MANITOU SPRINGS — Third-seeded Manitou Springs boys basketball got off to a good start in the Class 3A state tournament with a 63-37 win over No. 30 Kent Denver in the first round.
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Month: March 2016
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Photos: 5A girls basketball’s Great 8
DENVER — The Class 5A girls basketball Great 8 was on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
Ultimately, Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge, Ralston Valley and Grandview advanced to next week’s Final 4, which is held at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
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Photos: McCoy leads Valor Christian girls basketball back to Final 4
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian won a back-and-forth game to secure a spot in the Class 4A girls basketball Final 4.
The No. 1-seeded Eagles got 22 points from Madison McCoy, 14 from Heidi Hammond, and 13 from Tess Boade in their 61-58 win over No. 3 Mullen in the Great 8 on Friday.
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Thomas Jefferson tabs alum Derrick Martin as new football coach
Thomas Jefferson has hired prominent alum Derrick Martin as its next football coach.
Spartans athletic director Andrew Skari announced the hire on Saturday morning.
Martin takes over for Jesus Escobedo, who resigned in February. Escobedo led T.J. for three seasons, and was 10-20. The Spartans play in Class 3A.
Martin was a star quarterback and cornerback at Thomas Jefferson. He also starred while playing basketball, and qualified for the state meet in track.
After graduating, he went on to play at Wyoming. From there, he spent eight seasons in the NFL with five different teams. Martin is a two-time Super Bowl champion, winning in 2011 with Green Bay, and 2012 with the New York Giants.
Thomas Jefferson will return a young roster in 2016, with a number of key contributors back. Included: quarterback Dane Washington, who will be a senior; the Spartans’ four leading rushers, and top three receivers; as well as four of the five leading tacklers.
Adrian Chambers, who had 12 sacks on defense, will also be a senior.
Follow all of this offseason’s coaching movement in our coaching changes tracker.
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5A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: Chatfield in Final 4 for first time since 1996
Chatfield boys basketball advanced to the 5A Final 4 with an overtime win against Cherry Creek. More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) (2) Chatfield 63, (4) Cherry Creek 55 (OT)
DENVER — It had been more than a decade since a Jeffco program reached the Final 4 of the Class 5A state boys basketball tournament.
Chatfield snapped that streak Saturday afternoon with a little drama and a lot of resiliency.
The Chargers forced overtime with a last-second free throw and then completely took over in OT, pulling away for a 63-55 victory over Cherry Creek in the Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum.
“The last 3 playoff games that we’ve played, we haven’t played very well and we’ve found ways to win,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “We’ve found ways to win that were not necessarily areas that we’re best at, so that speaks very highly of them. This is a resilient group.”
Chatfield (23-2) advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1996 and will play either Overland on Friday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com) The Chargers overcame a brilliant shooting performance from Cherry Creek senior Will Halfon, who scored 38 points on 15-of-24 shooting.
“He’s an incredible player, an incredible shooter,” said Chatfield senior Cameron Pearson, who shared the team lead of 18 points with Josh Frenette. “I tipped some of his shots and they were still going in. Hats off to him – he’s amazing.”
A back-and-forth game looked to belong to Chatfield, which led by eight early in the fourth quarter. The Bruins battled back, and after trading the lead a few times, Cherry Creek found itself up 50-49 in the final minute on an Amon Johnson follow-up bucket.
Pearson was fouled with 3.9 seconds remaining and hit his first free throw. He missed the second, grabbed the offensive rebound and just missed a jumper to force overtime.
It ultimately didn’t matter, as the Chargers were 5-of-6 shooting in OT. The team repeatedly drove inside, and Frenette had six of his 18 points in the extra session.
“We didn’t say anything in particular,” Pearson said. “It looked like we got a little more aggressive and it looked like we finished at the rim rather than falling away or settling for jump shots.
“It was like a whole mindset change almost — just a sense of urgency that this is it, man, this is it.”
Nine players scored for Chatfield. Pearson finished with nine rebounds and Frenette added eight.
“We had a lot of people step up,” Schimpeler said. “It wasn’t necessarily scoring, they were just kind of doing the little things. It truly was a team win.”
Dimitri Stanley grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bruins (16-10) and Hayden Parr had 10.
[divider](1) Eaglecrest 69, (2) Regis Jesuit 57
More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Colbey Ross didn’t score often, but was he ever timely with his baskets.
The junior guard found himself in early foul trouble and was forced to the bench often, but Eaglecrest still came away with a 69-57 win over Regis Jesuit to advance to the 5A Final 4. The Raptors (24-2) will face Rangeview on Friday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
Ross was able to kickstart the Eaglecrest offense at the start of the third and fourth quarters by scoring early baskets. Each time he had just re-entered the game after sitting for an extended period of time because of foul trouble. They were baskets that the Raptors badly needed at each point in time.
“It was a great feeling because I know any game these guys are going to step up for me,” Ross said. “If I’m in foul trouble, if I’m not making shots, it’s these guys that make me better and help us win the game tonight.”
The game got off to a very fast pace that saw the Raiders (22-4) take a 31-30 lead into halftime. Sophomore Elijah Martinez, who came in averaging eight points per game, exploded in the first half where he scored 16 of his team-high 20 points.
But despite Martinez’s second-best scoring effort of the season (he scored 29 against ThunderRidge on Feb. 9) the Raiders failed to reach the Final 4 for the fifth-straight season.
“I can’t wait to be back next year,” Martinez said. “It was a team effort and we just couldn’t get it done today.”
It was the Raptors who were able to step up and use more of a team effort to earn their third Final 4 bid in the last four seasons. Eaglecrest won the 5A state championship in 2013 when they beat Denver East 63-44.
But just getting there required Raptors coach John Olander to adjust some things and hope that the Raptors could weather the storm of Ross being confined to the bench.
“(We had to) hang on and keep it as close as we can,” Olander said. “The good thing about this team and about Colbey is that he doesn’t have to score for us to be successful. Having his leadership helps get some of the other guys open, but we’ve played 11 guys all year long so we have guys with experience. I trusted the guys I had in there.”
And that trust paid off. The Raptors capped off the 5A Great 8 by hoisting a Final 4 trophy much to the delight of their fans. But their work is far from over and they’ll get back to it Monday along with the other four teams hoping to win a state title.
[divider](1) Rangeview 75, (2) Cherokee Trail 64
Rangeview beat Cherokee Trail in the Great 8. More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com) Whatever Rangeview needed Saturday afternoon, Elijah Reed was ready to deliver it as the Raiders fought to a 75-64 win over Cherokee Trail in the 5A Great 8.
A big 3-pointer to create some room on the scoreboard?
Reed’s got it.
Four consecutive free throws to give the Raiders (26-0) a comfortable lead in the third quarter?
Reed was the guy to step up and knock them down.
He’ll be the first to say that he’s not anything special. His team is a unit and Saturday was just his day to step up when needed.
“Any of our guys can be put in that situation or rise to the occasion,” he said. “We don’t have one guy that’s going to come up and do everything for us every single night. We just have pieces.”
The Raiders had five guys score in double figures to the team remain undefeated. For the Cougars (19-7), David Thornton led all scorers with 26.
Looking to fare better than the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 9 (a game in which Rangeview walked away with a 59-55 win), the Cougars jumped out to a quick 12-11 lead after the first quarter.
But after leaving their Sweet 16 game come down to the wire, the Raiders showed no desire for that to be the case. Reed, who had been held scoreless, went 3-3 from the field in the second quarter, including a big 3-pointer to push the Raiders lead to 25-18.
Once Rangeview grabbed ahold of that momentum, they weren’t going to let it go. They came out and scored 27 points in the third quarter, all but wrapping up a trip to the Coors Events Center.
“There’s just something about the third quarter,” Tyrei Randle said. “We like to make our mistakes early so when we get late in the game, we don’t have as many mistakes as we did to start the game.”
The win means that the Raiders still have a chance to complete their run at a perfect season. They know that the pressure is going to get turned up on Friday in the state semifinals.
“It’s been that way the whole season,” Reed said. “We’ve played a lot of great teams and we’ve prepared for those teams really well. We know that we’re not going to take a step back, we know that we can’t come out next week and not play how we play.”
[divider](1) Overland 69, (2) Doherty 50
De’Ron Davis led Overland back to the Final 4. More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com) De’Ron Davis was his usual powerful self in the paint Saturday night, throwing down multiple two-handed dunks.
But the 3-pointers that were falling for the 6-foot-10 Overland senior? That may have been a bit unexpected, at least for everyone outside of the Trailblazers.
Davis knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points, sending the defending Class 5A state champions back to the Final 4 for the third year in a row with a 69-50 victory over Doherty at the Denver Coliseum.
Overland (23-3) faces Chatfield on Friday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder for a berth in the 5A state championship game the next night.
“We’ve been hungry since Day 1,” Davis said. “All my teammates were back in the gym three days after we won state last year, preparing for this moment right now. We’re pretty hungry, and we’ll never try to settle. We want to be the best we can be.”
Davis was perfect from the field until missing his final two attempts of the fourth quarter. His performance from the perimeter included a 4-point play late in the second quarter that pushed the lead to 16 points.
“The big men didn’t respect my shot,” Davis said. “I caught it in rhythm and just held my follow through and just worked on my mechanics. Everything was just hitting.”
Davis added 10 rebounds and three blocks to his night. Jervae Robinson scored 16 points and Padiet Wang chipped in with 10.
As Doherty struggled from the floor in the first half – shooting 3-of-15 from the perimeter – Overland took advantage on the other end. The team built a 13-point lead at halftime, and though the Spartans (22-4) cut the lead to nine early in the third quarter, the shots simply weren’t falling with any consistency.
“That’s one thing our defensive pressure does. We don’t press a lot, we don’t do a lot of full-court stuff,” Trailblazers coach Danny Fisher said. “But in the half-court we are really, really in your face. Sometimes we benefit from that because it wears teams’ legs down.”
Overland shot 55 percent from the field through the first two quarters.
“We shot the ball really well in the first half, and that set the tone,” Fisher said. “That was really important for us to build on that lead.”
Brevin Brimble led Doherty with 16 points and Dalven Brushier added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Overland hadn’t had an opportunity to see much of Chatfield, but a victory over Centennial League foe Cherry Creek certainly commanded respect.
“For them to beat Creek, that says a lot in itself,” Fisher said. “It says how tough they are because Creek is a tough, hard-nosed team that you really have to be ready to grind out to play. That sounds like one of the teams in our league.”
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Final 4 matchups
- (1) Overland vs. (2) Chatfield
- (1) Rangeview vs. Eagelcrest
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Regis Jesuit stuns Monarch to win hockey’s championship
More photos. (Audra Cathy/CHSAANow.com) LOVELAND — Monarch entered Saturday’s hockey state championship game at the Budweiser Events Center against Regis Jesuit with an unblemished 21-0 record.
The Coyotes had scored 202 goals, only surrendering 17, and rolled Heritage, Dakota Ridge, and Ralston Valley by a combined 20-4 tally in the state tournament. After losing in three consecutive hockey finals, Monarch seemed a team of destiny and boasted the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Even Regis Jesuit coach Dan Woodley had said the Coyotes were perhaps one of the best teams in Colorado history.
But, Regis’ inspired defensive play, physical brand of hockey, and crisp shot-making allowed the Raiders to seal a fourth state championship with a 6-1 finals victory over Monarch, giving the Coyotes their first loss of the season.
After a goal 13 seconds in by Monarch forward Adam Tybor, the Raiders (22-1) dominated the rest of the way with goals by Cale Woodley and Jack Jordan (penalty shot) in the first, a slapshot by Kyle Nelson and a score by Jack Kilkenny in the second, and a dagger goal by Eamon Duffy during a Monarch power play in the third.
Regis, whose lone loss on the season was a 3-0 setback on Feb. 6 to Monarch, tallied their final goal with 6:40 remaining, the game well out of reach, when Rowan Barnes converted a power play opportunity.
The Coyotes hadn’t given up more than two goals in any game this season. Regis flooded the net with six, but the way the Raiders also stymied a Monarch offensive attack that had yet to score less than three goals in any contest, keyed such a dominant effort.
“The boys in front of me did an unreal job making sure they kept the shots outside,” Regis senior goalie Sam Gartner said. “It was the whole team in front of me that did all the work.”
Regis was the more physical team throughout, setting the tone with an unrelenting defense. They fought back from an early deficit and exorcised some demons in the process, taking out a team that had ended their season in the Frozen 4 three years in a row.
“I’m real sentimental about Monarch,” Woodley said. “I love those guys, the coach is a wonderful coach, and there are guys on the team that I’m extremely fond of. We felt that they had manhandled us during the season.
More photos. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com) “We also felt they had the better team, but we had something to prove. We were so tight and then to give up a shocking goal. To give up a goal in 14 seconds, that could have been the coronation of Monarch winning the state title. Instead, our guys battled back.”
Added Gartner: “We powered back, showed a lot of character, and now we’re state champions.”
The Raiders also defeated Mountain Vista, Steamboat Springs and Cheyenne Mountain during their playoff run. Regis, who also won in 2012, 2009, and 2008, is now tied with Cherry Creek for the second-most state championships in hockey with four. Cheyenne Mountain has won 14.
As for Monarch, another deep tournament run ends in the final game after losing to Ralston Valley in 2013 and 2014 and Cherry Creek in 2015.
“Regis is an unbelievable hockey team,” Monarch coach Jimmy Dexter said. “Today they had a little more jump than we did. We looked a little flat and they were flying. It was a great season. Great group of kids and we had so much fun this year.”
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Shelby Megyeri looks to add to her family’s legacy in 3A girls basketball tournament
The Megyeri brothers all put their mark on Manitou Springs basketball, but now it’s time for their sister Shelby (24) to make hers. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) [dropcap]S[/dropcap]helby Megyeri was not the first member of her family to put on a Manitou Springs basketball jersey. But she just might be the best.
The junior guard has been outstanding for the Mustangs during her three-year career at the varsity level. In fact, with every bucket she gets, she adds to her own career scoring record for the Mustangs. She broke Amelia Schofield’s career mark of 1,025 points earlier this season and still has another full year to add to it.
It’s just another ho-hum for the Megyeri family. Shelby has three older brothers, Josh, Jesse and Chase, that all suited up for the Mustangs. Each one was a standout player and they all had their defining moments.
Josh was the first (and thus far the only) one to dunk the ball. The boys weren’t overly tall and the eldest insisted that it was a feat that he could and would accomplish.
“Josh dunking the ball is something I’ll never forget,” Jesse said. “It defied the odds, what he did. He kept telling us and our parents that he could dunk and he would and we always shrugged it off.”
Jesse soon found his own moment as his 2010 team reached the Class 3A Great 8 before falling to Aspen. But his team fought on and ended up winning the consolation bracket, an achievement that he his teammates from that year remain proud of to this day.
All Chase did was knock off the No. 1 team in the 3A bracket back in 2014. With only seconds remaining he found himself open for a 3-pointer and buried it at the buzzer to beat Jefferson Academy, which came in as the favorite to win state that year.
“Growing up and watching them was my favorite thing to do,” Shelby said. “It’s so much fun and exciting and I wanted them to win a state championship to see what it was like.”
That feat is now up to Shelby. The Mustangs enter the 3A tournament as the No. 3 overall seed and have played all year like a team that could walk away with championship gold.
“Knowing that maybe we have a chance to do it is pretty amazing,” she continued. “It’s a good feeling.”
But it won’t come easy. During the Tri-Peaks district championship game, the Mustangs — and the rest of the field — learned a tough lesson. They learned that they can be beat. Manitou lost to St. Mary’s 38-37 Saturday, putting a blemish on what had been their perfect season to that point.
(Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com) The youngest sibling in a family with mostly boys, the loss was hard for Shelby to take. The reason that she has become the player that she is is because she has spent her entire life competing against her brothers and trying to keep up with their pace.
“It’s all exploded into Shelby,” Josh said. “It’s the grand finale. She has a whole other year ahead of her, but in most senses she’s proven herself.”
And she’s proven herself as a complete player. This year, she also set school records in steals and assists. The old assist mark of 204 from Shira Spielman was set in 2005 and Jill Keaveny ended her career in 2002 with 203 steals.
But Shelby isn’t in it for the records. She wants a championship. And there’s nothing more that her brothers want than to see her make major accomplishments at the highest level. They’ve lived through theirs, but they can’t wait for hers.
“From the experience I had, I would love to see that happen for her,” Chase said. “I know how fun and exciting it is to get your name out there and I really want that for her benefit.”
The Mustangs will begin their quest for a state title Friday against Manual. As the No. 3 seed in the tournament, Manitou plays host for the first two rounds. If the Mustangs advance through this weekend, they’ll head to the Denver Coliseum for the Great 8. The Mustangs took fourth place in 2015 and with the entire team returning, can taste a state title.
“I think (my teammates and I) have the same mindset,” Shelby said. “We want to win state. That’s the main goal.”
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Bride leads Monarch hockey to fourth-straight appearance in title game
Monarch hockey is headed back to the championship game following a win over Ralston Valley in the semifinals. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com) LOVELAND — Blake Bride has a history of stepping up in the postseason. Under the lights of a big arena, he did it again on Thursday night.
Bride, a senior, had a hat-trick to lead Monarch to hockey’s championship game for the fourth consecutive season. The Coyotes, a No. 1 seed, beat Ralston Valley 6-2 in the semifinals at the Budweiser Events Center.
“I struggled at the beginning of the year,” said Bride, who had 37 points in 16 regular season games, “but in the playoffs, I always try to find a new level. I play my best hockey there.”
Bride has now scored in six straight games, including all three postseason contests. He leads Monarch with five goals in the state tournament.
But this isn’t exactly a new thing for him. He had three goals in last year’s postseason, including two in the semifinals.
“His effort is — the way he goes, I mean you can’t stop him,” said Monarch coach Jimmy Dexter. “And he can bury when he needs to.”
Monarch (22-0-0 this season) has now reached the state title game for a fourth straight year. They have lost in the three previous trips. And, yes, they are well aware.
“We try not to talk about it much, but we remember,” Bride said. “So we come out the next year with fire, and we go out there and play our hardest. Hopefully it’s our year. But you never know if bounces will go our way. We’re really confident this year.”
Added Dexter: “We mention that this is the year, that we’re not going to be second. We had one goal this year, and this is the first time we’ve ever come in as a 1 seed. And we’re still undefeated. We have one more game to finish it off, hopefully.”
More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com) Monarch spent the entire season atop CHSAANow.com’s coach poll, and has yet to lose. Still, it’s not as though reaching yet another title game is not some cakewalk.
“I don’t think people understand, in the playoffs of hockey, how hard it is to win in a one-game situation, because it’s a piece of rubber on the ice,” Dexter said. “You get a bad bounce off the glass, you bounce it off of people’s bodies. You know, you could outshoot someone 40-3 and lose to a hot goalie. Yeah, it’s tough. So it’s nice to be back and we’re all hoping we can get over the hump this year.”
On Thursday, Monarch grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of quick goals midway through the first period. First, Jake Young took a nice feed from Brendan VanHaute and tapped in an easy goal. Then, 34 seconds later, Bride one-timed a pass home from Mason Peterson.
“That’s been all year, with all of these guys,” Dexter said of the quick start. “We’re so talented up front.”
VanHaute made it 3-0 in the second period when his centering attempt deflected in off a Ralston Valley player. Bride added to the lead later in the second period when he converted on a penalty shot with a backhand deke. He had been pulled down on a shorthanded breakaway.
Moments later, Stefan Fruhwirth converted on the same power play for Ralston Valley and made it 4-1.
But Monarch was having no part of a comeback. Bride completed his hat-trick when he tapped home the puck during a scramble in front of the net with less than six minutes left in the second period.
VanHaute added his second goal in the third period to push the score to 6-1, and Ralston Valley’s Matt Trubacz scored late to account for the final tally.
Monarch goalie Hunter Ingino made 17 saves in the win. And his defensemen did a good job of blocking shots in front of him, especially on the power play.
The Coyotes advance to play Regis Jesuit, which beat Mountain Vista in the other semifinal. The championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday, also at the Budweiser Events Center.
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Photos: Monarch hockey beats Ralston Valley in semifinals
LOVELAND — Monarch hockey beat Ralston Valley 6-2 in the semifinals to advance to Saturday’s championship.
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