CHSAANow

Month: October 2017

  • No. 5 Windsor football hands No. 6 Monarch its first loss of the season

    Windsor football team
    (Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    WINDSOR — No. 5 Windsor football got a huge stop when it needed it most in a 35-17 win over No. 6 Monarch.

    With Monarch facing a fourth down and three, down just one possession, Nate Cole broke through the line to make the tackle and turn the ball over on downs.

    “We knew this was going to be a fight,” Cole said. “We knew we were going to  throw the knockout punch, it was just a matter of when. That big fourth down stop gave us our energy back.

    “We just had to get in there and fight, and get him. We knew we were going to get him.”

    Windsor scored three unanswered touchdowns after Monarch took the lead. A blocked punt energized Monarch. Four plays later, Max Laychak’s 5-yard touchdown run gave Monarch a 17-14 lead — it’s first of the night.

    Windsor dealt with injury trouble, but fought through it with a next man up mentality. Windsor coach Chris Jones said the Wizards have around nine players injured. 

    “It says ‘KNOW’ on our helmets for never out-worked,” Jones said. “Know your job, do your job and know the guys in your circle. Everybody had faith in eachother tonight, and they knew the next guy was going to step up. The guys that went in there, they knew everyone believed in them.

    “Everyone was focused on knowing your job, know your environment and know who’s supporting you.”

    Jaedyn Traut finished the job with an 8-yard touchdown run to give Windsor a 28-17 with 6:31 left in the game.

    A Darren Peeples 54-yard run inside the 1-yard-line set up a quarterback sneak from Connor Apodaca to put the game out of reach.

    Monarch Windsor football
    (Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Windsor took over inside Monarch’s 50-yard-line after a 30-yard punt return. Then, a pass to the 2-yard-line set up Noah Montague’s touchdown run that gave the Wizards the lead back at 21-17.

    “The guys we threw in who got limited reps,” Jones said. “That was the difference. You saw guys making blocks, making tackles. We threw four dudes in the game in the middle of the third quarter that had to play because of injury. There was no drop in faith, no drop in confidence. The kids went out there and did their job.”

    Windsor had it’s own big play turnover in a forced fumble, but the Monarch defense held tough and forced a turnover on downs. Windsor’s Connor Apodaca lofted the pass to Brayden Pedersen, who tried to drag a foot in bounds, but the pass was ruled incomplete.

    “Defense came up big,” Jones said. “We got a couple turnovers on them, and then the fourth down stop. Then we go down and score. Then we go down and score again, and we score again. These guys support eachother. We always have eachother’s backs. 

    Windsor took advantage of a Monarch missed field goal and cashed in with a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

    Apodaca chucked up a 32-yard pass to the back of the endzone and Pedersen came down with the touchdown catch. 

    Monarch answered with a big play of its own in a 58-yard pass from CJ Schmanski to Ben Cole. After Cole was tripped up at the three, Justin Kiss finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to pull Monarch within one possession.

    Monarch got on the board first with a seven minute and 44 second drive that ended with a Lanphear 31-yard field goal. The Coyotes started the drive at their own 4-yard-line.

    Windsor’s Isaiah Salazar put life into the Wizard offense with a kick return to the 49. A pass to Brandon Ramirez got Windsor down to the 4.

    Montague finished off the quick-strike drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to put Windsor up 7-3. 

    Windsor finishes out the season at Greeley Central, versus Skyline and at Fort Collins.

    “My brothers will always do their job,” Cole said after the game. “That’s what we were preaching this week. Do your job and we’ll get this win.”

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”865″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • Photos: No. 4 Harrison football survives scare from Pueblo Central

    PUEBLO — Nico Martin had two long touchdowns to give Pueblo Central an early edge, but No. 4 Harrison eventually rebounded to get a 33-14 win.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”867″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • Photos: Strong second half lifts Pueblo East football over Pueblo County

    PUEBLO — Luc Andrada’s six-yard touchdown run gave Pueblo East the lead for good. The Eagles beat Pueblo County 35-25.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”867″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • TD on final play gives Ralston Valley football win over rival A-West

    ARVADA — The different between rival high schools separated by 3.5 miles was about 18 inches Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.

    Ralston Valley junior quarterback AJ Jergensen plowed into the end zone from less than a yard out on the final play against rival Arvada West for a 20-14 victory for the Mustangs.

    “(Jergensen) came over and I asked if he could get it,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said when asked why he attempt a field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock. “(Jergensen) said he could get it. I said OK and go for it.”

    Ralston Valley’s Sean Gishwiller leaps over a defender Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Jergensen’s touchdown broke a 14-14 tie and extended the Mustangs’ all-time record against the Wildcats to 8-0. The rivalry started in 2010 when Ralston Valley made the move up to Class 5A.

    “If we lost, I couldn’t tell you what would have happened with our team,” Ralston Valley senior Jake Nishida said of the thought of being the first team to possibility lose to A-West. “It was good to keep the streak going.”

    Nishida played a huge roll in the final outcome. He intercepted A-West junior quarterback Johnny Krutsch with under 30 seconds to play and ran the pick back to the Wildcats’ 30-yard line.

    “That was probably the play of the game,” Loyd said of Nishida’s interception. “It’s probably overtime or (A-West) gets another chance to throw one down field. Huge, huge play.”

    With 20 seconds to play, Jergensen had pass plays to junior Brad Roberts and senior Jake Jones to move the Mustangs down to the 2-yard line. Roberts nearly got in to the end zone, but was ruled down inside the 1-yard line.

    Ralston Valley took a timeout with 2 seconds remaining and decided to put the game into the hands of Jergensen and the offensive line.

    Arvada West suffered a second last-play defeat Friday night against Ralston Valley. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “We wanted to come out and make a statement. Obviously the game was a lot closer than we wanted it to be,” Jergensen said. “We just wanted to put it in and get it done.”

    Ralston Valley (4-3, 2-0 in Mt. Wilson League) started the season slowly with an 0-3 start and its fourth game schedule for Washington was cancelled because of the wildfires in the northwest.

    The Mustangs have bounced back with four straight wins now. It started with a road trip to California to face East Bakersfield. Ralston Valley then knocked off Class 4A’s No. 3 Pine Creek. A shutout victory over Castle View in both teams’ conference opener kept the momentum going.

    “It’s a good win for us, but it’s just another game those,” Loyd said. “When you start out 0-3 you have to win some games in a row. We are doing that now.”

    A-West (5-2, 1-1) had its 5-game winning streak snapped. Both of the Wildcats’ losses have come on the last play of the game. Lakewood defeated A-West with a pick-6 on the final play to break a tie in the Wildcats’ opener.

    “We moved the ball all night. There was a lot of penalties that hurt us,” A-West coach Brad Pyatt said. “I’m extremely proud of my kids. We are going to be fine. Our goal is to make the playoffs. We hit a speed bump, but we’ll be fine.”

    Krutsch had a pair of touchdown passes to junior Chris McEahern that accounted for A-West’s scores.

    Roberts had a solid game after battling through an ankle injury for the past handful of weeks. Roberts had a 9-yard touchdown run and Jergensen connected with senior Cole Mercer to account for two of Ralston Valley’s touchdowns.

    Ralston Valley’s Brad Roberts (5) leaves an A-West defender in his wake Friday at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Luke McCaffrey sparks No. 1 Valor Christian football in win over Lakewood

    LAKEWOOD — Luke McCaffrey returned the opening kick for a touchdown and added a rushing touchdown in the first half in No. 1 Valor Christian’s 41-7 win over Lakewood.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”868″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • Photos: No. 5 Windsor football beats No. 6 Monarch in top-10 4A matchup

    WINDSOR — No. 5 Windsor football handed No. 6 Monarch its first loss of the season on Friday.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”865″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • Photos: Green Mountain boys soccer beats D’Evelyn

    LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain boys soccer beat D’Evelyn 2-1 on Friday.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”869″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • Photos: Cherokee Trail football tops Rock Canyon

    AURORA — Cherokee Trail football beat Rock Canyon 24-14 on Friday night.

    [divider]

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”870″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]

  • 5A boys state tennis: Chatfield’s Christian Holmes, Fairview win titles

    DENVER — Chatfield’s Christian Holmes made history on Saturday at the Class 5A boys tennis state championships.

    Holmes, a junior, won the school’s first title at any boys tennis singles position in capturing the No. 1 singles championship.

    “My school supports me a ton,” Holmes said after his match. “My family, for 17 years, they’ve been training me for this moment. It’s awesome to have the support from the school, the district, my family and my friends.”

    Holmes rallied from an early deficit to take the title over Fairview’s Tom Melville (4-6, 6-3, 6-1).

    “It really only took a few points to get some confidence back,” Holmes said. “I think I was playing afraid the first set. To play for myself and for my school, and get some confidence. Once I got one, I started stringing them along. The crowd helped me out for sure.”

    After dropping the first set 6-4, Holmes found himself in hole down early in the second set. 

    For Holmes, all it took was some confidence to battle back and force a split set, and eventually take the match win.

    “He came out a lot faster than I did,” Holmes said. “I got some confidence back and got pumped in the second set. I ended up grinding it out and I think all the energy from the second set carried me through to the third.”

    A huge reason for Holmes’ surge was his ability to feed off the crowd.

    “Throughout the season, we didn’t get many crowds at our matches,” Holmes said. “I told all my friends, ‘If I make it to the finals, you better be there.’ They kept up their end of the deal. It’s awesome, Chatfield has a ton of support through the teachers and students for its athletes.”

    5A boys state tennis
    (Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    In that crowd, Holmes had his family. Holmes has four brothers that played tennis, and he grew up watching them.

    “I grew up watching my older brothers. It was always my dream to win state at the No. 1 singles,” Holmes said. “All their friends say, ‘The only reason we come to Chatfield is to watch Christian win state.’ It’s unreal to finally be here and to take state with my family watching. Play to win instead of with a fear to lose.

    “My brothers are my best friends, best coaches, best cheering section. It’s really awesome to be there with them.”

    Fairview won the school’s first boys tennis championship, with Melville’s run to the finals playing a huge role.

    “It’s amazing. I don’t know if anything has really set in yet,” Fairview coach Chad Tsuda said. “I’m just happy for the guys. They worked so hard. Had their ups and downs this season, and just brought it all this weekend.”

    The team race had been close all weekend between Fairview, Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit. That drama continued into Saturday until Fairview’s Ethan Schacht secured the title for his team by winning the No. 2 singles championship, 6-3, 7-5 over Kosta Garger of Regis Jesuit.

    The Knights had finished runner-up to Cherry Creek the past six years. 

    “I was trying to forget it,” Tsuda said. “Truly having a chance to compete with a Cherry Creek, a Regis is such an exciting feeling. Teams in the past, we knew how how good they were. Knowing we had an opportunity, they took every match as if it was their last.”

    The Knights flipped the script this year, finishing with 73 team points.

    Cherry Creek finished in second in a down to the wire finish with Regis Jesuit. The Bruins won their No. 4 doubles match to secure second place with 68 points. Regis Jesuit finished in third with 65 points.

    Fairview also secured individual titles at No. 2 singles (Schacht) and No. 3 singles (Andy Wu). 

    “Leaders of our team. They stepped up all year,” Tsuda said. “They didn’t take any matches off and treated every one as if it was their last. They lead the team that way by telling the young guys that you can’t take matches off.”

    Cherry Creek’s wins came at No. 3 and 4 doubles.

    Zach Smith and Nick Svichar won No. 3 doubles for Cherry Creek, while Tyler Schoen and Devin Brownstein added the deciding win at No. 4 doubles.

    Regis Jesuit’s wins came at No. 1 and 2 doubles as Regis Jesuit’s Will Dennen and Patrick Seby beat Sam Angell and Drew Hill in three sets, and Evan Nuss and Emilio Gonzalez-Cruz defeated Cherry Creek’s Stone Heyman and Nick Eidler.

    Broomfield and Boulder finished tied for fourth place with 22 points.

    5A boys state tennis Fairview team champions
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

  • 4A boys state tennis: Peak to Peak’s Brett Finan, Kent Denver win titles

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    PUEBLO — Brett Finan was not going to let history repeat itself. The Peak to Peak junior made to the Class 4A No. 1 singles final a year ago, only to fall short against an opponent from Kent Denver.

    Saturday morning, he was standing on the same court. With the same opportunity. Against an opponent wearing the same colors as the one that defeated him.

    Final wanted something different. And he got it.

    He came away with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kent’s Jack Moldenhauer to win the No. 1 singles title in convincing fashion.

    “It feels good,” Finan said. “It’s good to get a state championship under my belt. I’m definitely excited.”

    He didn’t want to leave himself any doubt that he could do it. So he got the tone of the match set early. He broke Moldenhauer’s serve in the first game of the match, trying to establish control while putting the Kent Denver senior on his heels.

    “I needed to get the break coming out to get it going,” Finan said.

    He held his serve to go up 2-0 and eventually took a 3-1 lead, ending the third game on a thunderous ace, further establishing that this match was his for the taking.

    Moldenhauer was eventually able to break Finan and hold his serve to get in a little bit of a groove. But the early struggles proved to be tough to climb back from.

    “I may have been a little nervous at the beginning,” Moldenhauer said. “I tried not to let it rattle me. He played really well.”

    Finan took the first set 6-3 and kept the match going on cruise control, winning the second set by the same score and giving Peak to Peak some bragging rights for the next year.

    In the team race, that match was actually one of many dominos that needed to fall if Colorado Academy was going to have a chance at the team title.

    The Mustangs trailed by four points heading into Saturday’s finals. They needed a win in No. 1 singles consolation, a loss from Moldenhauer and four wins in the six head-to-head finals matchups.

    But Kent Denver didn’t become a four-time consecutive champion by not performing well on the final day.

    The Sun Devils claimed four championship wins, one more than needed, to come away with a fifth-straight 4A boys tennis title.

    The win for the No. 2 doubles team of Coby Gold and Alex Baum clinched the team title for the Sun Devils, beating Colorado Academy’s Nicholas Dietrich and Nicholas Pulido.

    “All of us on the team were thinking about it a lot,” Baum said. “It’s always a clash between us and CA. It’s such a pleasure playing them. We just had to stay focused on our serves and stay consistent.”

    A team victory wasn’t going to come as easy for Kent as it had in years past. Overall, the Sun Devils lost in both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles finals. The first match of the day ended with Colorado Academy taking the No. 3 doubles title.

    The Mustangs won a dual match over Kent earlier in the year, so there was no question that the Sun Devils had to be at their best on Saturday.

    “This year, CA beat us in that dual match early, so people who knew (about it) knew that CA was very capable,” Kent coach Randy Ross said. “But this team really rose to the moments, especially on the lower end.”

    Now with nine boys state titles, Kent Denver sits at the fourth-most in state history.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)