Douglas County and ThunderRidge wrestling had quite the unique way to begin their respective wrestling seasons: Outdoors, at Douglas County Stadium.
It may have been the first outdoor wrestling dual meet held in Colorado. Other states, such as California and Arizona, have held outdoor meets before, but with wrestling being a winter sport in Colorado, there aren’t many chances to bring the sport outdoors.
But Friday, the first day of December, the weather wasn’t too bad. The match started at 3 p.m., when it was 55 degrees.
ThunderRidge won the meet, dubbed the “Sunset Slam,” 41-36.
Check out some photos from the event, via Twitter:
ARVADA — If Friday night was any indication, it’s going to be a competitive and entertaining chase to the Class 5A girls basketball state trophy.
Defending state champion Grandview, also ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com 5A girls preseason poll, never trailed Friday night in its season opener on the road against No. 6 Ralston Valley. However, the Wolves needed a 3-pointer at the buzzer by the Mustangs to just miss its mark for Grandview to hang on to a 48-45 victory.
“It was stressful toward the end,” said Grandview junior Alisha Davis, who scored a team-high 11 points for the Wolves before fouling out with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. “We just have to make sure we do the little things. Make sure we box out, communication on the floor, finish layups and make free throws. We’ll be fine.”
Grandview held a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter, but the Wolves never could put Ralston Valley away. The Wolves were only 9-for-20 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Ralston Valley’s Sydney Bevington (33) splits Grandview’s Alisha Davis (5) and Addison O’Grady. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Senior Leilah Vigil poured in 10 points for Grandview before fouling out with 33 seconds left. Freshman Addison O’Grady grabbed a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw in the final seconds on her way to 9 points.
“It was a good win for us for sure, but we’ve got a lot to work on,” Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky said. “Ralston Valley is a really good team. It’s a great way to start the season.”
It was finally time for Delaynie Byrne to begin her basketball career at Ralston Valley. Byrne had to sit her entire junior year after transferring from Broomfield High School.
She has already signed to continue her basketball career at the University of Minnesota. As a sophomore at Broomfield, she averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
“Just to get out with this team and compete against the reigning state champions is a great opportunity,” said Byrne, who admitted she was nervous playing in her first game for the Mustangs. “It’s good to be back.”
After a quiet first half, Bryne poured in a game-high 26 points. The 6-foot-3 forward buried a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and drove strong to the basket to make a trio of 3-point plays on her way to 22 points in the second half.
Ralston Valley senior Delaynie Byrne scored a game-high 26 points in her debut for the Mustangs. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“She (Bryne) basically took over,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said of the second half charge. “She played us back into the game, but that is what you have to have from her. We have very little experience and until those other kids grow she is going to have to carry a big load.”
The Mustangs had a 86-19 mark over the last four seasons, but they graduated four starters last year’s team that advance to the state quarterfinals. The biggest loss was four-year starting point guard Ashley Van Sickle, who is now playing at Montana State University.
“I was worried about this group’s ability to be physical and tough. How would we react,” Gomer said. “I learned we can do that. I think we were a little bit better than people expected us to be.”
Ralston Valley freshman guard Sydney Bevington was a bright spot with 11 points in her prep opener.
“Despite the loss, we take a lot of confidence moving forward,” Bryne said. “I think we are going to turn some heads for sure.”
Ralston Valley’s next game is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, against Palmer in the opening round of the Fairview Festival Tournament in Boulder.
The defending state champions also plays next Tuesday. The Wolves have their home opener against Fossil Ridge. Grandview hasn’t lost to a Colorado team since the 5A state semifinal loss to ThunderRidge in 2016.
Grandview had a 97-10 record over the past four seasons with one of its best players ever in the program’s history leading the way. Michaela Onyenwere, a freshman playing at UCLA, finished her prep career with 2,290 points (21.8 per game) and 1,061 rebounds (10.1 rebounds per game).
“We know people would doubt us in the beginning as soon as we lost Michaela,” Davis said. “We just have to make sure we stay focused.”
Grandview’s Alisha Davis, right, plays defense on Ralston Valley’s Shelby Nichols on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Class 4A No. 7 Valor Christian girls basketball got a team-high 12 points from freshman Kindyll Wetta in a 64-34 win over ThunderRidge.
DENVER — Pueblo South quarterback Zach Cozzolino looked around in disarray. Amongst the fans, media and teammates and was searching for an important item.
“I can’t find my helmet,” he said.
Not that it mattered. His hands were full anyway. Wrapped up in his arms was Pueblo South’s first-ever football state championship trophy.
The Colts earned it with a 25-14 win over defending champion Pine Creek. The Class 4A championship was in new hands.
“It’s indescribable, really,” Cozzolino said. “I’m just so proud of these guys. We knew all along that we were capable of doing this and proving it to everyone else.”
There is no question to anyone that the Colts (13-1 overall) are talented. And with Pine Creek showing man-to-man coverage early, there was no issue in putting that talent on display.
On their second drive the of the game, the Colts struck on the kind of big plays that they’ve thrived on all year. A quick slant from receiver Marcell Barbee turned into a 67-yard touchdown pass for Cozzolino, igniting the South sideline and fan base.
“I know we like to set the tempo early,” Barbee said. “I honestly thought I was going to get tackled but I felt the guy slide off me. Being able to score on the first touchdown like that, it’s a great way to set the tempo and help us win this game.”
(Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)
Setting the tempo wasn’t going to be enough. To come away with a win, the Colts were going to have to maintain the tempo. Cozzolino went right back to work, finding Jesse Anzar for a 31-yard pass.
The Eagles (12-2), winners of three of the previous four state championships, were suddenly in 13-0 hole against one of the state’s most potent offenses.
“It was just big plays,” Pine Creek coach Todd Miller said. “They’re a big offense and it showed up and was able to put us behind the eight ball a bit.”
Perhaps even more impressive was the defensive unit for the Colts. Pine Creek running back David Moore III gained 97 yards on 17 carries in the first half, but the Eagles went into halftime without a point on the board.
They finally scored early in the second half thanks to a big dose of Moore. His three-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 13-7 and finally seemed to give the defending champions some life.
But South responded quickly. Thomas Pannunzio ran the ensuing kick back 93 yards to once again take a two-score lead at 19-7.
“The kick-off return kind of broke our back,” Miller said.
The Eagles mounted another scoring drive early in the fourth quarter, but were hit with some terrible luck. A hard hit sent quarterback J.C. Coulter to the turf. After getting off under his own power, it was clear that Coulter wasn’t going to return to the game and if a comeback was going to happen, it was going to have to be Gavin Herberg at the helm.
He got into the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown run. With 10:28 remaining in the game, Eagles were within five points.
Rather than going conservative and trying to run the clock down, the Colts stuck to their game plan.
“We got out of our game plan when we had a lead in the last couple of weeks,” South coach Ryan Goddard said. “We talked about it this week, when we get opportunities we have to take them. You never know when you’re going to get these plays back.”
When South needed a big play to once again put Pine Creek its heels, Cozzolino went straight back to Barbee, taking advantage of the one-on-one coverage. A 40-yard gain set up the final Colts touchdown, a one-yard sneak from Cozzolino.
“That’s the relationship we have,” Barbee said about Cozzolino. “He has multiple weapons he can throw to so for him to throw it to me… I have to thank him for giving me the ball.”
The Eagles couldn’t mount a comeback. Goddard, a 2001 graduate of South and an alum of Colorado State University-Pueblo, was able to soak in the moment giving his school the football title it so badly wanted.
“This is so special,” he said. “Obviously our community is special. Being a South guy, putting a lot of time and effort in this program as a player and an assistant coach, understanding the groundwork that was laid before us, that’s really humbling.”
The Colts now leave Denver with a brand new piece of hardware. Space will have to be made for it at the school, but that’s a problem most teams love having. As the Colts filtered off the field, Cozzolino looked as if he had no desire relinquish a hold of the trophy.
Evans, just a junior, who committed early to SEC school Arkansas before decommitting last week, lit up the Erie Tigers for over 350 yards of total offense as his Bears claimed its first state title, 46-21, on a neutral field at Falcon Stadium.
Evans went a healthy 18-for-22 for 356 yards, passing for three touchdowns and running for another, as the Bears completed a perfect season in winning the state championship.
(Matt Daniels/mattdanphoto.com)
“I had a lot of things on my mind,” Evans said, referring, but to his decommitment to Arkansas, “but I had to stick to myself and think about this this game, which deserves 100 percent focus.”
It was evident that not only Evans, but the rest of the Palmer Ridge squad, was focused immediately.
On the Bears’ first play from scrimmage, Evans hit sophomore receiver Anthony “Deuce” Roberson on an option route down the left sideline, the 56-yard touchdown pass giving the Bears a quick 7-0 lead.
“On that first play, I wanted to see if Deuce got singled up,” Evans said, “and if he did, we were going to go for it.”
Roberson said once he saw he was in 1-on-1 coverage, he knew the first play would work.
“Coach (Tom Pulford) drew it up,” Roberson said, “and I had the option to run it out, go vertical or a post. And me and (Evans), since week one, have gotten that route down. I got inside, saw there was no safety covering, so I ran a vertical and he hit me.”
After going up 14-0 before Erie could muster a single first down, the Tigers came back. erasing Palmer Ridge’s two touchdown first-quarter lead on a pair of touchdowns by Erie’s Noah Roper.
Roper, who ran 32 times for 94 yards as well as going 3-for-6 passing for 86 yards, ran for the Tigers’ first touchdown before hitting Jacob Mansdorger on a rainbow 30-yard touchdown pass, tying the game up 14-14 with 5:44 left in the first half.
For a Palmer Ridge squad that went over 500 yards of total offense in half of its games this season, it was a wake-up call.
“I’m proud of their resiliency,” Pulford said. “When it was tied, they got back up and went going, doing it for each other and playing Palmer Ridge football.”
The Bears struck back again with another long touchdown pass to Robertson on a slant over the middle through two defenders, this one coming on a 69-yarder, to give the Bears a 20-14 lead.
After that, the Bears would never trail again.
(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
“They started coming back,” Roberson said, “and we had a little bit of adversity. The (touchdown play) was designed to come back to me, and the way they were covering, it didn’t allow me to run the right route. But (Evans) put it near me, and I knew I was going to split the two (defenders) and go.”
Erie would get as close as 26-21 in the third quarter, but back-to-back touchdowns by senior Andrew Miller, first catching an Evans pass for a 9-yard touchdown, then following it up with a special score.
As Erie punted from its own 10-yard-line, Palmer Ridge junior Garrett Marchetti blocked the punt as Miller recovered it in the end zone, giving the Bears a 39-21 lead that was insurmountable.
It closed out a ride that began in 2012, with Pulford took over a 2-8 team that eventually became a 13-0 state champion.
“We had to change the culture,” Pulford said, “and what the expectations were in the offseason. All those things helped us get a little bit closer to where we wanted to be.”
With a squad that includes a lot players that will come back next season, like Evans and Roberson, the ride continues, Robertson said.
“Obviously, next year, it’s nothing less,” Roberson said. “But we’re going to focus on what we have here, and celebrate with my brothers.”
