Merino put an end to the longest active football winning streak in the state when the Rams upset No. 1 Sedgwick County 27-24 in an 8-man game on Friday night.
The win ended Sedgwick County’s winning streak at 30 games, handing the Cougars their first loss since 2016. It was also Sedgwick County’s first in-state loss since 2014, a span of 39 games.
“To be honest with you, it’s all still kind of a blur, but our defensive performance tonight was excellent,” coach Dan Sutter told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We had a lot of kids step up.”
Sedgwick County (7-1) led the game 14-0, but Merino (5-4) rallied to tie the game at halftime.
“I think our boys were maybe a little juiced at the beginning, and just maybe wanted to make a play that wasn’t there to make early on,” Sutter said. “So we gave up a couple of early quick scores, but then we settled in. … We took our time trying to chisel our way back into it.”
Senior Matthew Frank had a pick-six that Sutter called the turning point for Merino.
“It just changed the complexion of the game,” Sutter said.
Merino also had a goal-line stop on the 1-yard-line late in the game.
“It was great,” Sutter said. “I can’t remember exactly every play on the stand, but I guarantee I’m going to go back and look at it tonight before I can sleep.”
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6-man: (2) Kit Carson 28, (1) Stratton/Liberty 22
Kit Carson rallied with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure the important win.
“It was a wild one,” Kit Carson coach Curt Connelley told the Scoreboard Show.
The final touchdown came with three minutes to play, and had to make a fourth-down stop to hold Stratton/Liberty.
“We were up with three minutes, and we had to make a stop there, and we got it done,” Connelley said.
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5A: (5) Grandview 28, (2) Cherry Creek 21 (2 OT)
Grandview rallied from being down 14-0 in the first half to tie the game at 14, with the second touchdown coming with just over three minutes to play.
After trading quick touchdowns in the first OT, Grandview won the game in the second overtime by stopping Cherry Creek on its possession.
“The defense kept us in it,” Grandview coach John Schultz told the Scoreboard Show.
Grandview had four touchdown passes in the win.
Schultz pointed to his team’s experience in close games this season as one reason for the win.
“The kids were down on themselves and upset about their mistakes, but they never lost their cool, and they just kept battling, and the defense stood strong while we got ourselves together,” Schultz said.
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5A: (10) Smoky Hill 35, Westminster 28
Smoky Hill is 10-0 for the first time since 1980, and has secured a spot in the 5A playoffs by winning the Metro 10 League.
In a game that decided the league title, the two teams were tied at 7 early, and then at 14 at halftime. But Smoky Hill grabbed the lead for good with a 56-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and then held off Westminster in the fourth quarter.
Cherry Creek’s defense forced two key second-half turnovers, providing the spark to help the Class 5A top-ranked Bruins stay unbeaten with a win over Eaglecrest on Friday.
The Bruins, down 13-0 at half, rallied to defeat No. 4 Eaglecrest 14-13. They are now 8-0, while Eaglecrest drops to 7-1.
“It was just heart,” Cherry Creek senior Alec Pell told Altitude TV after the game. “(Nothing changed) scheme-wise, we knew what we were doing, it was just digging deep. Coming up with those fumbles was big, and just being a family and sticking together.”
Eaglecrest had seized the lead in the first half by controlling the clock with long drives — and by finishing those drives.
Isaiah Emecheta had a 7-yard score midway through the second quarter, and then quarterback Dylan James raced 43 yards for another score after picking up his own fumble. But the extra-point after the second touchdown wasn’t attempted after a snap and hold was mishandled.
The Raptors’ defense also looked mighty impressive, ending the half with a sack when Cherry Creek had the ball at the Raptors’ 20-yard-line.
But things changed as the second half opened.
Cherry Creek’s Cormier Euell forced a fumble with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter, and Dade Bissell recovered. That led to the Bruins’ first score: a 9-yard pass from Alex Padilla to Vance Brazile.
The Bruins’ defense also forced a fumble on the next possession, and once again Bissell recovered. After converting a fourth-down from the Eaglecrest 29, Cherry Creek’s Jayle Stacks rumbled in for a score to make it 14-13.
Eaglecrest drove down and had a shot to take the lead with 1:19 to play, but a 34-yard field goal attempt missed just to the right, and Cherry Creek held on.
“It just show what we are this year,” Pell said. “We’re just a different beast. We’re all together, we’re so close. And that closeness and that heart is what got us that win.”
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3A: Frederick 41, (7) Holy Family 23
Frederick made a statement with a big upset of Holy Family, and has now won six games in consecutive seasons. The Warriors are 6-1 in 2018.
“We showed up,” Frederick coach Travis Peeples told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids are physical now. And, boy, are they excited. We’re on the bus, and we’re having a great ride home.”
Frederick broke open a game in which they led 20-17 at halftime to pick up their biggest win of the season so far.
“Our kids had a great week of practice,” Peeples said. “They just wanted to show what they could do against a quality opponent, and that was one of the questions everyone had: Could we beat a quality opponent? And this one was circled on Monday.”
In the win, Peeples said his team “dominated the line of scrimmage tonight.”
“I think we wore them down,” Peeples said. “We started running the ball inside the tackles. Our offensive line, all seven of the guys up front were tremendous. We had some gaping holes, and we ran the ball really well tonight.”
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3A: (2) Discovery Canyon 39, (5) Thomas Jefferson 22
Marshall Pike rushed for three touchdowns to help Discovery Canyon stay unbeaten at 7-0, and hand previously unbeaten Thomas Jefferson (6-1) its first loss of the season.
Zack Anderson also tossed two passing touchdowns for the Thunder, one to Zach Surface and another to Kevin Pasion.
The top-ranked Badgers continued to roll, this time picking up a top-5 win.
“It was just a great all-around effort by everybody,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “Defensively, we got some turnovers, some interceptions, and we had some short fields to work with. It was one of those games where we just had some fortunate things go our way.
“I thought we did a great job defensively putting kids in places to make plays, and those kids made those plays.”
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Notables
Greeley West, No. 5 in 4A, beat Brighton 48-17, and is now 6-1. “We’ve got a lot of weapons on offense,” coach Jason Renouf told the Scoreboard Show. “I’m really proud of how they’re performing.”
Aspen had one of the biggest upsets of the night, taking down No. 3 Rifle 20-19 in 2A. “It’s a huge win,” coach Travis Benson told the Scoreboard Show. “I am super proud of the defense. The eight guys in the box, they played hard, they fought, they played the run. And our secondary came up with some picks when we needed to.”
In 2A, No. 5 Resurrection Christian beat No. 8 Eaton 26-7. “The kids responded the way we wanted them to, and that was good to see,” coach Jeff Van Winkle told the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “That’s a tough Eaton team.”
Another top-10 game in 2A: No. 5 Basalt beat No. 10 Delta 13-0.
In 1A, No. 10 Holyoke knocked off No. 8 Wray 30-14.
Perhaps one of the lowest-scoring 8-man games in a long time: No. 4 Caliche beat No. 8 Akron 6-0.
There were top-10 matchups all over the board in 6-man: No. 1 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 6 Arickaree/Woodlin 60-20; No. 2 Kit Carson beat No. 9 Granada 60-24 and No. 3 Otis beat No. 7 Idalia 68-56.
Hoehne took a big step toward securing a league championship in the Arkansas Valley with a win over Holly on Friday.
The third-ranked Farmers beat Holly 54-20.
Holly actually led the game 20-8 in the first quarter, meaning Hoehne ripped off 46 unanswered points.
“It was kind of scary at first,” coach Gabe Dasko told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We made some defensive adjustments, and our kids kind of wore them down physically. Our kids are pretty physical.
“I mean, we’d rather play football in a phone booth,” Dasko continued. “They kind of spread you out, and they put you in some tough situations.”
Hoehne is now 5-1, and 4-0 in the Arkansas Valley. Every other team in the league has at least one loss.
“It’s not over yet,” Dasko said. “We’ve still got Wiley and McClave. We’re not good enough right now to take anybody lightly. McClave looks like they’re playing pretty decent right now. And we’ve just got to keep sharpening the edge on the knife for our kids, and getting better every week.”
Salida is now 6-0 after beating Pagosa Springs 35-7.
“I think last year set the table for us,” first-year Spartans coach Matt Luttrell told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids have been well-coached up to this point. Eric Handke did a great job kind of passing the baton on to me. And I’ve been around these kids since they were freshmen, as well. It’s just fun to be a part of. Last year definitely set the tone for us.”
6-man No. 1 Stratton/Liberty continued to roll, this time beating No. 9 Granada 52-12. The Knighted Eagles are 6-0.
Also unbeaten in 6-man are No. 2 Kit Carson (6-0) and No. 10 Mountain Valley (5-0). Mountain Valley has only scheduled eight games.
There are six unbeaten teams in 2A: No. 6 Basalt, No. 1 La Junta, No. 5 Resurrection Christian, No. 7 Salida, No. 2 Platte Valley and No. 3 Rifle. All are 6-0.
In 3A, No. 1 Erie, No. 6 Thomas Jefferson and No. 2 Discovery Canyon are all 6-0. No. 5 Harrison (5-0) plays Falcon on Saturday.
Undefeated teams in 1A: No. 4 Peyton (6-0) and No. 1 Limon (5-0). The Badgers play Yuma on Saturday.
Only No. 1 Loveland and No. 3 Montrose remain unbeaten in 4A. Both are 6-0.
Four teams are 7-0 in 5A: Smoky Hill, No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 3 Columbine and No. 4 Eaglecrest. 6-0 Valor Christian plays Rock Canyon on Saturday.
There are four unbeaten teams in 8-man, and only No. 2 West Grand is 6-0 so far. No. 1 Sedgwick County, No. 5 Mancos and No. 6 Sanford all play Saturday. Sedgwick County, a three-time defending champion, has the longest winning streak in the state at 28 games.
Brian Mosley rushed for three touchdowns to help Doherty football pull off a big upset of previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked ThunderRidge on Friday night.
“We knew this was going to be a four-quarter fight, and it came down to the last minute of the game,” Doherty coach Jeff Krumlauf told CHSAANow. “ThunderRidge is truly a top-10 program in the state right now. They have some special kids and some great coaches. For us to be down by 14 and sustain a course was huge for us on a high level.”
The Spartans entered the week winless at 0-4, but had played the second-toughest schedule in the state according to the RPI, with losses to Cherry Creek, Mullen, Pine Creek and Fairview to open the season. All have been ranked in the top-10 at some point this season.
On Friday, Doherty rallied from down 14 to take a 21-14 lead at halftime, thanks to two scores from Mosley, and a defensive fumble return for a TD.
In the end, the Spartans were able to hold off a rally from ThunderRidge, which had started the season 4-0.
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Colorado PrepsCast
A recap of Friday’s games:
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1A: (2) Limon 36, (1) Strasburg 6
Limon led 21-0 early, taking that lead into the break, before Strasburg made it 21-6 after three. But the Badgers only added to the margin in the fourth quarter.
“I thought our kids were really ready to play; I think they were excited to play,” coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “With our win that we had last week against Meeker, our kids got a little bit of confidence playing against a really good team. And obviously Strasburg is also a great team, and I think they were really looking forward to the challenge.”
Hauk Hubbard led Limon with 111 yards rushing and two scores, while Celby Hollenbaugh also had a rushing touchdown. Cannan Bennett also threw a touchdown pass for Limon.
The game was briefly interrupted in the second half when the sprinklers came on.
“You don’t see it too often,” O’Dwyer said. “I think that was the second time in my career I’ve seen that happen.”
Limon limited Strasburg to just 15 yards rushing. Strasburg entered the game averaging close to 200 yards per game.
The Badgers rushed for 291 yards themselves.
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4A/3A: (4A 4) Montrose 21, (3A 2) Palisade 17
(Tom Hoganson)
MONTROSE — Fourth-ranked Montrose won 21-17 in front of a full house on Friday night.
The game went back-and-forth all night. Palisade grabbed a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but Montrose cut it to 10-7 on a 85-yard interception return for a touchdown from Cauy Boulder with 23 seconds left in the half.
Montrose grabbed its first lead when Cole Simmons scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter, but Palisade responded with a rushing score from quarterback Cam Tucker with 8:34 to play.
The ensuing kickoff went out-of-bounds, giving Montrose the ball at their own 35. They then used a clock-chewing drive to score the winning touchdown with 40 seconds left. Again, it was Simmons who scored, this time on a six-yard rush.
“We beat a good team,” Montrose coach Brett Mertens said afterward. “Cauy Boulden’s interception was big for us. We had some young kids step in and play the line and they did a great job.”
“We had some young kids fill in on the line and they open holes for me,” Simmons said.
— Tom Hoganson
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6-man: (1) Stratton/Liberty 77, (2) Otis 6
(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)
The Knighted Eagles flexed their muscles in a matchup of 6-man’s top two teams.
5A No. 7 Eaglecrest quarterback Dylan James rushed for three touchdowns as his team cruised to a 5-0 start this season with a 50-14 win over No. 8 Arvada West.
Pueblo West led 4A No. 9 Pine Creek 9-0 at halftime, but the Eagles scored 21 unanswered points to win 21-9. The turning point was a muffed punt return in the third quarter that set Pine Creek up with a short field, and led to their first touchdown.
Alameda defeated Valley 51-43 to end an 18-game losing streak.
Fountain-Fort Carson sophomore Alexisius Jones Jr. rushed for 340 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s 58-18 win over Overland.
6-man: In a win over No.4 Flagler/Hi-Plains, freshman Yahir Enriquez rushed for six touchdowns and 292 yards on 22 carries for No. 8 Idalia. He also threw a touchdown pass, and caught another. He had 383 all-purpose yards. “Everything was clicking for us,” Idalia coach Colby Newton told the Scoreboard Show.
2A No. 10 Kent Denver scored a tying touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:42 to play in regulation, then went on to beat Pueblo Centennial in overtime, 34-28.
Hinkley football is now 4-0 after a 30-14 win over Sand Creek. Hinkley was 1-19 over the past two seasons, and has won more than three games in a season just once since 2004.
Steamboat Springs football cruised to a 40-7 win over Hotchkiss in their first game in their home stadium after it was renovated.
5A No. 5 Grandview had its way with Mullen, beating the Mustangs 56-3.
In 1A, No. 6 Centauri beat No. 10 Buena Vista 41-7.
In 8-man, No. 6 Holly edged No. 8 Fowler 29-28. “It was crazy,” coach Dayne Eaton told the Scoreboard Show. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a game where the kids were playing that hard against each other.”
Fort Collins beat Poudre in overtime, 20-14. The Lambkins had led 14-0 at halftime, and Poudre rallied to tie it and send it to OT.
Vista PEAK is now 4-0 in 4A after beating Aurora Central 30-14. This is the best start in the seven-year history of the program.
6-man: Granada and No. 5 Cheyenne Wells traded scores seemingly every other minute in a shootout, one that saw Granada ultimately pull off the upset win 74-64.
Emmanual Heurta rushed for three touchdowns to help 1A No. 5 Wray beat Brush 26-7.
Noah Roper scored three touchdowns on just seven carries as 3A No. 1 Erie topped Canon City 55-7. He also recovered a fumble.
Denver East quarterback Myles Patterson threw for 242 yards and three scores in a 44-6 win over Mountain Range. The Angels are now 4-1 after going 2-8 last season. It’s their best start since they opened 6-1 in 2014.
In a matchup of returning champions, 3A No. 6 Palmer Ridge beat Pueblo South 45-14.
Joshia Davis, a running back who missed the past three games with injury, made his return for Valor Christian in a 27-0 win over Menlo Atherton (Calif.). He had six carries, and scored a touchdown.
Hinkley’s football team is off to its best start in more than a decade following a 14-10 homecoming win over Kennedy on Friday night.
The Thunderbirds are now 3-0 this season — something the program hasn’t done since at least 2004.
On Friday, Hinkley trailed Kennedy 3-0 early, but responded with a quick touchdown, and added a safety to go up 8-3 at halftime.
Kennedy did grab a 10-8 lead after the third quarter, but Hinkley responded with a fourth-quarter touchdown to continue its perfect start to the 2018 campaign.
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Colorado PrepsCast audio recap
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1A: (2) Limon 25, (9) Meeker 16
Limon raced out to a 18-0 lead after three quarters, then held on for a 25-16 win over Meeker.
“That’s a really good football team, and they’re extremely well-coached,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “One thing about a Meeker team is they’re never going to give up.”
But, ultimately, “I was pleased that our kids just kind of stayed with what we do,” O’Dwyer said.
The Badgers are now 3-0 this season.
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5A/4A: (5A 2) Valor Christian 28, (4A 1) Pine Creek 7
(Paige Stingley/Valor Christian HS)
In a heavyweight matchup of big-school powers, Valor Christian quarterback passed for a touchdown and rushed for two others to lead his Eagles to another important win.
The game was tied at 7 after the first quarter before McCaffrey connected with Gavin Sawchuk on a 29-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the frame. McCaffrey added his second rushing score of the game 10 minutes later to put Valor up 21-7 at halftime.
Marcus Staples capped the scoring for Valor Christian with a three-yard rushing touchdown later in the fourth quarter.
Max Lofy scored Pine Creek’s lone touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Radio: Highland, Mesa Ridge among winners on Friday
Clips courtesy of KFKA 1310, Orange and Blue 760 and Xtra Sports 1300.
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Notables
In a cross-classification matchup of ranked teams, 2A No. 9 Salida took care of 1A No. 10 Buena Vista 43-0. Vince Deleo had four touchdowns for Salida.
A week after breaking a long losing streak, Niwot football has a second-straight win. The Cougars beat Littleton in the final seconds.
3A No. 7 Thomas Jefferson is 3-0 for the third year in a row following a 22-14 win over No. 9 Fort Morgan.
Another top-10 game in 3A: No. 4 Discovery Canyon beat No. 6 Holy Family in a shootout, 52-34. “We were fortunate to get out of that game with the score that we did, for sure,” coach Shawn Mitchell told the Scoreboard Show. Here’s a game recap from BoCoPreps.com.
Castle View beat rival Douglas County 28-0 and is now 3-1 this season. Its the best start for the Sabercats since the 2011 season, when they began 6-0 and finished 11-2.
Kit Carson controlled the game from start to finish in moving to 2-0 this season.
“We ran the ball really well,” coach Curt Connelley told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our special teams really got us on the board quickly.”
Joe Bryan returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and his brother, Chris Bryan, returned a punt for a score.
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8-man: Fowler 28, (4) Akron 20
Fowler knocked off the previously-unbeaten Rams with a late score. The Grizzlies recovered a kickoff after a fortunate bounce to set up the touchdown.
“It was a lot of smashmouth football. Akron had a couple of big plays on us. They did a great job defensively,” coach Mark Van Sickle told the Scoreboard Show. “We were three- to four-yards and a cloud of dust. It was great to get back to what I think Fowler football is.”
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Notables
Ponderosa got a huge win by upsetting No. 3 Windsor in 4A, 17-13. Nick Hoff and Ethan Waite each rushed for a touchdown.
Hinkley is off to its first 2-0 start since 2014 following a 7-0 win over Gateway. The Thunderbirds have opened the season with consecutive shutouts.
Pagosa Springs knocked off 1A No. 3 Centauri 31-12.
Smoky Hill is now 3-0 for the first time since 2007. The Buffs beat Northglenn 21-6.
Quite the stat line for Bryson Long of No. 6 Peetz in 6-man: He rushed for 270 yards and had five touchdowns in a 67-22 win over No. 9 Fleming.
It’s always a big rivalry game, and even though they’re now in different classes, this matchup was no different as 1A No. 1 Strasburg beat 2A No. 8 Bennett 32-8.
In a game that featured six lead changes, 4A No. 4 Chatfield held off Brighton 39-30.
In 8-man, No. 4 Prairie beat No. 10 Briggsdale 56-40. “We had a little bit more offensively efficiency. Our offense clicked a lot more tonight,” coach Justin Kerns told the Scoreboard Show of the difference from his team’s first game to its second. Photos from the game are here.
5A Castle View won a wild back-and-forth game on the final play of the game against Wasatch (Utah), 36-35. The Sabercats are now 2-1 under Todd Casebier in his first year — doubling their win total from last season.
Evergreen blocked a last-second field goal to upset Mead.
Denver North QB Erik Flores threw for 370 yards and five touchdowns in his team’s 56-40 win over Englewood. Four of those TDs went to Keon Brickens.
In 5A, Highlands Ranch beat Regis Jesuit in overtime, 20-17.
Eagle Valley snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 57-12 victory against Alameda.
2A No. 7 Basalt cruised to a 47-6 win over Battle Mountain. “The offensive line really played well tonight,” coach Carl Frerichs told the Scoreboard Show.
8-man No. 1 Sedgwick County has now won 25 games in a row after beating Gilpin County 60-0.
Fairview jumped out to a 2-0 lead before halftime thanks to goals from Ryan Tidd and Myles Ellis.
Boulder got one back in the second half from Eric Ramirez, but the Panthers couldn’t find the equalizer.
The Knights will face Grandview on Saturday as they look to advance to the semifinals.
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(1) Denver East 2, (16) Fossil Ridge 1 (PKs),
Top-seeded Denver East found itself locked in a 1-1 tie with Fossil Ridge after 80 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods.
Off to penalty kicks they went.
The Angels scored eight times while the Sabercats could only put seven in the net. With the shootout win, Denver East will meet Grand Junction in the 5A quarterfinals on Saturday.
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(5) Grandview 2, (12) Regis Jesuit 0
Junior Jaime Luna struck first and classmate Ian Oltman added one for insurance as Grandview topped Regis Jesuit 2-0 on Wednesday.
Keeper Eddie St. Martin made three saves to get his second shutout of the playoffs.
Salida has been much better on the road than they’ve been at home this year. So having to travel to St. Mary’s for the second round of the Class 3A boys soccer tournament wasn’t a big deal.
Even if the Pirates had won the regular season meeting back on Sept. 9.
This time, it was the Spartans who came away victorious. Junior Camden Gillis scored in double-overtime to give Salida a stunning 1-0 win. Up next is a quarterfinal showdown with No. 3 Colorado Academy.
As the No. 27 seed in the tournament, Salida has now come away with two upset wins in the tournament, each time beating their higher ranked opponent by a single goal.
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(12) Delta 3, (5) DSST-Stapleton 0
Delta had a good day on both sides of the ball. The offense put up three goals and keeper Felipe Bedoy didn’t let anything by him as the Panthers advanced with a 3-0 win over DSST-Stapleton.
They’ll see Colorado Springs Christian School in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
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(23) Roaring Fork 2, (7) The Academy 0
Roaring Fork’s improbable run in the 3A tournament continued Tuesday with a 2-0 win over the Academy.
A tall task looms on Saturday as the Rams must now face No. 2 Kent Denver.
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Other scores:
(1) Jefferson Academy 2, (16) Peak to Peak 1.
(8) Liberty Common 3, (24) William Smith 0.
(4) CSCS 6, (20) Dawson 1.
(3) Colorado Academy 4, (14) Atlas Prep 0.
(2) Kent Denver 1, (15) Coal Ridge 0.
The Class 4A Jeffco League will likely have Littleton, Evergreen, D’Evelyn, Standley Lake and Golden all make the 32-team field for the 4A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Littleton was not ready to call it a season. The Lions went into the second round of the Class 4A boys soccer tournament as the No. 15 seed and were faced with the daunting task of facing No. 2 Kennedy.
Seniors Zach Maguire and Ethan Schwartz didn’t care. Neither did junior Ruben Cervantes. All three scored goals as Littleton beat Kennedy 3-1 to advance to the 4A quarterfinals.
The Lions also got a standout performance in goal as Luis Ramos played all 80 minutes and turned away five shots to get the shutout.
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(8) Skyline 1, (9) Durango 0
Skyline defended its home field against a tough Durango team that poised a threat in 4A all season long.
The 1-0 win over the Demons put the Falcons into the quarterfinals where they will see No. 1 Air Academy.
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(3) Niwot 3, (14) Battle Mountain 2
Jason Rodriguez scored twice for Niwot, but it was Magnus Hansen’s game-winner that kept the Cougars alive in their hunt for a 4A championship.
The Huskies got goals from seniors Jorge Membreno and Juan Macias.
Niwot will host Denver North in Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup.
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Other scores:
(1) Air Academy 4, (16) Windsor 1.
(5) TCA 4, (21) Steamboat Springs 0. (4) Montrose 2, (20) Standley Lake 0.
(6) Denver North 3, (11) Sand Creek 2.
(7) Centaurus 2, (10) Silver Creek 1.
Windsor broke up a two-point conversion attempt in overtime to seal a wild 56-55 win over Skyline and wrap up the Northern League championship on Friday.
The fifth-ranked Wizards had led 49-33 with 5:47 remaining, but Skyline came storming back to tie the game at 49 following two touchdowns and two-point conversions.
Windsor scored first in overtime — quarterback Connor Apodaca faked a handoff up the middle and ran to an open end zone to his left — but No. 10 Skyline again responded. The Falcons’ Nathan McGregor hit Austin Robison on a play-action pass on fourth-down.
Skyline then went for two, its fourth such attempt of the game. This time the pass was broken up in the left side of the end zone. According to the Fort Collins Coloradoan, it was senior Bryce Kellum who had the big play.
The result was a Windsor win, and a conference championship. The Wizards are now 8-1 this season, and 4-0 in their league. Every other Northern team has at least two league losses.
Skyline is now 7-2, including 2-2 in the Northern.
“It was awesome,” Kellum told the paper of the win. “Just awesome.”
Windsor led 35-20 at halftime, a lead secured by a key interception from junior Tayt Gallatin in the end zone.
Noah Montague had two rushing scores for the Wizards, including a 91-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Salazar also rushed for two touchdowns, according to the Coloradoan’s Kevin Lytle.
Skyline’s star running back Jeremy Hollingsworth had two touchdowns. McGregor had four total touchdowns, including a pass to Jack Wathen with 15.7 seconds left in regulation that helped tie the game.
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6-man playoffs:
Top-seeded Stratton/Liberty rolled to a 52-6 win over No. 16 Briggsdale.
No. 7 Kit Carson advanced to the quarterfinals with a 46-12 win over Cotopaxi.
The remaining six first-round games are on Saturday.
3A No. 7 Canon City locked up at least of share of the Southern League with a 48-7 win over Woodland Park. The Tigers also hold a potential tiebreaker with a win over Discovery Canyon last week.
5A No. 4 Columbine is now in the same position in the Mount Cameron Conference, sitting at 4-0 after a 50-0 win over Mountain Range on Friday. The Rebels hold a potential tiebreaker over Fairview (which is 3-1 in league play).
In 8-man, No. 3 Merino beat No. 9 Haxtun 39-24.
No. 8 Burlington edged No. 5 Limon 29-28. “It was a great ballgame that could’ve gone either way,” coach Glynn Higgs told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.
8-man No. 2 West Grand cruised to a 52-0 win over No. 6 Gilpin County.
Another top-10 clash in 8-man, where No. 10 Sargent rolled past No. 8 Mancos 54-14.
