KERSEY — Bayfield won the Class 2A football championship by beating Platte Valley on Saturday.

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Links

• Live scoreboard
• Playoff brackets: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man
• Full schedule & scoreboard | @ColoHSFootball
• Preview of Saturday’s games
• Live game schedule
• Watch live on the NFHS Network

The live event will begin at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday.
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Live coverage

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ARVADA — Wide right. The Pomona Panthers are moving on to the Class 5A state football championship after a dramatic 21-20 win over Columbine in the semifinals.

The two teams went blow for blow all game, only separated in the end by a missed extra point.

Columbine quarterback Jake Lowry scrambled for what seemed to be a game-tying touchdown on a huge third and goal conversion from the 5-yard-line. With overtime on everyone’s minds, the kicking team ran out for the attempt, but missed it narrowly to the right.

“We were gonna let it go to overtime and see what happened,” said head coach Jay Madden.

The drama didn’t stop there. Pomona recovered the onside kick with just over a minute left in the game and could run the clock out. Lined up in the victory formation, the snap was fumbled and Columbine recovered.

The Rebels had one last drive to win it and Pomona could only hope that this year wouldn’t end in heartbreak. Lowry threw up a prayer, but a pack of Panthers was there to swat it down. Pomona could breathe a sigh of relief.

Cheers erupted as the students rushed onto the icy field, running to hug any player they could.

“Our kids, obviously, aren’t scared of anybody. They’ve played the best,” said Madden. “They’ve played every good team in the state of Colorado this year and they’ve come back fighting every single Monday ready to go whether we won or lost.”

More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Columbine bested Pomona 42-35 earlier in the season, and that only fueled the Panthers for this rematch.

“We had a lot of anger built up, and it was great to get it all out with the victory,” Pomona running back Cameron Gonzales said.

Columbine scored first in the second quarter with running back Mikey Griebel’s 1-yard touchdown run. Facing a 4th-and-short, the Rebels drew up a trick play that had Griebel taking a toss to the outside and throwing a 20-yard completion to wide receiver Jon Cole to set up the 1-yard TD run a couple plays later.

The first quarter was a scoreless affair, with neither team able to get anything going on offense. Brevin Fields recovered a Pomona fumble at the 45-yard-line to give the Rebels their first offensive possession. The teams traded fourth down stops before Columbine drove 80 yards resulting in the Griebel touchdown.

Pomona pushed right back with a methodical drive led by running backs Max Borghi and Gonzales. A seven-yard touchdown run by Gonzales knotted things up at seven. Gonzales finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns.

“When big plays needed to be made, we made ’em,” Marquez said.

The Panthers defense came up big all day. After stopping the Rebels on fourth down, the Pomona offense took over. A 36-yard touchdown pass from Marquez to Borghi on blown coverage put the Panthers up 14-7 going into the half.

“Our defense is like a little battery charger,” Marquez said. “They just power us up and everyone feeds off of their energy.”

After Griebel’s second touchdown of the day, yet another deep pass gashed the Rebel defense. Marquez to Chris Gatseos for 39 yards set up another Gonzales touchdown to give Pomona back the lead.

Columbine drove down the field for what seemed to be the game-tying touchdown, converting on two crucial third downs including Lowry’s five-yard scramble for the touchdown.

The extra point: no good. Columbine drops to 12-1, while Pomona now sits at 10-3.

“We bent and didn’t break, and we just found a win to win,” Madden said.

The Panthers advance to next Saturday’s 5A championship game at Sports Authority Field and yet another rematch. Valor Christian waits for their shot at revenge after Pomona took round one in the first game of the season, 28-14.

“We’re playing our best football right now and that’s all you can ask for,” Madden said.

The last championship appearance for the Panthers was a loss in 2009 against Mullen.

Pomona will hope for better results than the ’09 team against a Valor Christian team that’s coming off of a 20-10 win at Cherry Creek, and will make its seventh straight championship game appearance.

“We’ve had Valor before, we’ll be ready for ’em,” Marquez said. “I guarantee you we’ll be ready for ‘em.”

Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Altitude 2.

More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Sedgwick County celebrates winning the 8-man football championship. (Kent Mincer/CHSAANow.com)

AKRON — It had been 17 years since a school in Sedgwick County had been able to put a state football plaque in its trophy case.

Now two schools in the county can brag about splitting one.

Sedgwick County, a combined athletic program featuring athletes from Julesburg and Revere schools, capped an undefeated season by winning the Class A 8-man state title Saturday, defeating Akron 36-6.

It was a rematch of teams that played in week 9. The Cougars won that one 22-3, also in Akron.

Sedgwick County was leery of what the Rams would bring this time.

“They’re a good team,” Cougars coach Chris Michel said. “I knew they had something ready.”

Actually, both teams threw a new wrinkle or two into their game plan. Ironically, said Michel, they were similar game plans.

Still, both stuck primarily to what had helped them reach the state championship.

“We rode the horse that got us here,” Michel said of a game plan that produced a balanced 173 yards rushing and 174 passing.

The key to Sedgwick County’s domination was its defense. It held Akron quarterback Levi Basler to just 14 yards on 13 carries and intercepted him twice.

The Cougars scored on their first possession, a 14-play drive culminating in Cole McKinley’s 5-yard run.

They must have liked opening drives of the half because they scored on their first possession of the third quarter. That one took just three plays, Chad Mikelson hauling in a pass from Trey Walter good for 42 yards.

The Cougars found some success over the top late in the game, scoring three times in the fourth quarter, two on long passes to Tyler Woodhems, to seal the victory.

“To close it out like we did is something special,” said Woodhems, who caught just three passes but amassed 92 yards.

“My receivers can catch anything I throw at them,” said quarterback Tyler Walter, who passed for 174 yards and three scores.

The workhorse of the offense, however, was McKinley, who carried 24 times for 90 yards.

The team had struggled the previous four seasons, but Michel knew he had something special at the start of preseason workouts in August.

“We set a goal to be right here (in the championship game),” he said.

It was the first championship trophy for Sedgwick County since Revere won in 1997, before the schools consolidated their athletic programs. Julesburg won its last state title in 1970.

Dylan McCaffrey and Valor Christian play Cherry Creek in the semifinals. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

BROADCASTING NOTE: Both 5A semifinal games as well as the 8-man, 1A and 2A title games will all be available online via the NFHS Network.

The last time that Cherry Creek and Valor Christian faced off in the Class 5A football playoffs, a state championship was on the line.

Saturday, the league rivals will meet once again, but unlike last season, this game is not the end of the road for both teams. The winner advances to the state title game on Dec. 5 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The loser can only watch as a spectator, either in the stands or on the Altitude television network.

One must survive to advance.

“Our mindset is no different,” Valor coach Rod Sherman said. “Every week is a new challenge and a new opportunity. It’s another chance to go play and showcase the skills that have been given to you.”

The Eagles (10-2 overall, 5-0 5A Centennial) beat Cherry Creek 10-0 on Oct. 23, their first win over the Bruins (10-2, 3-2) in program history.

In order to keep that same result from happening again, Bruins coach Dave Logan knows his offense has make plays when possible and get on the scoreboard.

“We’re going to try and score; that would be different,” Logan said. “(Valor is) a really talented team on both sides of the ball. They’re well schooled, they’ve played in big games, so we have to play a game where we limit our mistakes and we have to have ball security.

It comes down to what it usually does, when there are plays available to be made, we have to make plays.”

Cherry Creek’s best opportunity to put points on the board came when they drove down inside the Valor four-yard line. But the Eagles’ defense held and when Curtis Appleton got the ball on 4th-and-goal at the 2, the Eagles swarmed him and prevented him from getting into the end zone. In a game in which only one touchdown was scored, failing to convert proved to be costly for the Bruins.

It was late in the game that Dylan McCaffrey found Ben Waters for a 97-yard touchdown pass, putting the game out of reach in favor of Valor.

“They’re a multiple-formation and multiple-personnel team,” Logan said. “It requires constant communication defensively in terms of who’s in the game and what set they’re in. They give us more sets, honestly, than the rest of the teams that we play combined.”

Sherman and his guys won’t be lacking in the preparation aspect of the game either. While they still have the game tape from they Oct. 23 showdown, Sherman has spent a lot of time trying to study what the Bruins do against other teams, hoping he can be as prepared as possible.

After all, a shot at the state championship is on the line.

“They’ve played a couple of good teams, Jordan from Utah, Grandview,” Sherman said. “So we try to be pretty thorough. I think we have 15 games that are in our scouting plan.”

Valor Christian and Cherry Creek kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Stutler Bowl.

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Columbine at Pomona

Pomona and Columbine play in the 5A semifinals. (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

The first matchup between Pomona and Columbine this year was anything but boring. The Rebels came away with the win 42-35 in game that the Panthers easily could have won.

Saturday, they get another chance. With a trip to the 5A state title game on the line, the league rivals will square off once again.

“We saw just about everything from (Pomona) the first time,” Rebels coach Andy Lowry said. “Both teams played tough and Mikey Griebel just ended up picking off a pass and we ended up scoring on it. That was the first time either of us held the other (on defense).”

With only seven points the difference in the final score, Pomona came closer than any team to beating Columbine this season. The Rebels finished the year as the No. 1 team in the CHSAANow.com rankings.

With the close win along with storming through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Panthers still believe they can be the first team to knock off Columbine this year.

“We just have to take care of every little detail because if you make a mistake, they’ll make you pay for it,” Panthers coach Jay Madden said. “Obviously they did that last time.”

But the key to victory is slowing down Griebel. The junior back has amassed 1,801 yards from scrimmage and found the end zone 15 times this season.

In the first game agains the Panthers, Griebel ran for 225 and three touchdowns. Every touchdown run went for longer than 40 yards.

“It starts up front with the offensive line,” Lowry said. “That’s the key for both teams. We go as far as our linemen take us.”

The Panthers are certainly not lacking in the trenches. Left tackle Jake Morietti has committed to Ohio State and he and the rest of the line have helped running back Cameron Gonzales run for over 112 yards a game. Gonzales has also scored 27 touchdowns this year.

“Cam’s done a great job and we also have Max Borghi who has the exact same amount of yards from scrimmage,” Madden said. “We’re a little more balanced so hopefully we can keep them off balance a little bit.”

The Panthers and Rebels will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at the NAAC.

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Class 4A semifinals

(1) Pine Creek at (13) Loveland

The next step for Loveland’s Cinderella run through the 4A playoffs is getting through two-time defending state champion Pine Creek.

That will be no easy task as the Eagles are outscoring their opponents 80-16 this postseason. The Indians will need a big game from their senior combination of quarterback Ayden Eberhardt and running back Charles Dunkelman. The duo combine for 183 yards per game and their production will be essential in keeping the Eagles’ offense off the field.

For Pine Creek, Brock Domann looks to send big brother JoJo off to Nebraska with another state title.

The Indians and Eagles kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday.

(3) Windsor at (2) Longmont

(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

In what is easily the most anticipated rematch in 4A, Windsor travels to Longmont with the winner advancing to the title game at Sports Authority Field.

A Hail Mary pass, followed by a two-point conversion, gave the Trojans an 8-7 win over the Wizards, solidifying Longmont’s spot as the No. 2 team in the class.

Longmont’s offense has been cruising this postseason as the Trojans scored 58 points against Pueblo South in the first round and 48 against Denver South in the second round.

The Wizards a tougher road to the semifinals as it took overtime for them to beat Palmer Ridge and advance.

Kick off for Windsor and Longmont is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Longmont High School.

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Class 3A semifinals

(4) Fort Morgan at (1) Pueblo East

To be the man, you’ve gotta beat the man. That’s exactly what For Morgan is looking to do as they travel to Dutch Clark Stadium Saturday with hopes of advancing to the 3A title game.

Fort Morgan is the only remaining unbeaten team in 3A. The Mustangs have a great chance to show they belong with the top teams as they draw the defending 3A champs in the Eagles.

Led by Bryson Torres and Daniel Martin, the Eagles have firmly sat atop the 3A rankings all season and have no desire to give up the top spot now.

But the Eagles’ offense will have to be on point. The Mustangs haven’t surrendered more than 14 points in any game this year.

Kick off at Dutch Clark will be at 1 p.m. Saturday.

(3) Delta at (2) Roosevelt

While Roosevelt isn’t technically unbeaten, the lone blemish on its record came from Windsor, a 4A semifinalist.

Beyond that, the Roughriders have played very good football in 2015. They topped Holy Family 64-63 during a stretch in which Chris Helbig was setting state passing records ablaze.

Delta was no slouch either as they had to face The Classical Academy early in the regular season before having to face them once again in the playoffs. The Panthers are getting 145 rushing yards per game from Jonny Ponce which they will need to control the clock and keep the Roosevelt offense off the field.

The Roughriders are scoring 45 points per game in the playoffs.

Delta and Roosevelt kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday.

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Class 2A championship

(1) Bayfield at (3) Platte Valley

The only thing that is a certainty in the 2A title game is that neither team will be a repeat champion. Bayfield dispatched dispatched defending 2A champion Brush in the second round of the tournament and will look to complete a state title run on Saturday.

But to do so, they’ll have to get through Platte Valley. Like in 2014, the Broncos met Kent Denver in the semifinals, but this time they were able to get the win to advance to the title game.

Hayfield looked impressive in their semifinal game against La Junta, putting up 47 points against a defense that had only allowed 63 points all season.

Bayfield and Platte Valley will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday.

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Class 1A championship

(3) Paonia at (1) Buena Vista

In a rematch of last year’s 1A title game, the Demons hope they can overcome Paonia at home. The Eagles are winners of the last two 1A titles.

The Demons have not won a state championship since dropping down to 1A, but did win a 2A title back in 1999. Both teams rely heavily on a running attack, but it’s the Eagles who have put up better numbers.

They lead all of 1A with 3,905 yards on the ground.

Kick off is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Buena Vista.

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8-Man championship

(1) Sedgwick County at (3) Akron

Sedgwick County didn’t make it out of the first round of last year’s playoffs. Akron made it to the second round before their season ended.

Saturday, one of them will be 8-man state champion.

Junior quarterback Trey Walter leads a juggernaut of an offense for the Cougars. He’s found the end zone 12 times on the ground while throwing for 24 more. He’s flanked by senior running back Cole McKinley who has run for 1,326 yards and scoring 24 touchdowns on his own.

The Rams counter the Walter/McKinley combination with three 1,000-yard rushers in Darrion Gibbs, Austin Couch and Levi Basler.

Kick off for the 8-man championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday.

ORDWAY — Keegan Wentz and Keenan Barr each had two rushing touchdowns as Buena Vista beat Crowley County 42-0 in the Class 1A football semifinals on Saturday.

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[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ore than nine months have passed since it happened, but the pain was still apparent in Pueblo County High School wrestler Grant Willits’ voice.

Willits, who was competing at 113 pounds, was on the cusp of making Pueblo prep history. Grant and his fraternal twin Hunter (138) were trying to become the first wrestlers in Pueblo prep history to win back-to-back state championships in their freshman and sophomore seasons.

That plan, however, was derailed in unexpected fashion.

The morning of Feb. 20 at the Class 4A state tournament in Denver Grant failed to make weight and was disqualified for the final two days of the tourney.

Grant, with a 3-pound weight allowance, could weigh up to 116 pounds and he weighed in at 116.1 pounds on four different scales at the Pepsi Center.

“I was one ounce under on the scales at our hotel before we went to the Pepsi Center, and it was heartbreaking when I failed to make weight,” Grant said. “When it happened, I didn’t know what to think. It was shocking.”

As freshmen, Grant won 4A state at 106 pounds and Hunter was tops at 132 pounds, and they also became the only twins from Pueblo to win state.

“I didn’t believe anybody that Grant didn’t make weight,” Hunter said. “Then, I saw Grant in (our team van) and he was devastated. I was heartbroken and angry, and I threw my drink I had in my hand to the ground. I wasn’t angry at him. I just couldn’t believe it happened.”

Hunter did regroup and accomplish his goal of repeating — winning at 138 pounds — but it was tough for Grant to watch.

“I felt like I let him down because I was picked to win state like he was,” said Grant, 17, who is 27 minutes older than Hunter.

Hunter Willits of Pueblo County. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Hunter acknowledged his second state crown didn’t mean quite as much.

“It was a big relief to win state and I was on top of the world, but I still felt really bad for Grant,” said Hunter, who will compete at either 145 or 152 pounds this season.

Now, Grant is more determined more than ever to erase last year’s memory and capture a gold medal.

“What last year taught me was always make sure I’m on weight and it has made me work even harder to get my second state title,” said the 5-foot-7 Grant, whose planning on competing at 126 pounds this season. “I’m so excited to get back on the mat.”

Hunter, meanwhile, is aiming to rewrite the Pueblo high school wrestling history book by becoming the city’s inaugural three-time champ and also the first to win three in a row.

“I’m ready to go,” he said.

Wrestling glory is nothing new for the Willits family.

Rick Willits, the twins’ father and assistant coach for the Hornets, won a Class AAA state championship at 132 pounds in 1980 while competing for Pueblo East. The elder Willits then went on to win an NAIA national championship at 150 pounds at Adams State College in 1985.

That is a source of pride for the family, but Grant and Hunter’s main focus is helping PCHS win state this season, something no Hornets boys team has done – ever.

Pueblo County finished second last season to Thompson Valley in the 4A team chase.

“That would be the best thing in the world if my brother and I could win state and also the team,” Grant said. “If we could be the first (boys) team to win state at Pueblo County that would be just amazing.”

Hunter concurred with his brother.

“If all those things happened, I won state for the third time, Grant won, and the team won, it would be electrifying and crazy,” Hunter said. “I would be so happy.”

In Class 5A, Arvada West is going for its third title in a row. Pomona has been the state runner-up the past two years.

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Wrestling preview

• Regular season begins: Dec. 1, 2015
• Regular season ends: Feb. 6, 2016
• Championships: Feb. 18-20, Pepsi Center (Denver)

Defending champions

• 5A: Arvada West
• 4A: Thompson Valley
• 3A: Valley
• 2A: Rocky Ford

Pomona’s Kelsey Boychuk. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

The 2015 all-state gymnastics teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.

These teams were created based upon results at the state meet.

The athletes who won all-around championships in their classification were named gymnast of the year.

This season, those honors went to Pomona’s Kelsey Boychuk and Standley Lake’s Rachel Cody.

Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.

Go to: 5A | 4A

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Class 5A

Gymnast of the year: Kelsey Boychuk, Pomona
Coach of the year: Tracey Boychuk, Pomona

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Class 4A

Gymnast of the year: Rachel Cody, Standley Lake
Coaches of the year: Mallorie Lang & Marisa Purcell, Niwot

Proposed football alignments for the 2016 and 2017 seasons are below, separated by classification.

These proposals were developed through a collaborative effort based on feedback from coaches, administrators, conference czars and football committee members over the past year. The CHSAA office facilitated the meetings, but these proposals came from the leagues and schools.

They will be voted on at the football committee meeting in December. After that, they need final approval from the Legislative Council in January 2016.

Some of these conferences have yet to be named, and terms such as “Conference A,” “Conference B,” etc., are placeholders.

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates that the school is playing up. A caret (^) indicates the school is playing down.

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Class 5A

This alignment is a waterfall based on the two-year average in the RPI. Find more information here.

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Class 4A

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Class 3A

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Class 2A

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Class 1A

% – Not eligible for the postseason

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8-man

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6-man

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]vergreen High School is 50 miles from Winter Park. It’s an hour and fifteen minute drive to the mountain and the same back “down the hill,” the term the kids and coaches of the ski team use.

The commute is nothing like those of other Colorado high school ski teams, teams like Aspen and Vail, whose schools reside a stone’s throw away from their respective resorts.

There is no bus for practices, just willing parents and dedicated student athletes. Parents travel an average of 2,500 miles a season for four months to make ski dreams possible.

The Evergreen High School ski team is comprised of kids from twelve different schools across the Denver Metro area, with kids traveling from as far south as Colorado Springs. Half are from Evergreen and the other half are split among the eleven other schools. They stack a 72-person team, an even split of girls and boys, and a very uneven split of alpine and cross country. Nearly 60 are alpine athletes. A few are skimeisters.

Powerhouses like Summit, Aspen, and Battle Mountain continue to take the state title year after year. The Summit boys and girls team have 29 championships together. Evergreen has none.

The obstacles they face seem instrumental in this lack of state titles. With no bus and a far commute, on-snow practice time is severely limited. The alpine team sees 12-14 days of practice on the actual slopes, whereas mountain located teams have half days at school and ski almost every afternoon of the season.

But the Cougars don’t let the disadvantaged circumstances affect their effort. Dry land practices at Red Rocks and fitness centers are held four times a week, and with that, what they lack in ski practice they make up for in conditioning and teamwork.

“Our emphasis is on the team first, individual second, which isn’t always the case with skiing since it’s an individual sport. But it’s important for us,” said alpine coach Kirk Petrik. “Because we have kids from many high schools and each racer is new to each other, we don’t have any cliques.”

The Nordic team waits until the evening to ski the beginner slopes of Loveland, or head to Addenbrooke Park in Lakewood when there is snow in town. But the biggest setbacks for the cross country athletes aren’t the location or limited practice spaces.

“People just don’t know we exist. Getting the word out is so tough,” says seventh-year Nordic co-coach Holly Boggs. “But the ones who do know about it embrace it. The families are amazing and so willing to make practices and races happen.”

And despite all the difficulties, hiccups, and inconveniences, the team still churns out top athletes. Senior Owen Tallmadge came in third place in Slalom at the 2015 state championships, behind two Battle Mountain stars Sands Simonton and Quintin Cook.

The boys alpine team came in fourth overall last year, and second in 2014, while the girls alpine team finished in 5th in 2015. The Nordic team, with its size, sees less success than the Alpine Squad, though 2015 graduate Luk Platill placed second in Nordic last season.

The Nordic team competes in their first race in mid-December, while the Alpine team will start in the New Year on Jan. 8.

“The kids just love it,” said both Boggs and Petrik.

For Evergreen, and its metro makeup of skiers, one thing remains the same as its competitors: it’s all for the love of the sport.

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Ski preview

Defending champions:

• Boys: Battle Mountain
• Girls: Summit

Returning All-State athletes:

• Boys: Owen Talmadge
• Girls: Brianna Bond

State championship: Feb. 26-27