ThunderRidge and Broomfield have already played twice so far this season. Will they meet again when the 5A title is up for grabs? (Pam Wagner)
In a span of seven days earlier this month, ThunderRidge and Broomfield girls basketball went head-to-head twice. The second time, T-Ridge was ranked No. 1 in 5A, with the Eagles No. 2. Total margin of victory in the two games — both ThunderRidge wins — was 11 points.
Here’s the point: We’ll very likely be seeing these two teams matchup again come the postseason in Class 5A, and it may come at CU’s Coors Events Center.
ThunderRidge, which is still ranked No. 1, is now 7-1, with the lone loss coming to Fremd (Ill.) at the annual Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. They already own wins over Fossil Ridge (last year’s runner-up), Holy Family (No. 3 in 4A), and Fairview (No. 8 in 5A). The Grizzlies, to be sure, are legitimate threats for a title at this point.
Broomfield, meanwhile, is having an incredible amount of early success after moving up from 4A this season. The Eagles were unbeaten all year last season before falling to Mesa Ridge in the 4A title game.
This season, they’ve won some big games — including a 19-point win over then-No. 6 Ralston Valley on Dec. 11, as well as a victory over a Denver East (5-2) team which has strung together three wins over out-of-state schools at a tournament in Las Vegas in the past week.
There’s also the 47-45 loss to ThunderRidge on Dec. 13 which shows what the Eagles (5-2) are capable of. Heading to break, they are ranked No. 4.
So these two teams may very well be on a collision course.
But others will have a say in this. 5A is as open as it’s been in years.
Grandview (current No. 2, and led by Michaela Onyenwere), Highlands Ranch (No. 3, and coached by the legendary Caryn Jarocki), and Monarch (No. 5, just won the Prairie View Tournament) are all contenders come tournament time. And that’s not even to say anything of a team like Regis Jesuit, which has struggled somewhat out of the gate, but can’t be counted out.
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Alumni meet in NCAA volleyball championship
When Penn State beat BYU to win the NCAA volleyball championship on Saturday, it was Doherty vs. Longmont — at least as far as we’re concerned.
Haleigh Washington, the super talent out of Doherty, averaged 2.63 kills per set for the Nittany Lions as a freshman this season. She had three kills and four total blocks in the championship match.
Tambre Nobles (whose maiden name is Haddock), a 2011 graduate of Longmont, averaged 2.12 kills and 1.89 digs per set for BYU as a senior this season. She had seven kills and a team-high 12 digs in the championship match. Nobles was also a standout basketball player and track athlete in high school.
Penn State also features sophomore Laura Broerman of St. Mary’s.
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CSU-Pueblo’s championship team loaded with local talent
It’s fairly often that Colorado’s high school athletes are maligned nationally.
So when CSU-Pueblo won the Division II national football championship on Saturday, it made a statement. Eighty-two of the 122 players on the ThunderWolves’ roster were from in-state high schools. Furthermore, 13 of CSU-Pueblo’s 22 starters hailed from in-state.
Yes, it’s Division II, and because of that pundits will thumb their noses at it, but this is an incredible achievement for this program, and says a lot about the state of Colorado’s talent. This is a team that was overwhelmingly — both in terms of overall numbers, and in terms of contributors — made up of local talent.
Colorado’s level of talent is so much better than it gets credit for nationally. This championship is just further proof of the type of kids produced by our high schools.
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Short stuff
How fast was girls swimming’s Coaches Invitational on Saturday? Valor Christian’s Brooke Stenstrom swam 23.49 in the 50 free, which beat the 4A state meet record. And she finished second to Rock Canyon’s Abigail Kochevar.
New Colorado State football coach Mike Bobo was introduced on Tuesday. He talked about the importance of recruiting in-state kids: “I believe (recruiting) starts in the state, in Colorado. This is our state, and we’ve got to start from top to bottom in this state and recruit the best high school football players year-in and year-out. Does that mean we’re going to get every high school football player in this state to come to Colorado State? No. But we’re going to try.”
Cherry Creek football finished at No. 64 in MaxPreps’ final computer rankings. The Bruins, who won the 5A championship, are the highest-ranked Colorado team. Valor Christian, the 5A runner-up, is the next-highest at No. 128, while Ralston Valley is No. 129.
Strasburg wide receiver Brian Nichols and Legacy tight end Logan Paulson are members of USA Football’s 2015 U.S. Select Team which will play an international game at Cowboys Stadium on Jan. 31. Meanwhile, Cherry Creek offensive lineman Jimmy Pallotto (under-18 team), Glenwood Springs quarterback Dante Sparaco (U17), Cherry Creek linebacker Santino Marchiol (U17) and Cherry Creek defensive lineman Omid Manshadi (U16) will also take part in the 2015 International Bowl as members of various national teams.
Resurrection Christian senior Zach Lish set the hockey program’s career scoring record.
The NFHS has completed a position paper out of its Concussion Summit Task Force. The ideas set by the paper will be discussed at a meeting in January. It states that “minimizing the risk of head trauma and concussion in all sports is a priority for the NFHS.”
When Centaurus and Air Academy met last season, it was a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Next season, both teams will have new coaches. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
For each of the past four seasons, girls lacrosse’s semifinals have had one thing in common: Cherry Creek, Air Academy and Centaurus have all been there.
Well, those schools now have another common thread: all three programs — at this moment, the top three in the sport — will have new head coaches going into the 2015 season.
It may mean that new blood will rise. Chatfield, for instance, made its first-ever semifinal appearance last season; Arapahoe’s been in the quarterfinals for each of the past three seasons; Chaparral is another possibility.
Or old blood could reemerge. Kent Denver, which has won three state titles in school history, made four-consecutive semifinal appearances from 2009-12.
Now, this isn’t to say that Ames, or whoever Air Academy and Centaurus eventually hire, won’t have immediate success. Tierney won a state championship in her first season (2013). That could very well happen again.
And, mind you, Cherry Creek has appeared in every single state championship game in the sport’s 17-year sanctioned history. So change hasn’t seemed to bother the Bruins in the past.
But that these three giants of the sport are all changing coaches in the same offseason may signal there’s a bit of transition ahead for girls lacrosse, at least in the short term.
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DSST-Green Valley Ranch volleyball makes history
When Denver Science & Tech-Green Valley Ranch qualified for the Class 3A volleyball regionals on Monday, it marked the first time in school history a team was headed to the postseason.
The Raptors, 10-7-1 this season, earned the No. 36 seed, and are playing in Region 1 with top-seeded Eaton and No. 24 Middle Park.
It’s DSST-GVR’s first year as a sanctioned member of CHSAA.
“We’re super pumped about it,” athletic director Jamelle Austin said on Wednesday. “We’ve got to go to Eaton, Colorado at 4:30 on Halloween night, so we’re going to have some fun with it.”
The school put up a 20-foot poster congratulating the team, and is planning a pep rally on Thursday.
“Once we got the news, that was Monday morning, we made an announcement to the school and the girls were really excited,” Austin said.
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Short stuff
It’s always fun when this happens: Grand Junction was on the outside of the 5A playoffs looking in until a win from rival Montrose pushed the Tigers over the 32-team threshold by adding to their Wild Card point totals.
Volleyball regionals are this weekend. That means the state tournament is next Saturday. In my mind, volleyball’s tournament is the only thing that can come close to matching the atmosphere at state wrestling, which is probably CHSAA’s premier event with its huge attendance and the fact that it draws athletes from all corners of the state to one location. State volleyball is chaotic with five courts going at once, but it’s a good chaos. The event is also unique in that it’s the only team sport where all classifications come together under one roof to decide championships.
Lewis-Palmer volleyball remained ranked No. 3 in MaxPreps’ latest national poll.
Cheraw junior Tristan Headrick entered his team’s Week 8 game against Cotopaxi with 24 receiving touchdowns. The state record is 25.
“We were aware of it, so we were going to try and get him touches,” Cheraw coach Brad Phillips said on Tuesday.
But with Cheraw, a 6-man program, leading 16-0 early in the second quarter, Cotopaxi had to forfeit the game when injuries meant they could no longer field a team. Headrick didn’t have a touchdown to that point, so he stayed at 24.
Fast forward to Monday, and the release of the Wild Card points. This season, 6-man football is using the formula to help in determining crossover games, which take place in Week 9 of the regular season. Sixteen teams move on to play, including the Nos. 1 and 2 teams from each conference, as well as six Wild Card spots.
Cheraw was No. 16 in that forumla, but Genoa-Hugo/Karval, No. 18 in the Wild Card points, was No. 2 in the Central League. It meant Cheraw got bumped. Their season over was over, and so was Headrick’s chance at a record.
“It’s too bad,” Phillips said. “But he had a good year.”
Headrick finished his season with 1,295 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. Perhaps most astonishingly, he only had 48 catches — meaning that every other reception he had, he scored.
Another thing to keep in mind: Heritage’s Shane Optiz set the record during the 2009 season, when his Eagles won the Class 4A championship. His mark came over 14 games. Headrick played seven games and one quarter.
In any case, Optiz will keep the record. At least until Headrick gets another shot at it next year.
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Lewis-Palmer volleyball’s national profile is rising
Just how good is this Lewis-Palmer volleyball team? The Rangers are ranked No. 3 in MaxPreps’ latest national poll. That’s astounding.
That the Rangers actually dropped a set is significant. It was only the second one they’ve lost the entire season. The other came in a 2-1 win over Valley (3A’s current No. 2 team) in a tournament in early September. They have now won 53 sets, and dropped two.
And it’s not as though the schedule has been weak. There are the wins over Chaparral and Valley, and well as sweeps of Cheyenne Mountain (at the time No. 2 in 4A), Rampart (at the time No. 1 in 5A) and Valor Christian (then No. 7 in 4A). L-P has played anyone and everyone willing to land on the schedule.
Should this dominance continue on through the state tournament, the question at that point may turn from one of a national perspective to historical. At this point, 1979 Evergreen team is widely regarded as the best in state history. In fact, they were inducted into CHSAA’s Hall of Fame last January. Recently, though, the 2011 Chaparral squad headed by Nicole Dalton was hailed as a challenger to the Evergreen squad.
That Chaparral team ended the season 31-0, ranked No. 3 in MaxPreps’ national poll, and went 93-6 in terms of sets. Spanning the 2010-12 seasons, the program had a 58-match winning streak.
Lewis-Palmer’s current winning streak sits at 25 matches. In terms of history, it may not yet match the multiyear runs of Evergreen and Chaparral. But, headed by national player of the year candidate Alexa Smith, the Rangers are having an incredibly special season.
Perhaps one of the best ever.
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Smoky Hill, Hinkley come together to make a memory
Here’s what high school sports are about: Last week, Smoky Hill and Hinkley lined up before kickoff to give a special needs student Blake Yaw a memory he won’t soon forget.
A four-year manager for the team, he lined up with Smoky’s offense, took a handoff and ran 40 yards for a touchdown through the Hinkley defense, who was in on the moment.
“The entire bench emptied to help celebrate Blake’s touchdown,” athletic director Preston Davis wrote in an email.
The full video:
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Short stuff
The state playoff brackets for five of the seven classes of football come out on Sunday. I’m very interested to see how 5A plays out. This is the first year of a new system which gives the seeding committee to move the qualifiers anywhere on the bracket. At this point, I think Grandview has the inside track at the No. 1 seed, assuming the Wolves beat Valor Christian on Friday. If Valor wins, I expect Ralston Valley to take the top seed — again, assuming a win against Mullen this week.
BoCoPreps had a powerful story on how Nederland football is dealing with a severe spinal cord injury to senior Miles Pancoast.
Eaglecrest’s Jordyn Poulter is on the same national volleyball player of the year watch list as Alexa Smith. It was produced by MaxPreps.
Ralston Valley’s super athlete Andrew Wingard committed to Wyoming to play football on Tuesday night.
Ridge View Academy, a 2A program, forfeit two football wins due to use of an ineligible player. Wins over Manual (Oct. 4) and Denver West (Oct. 11) were forfeit. And, actually, that forfeit win may have guaranteed Manual a playoff spot. Manual moved from No. 15 to No. 9 in the Wild Card points standings as a result.
There may be a change to CHSAA’s playoff structure coming down the road in the form of an expansion. The staff had some internal discussions last week about exploring the possibility. In essence, it would create true district/regional fields where every team would qualify and then have to play their way into the state tournament. It’s still an idea at this point.
We’ve seen Cotopaxi’s Alex Burger score ten total touchdowns in a game. D’Evelyn quarterback Owen Burke threw for more than 530 yards in consecutive weeks. Cheraw’s Tristan Headrick tied the state receiving touchdown record with six. Two players have recorded 99-yard touchdowns runs.
Last Friday, two quarterbacks threw for six touchdowns.
Put it this way: Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig threw for an eye-popping 491 yards on Sept. 5. That’s just the fourth-best mark this season.
But.
This is how we tally records at the CHSAA office. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
This has undoubtedly been the most closely-followed football season in terms of combing for records. After each week, we literally go through each boxscore to scan for outstanding (perhaps record-setting) performances. Additionally, our partners at MaxPreps — specifically, Gerry Valerio — have been kind enough to create a weekly report which highlights similar individual performances.
In the past, the record book has been solely reliant on schools reporting performances to the CHSAA office. And while we still verify each record-setting performance with the school or coach to ensure the accuracy of the record, finding the data is now largely on us.
“We’ve always relied on schools sending us information,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgman, who has been in charge of CHSAA’s record books for years. “Now, with a vehicle like CHSAANow and a resource like MaxPreps, we are able to go out and find these things ourselves.”
So, yes, there has been a dramatic increase in record book-worthy performances this season. But the reason for the increase likely boils down to this: When you go looking for data, as opposed to waiting for it to come to you, you will inevitably find more of it.
Expect similar record results for the upcoming basketball season. We’re also looking at restarting the volleyball record book, which has sat dormant for a few years.
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Short stuff
Passing this along as a PSA: Boys tennis’ state tournaments will likely be delayed tomorrow. Here’s the plan.
There will be no Stableford scoring system for girls golf next spring. In my mind, this is a move that eventually needs to be made. Alas, not yet.
La Junta beat Lamar in volleyball on Tuesday night. It was their first win over Lamar since 1995, according to the La Junta Tribune-Democrat. “We wanted to end this nightmare and get it over with,” La Junta coach Heath Grantham told the paper afterward.
Two weeks ago, legendary basketball coach Guy Gibbs gave a speech to Regis Jesuit students about his life experiences. Midway through, he brought up CHSAA associate commissioner Tom Robinson, who was his assistant at Regis for 10 years before becoming head coach himself. Gibbs mentioned that he would often turn to Robinson on the bench at crucial points of games for his thoughts. I pointed this out to Tom, who shrugged in his way and said, “Well, I was always sitting there.”
In an email to CHSAA staff this week, a field hockey official who did the Regis Jesuit-Fossil Ridge game complimented the Raiders on their sportsmanship. Regis led 7-1 at halftime, “but instead of racking up an embarrassing score,” the official wrote, “(Regis Jesuit coach) Spencer (Wagner) had his team play a ‘training game’ in the second half. … At no time did they attempt to advance their 7-1 score. … Coaches like Spencer know what absolute sportsmanship is and demonstrated this (Monday).”
2014 Fairview graduate Sam Martin, who holds a few career state receiving records, scored four touchdowns in Miami (Ohio)’s win over UMass on Saturday. The in-state schools made a mistake in not offering him a scholarship.
Grandview grad Kevin Gausman, now with the Baltimore Orioles, started the last home game in Derek Jeter’s career. “That’s pretty incredible!!” he tweeted. Now, he’s in the ALCS.
Brighton softball is among the many contenders in Class 5A. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
A little more than three weeks ago, Eaglecrest softball went to Dakota Ridge and easily handled the Eagles.
The final was 8-1 that day. They’d already beaten Douglas County, a quarterfinal team last season, as well as Rock Canyon, another quarterfinalist in 2013. No one is going to anoint a state champion after three games — but Eaglecrest sure looked like a favorite at that point.
Well, here’s the state of Class 5A softball at this moment: Dakota Ridge is ranked No. 1, Eaglecrest is now No. 9. And both are still very much in contention for the No. 1 overall seed come next month.
The classification has been crazy. Consider that there ceased to be an unbeaten team in 5A softball on Sept. 11 — less than three weeks into the season.
But what makes it all the more confusing is the sheer amount of parity.
Chaparral shot up to No. 5 in this week’s ranking after 10-consecutive wins. The Wolverines dropped their first two games this week.
After Eaglecrest’s 3-0 start, the Raptors lost to Brighton. Two games later, Brighton lost to Columbine. Columbine turned around and lost to Mountain Vista. Mountain Vista then fell to Cherry Creek. Two games after that, Cherry Creek lost to Lakewood, which then lost to Chatfield.
Dakota Ridge is currently the No. 1 team in the state. They have won four games in a row, but have the loss to Eaglecrest and another to Mountain Range. Two games after beating Dakota Ridge, Mountain Range lost to Fossil Ridge.
Another 5A contender: Mountain Range. (Pam Wagner)
“When the committee sits down to figure out head-to-head, it’s going to be: ‘What week?'” joked Bud Ozzello, CHSAA’s assistant commissioner who administers softball. “That’s how good this classification is.”
So who will end up as the No. 1 seed? Who knows. What’s clear is that there’s no clear-cut favorite.
Dakota Ridge has a win over Legend, which beat Douglas County, which has beaten Columbine, which has topped Brighton, which owns a win over Grandview, which beat Eaglecrest — which, of course, beat Dakota Ridge.
The classification has become a snake eating its own tail.
Ultimately, what this regular season is proving is that it likely won’t even matter much who gets the No. 1 overall seed. Or the Nos. 8, 9 or 10, for that matter.
Because in order to reach the state tournament, and move on once there, “You’re going to have to battle,” Ozzello said.
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Short stuff
The first of the new championship trophies were delivered last week: boys golf. The rest have since been delivered, and now dot CHSAA’s hallways until their championship dates.
Berthoud football is off to a 3-0 start, and ranked No. 10 in 3A this week. This may be a case of those special graduating classes that come through schools at one time or another. According to John Hall of the Berthoud Surveyor, this year’s junior class was a stellar bunch dating to their youth, including winning the Northern Colorado Championship.
Due to low numbers, Deer Trail will forfeit its game to Peetz this week. Deer Trail was down to five guys.
Pinnacle’s football team beat Jefferson 55-18 last week, and in doing so snapped an 18-game winning streak. Their last win came in Sept. 2012.
Castle View’s Savannah Heebner threw a perfect game in a 14-0 win over Highlands Ranch last week. She struck out 10 in five innings, and is now 10-1 with a 0.77 ERA in 11 games. She has four shutouts.
It was quite the weekend for Fairview’s athletic department. The volleyball team won the Bruins Classic on Saturday, capped by a 2-1 win over Cherry Creek. On Monday, the volleyball team cracked the 5A rankings at No. 8. Also over the weekend, the boys tennis team also tied Cherry Creek in winning the Cherry Creek Invitational. That followed a win over Cherry Creek in a dual earlier in the week.
Steamboat Springs JV boys soccer goalie Andrew McCawley scored a goal off a long punt. Here’s video.
Following Valor Christian’s loss last week, 8-man’s Dayspring Christian owns the state’s longest football winning streak at 16 games.
After going 3-4 last week, Colorado football teams are now 20-11 against out-of-state competition this season.
Three Broncos players visited local football programs on Tuesday. Corey Nelson stopped by Horizon, Ben Garland went to Legacy, and Montee Ball was at Gateway.
Colorado boys lacrosse has two highly-ranked sophomores in the Class of 2017. Per Inside lacrosse, Mountain Vista’s Colin Munro (a North Carolina commit) is No. 4 nationally, while Fossil Ridge’s Jake Frane (Notre Dame) is No. 17.
Mullen turned to Matt Guglielmo to coach its girls soccer team. He’s also the school’s boys coach.
Valor Christian alum Max McCaffrey had two touchdowns for Duke football in its win over Kansas last week. He’s now the team’s leading receiver this season with 178 yards.
Grandview alum Kevin Gausman was part of the Balitmore Orioles squad which clinched the AL East on Tuesday.
A Colorado legislator is considering a proposal which “would require public schools to change Indian-themed mascots that the Native American community found offensive.” The threat of losing state funding would hang over those schools which don’t change it, according to the proposal.
If you missed it Wednesday, our Brian Miller detailed the story of Hugo Falco, a Brazilian exchange student who is playing 6-man football at Stratton/Liberty.
Fairview senior Johnny Feauto (17), pictured last season after a win in the Class 5A semifinals. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Fairview’s offense was supposed to take a hit after graduating its quarterback and three leading receivers. Right?
Yeah, right.
The Knights, ranked No. 7 in this week’s poll, not only picked up right where they left off last Saturday, they expanded upon what last year’s near-record setting offense did on its way to football’s Class 5A championship game last season.
Led by senior Johnny Feauto, their “new” quarterback — more on that later — Fairview racked up 510 passing yards and 712 yards of total offense in its 58-28 win at Grand Junction.
The passing yards now rank No. 3 in the state record book, while the total offense is No. 10.
Here’s what’s scary: Fairview trailed Grand Junction 14-0 after the first quarter.
Last season, Anders Hill and Feauto combined to throw for 4,005 yards. It was only the third time in state history that a program had surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in passing. But Hill, now at Columbia, accounted for 3,878 of that — which is No. 4 all-time in state history for a single season.
Still, Feauto didn’t come out of nowhere. As a sophomore, he played in six games in relief of an injured Hill and threw for 2,316 yards and 21 touchdowns. In fact, his 414 yards on Saturday are just the third-most of Feauto’s career. He had outputs of 433 and 429 yards as a sophomore.
With a fully-healthy Hill back last season, Feauto focused on his role at cornerback and had six interceptions — including two in the semifinals against ThunderRidge.
Anyway, on Saturday, Feauto also had 122 rushing yards. That put his total output at 536 yards, which is now No. 7 all-time.
So this offense, despite losing guys like Hill, Sam Martin, Cam Frazier and Owen Harris, is still very potent. Because of Feauto, and because of other guys like Thomas Creese — who threw for the other 96 passing yards on Saturday — Carlo Kemp (two rushing touchdowns), David McWilliams (202 receiving yards, two touchdowns), Connor May (94 receiving yards, two touchdowns), Tim Ryan (109 all-purpose yards) and Steve D’Epagnier (41 receiving yards).
If anything, they’re just upholding tradition. Historically, Fairview has had one of the state’s best offenses.
The Knights own the Nos. 3 and 4 total marks for passing yards in a season. In addition to the 2013 mark of 4,005 yards, the program threw for 3,977 in 2002. Fairview also sits Nos. 1 and 2 in the record books for passes attempted and completed by a team in a season. And Martin, now at Miami of Ohio, holds the state records for catches (112) and receiving yards (1,860) in a season.
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Jefferson Academy’s Kupcho plays well at Colorado Women’s Open
(Courtesy of Mike Kupcho)
Jefferson Academy senior Jennifer Kupcho, last season’s Class 4A girls golf champion, finished tied for second at the Colorado Women’s Open last weekend. She finished at 1-under (215) over the three-day event, and actually held the lead after the first day at 6-under.
Kupcho was the top-placing amateur of the event.
“It’s really exciting to finish that high up in a pro tournament,” she told BoCoPreps afterward.
Other notable finishers:
2014 Cherry Creek grad Calli Ringsby (tied for 24th)
2010 Doherty graduate Paige Crawford (tied for 28th)
2012 Regis Jesuit graduate Kathleen Kershisnik (tied for 38th)
Columbine football hadn’t lost its opening game since 2006. Last week, the Rebels started 0-2. I can’t find the last time that happened in the program’s history. That said, both losses were five-point games. Columbine is off then week, then hosts Bear Creek next Friday.
Pueblo West boys soccer beat Lewis-Palmer 6-5 last Friday. Jaydon Moreschini, a senior, scored all six goals for the Cyclones.
Valor Christian quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, a sophomore, has been classified as an a four-star recruit by Scout.
More preseason volleyball honors for Lewis-Palmer’s Alexa Smith and Eaglecrest’s Jordyn Poulter: Both were named to High School Illustrated’s preseason All-American team.
Sticking with volleyball: Thomas Jefferson’s Jessica Jackson, a senior, was selected to play on an all-star team from the United States in Europe this summer.
Regis Jesuit announced that former DU defenseman Zach Blom, a member of the Pioneers’ 2005 national championship team, has joined its hockey program as an assistant.
Colorado’s mark on Wyoming football program has long been undeniable, but that seems extra true this season. Two Colorado products have been named captains of Wyoming’s football team: Grandview grad Eddie Yarbrough (a defensive end) and Palmer grad Dominic Rufran (a wide receiver). Rufran will start at wide receiver — along with former Grandview star Tanner Gentry. In all, 20 products of Colorado high schools are on Wyomong’s roster — including four 2014 grads. By comparison, CSU has 40 Colorado products on its roster this season and CU has 26.
Christian McCaffrey, who graduated from Valor Christian in May after an outstanding athletic career, had an electric debut for Stanford football on Saturday. We are all well aware of McCaffrey’s versatility — his 8,839 all-purpose yards are a state record — and he showed it in the Cardinal’s win against UC Davis. He had this 52-yard touchdown reception — the first of his career — and a 44-yard punt return. McCaffrey had one rush for 10 yards, the 52 receiving yards, returned three punts for 60 yards, and was even on kickoff coverage. Said Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloombgren to sfgate.com: “Nah, that didn’t surprise me. I’m not sure he’ll be able to do anything to surprise me anymore.”
2014 Falcon graduate Kalen Ballage also scored a touchdown in his debut for Arizona State last week. He finished with 37 yards on 12 attempts. Still, Ballage told the Arizona Republic, “I definitely want to be better. Now that I hit the ground running and got the first game out of the way, I’ll be able to just play.”
2010 Rocky Mountain graduate Marco Gonzales picked up his first MLB win on Saturday. “It feels pretty rewarding,” Gonzales told MLB.com afterward. He made his debut in June.
Another recent addition to football’s record book: Holy Family just recently submitted the career (2011-13) numbers for former quarterback David Sommers. His 8,326 yards of total offense are No. 10 all-time.
Former Pine Creek setter Rory McCloy was named the NJCAA Division I national player of the week last week. Now at Laramie County Community College in Wyoming, she had 175 assists in her team’s first four matches — and averaged 10.9 per set. She’s currently leading the nation in assists with 345.
Jefferson Academy alum Ally Thimsen, a 2014 graduate, was named the Big Sky offensive player of the week after recording two goals and an assist in one game.
In a neat showing of sportsmanship, four Class 5A Highlands Ranch-area football teams will meet Thursday to watch When The Game Stands Tall, a movie based on a high school football team in California.
Players from Mountain Vista, ThunderRidge, Rock Canyon and Highlands Ranch will gather at the AMC Highlands Ranch 24 to watch the movie on Thursday night. The event was organized by the schools’ head football coaches — Ric Cash, Joe Johnson, Brian Lamb and Mark Robinson, respectively.
When The Game Stands Tall focuses on De La Salle High School’s success over 12 years, which included 151 straight wins from 1992-2003. It is based on a 2003 book of the same name.
In recognition, said Pat McCabe, athletic director at Mountain Vista, “These programs have collectively earned the Continental League Sportmanship Award for the month of August.”
Here’s a trailer for the movie:
Short stuff
With the season starting, we’ve completed our previews of every classification of every sport. You can find them all here.
Plenty of good news coming down the pipe for hockey. Stay tuned.
Our weekly live chat will be heading on the road to kick off the football season this Friday. We’ll be at Montrose vs. Grand Junction.
There was an intriguing meeting at the CHSAA office on Wednesday night where a panel of experts sought to find solutions to the arm injury problems which have plagued youth baseball of late.
Quarterback Dante Sparaco, who is just set to start his sophomore season at Glenwood Springs, has received a scholarship offer from Colorado State, according to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. He’s already 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. According to the Post-Independent, Sparaco has also been receiving interest from Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, USC and Florida State. Sparaco threw just five passes last season, but is expected to start this season, according to the paper.
Erie has new turf for its all-purpose field. The old turf was damaged in last September’s flooding.
MaxPreps compiled the longest road trips of the 2014 football season. Trips to Florida for Littleton, Dakota Ridge and Columbine check in at No. 7. (Other Colorado schools, such as Monarch and Chatfield on Thursday, are also going to Florida, but they did not make the list.)
The NFHS released 2013-14 participation numbers this week. As excepted, they grew once again, this time to 7.8 million. Our Bert Borgmann did some research and found that while Colorado ranks 25th in number of member schools, the state is 20th in students who participate in high school sports.
Here’s a nice feature on Regis Jesuit graduate Missy Franklin in The New York Times.
Two Colorado products were named to Athlon Sport’s preseason All-Freshman Team. JK Scott, a 2014 graduate of Mullen, is the first-team punter, while Daniel Carlson, a 2013 graduate of The Classical Academy, is the first-team kicker. (The team includes redshirt freshmen, as well.) In a somewhat related note, Mullen has new goalposts.
High praise (I think?) for former Denver South standout Phillip Lindsay: CU football coach Mike MacIntyre said “he is the Tasmanian Devil.” Lindsay is turning heads during fall camp, according to the Denver Post. Here’s another detailed feature on Lindsay.
Lutheran football has a new coach in Blair Hubbard this season. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Perhaps no football coaching change this offseason was as major as Blair Hubbard leaving Faith Christian for Lutheran.
Hubbard won three state championships in 15 seasons as head coach at Faith Christian, a perennial power in the Class 2A ranks. His teams were 148-30, made the playoffs 14 times and won 10 league titles.
But in the offseason Hubbard was looking to tackle something new. Lutheran — a 3A team since the school was formed by a merger of the old Denver Lutheran and Lutheran-Parker schools prior to the 2012 season — was a fit.
“I was just kind of looking for a new challenge, so when the opportunity presented itself I took some time to think about it, talked it over with my wife and some other wise council and decided to go ahead,” Hubbard said. “This was a good opportunity to make the change. I’m excited about this season and just the future of Lutheran High School football in general.”
Faith Christian moved quickly to hire Ralph Nance, Hubbard’s defensive coordinator, as his successor. It meant that Hubbard’s staff — which had been together for “over 10 years,” he said — was not going to stay intact.
“I’ve hired a completely new staff,” Hubbard said. “That was a specific challenge. And it was a good process.”
Hubbard’s new staff at Lutheran comprises 10 assistants — five of whom are in the building.
“I feel very comfortable with the coaches that we have on staff,” Hubbard said. “We’ve just got a good cohesiveness together. Everybody’s on the same page and is there for the same reason. We’re there to help build young men into men, boys into men. We’re not there necessarily for the wins and the losses. If we do our jobs, those kinds of things will hopefully take care of themselves. Our purpose is to have an effect in young men’s lives.”
Lutheran was 31-11 in former coach Daryl Moe’s four seasons, including three playoff appearances. So Hubbard is inheriting a great program.
Lutheran quarterback James Willis. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Included are quarterback James Willis and receiver Josh Clausen, both seniors and four-year varsity members, who combined for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns through the air last season.
Willis, entering his third year as the starter at quarterback, threw for 2,306 yards and 24 touchdowns last season.
“He’s someone that’s just a humble leader, he’s a hard worker,” Hubbard said. “That’s the kind of athlete we’re looking to model our program after. Someone’s that just has that blue-collar work ethic and is humble and willing to help other kids out along the way.”
Clausen already has 2,312 receiving yards in his three seasons, which is just outside the top-10 in the state’s career record book.
“He’s (6-foot-4) and he’s got very good speed and great hands,” Hubbard said. “He’s getting some looks from some of the area Division I schools, so it’s exciting to work with him. He’s got that same kind of work ethic that we’re looking for, as well.”
A group of linemen also return.
“They have been very consistent in the weight room, and whenever you’ve got the kids up front that are dedicated to spending time in the weight room, you’re going to have a good opportunity to win some battles up front,” Hubbard said.
Lutheran opens the season in Houston, playing at Lutheran South Academy — a Division II school in Texas which went 8-3 and made the playoffs last season. It’s an opportunity for everyone to get to know one another really well, really quick.
“It will be a fun experience for the kids and for the coaches,” Hubbard said. “There’s a lot of logistics involved and we’ve gotten a lot of outstanding administrative support from the school.
“They’re of the mindset that they’re there for the athletes and the athletic program and want to do as much as they can to help the young men and women out in the athletic programs to have a great experience in their time at Lutheran.”
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Short stuff
During its transition to a regional program, the former Montbello High School athletic department will be known as the Warriors (Montbello). Eventually, the plan is to simply call the teams the Warriors — without including the Montbello clarifier.
Last week at the All-School Summit, a new approach to the classification structure was discussed. Every impression I’ve gotten seems like this is where the state will head this fall — though there was some resistance voiced during the classification breakout session at the Summit. We’ll see if that initial uneasiness turns into action ahead of CLOC’s November meeting.
Valor Christian’s Eric Lee Jr. and Pine Creek’s Avery Anderson, both defensive backs, will enroll at Nebraska early, the school announced.
Regis Jesuit offensive linemen Tim Lynott’s father tweeted out his official offer letter from Colorado. Lynott is a CU commit, and was recently moved up to a 4-star recruit by Scout.com.
Here’s a neat picture of Windsor’s football team playing in a flooded field near its school during storms last week. (Coach Chris Jones was quick to urge safety to his players: “Be smart about the water in front of the school,” he tweeted.)
Tony Ramunno had been the head football coach at Lewis-Palmer for 25 seasons, but he resigned late last month. “I really like Friday nights; it’s probably the best job a guy can have in the country,” he told the Colorado Springs Gazette. Former defensive coordinator Dustin Tupper will replace him.
Grandview hired Patrick Chapla as its boys lacrosse coach. He had been an assistant at Mountain Vista, and is also a club coach at 3d Lacrosse. “We are excited to add his passion, experience and love of the game to our program,” Grandview athletic director Jamee Ulitzky wrote in an email.
Eagle Ridge has a new girls basketball coach, according to the Brighton Blade: Vern Rathbun, who has been coaching for more than 30 years.
The numbers from the NFHS Network are in from the past school year, and the most popular events were as follows: Arapahoe-Fossil Ridge boys basketball in the 5A tournament; Overland-Denver East boys basketball in the 5A tournament; and the state track meet.
It seems like this is a weekly occurrence now, but here’s another reminder to kids that how you act on social media can have a very negative effect on your recruitment.
Fruita Monument wrestler Jacob Seely earned All-American status with his seventh-place finish at a national tournament in Fargo, North Dakota last month.
Doherty is holding a golf tournament at Colorado Springs Country Club on Aug. 18, and is seeking teams to participate. That’s the same course where the Class 5A state meet will be held. Interested schools should contact Doherty AD Chris Noll: CHRISTOPHER.NOLL@d11.org.
Likewise, Jefferson Academy is seeking schools for its golf invitational on Sept. 2 at Omni Interlocken Golf Club Resort. Contact Jags’ AD Michael Wilson: mwilson@jajags.com.
Horizon is inviting schools to its annual Popsicle Run at the Adams County Fairgrounds on Sept. 5. It’s a 4k course, and offers popsicles at the end. Contact: Antonio.Ricciardi@adams12.org.
Kim and Branson will co-op in football (ineligible for the playoffs), boys golf, volleyball, boys and girls basketball, as well as track. They will be the Kim Mustangs in all sports but football, where they will compete as the Branson Bearcats.
Alumni short stuff
Heritage alum Shane Opitz, now playing minor league baseball, was interviewed by the Dunedin Blue Jays’ radio network about a recent rehab of an injury, but also spoke about hailing from Colorado. “There’s a lot of talent coming out of Colorado, but people don’t necessarily recognize that because we don’t play year-round,” Opitz said. “There’s not a lot of good weather during the winter time, we’re under snow. But there’s a lot of talent.” A 2010 grad, he’s hitting .280 at Dunedin in 13 games so far this season.
Chaparral alum Shane Callahan has been cleared to play immediately for CU following his transfer from Auburn. Here he is in a video speaking with the media after practice. “I’m proud to wear Colorado on my jersey, this is my hometown,” he said. “Excited to have the chance to play for my home state this year!” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Kalen Ballage, a 2013 Falcon graduate, is “turning heads” as Arizona State opens football camp. Coach Todd Graham said he’s “the most impressive freshman running back we’ve ever had. Ever.”
Bobby Dalbec, who graduated from Legend in 2013, tore it up at the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer. He had five home runs and 18 RBIs in just 29 games, and hit .228. He also took part in the home run contest during All-Star festivities. Dalbec just completed his freshman season as the starting designated hitter/first baseman and reliever at Arizona. He hit .266 with two home runs and 30 RBIs for the Wildcats, and also had a team-best 2.13 ERA in 22 appearances. Dalbec did tell the Arizona Daily Star that his future is as a position player: “If we really need a guy to be a starter, I’d obviously do it. But I like my future after Arizona to be with the bat. I’m not real big on pitching. I do it and compete, but I prefer to be in the box.”
2003 Golden graduate Mark Melancon, a three-sport star in high school, returned to Colorado as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates late last month, and picked up a save at Coors Field. It was the third save he’d gotten against the Rockies in nine days. “Always fun playing on the field I grew up dreaming of playing on as a Big Leaguer,” Melancon tweeted.
This was neat: Former Grandview boys basketball star Eric Garcia pointed out that he (now at Wofford), Denver East alum Dom Collier (CU) and former Regis Jesuit player Josh Perkins (Gonzaga) will all be on national television at the same time during the college basketball season.
Skyview’s football team has never stepped onto its home field under the lights. This season, the 27th in school history, that changes.
Due in large part of a grassroots community effort, as well as determination from its school board, Skyview has installed lights onto George DiTirro Stadium in Thornton. Those lights will turn on August 29, a Friday, when the Wolverines open the season against Summit.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“Playing on Friday nights is going to be awesome,” Skyview coach Bill Nelson said on Thursday. “Everybody’s excited.”
Skyview had been relegated to playing Saturday afternoons ever since the school was founded when the old Mapleton and Highland high schools combined in 1988. Mapleton had lights on its football field, but the new school moved to Highland’s campus. That stadium didn’t have lights.
So Saturdays became the norm when playing at home for Skyview. Early in the season, that meant dealing with heat. It usually always meant playing in front of sparse crowds.
“Saturday afternoons were wicked,” Nelson said. “I love coaching there, the people are good to me. But playing on Saturday afternoon just killed me.
“We are hoping attendance is going to go up,” Nelson added. “Even sometimes (entire) visiting team’s (crowds) didn’t come. A lot of our people didn’t come.”
(Pam Wagner)
The Wolverines have six home dates this season. All games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Fridays.
“It just puts a different tone on our program,” Nelson said. “It’s more of a typical high school setting. We’re going to try to do some new traditions. Either have a meal or have some kind of session that we didn’t normally do.”
The school’s other teams that use the facility will also benefit from the lights. Notably, soccer games can start later. Those athletes had been leaving classes at 2 or 3 p.m. to prepare for a 4 p.m. start.
“Getting out of school just to play a home soccer game?” Nelson said. “Now we’re not going to have to do that.”
As part of the agreement to put lights up, the City of Thornton will also have access to the facility.
But on a Friday night in late August, DiTirro stadium will belong to the Wolverines. There’s a public Facebook group inviting alumni to attend.
Chris Kemm, Skyview’s girls basketball coach and a 1991 alum of the school, is a driving force behind the night.
“The only time we ever pack the stadium is for graduation,” Kemm said.
That may soon change. A full house is expected for the opener.
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MLB draft picks sign
Ralston Valley graduate Jordan Holloway. (Dennis Pleuss)
The MLB’s deadline for 2014 draft picks to sign was July 18.
Among those starting professional careers were Freeland and 2014 graduates Brock Burke (Evergreen), Max George (Regis Jesuit) and Jordan Holloway (Ralston Valley).
Freeland has made three starts for the Rockies’ Rookie-A affiliate in Grand Junction, but has thrown just nine innings. He has a 1.00 ERA, seven strikeouts and hasn’t allowed a walk.
Burke has thrown three innings for Tampa Bay’s Rookie-A affiliate, and hasn’t allowed a run.
George is with Freeland at Grand Junction and is hitting .303 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 21 games. He hit for the cycle on July 13.
Holloway has yet to play a game.
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Short stuff
MaxPreps recently ranked the 20 “most dominant” football programs in Colorado since 2004. The top three are not exactly a surprise: Mullen, Valor Christian and Columbine. Those three schools have won all but two Class 5A titles since 2004.
Earlier this month, we wrote about the Nate Ekhoff Kicking Camp. Campers got an awesome surprise when Broncos kicker Matt Prater showed up as a counselor. “Matt worked with the kickers for over four hours and never left the turf,” Marshall Ekhoff wrote in an email.
Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho, the reigning Class 4A girls golf champion, lost during the match play portion of the U.S. Girls Junior Golf Championship in Flagstaff, Ariz. this week. Kupcho did finish in a tie for eighth at 1-under during the two-day stroke play portion, and was the highest Colorado finisher. Dakota Ridge’s Gillian Vance (+12), Regis Jesuit’s Jaclyn Murray (+21), Dakota Ridge’s Sydney Merchant (+22) and Skyline’s Erin Sargent (+27) also took part in the stroke play event, but missed the cut for match play.
Eaglecrest’s Jordyn Poulter and Lewis-Palmer’s Alexa Smith both won a gold medal while competing for the United States at the Under-20 NORCEA Continental Championship, an international volleyball tournament.
The inter-Colorado Springs coaching swaps continued when boys basketball coach Jarris Krapcha moved from Mitchell to Doherty last week.
New Denver Bronco DeMarcus Ware helped Doherty’s football team during its fundraiser.
Former Columbine athletic director Ed Woytek will remain in his advisory role with Valor Christian this season.
Front Range Christian and Jim Elliot will co-op in football for the 2014-15 school year.
Coveted 2016 big man De’Ron Davis of Overland added an offer from Oregon, according to his club team. Among his offers: Arizona, Indiana, UCLA and Wake Forest.
Valor Christian graduate Alex Kozan was a Freshman All-SEC pick as a redshirt freshman at Auburn last season. A guard, he’s now landed on the Outland Trophy watch list, given annually to college football’s top interior lineman.
Last year’s event featured 13 volunteer coaches who had either college or NFL experience. (Courtesy of the Ekhoff family)
It’s an event to honor his memory, but the Nate Ekhoff Kicking Camp also aims to help local kickers, punters and long snappers.
The camp honors former Ponderosa kicker Nate Ekhoff, who was diagnosed with leukemia just after his senior season in 2011. He died from complications of the disease less than a year after that.
Last summer, Nate’s family started the Nate Ekhoff Kicking Camp. It featured 13 current and former college/NFL kickers, punters and long snappers as volunteer coaches. Thirty Colorado high school players took part. Ultimately, the camp provided $4,000 in college scholarships to four Colorado athletes who went on to play at the Division II level.
(Courtesy of the Ekhoff family)
“Our family is very excited to help them out a little,” Marshall Ekhoff, Nate’s dad, wrote in an email.
This year’s event is Saturday at Sports Authority Stadium in Parker from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Registration is $125 and includes lunch and a t-shirt.
Coaches include former Northglenn and Colorado State punter/kicker Jimmie Kaylor; former Mullen and CSU long-snapper John Treacy; former Arvada West and CSU punter/kicker (and current A-West baseball coach) Matt McDougal; former Oregon State and NFL punter/kicker Sam Paulescu; former Arapahoe and CSU kicker Jason Smith; and former Nebraska punter/kicker Dan Wingard.
In addition, there will be a concurrent tailgate party from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the parking lot at Sports Authority Stadium. Admission is free. The tailgate will feature games, music, grilled food and there will also be a silent auction and drawings.
Donations will be accepted, as well, on behalf of the Nate Ekhoff Kicking Scholarship Fund.
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Local short stuff
John Hickey will be the new football coach at Flager. He has more than 25 years of coaching experience, most of it in DPS. He was Denver South’s interim coach in 2006, and has also headed Stratton. His stops as an assistant include Denver North, Denver East, Denver South and Alameda. His son, Johnny Hickey — who played at Broomfield — will serve as defensive coordinator.
North Park hired Chad Carlstrom as its football coach.
Cherry Creek hockey announced it has hired Brent Tollar as an assistant coach. Tollar was Steamboat Springs’ head coach last season as the Sailors went 10-7-1.
Denver East graduate Chyna Ries will head to the University of Texas instead of USC. “Initially I verbally committed to USC but was unable to get in,” Ries told co.milesplit.com. “Texas was one of my favorites as well but I had some additional work I needed to do to get in there. This was a long process and I want to reinforce to others to take your academics serious day one.” Ries won the long jump, was second in the 200 meters and third in the 100 at the Class 5A state track and field meet this past spring.
Fossil Ridge boys lacrosse’s Jake Frane committed to Notre Dame. He will be a sophomore this coming season.
Big news in the administrative realm: Russ McKinstry, the very successful boys basketball coach, has taken over as the athletic director at Monarch. Said McKinstry, to BoCoPreps.com: “There are high standards and expectations, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Colorado Athletic Directors Association has a new twitter account: @CoAD_Assn.
Doherty boys basketball coach James Lane resigned in late June. He was there for three seasons, and went 16-8 last spring as the Spartans made 5A’s second round.
Dakota Ridge teammates Gillian Vance and Sydney Merchant, Regis Jesuit’s Jaclyn Murray, Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho and Silver Creek’s Erin Sargent (who plays for Skyline) all qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Golf Championship, set to be held July 21-26 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Denver East’s Sarah Hunt is an alternate.
Kyle Freeland, the Thomas Jefferson product who went No. 8 overall to the Rockies in this summer’s MLB Draft, made his pro debut on Wednesday night. He pitched just two innings, but didn’t allow a run and struck out two against three hits. He also topped out at 96 mph. “When I got done with that second (inning), I just felt like I was getting in my groove,” Freeland told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, “but they said, ‘We’re done after two. You threw 17 pitches, your two innings are up, we’ll just prepare for the next start.'”
In mid-June, Mead’s baseball and softball fields were vandalized by “unidentified youths” who sliced up the Mavs’ windscreen with a knife. The damage was estimated to be roughly $5,000.
Genoa-Hugo and Karval will co-op once again in 2014-15 in volleyball, football, boys and girls basketball, as well as baseball.
One school district in South Carolina has voted to prohibit parents from coaching their own kids at the varsity and junior varsity levels. According to The Post and Courier, a newspaper which covers the district, that extends to volunteer coaches, as well. There is a waiver, however, which would allow a parent to coach their kid if they are “determined to be vital to the existence of the program.”
Ohio is revamping its classification system. Some are hailing the change as a solution to competitive balance, though it only affects football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball. Essentially, enrollment numbers are being adjusted based upon if a student’s parents reside in the attendance zone or not, and if the student has been in the same district since seventh grade. Here are more details from theSuburbanite.com.
There’s an interesting transfer case brewing in Pennsylvania. It revolves around a Philadelphia-area football player.
