ARVADA — The 32-team Class 5A football state tournament officially kicked off Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.

Being the only postseason game on the docket, Pomona and Arapahoe had spotlight to provide a memorable opener for the state tournament. The Panthers (8-2 overall), one of the four No. 1 seeds, needed their fourth-string running back Dillon Pace to carry the ball 37 times for 325 yards and a trio of touchdowns for the Panthers to escape with a 36-32 victory against the No. 8 Warriors (4-6).

“It was awesome,” said Pace, who had just eight carries for 35 yards on the season prior to his monster performance Thursday. “I have to owe it all to my o-line. They did great.”

Pomona played without tailbacks Cameron Gonzales, Isaac Marquez and Max Borghi all because of injuries. Those three have combined for more than 1,500 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns on the ground this season.

“We knew he (Pace) was a great defensive player. We didn’t want to have a bunch of guys sit the bench at tailback or just rotating. We made the decision to go with some other guys,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said of Pace who starts on defense. “We knew he could do it. We needed him tonight.”

Neither team led by more than one score the entire game. The lead changed hands seven times. A 14-play, 78-yard drive by Arapahoe capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by junior Nick Thompson provided the Warriors a 32-29 lead with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter.

Pomona answered with a 15-play, 86-yard scoring drive. Pace carried the ball 12 times on the eventual game-winning drive. The junior scored on an eight-yard run with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter to hand the Panthers a 36-32 lead.

Arapahoe had its shot to regain the lead on the ensuing drive. The Warriors drove to midfield, but a key defensive play by Pomona senior defensive lineman Connor Pierson put Arapahoe in a huge down-and-distance hole.

“Senior and four-year starter that is what you expect,” Madden said of Pierson’s key defensive play.

Pierson was able to get pressure on Arapahoe junior quarterback Pete Mitchell after he was flushed out of the pocket on 1st and 10. Mitchell threw the ball away just as Pierson was tackling him, but the officials threw a flag for intentional grounding. The Warriors were backed up after the penalty for a 2nd and 22 play from their own 41-yard line.

“It was a great play call by the coach (Madden),” said Pierson, who also had a fumble recovery that led to a Pomona touchdown in the first half. “He sent blitz inside and I had the outside containment. I was able to do my job and make the play. After they called intentional grounding I knew it was going to be a big play.”

Arapahoe eventually had to punt with less than four minutes to play. The Warriors would never get the ball again as Pace carried the ball seven straight times, picking up a pair of first downs to allow the Panthers to run out the clock.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but we didn’t know it would be this tough,” Madden said.

Mitchell threw for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 95-yard score to senior Taden Jones in the third quarter. Thompson had a pair of short touchdown runs in the Warriors’ season-ending loss.

Arapahoe, third in the 5A South Metro League, needed to 17-14 victory over Smoky Hill last Saturday to even qualify for the state field.

Pomona quarterback Justin Roberts had a pair of key second quarter touchdown strikes to senior Ryan Ward and sophomore Jeremy Gonzales to help keep pace with the Warriors.

Pomona’s second-round game will be next week against the winner of Columbine and Rangeview. The No. 5 seeded Columbine Rebels travel to Aurora Public School Stadium for a 6 p.m. game Friday to play the No. 4 Raiders, 5A South Metro champions.

“We got the win,” Pierson said. “You would like it to look more pretty, but we are playing next week.”

Links

• Live scoreboard
• Playoff brackets: 5A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
• Full schedule & scoreboard | @ColoHSFootball
• Top-10 scoreboard
• Week 9 Wild Card points
• Live game schedule

The live event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
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Live coverage

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Live games
Class	Game	Time	Notes
4A	(2) Montrose vs. Mesa Ridge	5:45 p.m.	Audio
5A	(2) Regis Jesuit vs. (7) Monarch	6 p.m.	Video
3A	(10) Canon City vs. (1) Discovery Canyon	6:40 p.m.	Audio
3A	(8) Palisade vs. Delta	6:45 p.m.	Audio
5A	(2) Valor Christian vs. (7) Horizon	7 p.m.	Video
5A	(3) Mountain Vista vs. (6) Cherokee Trail	7 p.m.	Video
5A	(4) Legacy vs. (5) Eaglecrest	7 p.m.	Video
1A	(1) Buena Vista vs. Hotchkiss | Alternate	7 p.m.	Audio
3A	Fort Lupton vs. (9) Fort Morgan	7 p.m.	Audio
3A	(7) Rifle vs. Summit	7 p.m.	Audio
4A	(10) Greeley West vs. Loveland	7 p.m.	Audio

THORNTON — The team and individual all-around champions were crowned on Friday at the Class 4A and 5A state gymnastics meets.

Complete results, for all events are below.
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Team

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Individual

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THORNTON — State championship teams are often asked if they knew winning the title was possible. The gymnasts at Standley Lake asked if they would have a program this year.

“As of January, our team was cut from the program” due to low numbers, long-time Standley Lake coach Kristen Larrington said. “We didn’t even have a team from January through March, so we fought to get these girls to come out.”

At Thornton High School on Friday, Standley Lake, competing with eight girls, made an incredible turnaround from six months ago by winning the Class 4A state championship by a narrow margin over Elizabeth, 179.05 to 178.35. See complete results from the state meet here.

“Coming into this year, we only had three girls and so we just kept trying to get as many girls as we could to come out,” Larrington said. “We have five seniors, one junior, and two freshman. So we fought. We wanted it from day one.”

Once the Gators got their full arsenal of competitors, they were an impressive team throughout the year and had the best score of any team at the 4A regional championships.

“The fact that we even got enough girls to compete is still unbelievable and then actually winning is even better,” Standley Lake’s top girl, senior Jordan Ireland, said.

Ireland, a senior, provided individual excellence for the Gators Friday with a second-place finish in the all-around competition (36.975 points). Freshman Rachel Cody was right behind Ireland in third place (36.575). Senior Maddi York placed seventh in the all-around (35.3).

Team-wise, Standley Lake won the beam (46.1 points) and the bars (43.1) to kick off their competition, a great start — especially knowing the two events had been the weaker of the four for the Gators throughout the year.

Larrington was ecstatic.

“We came out today and hit six for six,” Larrington said of the beam and the bars. “That is very rare at any level of performance, let alone for our team to do it.

“Then heading into the last two events, we knew they were our strongest,” she said. “But, we actually didn’t have our best performance on our best two events, so we were pretty nervous about that.

Standley Lake placed second in the floor exercise (44.925 points) and a fourth in the vault (44.925).

In the end, Standley Lake’s score was enough to nip out Elizabeth and earn the school’s second state championship in any sport. They also won 5A wrestling in 2002.

“We won leagues a couple of years ago and that was kind of the first banner that went up at Standley Lake,” Larrington said. “We won Regionals this year. I mean, other than that I don’t think there are any other titles for a long time up in our school. Standley Lake needs this. They need something good in the school right now.”

The 4A all-around competition was also a story of triumph as Thompson Valley’s Alyssa Carroll, who was injured for several years, won her second straight state championship as a senior.

“It feels really good,” Carroll said of defending her all-around title. “It’s just kind of mind blowing that I could do it twice.”

Carroll, who suffered from a wedging of the spine for several years, was overjoyed to return to her favorite sport in 2013.

“Back in sixth grade, I couldn’t get out of bed,” Carroll said of her injury. “I took four years off and then I did cheerleading my first two years of high school and my back didn’t hurt during that. I was like, ‘Oh I might as well try gymnastics again,’ because I’ve always felt that little hole in my heart since I haven’t been doing gymnastics.”

On Friday, Carroll displayed her immense talent in each event, winning the floor exercise (9.575 points), the uneven bars (9.7), the vault (9.7), and the balance beam (9.575). Her all-around score was a dominating 38.55 points, well ahead of Ireland’s 36.975.

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Overland notches another title in 5A

In the evening session, Overland, the defending 5A state champions, won their fourth state title in the past six years thanks in large part to their ability to finish.

Despite winning the crown in 2013, Overland coach Lisa Sparrow and her girls weren’t completely satisfied with last year’s performance. On Friday, this year’s Trailblazer team secured the title in style.

“The success of this team came because our goal for the season was to compete to complete,” Sparrow said. “Where we had struggles last season was showing up at a meet and completing a meet and competing strong on all four events. This year that was something that we were able to do repeatedly at leagues, at regionals, and here today.”

Overland started the evening with a fall on the floor exercise, but closed with their best vault of the season, a strong performance on beam, and “then we absolutely tore it up on bars,” Sparrow said excitedly.

The final tally had Overland with 184.975 points, nipping out Broomfield (184.5) and Mountain Range (184.4).

Overland has now won five state titles overall in gymnastics.

Individually, Pomona’s Kelsey Boychuk, by placing first in the vault (9.85), first in balance beam (9.725), and second in floor exercise (9.55), captured the all-around state championship. Boychuk’s 38.325 total points were enough to inch out Cherry Creek’s Samantha Simon (38.125) and Arvada West’s Veronica Vasina (38.075).

THORNTON — Class 4A and 5A gymnastics held the first day of their state meets on Friday, completing the individual all-around and team competitions.

More:

• Complete results from the meets
• Standley Lake wins 4A championship

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LAKEWOOD — The Cinderella story heading into the Class 5A boys soccer state tournament quarterfinals has to be No. 22 seed Chatfield.

The Chargers took a 4-3 victory in overtime Wednesday night at Lakewood Memorial Field against No. 27 Westminster, sending the fourth-place finisher in the 5A Jeffco League into the quarterfinals.

“Tonight was all about finding a way to win after facing adversity,” Chatfield coach Brock Blume said. “We dug deep and good stuff happened.”

In a game that saw plenty of end-to-end action, Chatfield senior Ben Overholt scored the game-winning goal with 3:56 left in the first 15-minute overtime period. Junior Jacob Cabot flipped a perfect pass over a wall over Westminster players from atop the Wolves’ goalie box.

“I saw Cabot. He had been playing good passes all game. I knew if he were smart he would play it over the top,” Overholt said as he described the game-winning goal, his 15th goal of the season. “I just timed the run perfectly for him. I was just thinking to get it past the keeper and it went in.”

Overholt was able to put the ball past Westminster senior goalkeeper Isaiah Mondragon and the victory celebration by the Chargers (11-4-1 record) begun.

“I stopped and saw Ben make the run over the top. I played him and he finished like he has all year long,” Cabot said. “It’s a great team win.”

Chatfield will be on the road for its quarterfinal Saturday, Nov. 1, at Recht Field against No. 3 Boulder. The 5A Front Range League champion also had to work overtime Wednesday night. The Panthers defeated No. 19 Poudre 1-0 in overtime to advance.

It appeared Chatfield would win in regular against Westminster. Overholt rocked a shot past Mondragon with just less than two minutes left in the second half to give the Chargers a 3-2 lead.

However, senior Said Moreno answered with a game-tying goal for Westminster with 33 second left to send the game into overtime.

Moreno gave the Wolves (8-8-1) a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the first half. A goal from Chatfield freshman Wyatt Solarte tied the game at 1-1 in the 19th minute.

“Both these teams are better than 20-something seeds,” Blume said. “Credit Westminster for a great battle.”

Chatfield senior Jared Reiss gave the Chargers a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute on a penalty kick. Again, the Wolves answered less than a minute later with a goal from junior Carlos Zager.

Westminster knocked off No. 6 Arapahoe in the opening round. The Wolves and Warriors were tied 1-1 after 110 minutes of play. The first-round game was decided in a shootout, something that Blume didn’t want Wednesday night.

“We didn’t want to take this to (penalty) kicks,” Blume said. “We didn’t want to be the next Arapahoe.”

A downer for Chatfield despite the win was an injury to senior and leading scorer Jamey McGrath. The midfield has 22 goals on the season had to be helped off the field in the 44th minute and was on crutches after the victory.

The Chargers have had their share of key injuries. Overholt missed a handful of games with a broken left arm this season.

“Losing Jamey (McGrath) would be really bad, but I believe we have enough momentum to beat any team at this point,” Overholt said.

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Broomfield, the No. 12 seed in the Class 5A boys soccer state tournament, upset No. 5 Mountain Vista on Wednesday, 2-0.

Porter Milner scored for the Eagles, who also benefited from an own goal.

LAKEWOOD — Ben Overholt scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift No. 22-seeded Chatfield over No. 27 Westminster in the Class 5A boys soccer tournament.

AURORA — Kevin Del Mazo, Daniel Beccera and Colton Ladyga all scored as No. 2 Smoky Hill beat No. 15 Ralston Valley and advanced to the Class 5A boys soccer quarterfinals on Wednesday.

A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 10.

• Live scoreboard
• Playoff brackets: 5A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
• Complete CHSAANow.com rankings
• Week 9 Wild Card points
• Full schedule and scoreboard of this week’s games
• Follow all the action in our live chat, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday

Go to: 4A | 3A

Class 4A
1	Pine Creek	10-0
	Fri: W 48-14 at Palmer Ridge
2	Montrose	9-1
	Fri: W 55-0 vs. Mesa Ridge
3	Fort Collins	10-0
	Thurs: W 59-40 vs. Skyline
4	Denver South	8-2
	Fri: W 39-20 vs. Wheat Ridge
5	Pueblo South	9-1
	Fri: W 35-12 at Pueblo Centennial
6	Vista Ridge	7-3
	Fri: L 60-18 at Falcon
7	Dakota Ridge	8-2
	Fri: W 45-7 at Littleton
8	Longmont	7-3
	Thurs: W 42-12 vs. Thompson Valley
9	Windsor	7-3
	Fri: W 50-7 vs. Adams City
10	Greeley West	8-2
	Fri: W 24-21 at Loveland

Class 3A
1	Discovery Canyon	10-0
	Fri: W 34-31 (OT) at (10) Canon City
2	Lutheran	10-0
	Fri: W 54-7 at Skyview
3	Evergreen	10-0
	Fri: W 44-22 vs. D’Evelyn
4	Roosevelt	9-1
	Fri: W 28-14 vs. Berthoud
5	Pueblo East	7-3
	Fri: W 47-6 at Sierra
6	Holy Family	8-2
	Fri: W 66-28 vs. Northridge
7	Rifle	9-1
	Fri: W 40-7 vs. Summit
8	Palisade	7-3
	Fri: L 27-24 vs. Delta
9	Fort Morgan	8-2
	Fri: W 49-0 at Fort Lupton
10	Canon City	7-3
	Fri: L 34-31 (OT) vs. (1) Discovery Canyon