CHSAANow

Month: October 2017

  • Valor Christian quarterback duo causes havoc for Highlands Ranch football

    Valor Christian Highlands Ranch football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian held the ball for less than four minutes in the first half on Friday night. But it was an efficient four minutes as the Eagles put four touchdowns on the board.

    Whether it was Blake Stenstrom running the ball or Luke McCaffrey throwing it to Joshia Davis, the Eagles’ quarterbacks had no problem leading touchdown drives.

    Valor Christian won the game 48-7, in perhaps its most crucial victory at a point in the season where the playoff picture is starting to clear up.

    The Falcons (6-2 overall, 2-1 Mt. Lincoln) sat at No. 3 in the Class 5A RPI heading into the contest. But neither the RPU rating or Highlands Ranch’s standing in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll was going to help slow the attack of Stenstrom and McCaffrey. And any thought of McCaffrey playing as just an athlete and Stenstrom being the passer went out the window.

    It was Stenstrom who got the Eagles (8-0, 3-0) rolling early, taking the first offensive snap 75 yards for a touchdown.

    “I think throughout the season it would help tremendously if Blake could break off some 80-yard touchdown runs,” McCaffrey said.

    Valor Christian Highlands Ranch football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    Highlands Ranch tried to play ball control my running with a healthy dose Dominic Bettini, but the Valor defense was able to bottle him early.

    The Eagles then built a two-score lead on a Stentstrom quarterback sneak for his second rushing touchdown of the night.

    But then it was McCaffrey’s turn to have a little fun.

    First he found Davis on a 36-yard bubble screen that went for the third touchdown for the night for Valor.

    “I wouldn’t use the word explosive to describe our offense this season,” Valor coach Rod Sherman said. “I would describe it more as methodical and I was really excited about the way we were able to create some big plays tonight.”

    The next drive, McCaffrey found Davis who came down with a 33-yard reception despite excellent coverage from the Falcons’ secondary.

    That reception set up an eight-yard touchdown run from Jadin Watson.

    Highlands Ranch avoided the shutout with some trickery as wide receiver Allison Lucas found Konor Lanthrop for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

    The Falcons had their chances to generate a lot of offensive momentum, but that would be the only drive where they could capitalize on it.

    “We did some good things,” Highlands Ranch coach Dave May said. “But there are a lot of things that we can go back and look at on film that we can learn from.”

    Overall, it was just too difficult for the Falcons to contain a versatile Valor Christian offensive attack and the Eagles’ ability to contain Bettini.

    A number of playmakers on the offense could be singled out as a reason for the team’s overall success on Friday, but those guys know that ultimately it’s the grunts that are responsible of the productivity.

    “It’s definitely our offensive line,” Stenstrom said. “They’re brick housing up there and creating giant lanes for our guys to run though.”

    The Eagles have two regular season games remaining. They’re at home next week against Poudre and they travel to Fountain-Fort Carson to wrap up the regular season on Nov. 3.

    The Falcons go to Legend next week and close out the season against Poudre.

    Valor Christian Highlands Ranch football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Football roundup: Fairview beats Mullen with last-second field goal

    Fairview football got a key conference win on Friday night as the season heads into its final stages.

    The Knights, ranked No. 9 in Class 5A, edged No. 10 Mullen 18-16 with a last-second field goal from Tevye Schuettepelz-Rohl.

    “Tevye is just an amazing kicker for us,” Fairview’s Mariano Kemp told BoCoPreps.com after the game.

    With the win, Fairview is now 7-1, including 2-1 in the Mt. Cameron League.

    Mullen is now 3-5, including 1-2 in league play.

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    Notables:

    • In 6-man, No. 2 Prairie rallied from down 30-28 late to win 32-30 against No. 10 Fleming. It was a field goal with three seconds left that gave them the win.
    • A huge matchup in 3A: No. 5 Roosevelt beat No. 3 Erie 22-20.
    • Quite the upset win for Centaurus, 16-13 over 3A No. 8 Silver Creek. It is Centaurus’ first win this season.
    • In a battle of unbeatens, 2A No. 1 Kent Denver beat No. 10 Bishop Machebeuf 21-8, giving coach Scott Yates his 323rd career win.
    • Clear Creek upset 1A No. 8 Platte Canyon, 62-42. “They couldn’t stop us,” coach Brian Inman told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I knew they were going to have a hard time stopping our offense. We’ve just got too many weapons.” Clear Creek is now 7-1.
    • A big win for 2A No. 4 La Junta over No. 9 Salida: 39-16.
    • 1A No. 2 Meeker beat its rival, No. 6 Paonia, 31-14.
    • In 1A, No. 10 Peyton beat Buena Vista 34-28 in double overtime. “I mean, it was wild,” coach Richard Deems told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a heck of a game.” Peyton is now 7-1.
    • 4A No. 6 Fruita Monument forced five turnovers en route to a 42-8 win over Standley Lake.  “Our defense just was all over them today,” coach Todd Casebier told the Scoreboard Show.
    • 8-man No. 6 Holly beat McClave 22-6. “Our defense sure carried us tonight,” coach Dayne Eaton told the Scoreboard Show.
    • 3A No. 9 Canon City beat Discovery Canyon 41-21. The game was tied at halftime. “Our offense ended up having a couple of nice drives, culminating in touchdowns for us, and ate up a lot of time,” coach Tom O’Rourke told the Scoreboard Show.
    • Evergreen beat Conifer 38-13 in the Mountain Bowl.
    • In 5A, No. 7 Grandview got a big league win over Doherty, 42-2.

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    More coverage:

  • Max Borghi scores five 1st-half TDs as No. 3 Pomona football rolls

    ARVADA — You might have heard … Pomona senior Max Borghi is a pretty decent football player.

    Borghi showed Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex why Washington State University jumped at the chance to bring the running back to Pullman, Wash. next year. Borghi scored four rushing touchdowns in the opening quarter against Mountain Vista.

    “Everything clicked,” Pomona coach Jay Madden said of the Panthers 42-point first quarter. “We didn’t practice very well and we got on the pretty hard. They came out tonight and played exactly who we wanted them to play.”

    Pomona (6-2, 3-0 in Mt. Evans League), No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A football poll, cruised to a 49-14 victory over Mountain Vista.

    Pomona’s Max Borghi’s 65-yard touchdown run to close out the 1st quarter Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Borghi had scoring jaunts of 46, 10, 8 and 65 yards. The longest came on the final play of the first quarter that pushed the Panthers’ lead to 42-0 and forced a running clock for the remainder of the Class 5A Mt. Evans League game.

    Borghi capped off his night with a 62-yard punt return in the second quarter.

    “I was planning on fair catching it, but it was kind of a bad punt. Then it bounced and it hit my hand,” Borghi said. “I knew I had to take it and adrenaline just took over from there. Senior year and homecoming, I knew I had to get a fifth (touchdown) right there.”

    The surgically repaired knee appears to be close to full-strength. Borghi finished the game with seven carries for 164 yards and four rushing touchdowns, to go along with he punt return for his final score.

    “21 (Borghi) is pretty special and he isn’t all the way back,” Madden said. “He has a couple of weeks to be all the way back. Come the playoffs he’ll be unbelievable.”

    “Next man up” has unfortunately been a motto for the Panthers over the last year.

    Pomona’s Ryan Marquez (2) cools off Max Borghi after his 5th TD against Mountain Vista. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Borghi and Cameron Gonzales went down with season-ending injuries in the playoffs. Both missed the Class 5A state championship game against Valor Christian. Not to mention, current University of Colorado offensive lineman Jake Moretti missed his entire senior season at Pomona with a knee injury he suffered the summer before the 2016 season.

    Almost unfairly the injury bug bite the Panthers again in 2017. Senior and three-year starting quarterback Ryan Marquez suffered a broken left arm (non-throwing arm) in the Panthers’ conference opener Oct. 7 against Rock Canyon.

    “It’s seems like we’ve had this injury bug, but we have shown we can all step up so far,” Borghi said. “We’ll miss him (Marquez) until he gets back.”

    Madden said Friday night that Marquez will be back, hopefully by the start of the playoffs.

    Junior Colton Muller did a solid job in his first varsity start at quarterback last week. Muller was 4-for-8 passing. Sounds modest, but all four completed passes went for touchdowns in the Panthers’ 42-7 victory over Hinkley.

    Muller actually opened the scoring against Mountain Vista with a 71-yard touchdown pass to junior Billy Pospisil on the first play from scrimmage. The Panthers scored touchdown on their first three offensive plays from scrimmage.

    Pomona junior defensive backs Riley Welsch and Jack Thiele both intercepted Mountain Vista quarterback Caden Wetzel on the Golden Eagles’ first two offensive possessions to give short fields to Pomona’s offense.

    “Our (defensive backs) pulled through,” Welsch said. “Our defensive line pulled through getting pressure on the quarterback to give us those opportunities.”

    Madden added this his defense played “smart and with confidence” in the third straight league victory. In eight conference games over the past two years in the current waterfall alinement, Pomona is 8-0 and have outscored its league opponents 375-78.

    Pomona continues its journey through the conference next week against Chaparral at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at NAAC.

    Mountain Vista (3-5, 1-2) will attempt to get back on track when the Golden Eagles hit the road to face Cherokee Trail next Friday night.

    Pomona senior Mateo Crespin (42) celebrates before Max Borghi (21) gets into the end zone on a punt return for a touchdown. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Montrose football gets a win over Coronado

    MONTROSE — Montrose football ran its record to 5-3 this season with a 34-9 win over Coronado on Friday.

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  • Replay: State softball semifinals and championships

    AURORA — The state softball semifinals and championships, in all three classes, are on Saturday.

    Brackets:

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    Live Blog State softball championships
     

  • Photos: Quarterback duo pushes Valor Christian past Highlands Ranch

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Valor Christian football beat Highlands Ranch 48-7 as the quarterback duo of Blake Stenstrom and Luke McCaffrey caused havoc.

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  • Photos: Cherry Creek football gets league win against Horizon

    THORNTON — Cherry Creek football beat Horizon 42-21 on Friday.

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  • Photos: Brighton football tops Greeley West

    BRIGHTON — Brighton football topped Greeley West on Friday night, 27-14.

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  • 4A state softball: Mountain View claims first title in school history

    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    AURORA — Mountain View won its first softball title in school history with a 7-3 win against Pueblo Central.

    “To win the first one, that’s not on me,” Mountain View coach Randy Felton said. “It’s great for these girls to be part of the first ever title. My joy comes from them being happy. Watching them enjoy the moment. To win that first one and to have these guys be a part of it, it’s pretty special.”

    Mountain View, the 11th seed in the Class 4A playoffs, looked confident. Like they deserved to be there.

    “You always think you have talent, you always think there might be somebody better, are you ever going to be the one in that game. Today I thought, ‘We can win this game today.’

    And, they showed they did belong.

    “We were confident,” Felton said. “I always thought our strength is our offense all year long. You get into this kind of game, and the defense stood out. It was the defensive plays that made the difference.”

    Freshman Bailey Carlson took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning. After an error on the first at-bat of the game, Carlson grabbed nine straight outs.

    “Being a part of this team has meant so much to me. Winning state with them means so much more.”

    Izzy Griego made a leaping catch in the hole to turn a double play to keep the no-hitter in tact. And again, Griego got Carlson out of trouble with an unassisted double play after two infield singles had Pueblo Central grabbing momentum.

    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    “Izzy made incredible plays,” Felton said. “She made two plays last game that got us here to begin with. She made a couple key double plays this game. Her senior year, it was a little bit more special for her. I’m glad she came up big when she needed to.”

    Added Carlson: “Izzy did save me quite a few times, let me tell you. My entire defense did. They backed me up the entire way through this.”

    On the offensive side, Mountain View got it started right away. 

    Raleigh Basart blooped a double over the first baseman that scored a run. Then, Jaycee Schroeder’s RBI single made it 2-0.

    With two outs in the second inning, Mountain View offense stepped up.

    Jaelyn Taylor tripled off the wall to score one, then Kaley Barker promptly lined a two-RBI double to right field. Mountain View lead 5-0 before Pueblo Central could settle in.

    “Kaley is one of those that I’m enjoying every minute of it now, but I’m going to be pretty sad when she’s gone,” Felton said on his senior catcher. “She led this team leadership wise. Solid hitter all year, and she’s so quick behind the plate. You don’t notice the passed balls and the stuff she does back there. She’s huge.”

    Barker added another insurance run in the fourth with a single, and Basart pitched in a run-scoring single in the sixth.

    “Us coming up short two years in a row, we knew we had to do it,” Barker said. “This was our last year that we knew we could make it. It feels awesome to leave our mark on the school like this.”

    Pueblo Central added three runs in a comeback effort in the bottom of the seventh before it was settled.

    The last out was a line out to Carlson, who fell into the center of the dog pile — a fitting moment for a freshman that pitched every inning of the state tournament.

    “You never think that you’re going to be the one out here,” Felton said. “You watch everyone else and think, ‘Maybe it’s just not meant to be for us.’ But, it was this year. I’m really proud of our girls right now.”

    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

  • 3A state softball: Rayburn shines as Strasburg tops Brush for fourth title

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    AURORA — Alexis Rayburn has never pitched a more difficult inning than the seventh of her afternoon game on Saturday.

    Strasburg was up by eight, but she was trying to close out the school’s fourth state championship. With two outs, the batter at the plate – and opposing pitcher – Hailey Unrein popped a ball up foul. She now had two strikes on her and Rayburn’s teammates gathered to give her some final words of encouragement.

    “Everybody was telling me that they believed in me and they loved me no matter what,” Rayburn said.

    They had every right to. She struck out Unrein. The Indians won 10-2 and came away with their fourth Class 3A softball title in six years. Not a bad reward after battling through an inning where she retired the side, striking out two in the process.

    “I had to stay composed in that last inning,” she said. “It was probably the hardest inning I’ve ever had to pitch.”

    Her performance on Saturday was nothing short of championship worthy. She struck out nine hitters while surrendering just five hits and walking one. Both runs she gave up were earned.

    The second wasn’t as damaging because the Indians were up nine runs. The first, however wasn’t ideal. Brooklyn Cox, the Beetdiggers’ leadoff hitter, was able to get around and score to get Brush a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

    Strasburg had only managed to get two runners on base in the first three innings. But with one out in the fourth, Dakota Stotyn blasted a home run to left field that wasn’t going to be affected by the wind that was blowing directly in.

    “I thought about hitting that on the ground and not playing the wind,” Stotyn said. “I just wanted a base hit. But I’ll take that any day.”

    And that was the offensive spark that the Indians needed. They took the lead later in the inning when Ashlyn Richardson scored on a fielding error.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    And then they caught fire in the sixth. Rayburn led the inning off with a double and was driven home on a single from Ashland Baca. That was the first of seven runs the Indians scored in the inning.

    “When I started hitting the ball and we collectively as a team started hitting the ball, and made solid contact and put pressure on the defense, I knew we had it,” Rayburn said.

    Strasburg last won a state softball title in 2015 with a 7-5 win over Eaton. The Indians beat the Reds in the semifinal on Saturday to advance to the title game.

    Also in that game, the Indians had to come from behind to get the win. It was a group of girls that wasn’t going to quit when faced with adversity.

    “They trust each other,” coach Michelle Woodard said. “They have heart and they don’t give up. They haven’t all year.”

    The closeness of the team is something that stood out to Woodard. Her seniors were sophomores the last time the Indians won the 3A title and the bond that they created in between championship wins is something that made this season stand out.

    “It’s something that a lot of people didn’t expect of us this season,” Woodard said. “I think we were overlooked a bit so they took that to heart.”