(Zach Fogg/CHSAANow.com)

SUPERIOR — Midway through the second period, and with momentum shifting towards Monarch, it was the state’s second-leading scorer who stepped up.

Regis Jesuit standout Cale Woodley had a tip-in on a centering pass from teammate Jack Kilkenny on the power play which put the Raiders up by two goals. It ultimately helped decide a high-paced contest between two of hockey’s best teams in the Foothills Conference.

The goal was Woodley’s 17th of the season and lifted him into a tie with Air Academy’s Jonathan Valtin for second in the league. It put Regis up 2-0 in a game that it would go on to win 4-1. But ultimately it was the goaltending of Sam Gartner that kept the top-ranked Raiders undefeated on Saturday night.

“He certainly had his eye on the puck tonight,” said Regis coach Dan Woodley of Gartner’s game. “There were a few chances early on that maybe he didn’t play as cleanly as he usually does but still found a way to make the save. So I knew early on that he had some good mojo.”

Gartner’s 26 saves paced Regis Jesuit (13-0-0 overall, 10-0 in conference play) over Monarch (9-2-1, 7-2-0) on a Friday night where the conference-leading Raiders were never quite able to impose their will.

As the first period began, it was easy to see that Monarch head coach Jimmy Dexter had his third-ranked team prepared for the game, as time and again Regis’ skilled forwards were stymied by good gap control on defense paired with a relentless back check by the Coyote forwards.

Confidence built as the turnovers piled up, culminating in a near miss by Monarch forward Brendan Van Haute’s near miss on a scramble in front of the Raiders’ net.

But ultimately, it would be Regis which put the only goal on the board in the first.

With two Coyotes in the box late in the period, Jack Kilkenny buried a backside rebound while sneaking down from the point during a scramble in front of Monarch goaltender Hunter Ingino.

Spurred on by its early success, Monarch again came out firing in the second. But after Van Haute had another near miss — a solid shot from the side of the net after winning a race to a loose puck near the Regis hash marks — and a wrister off the goalpost by the Coyotes’ leading scorer Blake Bride, Regis again notched the only goal of the period on Woodley’s power play tip-in in the second.

“They were the better team tonight but I’m still proud of my guys,” Dexter said. “Despite all their talent we were still just a couple of bounces away from winning that game.”

(Zach Fogg/CHSAANow.com)

Just over a minute into the third, the Coyotes would finally break, through, as the refs ruled a Gartner save on an Andrew Pickner shot to be behind the goal line. Regis wasted no time answering however, with Kilkenny picking up his second assist and third point of the contest.

The third tally seemed to dishearten the home team, who struggled to find a rhythm throughout a third period that got chippy in a hurry and degenerated into a series of unsuccessful power plays for both teams. But it was the early power plays that the Raiders credit for their victory.

“It was really clicking tonight,” Kilkenny said of the power play. “Fortunately I didn’t really have to do much (on the first goal) and was just sneaking down and found the puck on my stick so I buried it.”

For Regis, it was the first time the team had scored fewer than five in a game in their past six contests, but at 10-0 and in the driver seat in the conference, confidence level is sure to be sky high.

Meanwhile, Monarch’s loss marks their second in four days, but Dexter remains upbeat.

“These guys really stepped it up tonight,” Dexter said. “They don’t always come to play against lesser teams but I was so proud to see them bring it tonight the way they did.”

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Ryley Stewart had a monster game with 29 points, 10 rebounds and three steals as Highlands Ranch boys basketball upset No. 7 Mountain Vista, 64-59.

The Falcons rallied from down 19-12 after the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime. A 20-11 edge in the third quarter proved to be the difference.

Keith Coleman Jr. scored 18 points for Highlands Ranch, which improved to 7-10. Mountain Vista fell to 13-4.

Kevin Donnalley, an assistant on Mountain Range’s football staff the past two seasons, has been named the school’s head coach going forward.

New Mountain Range football coach Kevin Donnalley. (Courtesy mountainrangefootball.org)

The news was announced on the team’s official website.

Donnalley coached defensive backs for the Mustangs, who went 0-10 in Class 5A last season. He takes over for Bryan Davey, who was 25-36 in six seasons. That included a 9-2 season in 2013.

Donnalley played college football on at North Dakota State, then was a seventh-round pick of the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals in 1981.

He got his coaching start as a defensive backs coach at North Dakota State after he finished playing, and was also an assistant at Montana State. Later, he was the head coach at Fort Lewis, a Division II program.

His arrival at Mountain Range in 2013 marked his return to coaching after a 15-year hiatus.

Follow all of the football coaching changes this offseason in our tracker.

HOLLY — No. 2 Springfield boys basketball knocked off No. 6 Holly in overtime in a Class 1A game on Friday night, 56-53.

NORTHGLENN — The Northglenn Norsemen boys basketball team won Friday’s home conference game against Adams City, 74-51.

HOLLY — Brittani Shettron had 19 points to lead Springfield girls basketball to a 44-37 win over Holly in Class 1A action on Friday.

Ashlyn Loflin added 11 points, four steals and three assists, while Ally Loflin had seven points and seven rebounds.

Springfield improved to 10-5 with the win. Holly is now 5-9.

LOUSIVILLE — No. 2 Broomfield girls basketball used a key 12-0 run to pull away from No. 4 Monarch, 65-52, in a Class 5A top-four battle Thursday night.

The Coyotes scored first and led by as many as seven at the beginning of the second quarter, but Broomfield ended the first half on fire and continued their momentum into the second half.

Monarch cut the lead to three in the fourth quarter, but that’s as close as they would get after Broomfield’s run.

Callie Kaiser and Brenna Chase poured in 20 points each for the Eagles, while Raegen Rohn led Monarch with 15.

Monarch’s Madison Payne (13) inbounds the ball during a between No. 2 Broomfield and No. 4 Monarch. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

LAFAYETTE — Brenna Chase, an all-around weapon at point guard for the Broomfield Eagles, has struggled with one area of her game this winter, free throw shooting. The junior was 13 of 25 on freebies entering Thursday’s road clash at Monarch.

Chase found herself at her old familiar place, the charity stripe with a small, but somewhat uneasy lead in the Coyotes’ gym.

But she may have put her free throw woes to bed as she proceeded to bury eight of eight in the final two minutes to secure a 65-52 win for No. 2 ranked Broomfield over No. 4 Monarch in a game closer than the score indicates.

“I knew I needed to make them for my team,” Chase said of her clutch performance. “I worked hard on free throws this week at practice, because lately I’ve been a little off.”

Broomfield’s Brenna Chase (22) puts in an open layup. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The point guard’s teammates, Callie Kaiser (3-4) and Brenna Fankell (2-2), chipped in late freebie makes of their own to secure first place in the rigorous Front Range conference. Legacy is 5-0 and Monarch is 5-1. Everyone else has two or more losses.

Free throw shooting was key as both teams struggled to score in stretches against stout defenses. Neither squad shot 40% from the field as each only made two three-pointers, but Broomfield (14-2 overall, 6-0 Front Range League) did get timely baskets from Kaiser and Chase.

“She means everything,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell said of Chase. “It starts and stops with her. She’s our point guard. She’s not very imposing.

“There’s not much to the little squirt,” Croell added with a laugh, “but boy there’s no one tougher. I wouldn’t trade her for anything. When the ball is in her hands, good things are going to happen. She gets us into our offense and on top of that, she plays great defense too.”

Feeding off their raucous crowd, Monarch (15-2, 5-1) drained five shots in a row to start the game as they held a 14-9 lead after one quarter. The Coyotes also led 25-18 in the second, but Broomfield wrestled their way back with a 7-0 run to tie it up at the break.

In the third the Eagles started to impose their will slowly but surely.

“I think after halftime we just weathered the storm and got a bunch of steals and had a couple open layups and went up,” Chase said.

“They are very well coached,” Croell added of Monarch. “We rely a lot on our defense getting turnovers and getting in transition. Every press we threw at them, they seemed to have an answer for early. In the second half, we just had to hunker down into a zone and play some good hard man and do our thing.”

Defense led to offense as Broomfield’s experienced backcourt forced several second half turnovers and limited their own.

“We had six turnovers,” Croell said excitedly. “That’s all we had and we hit 79 percent from the free throw line. If we keep doing that, we’re going to be fine.”

Chase and Kaiser, the team’s leading scorers this season, finished with 20 points apiece for Broomfield.

The Eagles are now 14-2 in their first season removed from 4A. Both losses were to No. 1 ThunderRidge by a combined 11 points back in December.

Monarch, who got within 45-42 midway through the fourth quarter, was led by Raegan Rohn’s 15 points. 6-foot-4 sophomore Jasmine Jeffcoat, the daughter of former Buffalo Bill and Dallas Cowboy star Jim Jeffcoat, had 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Monarch coach Gail Hook was proud of the way her team competed.

Asked if she would like to see Broomfield again in the state tournament, Hook responded, “I have an eerie feeling that could happen. Hopefully we’ll be better prepared and be a little bit more physical and a little stronger at that point.”

Monarch’s Raegen Rohn (15) battles Broomfield’s Callie Kaiser (4) and Broomfield’s Delaynie Byrne (33) for a rebound. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

D’Evelyn players celebrate after the Jaguars defeated Valor Christian 67-63 Thursday night in Highlands Ranch. (Dennis Pleuss)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — No doubt about it, the girls basketball Class 4A Jeffco League title still goes through D’Evelyn.

The Jaguars, three-time defending conference champion, went on the road Thursday night and knocked off Valor Christian 67-63.

“I love playing Valor. They are such a good team,” said D’Evelyn senior Morgan Ducklow, who finished with 15 points for the Jaguars (12-4, 8-0 4A Jeffco). “It’s fun to compete against them. I just love it.”

The Eagles, No. 1 in CHSAANow.com 4A girls rankings since the preseason poll was released in late November, found themselves trailing 60-42 with just under seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Valor showed its capability, roaring back to get within two points in the final seconds.

“I looked up once and the lead was 18 points, but I knew it wasn’t good,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said. “That’s a time when a team like that with so much talent and skill just pin their ears back and go.”

Valor Christian senior Makenna Roth (21) posts up D’Evelyn junior Kayla Walden (20) during the first half Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)

Junior Madison McCoy made a trio of free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining to cut D’Evelyn’s lead to 65-63. Valor outscored the Jaguars 19-5 in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. However, D’Evelyn junior Aubrey Sotolongo made a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds left to clinch the victory.

“I knew with five seconds left that would seal the game for us,” said Sotolongo, who poured in a team-high 24 points. “Those free throws felt amazing to help my team out.”

Sotolongo was the game-changer in the second quarter when D’Evelyn turned a 21-17 deficit after the first quarter into a double-digit lead at halftime. The junior guard scored 14 points in the second quarter to give the Jaguars a 39-29 lead at halftime.

“It was amazing,” Ducklow said of Sotolongo’s play in the second quarter. “We just wanted to keep feeding her the ball. She couldn’t miss.”

Ducklow stepped up into a scoring role in the third quarter with a pair of 3-pointers to extend the lead. Junior Lexi Reed pitched in 11 points for the Jaguars, including a pair of key free throws in the final minute.

“Those three (Sotolongo, Reed and Ducklow) have been taking turns game-by-game,” Olson said of his leading scorers. “Tonight they took turns during the game. That’s tough to guard.”

Valor senior Kendall Bradbury was tough for D’Evelyn to handle. She finished with 24 points. Senior Makenna Roth pitched in 12 points in the loss. Juniors Heidi Hammond (13 points) and McCoy (11 points) also reached double-figures for Valor.

The Eagles were without their second-leading scorer. Senior Caroline Bryan didn’t play due to an injury.

Valor (14-2, 7-1) continues its stretch of four straight home conference games Saturday, Jan. 31. The Eagles host Golden at 7 p.m. Next week Valor hosts Littleton and Conifer.

It’s been a bit of a homecoming for Valor this season. After playing two years as an independent the Eagles were placed back in the 4A Jeffco League, a conference where Valor had previously played in.

Riding an eight-game winning streak, D’Evelyn has a one-game lead for Valor in the conference standings. The two will likely meet again during the final week of the regular season when the top four teams in 4A Jeffco play to determine the league champion.

“We want to keep fighting, keep it up and win another league (title),” Ducklow said.

The Jaguars return home to face Arvada at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson, left, greets D’Evelyn junior Aubrey Sotolongo as she comes to the bench during the fourth quarter Thursday night. Sotolongo scored 24 points as the Jaguars knocked off Class 4A’s top-ranked Valor Christian Eagles 67-63. (Dennis Pleuss)

D’Evelyn senior Morgan Ducklow (24) tries to get around Valor Christian junior Heidi Hammond (12) on a drive to the basket Thursday night in Highlands Ranch. (Dennis Pleuss)

D’Evelyn senior Grant Witherspoon (24) launches a 3-pointer during the fourth quarter Thursday night at Valor Christian High School. Witherspoon scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Jaguars to a 52-50 victory against the Eagles. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — D’Evelyn senior Grant Witherspoon went with his gut instinct Thursday night.

With under six minutes to play in a back-and-forth Class 4A Jeffco League battle against Valor Christian, ranked No. 7 in the CHSAANow.com 4A boys hoops poll, the Jaguars’ four-year varsity player decided to take over.

“I just do whatever the team needs me to do,” Witherspoon said after D’Evelyn took a 52-50 victory against Valor. “Right there (fourth quarter) I just felt like it was my moment to put the team on my back.”

Valor Christian sophomore Jalen Sanders (22) skies for a rebound with D’Evelyn junior Charlie Davis (5) on Thursday. Sanders scored 18 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles lost to the Jaguars 52-50. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)

Witherspoon scored 11 straight points in a span of three minutes to lead D’Evelyn (11-5, 7-1 4A Jeffco) to the upset victory against the Eagles (10-5, 6-2). The senior finished with a game-high 26 points, scoring half of the Jaguars’ points on the night.

“Grant was awesome,” D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner said of the Jaguars’ leading scorer. “When the game is on the line you want your guy to do it. He did it on both ends. He was solid.”

Despite Witherspoon’s effort, Valor still had a chance in the final seconds to win or at least send the game into overtime.

Valor sophomore Jalen Sanders, who had a team-high 18 points for the Eagles, stepped to the free-throw line with 5.6 seconds left and Valor trailing 51-49. Sanders made the first three throw. His second one was good, but a referee called a lane violation on Valor to negate the free throw and keep the lead in D’Evelyn’s hands.

D’Evelyn junior Jack Draeb was immediately fouled with 4.6 seconds left. He missed the first of two, but sunk the second to put the Jaguars ahead 52-50. The Eagles had one last mad dash to the basket, but Valor senior Sid Turnbull-Frazier’s shot at the buzzer didn’t fall.

“Valor is absolutely one of the top five teams in the state,” Pachner said. “To come into their house and have a victory, you feel great about it.”

What Valor couldn’t feel great about was its free-throw shooting in the final quarter. The Eagles’ inside power game yield 15 trips to the charity stripe in the final quarter, but Valor was just 4-for-15 from the line in the final eight minutes.

“We’ve missed plenty (free throws) this year so maybe it’s a little karma,” Pachner said of Valor’s struggles at the line.

For the past five seasons either D’Evelyn or Valor has lifted the 4A Jeffco League boys basketball championship plaque. D’Evelyn has won the league title four out of the previous five seasons. Valor grabbed the conference title in 2011.

D’Evelyn junior Cameron Brown, left, drives against Valor Christian junior Khameron Davis during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Thursday night. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)

The Eagles returned to the 4A Jeffco League for the current two-year cycle this season after playing as an independent the past two years. At the midway point of the league schedule the Jaguars and Eagles find themselves chasing conference-leading Golden, ranked No. 2.

“It’s going to be a real interesting final week of the season to see how things work out,” Pachner said.

In a new format this season, the top two teams in each of the two divisions of the 4A Jeffco League we face each other to determine the conference champion. D’Evelyn will likely face both Golden and Valor a second time before the start of the postseason.

“We’ll keep it going until we meet the Goldens and Valors of the world again,” Witherspoon said. “We aren’t the underdogs anymore.”

D’Evelyn doesn’t waste any time getting back onto the court. The Jaguars travel to Arvada High School for a 7 p.m. tipoff Friday, Jan. 30.

Valor has a key showdown on the road at Golden (14-2, 8-0) this Saturday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Demons edge the Eagles 46-44 on Valor’s home court back on Jan. 10.

D’Evelyn senior Christian Denton (21) dribbles past Valor Christian senior Tristan Trujillo (5) during the second half Thursday night in Highlands Ranch. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)