyn (No. 10).
Platte Valley is the only new No. 1 team among all classifications, having taken over the top spot in 2A following a win over previous No. 1 Kent Denver.
