COLORADO SPRINGS — Zachary Anderson and Marshall Pike each accounted for two touchdowns as 3A No. 8 Discovery Canyon topped 4A Brighton 28-14 on Friday night.
Columbine High School principal KC Somers, left, and athletic director Scott Christy, right, talks with Linda Sanders before she throws out the ceremonial first pitch of the Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament on Sept. 7. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — Linda Sanders wore her Columbine softball t-shirt and hat as she received plenty of hugs on Thursday.
“This community all pulled together in 1999,” Sanders said. “I think it’s great that they get little reminders now and again. The students are growing up remembering them.”
Sanders, widow of former Columbine High School teacher and coach, was on hand to throw out the first pitch of the annual Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament. Columbine and Lakewood had organized the 16-team tournament for years and renamed the tournament for Dave Sanders after the tragic school shooting on April 20, 1999.
Dave Sanders saved many lives that tragic day by warning students of the shooters before suffering mortal wounds.
Columbine High School renamed its softball field in the summer of 1999. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“Sometimes it feels like yesterday that it happened. Other days it seems like a long time ago. The reminders sometimes are trying, but at times like this it’s beautiful,” Linda Sanders said before throwing out the first pitch before the opening game of the three-day tournament. “He didn’t like to be in the spotlight. I don’t think he even realized that he was becoming a hero when he did what he did because he loved all of his students just the same.”
With 18 years having passed since the horrible day at Columbine High School, the memories and stories about the type of person Dave Sanders was is still a priority for the Rebels’ community. Sanders coached Columbine’s girls basketball and softball programs with Columbine colleague Rick Bath for several years.
Bath and former Lakewood softball coach Ray Baker has organized the annual tournament that concludes Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. Athletic directors Scott Christy (Columbine) and Michael Hughes (Lakewood) are now heavily involved in the tournament that draws Class 5A and 4A teams from Grand Junction, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Brighton and Denver Metro Area.
Bear Creek, Columbine, D’Evelyn and Lakewood playing in the tournament this year gives a good Jeffco flavor. However, Baker and Bath as had a focus of getting a field that is geography spread out to have a state flavor to it. It also gives teams a chance to play at the venue that host the 5A, 4A and 3A state tournaments in October.
D’Evelyn’s Rylee Waggoner fouls off a pitch during the Jaguars’ tournament opener Sept. 8. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I think its a great tournament on his behalf. He gave so much to softball, kids and education,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Porreco said of Dave Sanders. “We love coming back here every year. As time goes on sometime we forget things and what people meant to the sport.”
With the girls playing in the 40 tournament games having not even being born back in 1999, the decision was made four years ago to have the first game of the tournament held at Columbine High School at Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Field.
“I think having the first game on Dave Sanders Field and recognizing his memory, his legacy, and his family is incredibly important and is a terrific tradition,” Christy said. “Dave Sanders was a man who loved Columbine and gave his life at the school and it is incredibly important to remember this great man on an annual basis. Our softball team honors him on a daily basis as his initials DS are on the back of their jerseys.”
Baker, who guided Lakewood to back-to-back 4A softball state championship titles in 1997 and 1998, recalled how Sanders and Bath stayed to watch and support the Tigers during the 1998 4A title game played in Grand Junction. Columbine had lost its 5A state semifinal game by a run to Bear Creek.
Lakewood’s relationship has been key to the tradition of the Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“They were the kind of guys who would help you if they could, unless you were playing them,” Baker said. “Both (Bath and Sanders) of them were good role models for me because I hadn’t coached nearly as long as they had been coaching. They were great examples of how you should treat kids.”
Sanders actually coached several of Baker’s players during the summer in the 1990s.
“It didn’t matter who they played for or how they played. He (Sanders) was just that type of guy,” Baker said. “Dave was kind of a renaissance man in high school sports. He had the easy way of a guy who never had a bad day.”
Baker believes the tradition of the Dave Sanders Memorial Softball Tournament will keep going strong do in part to the strong relationship between Columbine and Lakewood high schools, along with the desire to keep the memory of Dave Sanders alive.
“I think we need to can keep the history of what Dave was about and what he meant to high school teaching and athletics,” Baker said. “I think that’s important.”
For the second consecutive day, Montrose sophomore Micah Stangebye sat atop the leaderboard.
A day after shooting 5-under, Stangebye shot 3-under at the Montrose Black Canyon Invite at Black Canyon Golf Course.
His teammate, freshman Jordan Jennings, finished second at 1-under, and Montrose also won as a team in shooting 209. Grand Junction (223) was second, paced by Blake Schneiter, who was third individually at 1-over.
[divider]
Bryant continues to win
Eaglecrest senior Davis Bryant continued his hot streak this season, winning the latest Centennial League meet on Thursday.
Bryant shot 2-under in winning at Saddle Rock. Arapahoe’s Tommy Packer (even) finished second in helping his team win the meet with a 7-over. Mullen was second as a team (+20), while Cherry Creek (+21) was third.
[divider]
Trujillo also stays hot
Discovery Canyon’s Luke Trujillo also continued his winning ways on Thursday.
Trujillo shot 2-under at Springs Ranch Golf Club to win the Scorpion Invite hosted by Sand Creek.
Palmer Ridge’s Elijah Harp (+3) was second. Teammate Drew Laake (+5) was third. The Bears also won the team title at +21. Discovery Canyon was second at +29.
[divider]
Notables
Valor Christian’s Jake Welch (-1) won the Fall Dual in the Knolls hosted by Mountain Range. Fairview won the event as a team, shooting 6-over. The Knights were led by Will Chadwick, who was second individually at even par.
Walker Franklin of Prospect Ridge won the Metro League tournament at Indian Tree. Peak to Peak was the top team at +15.
Liberty’s Brandon Bervig (+1) and Lucas Howell (+5) helped their squad win the Pine Creek Invitational.
Pueblo County’s Brock Rodriguez shot 3-over to win the Lamar Invitational. The Hornets were also the top team at +31.
Strasburg’s Jake Francis won the Kurtis Huss Memorial tournament at Holyoke Golf Club. He shot 6-over, and led the field by seven strokes. Strasburg also won the team event.
Prairie View’s Terrance Barrios won the EMAC Major No. 2 at 4-over. Brighton won the event as a team at +20.
[button color=”white” size=”big” alignment=”none” rel=”follow” url=”https://old.chsaanow.com/sports/boys-golf/stats/”]Find complete results of all the day’s golf tournaments.[/button]
NIWOT — Niwot volleyball coach Daisha Agho challenged her team to come out with intensity — a confident, not cocky attitude.
“I was impressed with their intensity tonight,” Agho said. “Their intensity on Tuesday, we talked about them needing to improve on that because we didn’t come out as fired up as we needed to. I was really impressed with the way the girls handled themselves tonight.
“Being confident not cocky. We talked about the difference between that.”
No. 6 Niwot met the challenge as the Cougars swept No. 8 Silver Creek 25-17, 25-23, 25-16.
“Come out and be as aggresssive as we could,” Fidelak said about the gameplan. “One of our main struggles is that sometimes we come out kind of timid. We were talking about it in the locker room, saying to come out and be aggressive and fight as hard as we can for every point.”
Niwot came out hot on an 11-4 run to start the match with kills from Stanford commit Mackenzie Fidelak, Emma Falk and Audrey Richard. Katie Hirsh started the first set with an ace.
“We really did do a good job of coming out and playing aggressive right off the bat,” Fidelak said. “I’m really proud of everyone for doing that, because it’s something that we haven’t really done before. It’s a really good step.”
Fidelak had her team fired up and never let off the gas pedal.
“I didn’t have to say much,” Agho said. “Mackenzie Fidelak did most of the talking. It was all very encouraging. I’m impressed with her leadership when it comes to getting the team to rise to an occasion. She sets that standard and shows them how to do it.”
The second set was really the only time Niwot was challenged, but the Cougars took the tight set 25-23. Silver Creek went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-11 lead.
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Niwot battled back to even the set at 16, then a pivotal rally was decided by another booming Fidelak kill.
“I think it’s always good to have tight sets like that because it proves that you have a fight and that you care about winning those sets,” Fidelak said. “They’re hard. You have to really fight for every point and play with a lot of mental toughness. It’s always more fun to win a close game.”
Silver Creek’s Rylee Anderson was at the forefront of Agho’s mind in gameplanning. Anderson had 36 kills and a 56.3 kill percentage coming into the match.
“We knew Rylee would be tough for them on the outside,” Agho said. “She’s always a strength for them. We needed to be able to shut her down and try to keep them out of a system as much as we could. Our serves needed to be on point tonight, and they were.
“Trying to take (Anderson) out of system and trying to keep them on their heels so we could have a chance to put a ball down.”
Niwot rode the momentum from taking the second set to jump out to a 10-3 lead, and an eventual 25-16 win.
“It’s one of those things where you’re not breathing on the bench the entire match, then finally you can breathe out,” Agho said. “I can’t be more proud of these girls for coming out the way they did. Having a change is hard, me coming in new to the season, new to the team. They have responded very, very well.”
The Cougars start the season with two league wins and sit on top of 4A’s Northern League with Mountain View and Longmont.
“It’s awesome,” Fidelak said. “It’s better than I could have expected, so I’m excited.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — That thing hanging off the right side of Rock Canyon’s Keeley Davis isn’t a right arm as much as it is a rocket launcher.
And when she is locked on to her target, there is almost no way to defend the projectile coming off her hand.
Davis stood out as the primary weapon in Class 5A No. 3 Rock Canyon’s 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 over 4A No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain.
“When the sets are there, it’s pretty crazy,” Davis said. “But it all depends.”
The set was there for her to attempt 27 hits. She connected on 14 of them, successfully hitting at 44 percent as the Jaguars (6-1 overall) had little trouble completing the sweep against a young Cheyenne Mountain team.
A 9-0 run in the first set put Rock Canyon up 13-3 and putting the Indians (0-2) on their heels early. Coach David Barkley admitted that the slow start didn’t do his team any favors considering the talent that was occupying the space on the other side of the net.
“It’s sad that we got off to a slow start,” Barkley said. “We started playing better as the match went on. Consistency is a thing that we have to work for. We had really nice moments, we just need to be consistent.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Cheyenne jumped out to early leads in the second and third sets, but was just unable to keep pace with the Jags.
And it seemed that every time Rock Canyon needed a shift in momentum, setter Abi Leitner found Davis and the tide began to turn.
“She always talks about a lot and that’s what I like about a hitter so I can find her on the court,” Leitner said. “She’s really consistent, so I know I can plug into Keeley.”
That’s how it’s been for Rock Canyon for the last four years now. She has been a reliable offensive weapon since her freshman year and big-time school across the country noticed early.
She announced all the way back in October of 2015 that she would play volleyball at Creighton. But in the time since then, she has done nothing but help Rock Canyon be successful on the court. She amassed 421 kills as a junior and got the team to the state semifinals where the Jags fell to Mountain Vista.
Her experience might even be a bigger weapon for the team than her rocket launcher of a right arm.
“She’s our senior leader this year,” Rock Canyon coach Angela Nylund-Hanson said. “She’s been on varsity all four years and she knows what to expect so she can really settle the rest of those girls who have those nerves. It’s her ability to lead the team that’s important.”
Still early in the season, the Jaguars need wins against programs like Cheyenne Mountain to get battle-tested in their search for a 5A title.
Barkley’s squad might be young and might be going through its own trial by fire, but a win over Cheyenne Mountain will pay dividends for Rock Canyon down the line.
“I think this is a great match to she how we play together,” Davis said.
And if nothing else for an early-season contest, it can help build confidence and momentum.
“It’s helped a lot with our confidence,” Leitner said. “Playing against high-level teams just helps me figure out that I can do this every single time.”
Lakewood senior Ezekiel Sundberg (3) rushed for almost 150 yards and threw a pair of touchdowns Thursday against rival Bear Creek. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Lakewood’s one-two quarterback punch is working out so far this season.
Senior Ezekiel Sundberg and junior Pierce Holley shared the signal-caller roles against Jeffco rival Bear Creek on Thursday night at Jeffco Stadium. Everything worked out with the Tigers (2-0 record) grabbing a 28-14 victory.
“I personally think having those two (quarterbacks) is amazing,” Lakewood junior Kegan Hufford said. “It changes the defense and makes them think. We are confidence in both of our quarterback and our offensive line.”
Sundberg gave the Bear Creek’s defense headaches all night. The athletic quarterback had 15 carries for 145 yards. He had five runs over 20-plus yards. Sundberg also threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Bear Creek’s Deonte Webb (26) squares up to tackle Lakewood’s Dylan Ladd. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“He (Sundberg) is a super athletic quarterback,” Bear Creek coach Zach Morris said and added Sundberg reminds him of the Bears’ starting quarterback Walker Rumsey from last year. “We’ve got young kids who go in trying to tackle high and didn’t take the proper angle on him. That’s what happens.”
Holley, more of a pocket passer, was effective through the air going 13-of-16 for 127 yards.
Bear Creek trailed 14-0 at halftime in its homecoming game, but came out with a purpose in the second half. Junior George Martinez had a 72-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Junior quarterback Isaiah Romero scored from 20 yards out to cut the Tigers’ lead in half early in the third quarter.
A sack of Sundberg by senior Dylan Young on the ensuing drive on a fourth-down play gave the Bears the ball in good field position. A 40-yard run by Martinez set up an eventual 4-yard touchdown run by the junior running back to even the game at 14-14 with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
“We just needed to keep gaining yards toward the end zone, one by one,” Hufford said of the Tigers’ mentally after Bear Creek tied it up. “I think we did that.”
Lakewood had an impressive 11 plays, 90-yard touchdown drive capped off by Hufford’s second touchdown run of the game with 11:24 left in the fourth quarter. Holley was the quarterback on the key drive that saw the Tigers dig out of a 2nd-and-27 yards to go. Holley had big pass plays to seniors Luke Carlson and Blake Cowden to get the key first down.
Lakewood’s Weston Lee (23) runs back on interception Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Hufford, also the Tigers’ starting safety, was filling in at running back because of injury. He finished with 11 carries for 54 yards and touchdown runs of 10 and 7 yards.
“Kegan is just a football player,” Lakewood coach Jeff Braun said. “He is a big strong kid and has figured out how to play the game. He is a special kid.”
Sundberg iced the game after Lakewood’s defense forced a 3-and-out after the Tigers regained the lead. The senior connected with senior Rex Desso for a 19-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 28-14.
“Offensive line was blocking well. It was a team effort,” Sundberg said and added he doesn’t mind splitting time at quarterback with Holley. “We are putting the pieces together to get it done.”
The Tigers were coming off a historically memorable finish last week. Sundberg’s pick-6 on the final play of the game against Arvada West broke a 29-29 tie to give the Tigers a 35-26 victory.
Bear Creek junior Dillon Monk finds some running room. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s a good old-fashion Jeffco rivalry,” Braun said of back-to-back wins over Jeffco schools. “We just happened to be a little bit better conditioned then they are and it went our way.”
Lakewood has the potential to move to 3-0 on the season when it faces Hinkley in the Tigers’ homecoming game at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at Jeffco Stadium. Hinkley lost its season opener 56-20 against Mountain Range last week. The Thunderbirds host Thornton tomorrow night at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Bear Creek (0-2) has the tall task of facing Columbine (2-0 record) next Friday night at Jeffco Stadium in the Rebels’ homecoming. Columbine is coming off a bye week and is ranked No. 4 in the current CHSAANow.com 5A rankings.
“We are playing 17 to 18 junior and sophomore starters for us. We’ll have some growing pains,” Morris said. “We’ll keep grinding and battling. We’ll keep getting better.”
Lakewood senior Rex Desso (15) attempts to make a diving catch behind Bear Creek’s Ethan George. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Greeley West football beat Longmont to move to 2-0 on Thursday night, taking down Class 3A’s top-ranked Trojans.
The game had a weird ending: It was called with 2:39 remaining after the stadium had to be evacuated, according to the Greeley Tribune, because of a gas leak near the stadium.
Afterward, Greeley West posted on its Facebook page that “small leak” had been capped.
“The site is now secure and safe, according to fire authorities,” the school posted. “Sorry for the inconvenience and interruption to tonight’s Greeley West game. The emergency response was quick and safety was secured.”
(greeleywestathletics.com)
This marked the first time since 2009 that Greeley West, which plays in 4A, had beat Longmont. The two teams play annually, and Longmont had won seven-straight games between the two teams.
Longmont actually led 14-0 in the first quarter before Greeley West rallied to tie the game at halftime.
The Trojans again took the lead at 20-14 in the third quarter, but the Spartans scored the game’s final 20 points.
The Spartans are now 2-0, while Longmont fell to 1-1.
[divider]
3A/4A: Palisade 28, Montrose 27
The Bulldogs scored 22 second-half points to rally from a 27-6 halftime hole and beat Montrose.
Montrose, which plays in 4A, jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but Palisade adjusted after the break. The rally started late in the third, with a rushing touchdown with 4 minutes to play in the frame.
The Bulldogs, a 3A program, got another rushing score early in the fourth, then took the lead three minutes later on yet another rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion.
[divider]
3A: (4) Silver Creek 45, Mountain View 33
Silver Creek exploded for 22 second-quarter points en route to the 45-33 win over Mountain View.
Andreik Knechtel and TJ Blazon each accounted for two touchdowns for the Raptors, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald. Brandon Harper added a 98-yard kickoff return for a score.
[divider]
Notables
David O’Connell threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns as Golden beat Littleton 49-0. Colin Mulligan caught two of those touchdown passes.
Ho-hum, yet another high-scoring affair: Skyline beat Coronado 70-50. Jeremy Hollingsworth and Moses Rivera each had four touchdowns for Skyline, according to GazettePreps.com.
There were five shutouts on Thursday. Aside from Golden over Littleton, Thomas Jefferson beat Pueblo Central 68-0, Cherokee Trail beat Denver East 33-0, Horizon topped Overland 40-0, and Denver North beat Arvada 40-0.
