CHSAANow

Month: November 2017

  • State volleyball: Cherry Creek leads day of upsets as tourney opens

    2017 state volleyball Cherry Creek
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER — To start the volleyball season, Mountain Vista handed Cherry Creek one of its two losses on the year. To start the state tournament, the Bruins returned the favor.

    Cherry Creek battled to a 21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-7 win over the Golden Eagles, knock off the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A bracket. It was just one of many upsets across all five classifications on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.

    Mountain Vista won the regular season opener between the two teams. That match also went to five sets.

    “It was motivation to come in here and beat them,” coach Sally Moos said.

    The Golden Eagles claimed the first set of the match, putting the Bruins into a quick hole. It was all tied up after two, but Mountain Vista again pulled ahead, putting Creek on the verge of defeat and losing any control over its own fate.

    Even at that point, there was no panic from the Centennial League’s only representative at the tournament. 

    “I don’t think so,” junior outside hitter Katie Sherman said. “We were all just so into (the match) and we wanted to win it so bad.”

    So they battled. The fourth set remained tight until Creek pulled away at the end. They came out in the fifth and dominated from the start, jumping out to a 11-3 lead.

    Mountain Vista started to rally back, but the Sherman put down one last kill to give the Bruins control of Pool I.

    “We wanted to win that so bad,” Sherman said. “They’re probably our biggest rival. We’re super excited.”

    Cherry Creek finished the regular season with just two losses. The first came against the Golden Eagles. The second loss was back on Sept. 16 against Rock Canyon. Cherry Creek evened the score against Rocky Mountain in the Legend Tournament on Oct. 28.

    The Bruins and the Lobos will play Saturday morning and a win by Creek means advancement to the semifinals. 

    “Rocky Mountain is a very good team, too,” Moos said. “We’ll do the same thing, we’ll battle back and forth.”

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    Other upsets shake up the pools

    State volleyball Denver East team
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Denver East continued 5A’s upset trend in the third match of day when the No. 11-seeded Angels swept No. 2 Fossil Ridge, the defending champions.

    The Angels, who are now 21-6 this season, swept the Sabercats 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.

    “They stuck to the gameplan,” Denver East coach Tarah Olmstead said after the match. “They ran outside their comfort zone, which is what we are supposed to do every single day. We watch film on everybody here. We know what everybody does before we even know our own rotations. And they called it, they stayed on top.”

    Denver East last advanced to the state tournament two years ago, but only two players remain from that team.

    “What’s really tough is we have a ton of people who have never been here before,” Olmstead said. “We only have two people who have been here. And their eyes, when they’re walking in, are all over the place. So in order to keep them present, I said, ‘Look around, Snapchat, I don’t care what you have to do, do it right now. But the second we get in there, you are present and you are with each other, because that’s what everybody came to watch.’”

    The Angels will have the chance to win their pool and advance to the semifinals by beating Chatfield on Saturday.

    2017 state volleyball Rock Canyon
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    And with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds already the victims of upsets, No. 10 Rock Canyon was looking to make it a hat trick against No. 3 Castle View.

    The Jaguars fell behind 2-0 early, though both sets they lost were close. They battled back in the third to avoid the sweep and and evened things up after the fourth set.

    With momentum on their side, they went into the fifth and deciding set believing they could get the win.

    The Sabercats jumped out in front and seemingly had control with a 10-6 lead. But Rock Canyon had battled back to tie up the overall match, so coming back to tie the final set seemed like child’s play.

    Down 14-11, the Jaguars rode a couple of key kills from Keeley Davis to pull even. Davis made the final kill to give the Jags a 16-14 win in the deciding set of the match.

    “(Early on) it was just the nerves at state,” Davis said. “We have a lot of new people who are here in this big coliseum. I think once we set those nerves off and we started getting excited and being happy about things, we started getting less nervous.”

    Rock Canyon will play Coronado Saturday morning and can advance to the 5A semifinals by winning that match.

    Other upsets on Friday included:

    • In 1A, No. 9 Holly knocked off No. 4 McClave 3-2 to start the day, including 15-3 in the fifth set.
    • In 2A‘s first match of the day, No. 9 Denver Christian upset No. 4 Hoehne, 3-1.
    • Simla threw a second wrench into the 2A tourney when the No. 11 Cubs upset No. 2 Swink with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 sweep.
    • No. 5 Otis over No. 4 McClave in 1A, 3-1.
    • 2A No. 6 Lyons beat No. 3 Dayspring Christian 3-1.

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    Notables

    State volleyball Buena Vista fans
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
    • Buena Vista had probably the largest, and loudest, crowd of the day. The students at Buena Vista took a field trip to the Denver Coliseum on Friday. The school picked up the tab to get as many students as possible to support the Demons at state.
    • Kit Carson’s incredible run of not losing a set continued on Friday. The Wildcats swept Weldon Valley and Briggsdale, and have now won all 72 sets they’ve played this season.
    • Lewis-Palmer, the defending champion and No. 1 seed in 4A, extended its match winning streak to 56 with sweeps of Mullen and Roosevelt. The Rangers are ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps.
    • Eaton is in search of a fifth-straight championship in 3A. The Reds opened their tournament with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-10 sweep of Platte Valley, and then swept Lamar in the evening.

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    Semifinal berths clinched

    • Yuma won 2A’s Pool I with wins over Dolores and Rangely.
    • Niwot captured 4A’s Pool IV. The Cougars beat Discovery Canyon and Palmer Ridge.
    • Chaparral won Pool IV in 5A with wins over Fort Collins and Fruita Monument.
    • Kit Carson, after its two sweeps, clinched Pool I in 1A.
    • University won 3A’s Pool IV following wins over Middle Park and Resurrection Christian.
    • Lewis-Palmer will meet Niwot in the 4A semifinals after winning Pool I.
    • Fleming topped Genoa-Hugo and Springfield to win Pool II in 1A.
    • Eaton is back in the 3A semifinals following sweeps over Platte Valley and Lamar.
    • La Veta got wins over Sangre de Cristo and Wiley to win 1A’s Pool III.
    • Lutheran beat Sterling and Bennett in winning Pool II in 2A.
    • Valor Christian beat Cheyenne Mountain and Pueblo West as it won 4A’s Pool II.
    • Holy Family topped Ponderosa and D’Evelyn in winning Pool III in 4A.
    • Faith Christian beat Buena Vista and Valley is it won Pool III in 3A.

  • Replay: Playoff football games around the state

    Links

    The live event will begin at the scheduled time on Friday.
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    Live coverage

    Live Blog Football playoffs in all classes (11/10)
     


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    Live games
    Class Game Time Notes
    4A Chatfield vs. Skyline 6 p.m. Video
    3A Canon City vs. Durango 6:30 p.m. Audio
    3A Erie vs. Pueblo East 6:30 p.m. Audio
    5A Ralston Valley vs. Cherry Creek 7 p.m. Video
    5A Arvada West vs. Fairview 7 p.m. Video
    4A Golden vs. Pine Creek 7 p.m. Video
    5A Mullen vs. Regis Jesuit 7 p.m. Video
    3A Skyview vs. Longmont 7 p.m. Video
    3A Palisade vs. Discovery Canyon | Alternate 7 p.m. Video
    5A Chaparral vs. Valor Christian 7 p.m. Video
    5A Fountain-Fort Carson vs. Eaglecrest 7 p.m. Video

  • Columbine football impressive in 5A playoff win over Highlands Ranch

    LAKEWOOD — Columbine didn’t waste any time getting into the playoff form for the start of the Class 5A football postseason.

    The No. 3-seeded Rebels scored on every offensive possession in the first half against No. 13 Highlands Ranch on Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. The Rebels cruised to a 45-14 victory to set up a state quarterfinal date with No. 6 Regis next week.

    Columbine will host the Raiders (10-1) at Jeffco Stadium. Regis hung on to defeat Mullen 17-10 on Friday night at Regis High School.

    “Defense played great and our offensive line pretty really well,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry said after the Rebels advanced to the state quarterfinals for the third straight season. “Highlands Ranch has two or three of the better linemen I’ve seen all year. Our guys did a good job against those guys.”

    Columbine’s Andrew Arterburn (8) returns an interception in the first half Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Junior quarterback/kicker/defensive back Logan DeArment got things going with a 37-yard field and 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

    “I knew I would have some sort of breakaway,” DeArment said of his 62-yard touchdown run. “A couple of guys missed. I just run scared and that’s how I get into the end zone.”

    Columbine took advantage of a trio of short fields in the second quarter. Sophomore Tanner Hollens had a pair of touchdown runs of 3 and 24 yards to put the Rebels up 24-0 midway through the second quarter.

    Senior Conner Snow finished off the scoring in the first half with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels a 31-0 lead going into the locker room.

    “We’ll take all the help we can get,” Lowry said of the Rebels taking advance of short fields.

    Highlands Ranch junior running back Dominic Bettini came into Friday’s game with nearly 1,500 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. Columbine’s defense was clearly focused to limit Bettini.

    Bettini had nine carries for zeros yards in the first half. The Falcons cross midfield once in the opening half, but Columbine senior Andrew Arterburn intercepted Highlands Ranch senior quarterback Joseph Alber put a quick end to the best drive of the half by the Falcons.

    “The focus was playing our gap defense and playing strong inside,” Columbine sophomore defensive end Justin Lohrenz said. “Everyone doing their job and being where they are supposed to be.”

    Bettini finally got the Falcons on the board with an 11-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. However, the Rebels answered with a second touchdown run by DeArment to extend Columbine’s lead to 38-7 going into the final quarter.

    Columbine’s Andrew Lauritzen (90) closes in on Highlands Ranch QB Joseph Alber. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Columbine sophomore Braeden Hogan capped up a fourth-quarter scoring drive with a 22-yard touchdown run to make the score 45-7.

    “We wanted to take all hope away,” DeArment said of Highlands Ranch coming into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. “They have a great defensive and offensive line. We just had to win the line-of-scrimmage and I we did that.”

    Bettini had a 19-yard touchdown run against Columbine’s backups in the final minutes in the last score of the game.

    Columbine (10-1) has won seven straight games after a non-league defeat to the hands to cross-town and 4A powerhouse Chatfield on Sept. 22.

    “We’ll just take care of one step at a time,” Lohrenz said. “We just took care of Highlands Ranch. Whoever it is next, we’ll do our job and come out with the ‘W’.”

    Highlands Ranch ends its season with a fourth straight loss. The Falcons (6-5) were 6-1 heading into Week 8, but lost Mt. Lincoln League games to Valor Christian, Legend and Poudre to close out the regular season and slide into the state tournament.

    Columbine’s Corbin Leyshock (78) reaches for Highlands Ranch RB Dominic Bettini during the first quarter Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: The 2017 state volleyball tournaments begin

    DENVER — The 2017 state volleyball tournaments kicked off on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.

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  • Replay: Follow the state volleyball tournaments’ second day

    DENVER — The state volleyball tournaments continue with all-day action on Saturday, including the semifinals and championship.

    Follow along with updated results on the brackets:

    Watch every match:

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    Live Blog State volleyball’s second day
     

  • Photos: Fairview rolls past Arvada West in 5A football playoffs

    BOULDER — Fairview football opened the Class 5A football playoffs with a 55-21 win over Arvada West.

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  • Photos: Chatfield cruises to win over Skyline in 4A football playoffs

    LAKEWOOD — Chatfield football opened the Class 4A football playoffs with a 61-22 win over Skyline.

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  • Heimlicher does it all as Regis Jesuit football tops Mullen to open playoffs

    Regis Jesuit Mullen football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    AURORA — Jake Heimlicher was responsible for a lot on Friday night. He was responsible for creating the first turnover of the game for Regis Jesuit. He was responsible for the game’s first touchdown. And most importantly, he was responsible for making sure Mullen couldn’t come all the way back for a second time this year.

    Regis Jesuit battled to a 17-10 win over the Mustangs in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs. Even though the game was low-scoring, it almost had the feel that Mullen would once against snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

    But not if Heimlicher had anything to say about it. On Mullen’s final drive, he finally got to quarterback Kyle Remington. He connected on a solid hit that jarred the ball loose and into the hands of the Raiders (10-1 overall).

    “There are no easy teams left,” Heimlicher said. “It’s all down to the bone. Mullen is a great team, we lost to them earlier.”

    It was tough for either team to get anything going early. The Raiders tried to move the ball through the air early, but had to punt it away on their first drive. The Mustangs (5-6) were doing an efficient job of mixing up runs to A’Jon Vivens and Damien Cearns before Heimlicher picked off Remington on the sophomore’s first pass of the game.

    Regis would fumble the ball back to the Mustangs and so the story went for much of the first half. The only points to show for either team was a 33-yard field goal from Pierce Thrasher that sent the Raiders into the locker room with a 3-0 edge.

    The high level of talent for both teams was preventing either from taking a firm hold in a win-or-go-home atmosphere.

    “They’re a great team,” Regis coach Danny Filleman said. “They’re big up front and they have athletes. We told them we were going to be in a dog fight for four quarters.”

    Regis Jesuit Mullen football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    Toward the end of the third quarter, Regis was facing a 4th and short situation. Quarterback Justin Lamb lined up in the shotgun, but rather than run a play, booted the ball down the field and pinned Mullen inside the five-yard line.

    The Mustangs offense continued to stall, so a punt gave the Raiders field position that they were finally able to take advantage up. They worked their way inside the 20 and Lamb connected with Heimlicher for a 14-yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-0 game. But that score was powered by Lamb’s punt.

    “It was a great punt,” Lamb said. “It was great for field position. I was happy about it.”

    Filleman pointed out that Lamb enjoys practicing that play. There was no doubt the quarterback was going to point out its success to his coach.

    “I know I’m going to hear about that one,” Filleman said.

    The Raiders were still hoping to get a spark that could help them pad their lead and actually got as a result of the Mustangs scoring. After a field goal cut the lead to 10-3, Kiahn Chiku-Martinez returned the ensuing kick back 90 yards for a touchdown.

    As time ticked away and with urgency now at the forefront, Mullen found some offensive rhythm and Remington struck on a 33-yard touchdown pass to once again put the Mustangs within a field goal.

    After the Regis offense ran some time off the clock, it was forced to punt the ball away. Remington stood poised in the pocket and started making throws to move the Mustangs down the field. But Heimlicher ended any hopes with the forced fumble, it the Raiders will be one of eight teams playing next week.

    “We’ve gotten a lot better from what we were at the beginning of the season,” Lamb said. “The main thing is we have to be gritty. We have to be willing to go out, put it in the dirty and play better than any team.”

    They’ll have a chance to do that next week when they head to Columbine for a quarterfinal showdown.

    Regis Jesuit Mullen football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Photos: Erie football beats Pueblo East with two-point conversion in 3A playoffs

    ERIE — A two-point conversion with less than a minute remaining gave Erie a 22-21 win over Pueblo East on Friday.

    The Tigers had scored with 52 seconds left, and then opted to go for two points in their win to open the Class 3A football playoffs.

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  • Photos: Cherry Creek football beats Ralston Valley in 5A playoffs

    GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Cherry Creek football advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs with a 34-21 win over Ralston Valley.

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