Month: March 2015

Defending champs open as No. 1 teams in girls soccer’s preseason polls

Columbine was all smiles as it walked off the field at Englewood High School on Saturday after taking a 2-0 victory over Mountain Vista in the Class 5A girls soccer state semifinal. (Dennis Pleuss) — Columbine opens the year as the No. 1 team in Class 5A girls soccer. (Dennis Pleuss)

Defending champions are on top of three of CHSAANow.com’s four preseason girls soccer rankings. The fourth? Well, it’s a new classification this season.

Columbine (5A), Cheyenne Mountain (4A) and Colorado Academy (3A) are all coming off of titles last season, and all opened the year at No. 1 when the poll was released on Monday.

Front Range Christian leads the first-ever 2A poll. The Falcons made the 3A state tournament field last season.

In 5A, Columbine got four of the 10 first-place votes to edge No. 2 Mountain Vista. Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon (No. 3) and Pine Creek (No. 5) each received two first-place votes.

Ralston Valley, last year’s runner-up, is No. 4 in 5A’s preseason poll.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls

Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A

Class 5A
RK	TEAM	W-L	PTS
1	Columbine (4)	0-0-0	92
2	Mountain Vista (2)	0-0-0	84
3	Rock Canyon (2)	0-0-0	64
4	Ralston Valley	0-0-0	60
5	Pine Creek (2)	0-0-0	58
6	Fossil Ridge	0-0-0	47
7	Cherry Creek	0-0-0	44
8	Fort Collins	0-0-0	32
9	Arapahoe	0-0-0	30
10	Smoky Hill	0-0-0	18
Others receiving votes:
Broomfield 16, ThunderRidge 13, Doherty 12, Fairview 12, Liberty 7, Legacy 6, Denver East 3, Grandview 3, Cherokee Trail 2, Legend 2.

Class 4A
RK	TEAM	W-L	PTS
1	Cheyenne Mountain (10)	0-0-0	100
2	Green Mountain	0-0-0	63
3	Lewis-Palmer	0-0-0	56
4	Sand Creek	0-0-0	47
5	Niwot	0-0-0	44
6	Evergreen	0-0-0	39
7	Battle Mountain	0-0-0	38
8	Valor Christian	0-0-0	29
9	Air Academy	0-0-0	20
10	Palmer Ridge	0-0-0	19
Others receiving votes:
Wheat Ridge 18, Montrose 10, Ponderosa 8, Silver Creek 8, Longmont 6, Centaurus 5, D’Evelyn 5, The Classical Academy 5, Glenwood Springs 4, Pueblo Centennial 4, Discovery Canyon 3, Mullen 3, Thompson Valley 2, Standley Lake 1, Steamboat Springs 1, Weld Central 1.

Class 3A
RK	TEAM	W-L	PTS
1	Colorado Academy (9)	0-0-0	99
2	Kent Denver	0-0-0	77
3	Jefferson Academy	0-0-0	70
4	St. Mary’s	0-0-0	62
5	The Academy	0-0-0	53
6	Coal Ridge (1)	0-0-0	48
7	Frontier Academy	0-0-0	39
8	Manitou Springs	0-0-0	22
9	Liberty Common	0-0-0	20
10	Sterling	0-0-0	19
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 9, Denver Science & Tech – Stapleton 7, Grand Valley 7, Fountain Valley 6, SkyView Academy 5, Machebeuf 2, Roaring Fork 2, Alamosa 1, St. Mary’s Academy 1.

Class 2A
RK	TEAM	W-L	PTS
1	Front Range Christian (7)	0-0-0	35
2	Denver Christian	0-0-0	23
3	Dawson School	0-0-0	16
4	Cornerstone Christian	0-0-0	12
5	Evangelical Christian	0-0-0	7
Others receiving votes:
Telluride 5, Resurrection Christian 4, Vail Mountain 3.

March 2, 2015

Defense leads Denver East over Rock Canyon in 5A boys basketball

(Zach Marburger/CHSAANow.com)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — A lock-down defense powered sixth-seeded Denver East to an early lead and an eventual 69-61 victory over No. 3 Rock Canyon on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament.

Denver East’s hot start didn’t come because of great play on the offensive end – both teams would struggle with turnovers throughout the afternoon – but instead because of their extremely active and aggressive defense.

“We pretty much had an idea that we wanted to get out to a fast start and keep the crowd out of it,” Denver East head coach Rudy Carey said after the win. “We played very good defense, about as good as it’s been all year. That was the key.”

Anchoring the Angels on the defensive end was senior forward Jordan Willis. Willis had a number of blocks down low and helped out early on the offensive end with four points in the first quarter. At the end of the first Denver East was up 15-6 on the Jaguars.

Willis finished the afternoon with nine points.

Also making a big contribution for the Angels was guard Brian Carey. Carey moved the ball extremely well and found the open man again and again in the first half.

“Brian was phenomenal. I’m not trying to be biased,” said Carey, who also happens to his star guard’s uncle. “But Brian is the single most important factor of any team in the state. He’s the driver of our car and he sacrifices his game for us.”

Meanwhile, Rock Canyon was struggling to score, thanks in part to Denver East’s suffocating defense. The Jaguars struggled to make shots from behind the arc, and as they continued to toss up bricks, the room in the paint slowly began to disappear.

At halftime, the Angels were out to a commanding 28-12 lead over the Jaguars.

In the second half however, the game shifted from a one-sided affair into a pretty entertaining contest. Rock Canyon’s Mitch Lombard was unstoppable in the third and fourth, and finished with 35 points in his final game as a senior.

“They’re a heck of a team. They’ll beat a lot of other people in this state,” said senior guard Carey, who helped check Lombard throughout the game. “We prepped on defense all week trying to stop Mitch (Lombard) and Tyler (Garcia), because they’re two hell of a players.”

Garcia added 16 points for Rock Canyon.

The fourth quarter turned into an entirely different game – namely a free-throw shooting contest, as the whistles wouldn’t stop. With Rock Canyon looking to extend the game, Denver East made 20 trips to the free throw line, with mixed results.

“We’ve got to shoot our free throws. One or two guys weren’t making them. We’ve got to get the ball in Brian or Jack (Buckmelter)’s hands,” said Carey. “We can make our free throws, but they weren’t dropping today.”

Carey finished with 24 points to lead the Angels, whose lead was never truly in danger as time wound down.

The win means Denver East will advance to the Sweet 16, where they will take on No. 2 Rangeview Wednesday. Despite leading wire-to-wire in the win, coach Carey still sees a lot of room for improvement as the Angels, the defending 5A champions, look to make a deep run in the playoffs.

“We’ve got make our free throws, and we’ve got to play smarter down the stretch,” said Carey. “Definitely need to take care of the ball better.”

March 1, 2015
Golden’s last-minute rally downs TJ in 4A boys hoops Sweet 16

Golden basketball players celebrate after the Demons rallied in the final minute to defeated Thomas Jefferson 69-65 in the Class 4A boys basketball state Sweet 16 game Saturday night at Golden High School. Golden trailed by five points with less than a minute to play, but went on a 9-0 run to get the victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

GOLDEN — Golden needed a furious last-minute rally to avoid being the third No. 1 seed to bow out of the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament Saturday in the round of 16.

The Demons, top seed in the Richard Tate Region, trailed No. 4 Thomas Jefferson 65-60 with less than a minute to play. On its home court, Golden rallied with a 9-0 run to close the game to take a 69-65 victory and advance to Great 8.

“Everyone made a shot when they had to. Everyone did their job,” Golden junior Nick Capaul said. “What really helped us was no one was getting down when we were down by five points. Nobody thought it was over.”

Golden sophomore Kayden Sund (45) takes a jump over a trio of Thomas Jefferson defenders Saturday night. Sund’s eight-point outburst in the fourth quarter helped the Demons rally for a 69-65 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

Senior Jason Johnson started the rally for the Demons (22-3 overall) with a driving layup. Senior Ryan Thistlewood tied the game with 43 seconds left with a long 3-pointer coming out of a timeout.

“I felt confident in it. I let it go and it went in. It felt good,” said Thistlewood, who led the Demons with 18 points.

Golden coach John Anderson called a timeout when the Demons got the ball back after Johnson’s layup to draw up an inbound play to get the ball to Thistlewood for a 3-pointer.

“Situations like this you get the ball into your best player’s hands to get a shot,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t the greatest shot. He (Thistlewood) was off balance a little bit. It was a deep NBA 3-pointer. He knocked down the shot.”

TJ missed a runner in the lane with the game tied, 65-65. Anderson called a timeout with 19.8 seconds left to set up what would be the eventual game-winning bucket.

Despite not scoring for the entire game, Capaul was confident he could deliver in the final few seconds.

“(Capaul) says, ‘Coach if you give me the ball I’ll make the shot,’” Anderson said of the conversation during the timeout. “That wasn’t the plan, but he (Capaul) tips it in. That’s what you want. It eased me a little bit because I knew guys wanted the ball in their hands.”

Thistlewood found himself one-on-one and drove down the lane. His floater didn’t drop, but Capaul came from the baseline to tip the ball in with 4 seconds left to give Golden a 67-65 lead.

“I said a pray to God that I get a chance to get a shot up,” Capaul said. “I got the tip. I was at the right place at the right time.”

Thistlewood stole the ball as TJ attempted to get down the court in the final seconds. He was fouled and made both free throws with a second remaining to seal the victory and close the book on the dramatic ending.

“Unbelievable game,” Anderson said. “Grant (TJ coach Grant Laman) and I said before the game this isn’t a Sweet 16 game this is like a Final 4 game. It was a tough match up.”

TJ (13-12) held a double-digit lead in the first quarter on the Demons’ home court. Seniors Josh McNair (18 points) and Jalen Rose (17 points) dominated down low while senior Sergio Garcia, juniors Evan Gould, Henry Cooper and sophomore Ravel Moody combined for seven 3-pointers on the night.

Thomas Jefferson senior Josh McNair (10) goes up for a shot over Golden junior Ryan Blodgett, left, and senior Cole Greff, right, during the second half Saturday. McNair had a team-high 18 points for the Spartans, but TJ fell just short on its upset bid against the No. 1 seed Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)

“That was the best inside team we’ve played all year long, hands down,” Capaul said. “(McNair) is probably the best player I’ve played against all year. Their 3-point shooting was unbelievable too. They came ready.”

Golden’s five starters all finished in double-figures. Junior Ryan Blodgett (14 points) had a huge first half and senior Cole Greff (10 points) had a steady game on both ends of the court facing the athletic Spartans.

Sophomore Kayden Sund (12 points) came up big in the fourth quarter scoring eight straight points for the Demons.

“That was the plan going in. We couldn’t have just one guy scoring all the points,” Thistlewood said. “We had to have a total team effort. That’s what we did.”

Golden’s opponent in the state quarterfinals will be Air Academy. The No. 2 seed Kadets defeated Pueblo Central 64-54 earlier in the day to advance. The Great 8 game will be played March 7 at Golden High School.

Golden junior Ryan Blodgett (33) drives the baseline on Thomas Jefferson senior Jalen Rose (23) during the first half Saturday night at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)

Thomas Jefferson senior Sergio Garcia, right, drives to the basket as Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood (20) attempts to cut off Garcia’s path. Thistlewood hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute to tie the game. He sealed the victory with a steal and two free throws in the final second to lift the Demons to a dramatic 69-65 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

March 1, 2015
Sierra boys basketball cruises into 4A Great 8

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — The Sierra Stallions have all the characteristic of a massive lightning storm. Early in their games the clouds begin to gather and once they reach a certain point, the resulting spectacle is both awesome and terrifying.

The Falcon Falcons didn’t just witness the storm Saturday night. They got caught in the middle without an umbrella. The result was a 60-44 win for the Stallions who move on to the Class 4A Great 8, where they will host Pueblo South next week.

“It’s energy. It’s positive energy and a high level of effort,” Sierra coach Terry Dunn said. “I thought we did a great job of sharing the ball tonight. Falcon’s a good team. We knew we were going to be in a dog fight.”

Like they have been so many times this season, the Stallions were paced on the offensive side of the ball by senior guard TeVion Thompson. He scored nine of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter and helped his team jump out to a 20-14 lead.

But the Falcons were able to adjust defensively and didn’t allow a single Sierra player to score more than one field goal in the second quarter.

Sierra guard C.J. Jenning (4) looks for an open teammate during the first half of Saturday’s win over Falcon. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow)

“Tonight I think we came out really flat to start the game,” Falcon coach Mark Watley said. “We were always kind of playing on our heels and that’s tough to do against this team, especially.”

The teams went into halftime with Sierra in control 32-20 and both came out looking to grasp the second half momentum early. The Falcons appeared to have something working, outscoring the Stallions 8-5 early.

But on one play, the gym erupted in favor of Sierra and the team found a swagger that showed the home crowd that they wouldn’t be denied the victory.

Up 37-28, sophomore guard C.J. Jenning drove to the basket and while attempting his shot, was fouled. His entire body began to fall backwards and while almost parallel to the floor, he managed to heave the ball toward the basket. The shot fell. He made the ensuing free throw. And from that moment on, Flacon never stood a chance.

Thompson continued to dominate offensively and the Stallions never let Falcon get comfortable when they were controlling the ball. The end result of the storm was a team win and the opportunity to play next week.

“Once we start playing as a team, we’re very hard to stop,” Thompson said. “There’s no stopping us, really.”

Although the Falcons were hoping to advance to Great 8, they’re not discounting their success this season and the standard they hope they have created for the future.

“We talked at the beginning of the year about culture,” Watley said. “We didn’t want to be that program that nobody respects. This team fought. We beat five top-10 teams this year and that’s never been done in Falcon history. We never made it to the Sweet 16.”

Next up for the Stallions is a Great 8 matchup with Pueblo South. Because Pueblo South beat the No. 1 seeded Holy Family, that game will take place at Sierra High School on Saturday.

March 1, 2015
Montbello holds off Fort Collins to reach 5A boys hoops’ Sweet 16

FORT COLLINS — Basketball, in the modern era, is played above the rim. So it doesn’t hurt when your team is literally closer to the basket.

Montbello, boasting eight players who stand between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-10, looks like a Division I team. The Warriors are not only tall, but have otherworldly length giving them the ability to close down passing lanes, dominate the glass, and physically manhandle and frustrate opponents. They are not a typical six seed in the Class 5A state tournament.

On Saturday, Montbello (18-7) seemed to take on the role of favorites despite traveling to face a No. 3 seed, Fort Collins, the Front Range league champions and winners of 17 games.

The Denver Prep power used all that length, to go with obvious athleticism, to take an early lead, gain control of the game much of the way, and fend off a late Lambkin rally to preserve a 45-42 victory

The Warriors clinched a spot in the Sweet 16 against No. 2 Mountain Vista in the Bill Weimar Region. Montbello beat Vista 81-78 on Jan. 12 in a wild rally.

Against Collins, the Warriors didn’t have the most crisp offense, but fed off a defense that held the Lambkins to a 13-of-40 clip from the field.

They took a 12-9 lead at the end of one quarter and led 24-16 at the break in a game that was closer than it felt.

Fort Collins big man Tristan Von Nieda, a towering force at 6-foot-9 and more than 220 pounds, was called upon to keep his team in the game early. He had 12 of the Lambkins’ 16 points in the first half. Going against the massive frontline of the Warriors, Von Nieda found some success drawing fouls on the bigs and went four of four at the charity stripe.

“We play man pretty good, but we couldn’t do anything with the big guy,” Montbello coach Ron Bush said. “We started to get into ticky-tack foul trouble, so we went to the matchup and took him out of the game.”

(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

Montbello smothered the Lambkins with a zone that allowed virtually no passes into the post in the second half. Von Nieda only attempted one field goal after the break and finished with 14 points total. Collins needed offense from other sources. They got it in Henry Deeter.

The senior guard, who came off the bench, closed his career in style with a life giving 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to cut the deficit to 35-29. Then, he drained another with 5:05 remaining in the fourth to cut it down to 37-34. He drained one more with 1:20 on the clock to put a scare into Montbello as they led by a slim 41-39 margin.

A wild finish ensued as an Andrew Pfaffinger triple cut the deficit to one with 13 seconds left. But, a pair of Aaris Bonds free throws sealed the deal and finally finished off the home team.

Montbello’s smothering defense showed the team’s potential. A late scare displayed their room for improvement going forward.

“It was mental breakdowns, because we didn’t get to the shooters,” Bush said of Fort Collins’ comeback attempt that fell just short. “We got lackadaisical. Offensively, we got a little too patient. I wanted some motion, but I also wanted to attack. We lost our composure.”

Nonetheless, in the survive and advance season, the Warriors did just that. During a regular season that was both eye opening with wins over the likes of Mountain Vista, Fossil Ridge, and Rock Canyon but also at times frustrating with a three-game losing streak, Montbello knows their greatest strength could keep carrying them further into the postseason.

“My coach is always telling us that defense leads to offense,” said junior guard Sekou Cisse, who led all scorers with 15 points. “If we get stops on defense, that will just make our offense go. We’re the most athletic team in the state and if we just do our jobs on defense, we can be a dominant team and win the whole thing.”

Fort Collins, who has lost in the second round each of the last two years, saw their season end on a sour note, but Deeter and company were proud of what they accomplished overall.

“That was a good season,” Deeter (11 points) said. “We were maybe underrated this year. We won the Front Range. I wish we had gotten that one, but that’s a good team though.”

March 1, 2015
Monarch rallies to top Mountain Vista in hockey quarterfinals

(Zach Fogg/CHSAANow.com)

LITTLETON — They dug hard and battled every step of the way. It wasn’t always pretty, but when the dust (snow) had settled and all was said and done, it was the Monarch Coyotes who would advance to take on Regis Jesuit in the state hockey semifinals.

Mountain Vista, the No. 1 seed out of the Peak Conference, put up a valiant fight, but in the end it was Monarch’s patented discipline and resiliency that would seal the Eagles’ fate.

After a back and forth first period in which the visiting team looked out of sorts, Monarch coach Jimmy Dexter rallied his squad to take control in the second, and they never looked back.

“I think we were a little nervous,” Dexter said after the game. “People forget we lost 17 players from last season. We’re a young team. But after we got in the locker room (after the first period) we got back to good habits and making the easy play, not forcing things.”

The scoring opened just four minutes into the game when Mountain Vista’s Jordan Cox intercepted an ill-advised breakout pass and centered it to linemate Reid Goodman, who wasn’t going to miss with half of the net to shoot at from point blank range. A few minutes later, the two would hook-up again, this time with Cox looking off Goodman on a two-on-one before slipping it shortside past Coyotes goaltender Hampus Akesson.

A late push in the first period saw Monarch’s Andrew Wagner take a full speed rush all the way through the neutral zone and into Mountain Vista territory, but a heads up play by Wyatt Williams saved a goal for the Eagles.

If the scoring opened early in the first period, then the second got underway even faster.

Carrying over a late power play from the first, Monarch wasted little time capitalizing on the game’s first man advantage. Justin White hammered a shot from the point that Mike Van Haute got a stick on to put the Coyotes on the board. Then, again, less than two minutes later, the visitors would tie it up when Jake Young buried an errant rebound past Eagles goalie Tanner Munn.

With just over two minutes to go in the second, the Coyotes (16-3-1 overall) would complete the comeback on the power play again. Off an offensive-zone faceoff to the right of Munn, Andrew Pickner walked in and roofed the puck short side to give Monarch the 3-2 lead.

“We just didn’t play a full three periods tonight,” said an emotional Mountain Vista coach Lev Cohen.

A late penalty and a bench minor at the end of the second period gave Mountain Vista (17-2-1) a 5-on-3 to start the third period, but the home team struggled to maintain possession, giving even more confidence to the rejuvenated Monarch squad.

That kill would be all that the Coyotes would need to hold onto the win, with Vista’s best chance from that point coming on a nice individual effort down the wing from Bryan Hancock, but the puck would sail just high.

The final minutes of the game were marked by chippy play on both sides, punctuated with at the end of the game by frustration boiling over and the referees having to separate the two teams.

“You can’t control how the game is officiated unfortunately, and I don’t think they had their best game tonight,” Cohen said. “But that’s not an excuse. It happens and you gotta stay playing your game. We didn’t tonight.”

It would be tough to discount the role that special teams played in the game. Power play opportunities were firmly in favor of Monarch, but the Eagles also had their 5-on-3 to start the third, as well as the man advantage to end the game.

For coach Dexter’s part, staying out of the box is all part of the grand scheme.

“I’m a coach who played the game my whole life too, so I stress discipline no matter what,” said Dexter. “Sometimes it’s tough, but I’m proud of how my team usually responds, and responded tonight. I mean a couple of those calls were pretty rough.”

No time to dwell on the officiating, though, for Monarch, who draws the No. 2-seeded Regis Raiders in the semifinals next Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Budweiser Events Center. Last time around, Regis beat the Coyotes 4-1 in a game that was closer than the score may indicate.

“We’re definitely going to work on moving the puck around to try and cut down on blocked shots,” Dexter revealed. “I swear last time they blocked like 40 shots. Their goalie is good, but small. I want to make him see as much rubber as possible.”

Monarch, a No. 4 seed out of the Foothills Conference, returns to the state semifinals for the third consecutive season. The Coyotes advanced to the state title game each of the last two years, but lost to Ralston Valley both times. Ralston Valley was upset by Cherry Creek on Saturday.

March 1, 2015
Photos: Valor Christian boys basketball returns to 4A Great 8

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian boys basketball returned to the Class 4A Great 8 with a 75-60 win over Sand Creek on Saturday.

Khameron Davis and Jalen Sanders each scored 20 points for the Eagles, while Tristan Trujillo added 12. Davis also had 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

March 1, 2015
3A girls basketball’s state tournament bracket
Girls basketball’s 2015 state tournament bracket in Class 3A.

More:
- 3A girls basketball district brackets
2015 CHSAA State Girls Basketball Championships Class 3A
March 1, 2015
3A boys basketball’s state tournament bracket
Boys basketball’s 2015 state tournament bracket in Class 3A.

More:
- 3A boys basketball district brackets
2015 CHSAA State Boys Basketball Championships Class 3A
March 1, 2015
Sterling, Faith Christian top seeds in 3A basketball brackets

Faith Christian is the No. 1 seed in the 3A boys basketball bracket. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

AURORA — Sterling’s girls and Faith Christian’s boys both were No. 1 seeds in the Class 3A state basketball brackets released on Sunday.

Faith Christian won the always-tough Metro League title at the district tournament over the weekend. The Eagles are 20-2.

Here’s how good the Metro was this season: Lutheran (No. 3 seed), Colorado Academy (No. 4) and Jefferson Academy (No. 9) were all seeded among the top-10. Kent Denver (No. 11) also made the field.

In the 3A format, the top eight seeds will host first round and Sweet 16 games. Other boys hosts include No. 2 Colorado Springs Christian, No. 5 The Pinnacle, No. 6 Sterling, No. 7 Alamosa and No. 8 Moffat County.

See the full 3A boys bracket here.

On the girls’ side, Sterling finished the regular season and district tournament unbeaten at 22-0. The Tigers won the Patriot League.

Other hosts in the girls bracket are No. 2 Pagosa Springs, No. 3 Lutheran, No. 4 Manitou Springs, No. 5 Eaton, No. 6 Moffat County, No. 7 Olathe and No. 8 Bennett.

See the full 3A girls bracket here.

The Great 8 and beyond, for both boys and girls, will be held at the Colorado School of Mines from March 12-14.

March 1, 2015