AURORA — The equity committee, which oversees Title IX and other topics for CHSAA, isn’t taking a stance on the upcoming proposal to lengthen baseball’s season. The group did, however, strongly state that if baseball’s games limit is increased, softball should be given the same opportunity.
The Centennial and Continental Leagues have teamed up on a proposal that would increase baseball games from 19 to 23 in classes 5A, 4A and 3A. That proposal is set to be voted on by the Legislative Council during its meeting next week.
The topic was debated at length during the committee’s meeting on Thursday morning. Ultimately, the group put out the following statement:
The Equity Committee recognizes that the passage of this bylaw could present equity considerations and potential issues. We strongly recommend that each league considers these potential issues.
If this proposal passes, the Equity Committee would recommend the passage of an identical bylaw for the like sport of softball.
The topic of increasing games was briefly discussed by the softball committee during its most recent meeting, but no league ultimately submitted a proposal to do so.
This statement from the equity committee more than likely means that should the increase to baseball’s games limit pass next week, an identical proposal to increase softball’s games would be put before the Legislative Council for consideration in April.
“If the membership wants 23 baseball games, we would ask that they also support the addition of games in softball,” said Bethany Brookens, the CHSAA liaison to the equity committee. “We need to at least offer softball teams the chance to schedule the same amount of games as the comparable sport of baseball.”
CASTLE ROCK — Sam Bannec led the effort with 16 points and Class 5A No. 8 Regis Jesuit overcame a six-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to beat Douglas County 58-55 on Thursday.
Graham Smith, a 2014 alum of Mountain Vista, was selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft on Friday.
Smith, a senior defender and midfielder at the University of Denver, was selected by Sporting Kansas City in the first round, at No. 18 overall.
Smith began his college career at Oregon State, and transferred to DU following his sophomore season. After his transfer, he started all 42 games in appeared in for the Pioneers, scoring six goals and notching seven assists. As a senior, he had three goals.
Following his senior season, Smith was named a first-team selection on the CoSIDA Academic All-American team. He carries a 3.94 GPA in finance.
At Mountain Vista, Smith played soccer and basketball.
His selection in the first round means former Colorado high school players have now been selected in the first round of the most recent NFL (Christian McCaffrey), MLB (David Peterson), NBA (Derrick White) and MLS drafts.
Heritage hockey is making its case that the Eagles should be considered among the contenders this season.
The team, off to a 10-1-0 start this season, have won seven consecutive games heading into Friday night’s showdown against Aspen. It is Heritage’s best start since they opened 11-1-0 during the 2012-13 season.
“I always knew that they had it in them,” said Jeremy Sims, Heritage’s seventh-year coach. “It was just a matter of whether or not they were going to come together as a team and continually work together, and they’ve done that.”
Heritage hasn’t struggled in recent years — the Eagles were 83-56-0 from 2010-11 through last season — but the fact of the matter is they haven’t been this good, either. Last season was the first year in that stretch that the team advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
The Eagles are led by three seniors, Matt More — their captain and leading scorer — along with Corbin Divita and Nicholas DiPonio, who are both alternate captains. But that is the extent of the seniors on the team. It’s a young squad.
“Those three seniors have been in the program for four years, and they understand what it is to be a part of the Heritage program,” Sims said. “They’ve grown up through the program, and the leadership from these three seniors has been outstanding so far this year.”
Despite that relative lack of experience, “I think we have more skill than we’ve had in our program in the past,” Sims said.
“So it was kind of having the older kids bring in and mentor the younger kids, make everybody feel comfortable, make everybody moving in the same direction,” the coach added. “And it’s happened.”
(Megan Phung/Heritage HS)
The early wins stacked up for a 3-0-0 start in December before Heritage was humbled 9-0 by perennial power Regis Jesuit on Dec. 9. But the Eagles have responded with their seven-game winning streak, which includes victories over Mountain Vista, another traditional contender, and Resurrection Christian, which made the semifinals last season.
Heritage hadn’t beaten rival Mountain Vista in seven years, and it was the program’s first-ever win over Resurrection Christian.
“That was a huge win,” Sims said of topping Mountain Vista. “And I think that helped us carry into the Resurrection Christian game.”
Strong goaltending from James Purse (7-1-0, 3.17 GAA) and Mitchell Myles (2-0-0, 0.59) have played a big role. Jakob Boos (eight goals, six assists) and Joe Carpinello (five and seven) have also been big contributors. More leads the team in goals (10) and points (19).
The expectations have followed.
Heritage cracked the coaches poll for the first time two weeks ago. This week, they moved up to No. 5. A day later, the first RPI standings of the season had the Eagles at No. 3.
“It’s one of those things that they’re excited about it, but they also understand that now we’re not going into games playing as the underdog,” Sims said. “Now we’re coming in, and every team’s gunning for us, every team wants to beat us. It’s a little bit of a different mindset, but at the same time, I think the kids are very willing to embrace it, and they’re having a good time with it right now.”
Added the coach: “Now it’s just about going out and playing continuously like we have over the last few weeks, and keeping momentum going.”
Now comes Friday’s matchup at Aspen, a team that sits just outside the top-10 in the coaches poll and the RPI, and a team that traditionally makes noise in the postseason.
“They’re always a tough team up there,” Sims said. “It’s a long trip, but at the same time, they’re a good hockey team. It’s going to be a battle.”
“It’s awesome. I’m looking forward to it,” Campbell said on Wednesday evening after he was introduced. “I’m going to go after it the same way I have always gone after football: with everything I have, and do right by the kids, and try to put a competitive program on the field.”
Campbell led Arapahoe from 2003-17. He started there as an assistant in 1996.
“Finishing up 15 years as a head coach at Arapahoe, you kind of start looking at goals for the next five years,” Campbell said. “It just started really resonating with me that maybe my time was up there, and it was time to do something different.”
Campbell focused in on a small-school environment. He found it at Englewood, which has an enrollment of 547 competes in Class 2A.
“There’s just something about it,” Campbell said. “You go to these small towns, and you go in, they’ve got their own stadium, they got the mascot on the 50-yard-line, and everybody comes from the neighborhood and walks to the game.
“It’s just something I always wanted to do with my life,” he added. “I have a lot of buddies that I played college football with that are in smaller towns in Washington and Oregon, and they just love it. You’re here in Denver, but you’re also in a small town. It just had that feel. I wanted to try something different.”
Another draw for Campbell was the fact that Englewood has recently renovated all of its athletic facilities, as well as a supportive administration.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“When you talk facilities,” he said, “they’re second to none.”
At Englewood, he will take over a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2010. The Pirates are coming off of consecutive 4-5 seasons.
Campbell, one of the top coaches in the state, should be up to the challenge. He led Arapahoe to three 10-win seasons since 2004, and had a 90-68 record at the 5A program.
“We had a really, really deep candidate pool,” Englewood athletic director Nate Smith said. “When the committee got together and we interviewed people, obviously Mike’s track record does not need any additions to it — he’s got a strong track record — but what impressed the committee the most was a strong commitment to academic-based athletics, and really, his thoughts about supporting the athletes and building relationships with them and just helping them be the best people they can be.
“It really came through that he really cared about his athletes.”
MONUMENT — In the second half, the Lewis-Palmer boys basketball team plays toward the east basket. Behind the basket, sits every state championship banner that Rangers have won. Not just in basketball, but in all sports.
It’s fitting.
The Rangers, like any team, are pushing forward. They are trying to play toward that state championship. As consistently as they’ve been in the championship running, five years since the last title win can feel like a long time.
“I think it shows just how much has to go right for a team,” coach Bill Benton said. “It’s not just about being the most talented. It’s not just about being the hardest worker. You have to have some of both of those.”
Right now it seems like the Class 4A CHSAANow.com No. 1 Rangers (12-0 overall, 5-0 Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) do have a little bit of both.
When watching Benton’s teams, there is no doubt there is talent. Joel Scott and Matthew Ragsdale can score at will and get plenty of offensive support from the likes of Salim Nehme and Ethan Forrester.
And when team is on the defensive side of the ball executing a 1-2-2 half court press, the hard work is on display.
Lewis-Palmer came away with a 58-49 win over Discovery Canyon on Wednesday and needed every bit of talent and every bit of hard work to win.
It might be fair to say the Thunder (7-6, 2-3) is one of maybe three teams that has put a legitimate scare into last year’s 4A runner-up.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
After three quarters, Discovery Canyon had a one-point edge. The Rangers didn’t do themselves any favors by missing eight-straight free throws in the third quarter. But facing adversity and battling back from it is more of what Benton believes goes into a championship team. And he makes sure his guys know it.
“Tonight, that makes us better moving on,” Ragsdale said. “We played a bigger team and not everything was going our way. We just have to trust the process and stick together as a team and keep playing hard.”
The results can be fruitful and Scott has seen it first hand. He watch as three older brothers, Josh, Jordan and Jonathan, all came through the program. All three have a state championship ring to their names.
As Joel hunts for his ring, he’ll sometimes find himself chatting with his brothers about their successes and hoping to understand what helped those teams stand tall at the end of the season.
“It comes up every now and then,” Scott said. “We’ve talked about what they did with their coaches and what their process was. I see what they have to say.”
Just like the 2012 and 2013 state title teams, a Scott is playing a crucial role this year. He was held scoreless in the first half against Discovery Canyon and sat the entire second quarter with foul trouble. He led the Rangers in the second half with 17 points.
Ragsdale led the team overall with 20 points. And he may be the start of his own lineage story at Lewis-Palmer.
During halftime of the game his younger brother Noah, a freshman, hit a half court shot to win free Chick-Fil-A for a year.
“He gets buckets,” Ragsdale said after seeing the video on Twitter.
He’s in the Rangers basketball program. Like Joel Scott had to at one point, Noah will have to pay attention to his brother and the guys ahead of him. Just paying attention goes a long way to ensure longstanding success of a program.
“If guys aren’t paying attention to what happened before them and the guys that did it, then they weren’t doing their job,” Benton said. “The groundwork has been laid. If Joel didn’t pay attention to three older brothers coming through this program, he wasn’t doing his job.”
Whether it’s a player like Scott who had brothers to learn from, Ragsdale who is setting a standard for his siblings, or any of the other players on the roster trying to match the feats of those that came before them, this version of the Rangers seems to be poised to add to the program’s luster.
They seem ready to stand beside the teams who, not so long ago, set the expectations.
It doesn’t matter if it’s family or basketball, they’re trying to carry on a legacy.
ARVADA — Columbine’s boys basketball team has suddenly become the kryptonite for Class 5A Jeffco teams with winning streaks.
The Rebels ended Arvada West’s 3-game winning streak Wednesday night on the Wildcats’ home court with a 50-42 victory. The win came on the heels of Columbine (6-8, 3-2 in 5A Jeffco League) handing conference-leading Bear Creek (8-4, 4-1) its first conference loss of the season Jan. 13.
“After taking two of the top Jeffco League teams down we’re are just going to try to build on this,” Columbine sophomore Luke O’Brien said after the second straight road victory for the Rebels.
O’Brien, who had 40 points against Bear Creek, had another strong game with a game-high 22 points. The sophomore sealed the victory in the fourth quarter going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Columbine’s Logan DeArment, right, is fouled by Arvada West’s James Pelon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“That is a good weapon to have,” Columbine coach Clay Thielking said of O’Brien’s sharp free-throw shooting. “Our guys are starting to learn how to get (O’Brien) the ball when we are protecting a lead.”
A-West (8-6, 3-2) did make a couple of runs in the fourth quarter to cut the Rebels’ double-digit lead. Junior Josh Rogers poured in 18 points after halftime to give the Wildcats a chance to keep A-West’s winning streak going.
Wildcat senior Isaiah Brewer scored 10 of A-West’s 13 points in the first half, but Brewer fouled out with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter. He finished with 12 points.
Columbine was able to keep A-West at bay in the final minutes to hang on for the victory.
“Every win is big. There are so many games left in the league. It’s going to be a grind,” Thielking said. “I’m just proud of the fight and the effort that our kids put forth. It wasn’t always pretty, but the effort makes up for a lot of mistakes.”
A-West’s Josh Rogers, right, poured in 18 points in the second half for the Wildcats. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Junior Cody Ramming pitched in nine points and sophomore Justin Lohrenz added six points for the Rebels, who started the season 1-4. Columbine is right in the mix of the already jumbled conference race.
“It’s going to be a battle,” O’Brien said of 5A Jeffco. “The league champion could have four or five league losses.”
All eight 5A Jeffco teams had league games Wednesday night. There is still nine conference games left for each team that is clawing through the wild 5A Jeffco where the league championship might not be decided until the final league games in mid-February.
“Anything can happen on any night,” Thielking said of the 5A Jeffco League this season. “The key is to stay focused and not get too high or too low.”
The Rebels stay on the road when they face Ralston Valley at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19. The Mustangs (3-10, 0-5) are desperate for the conference win.
In front of the Wildcats is a rivalry showdown with Pomona (6-7, 2-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19.
Columbine junior Cody Ramming (21) attempts to block the layup attempt of A-West senior James Pelon on Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — It was another impressive victory for the Class 5A No. 10 Cherry Creek girls basketball team as the Bruins topped Eaglecrest 69-35.
Heard from a few different coaches our Fever Crew respects this week and we picked up on a theme: “The little things, DIRTY WORK.” Yes, you must put the ball in the whole and outscore the other team to win but as one of our running mates always says, “There’s two sides of the darn court … gotta get some stops too!”
This got us to thinking about a bit of a different angle. We track the top teams and high scorers but this week let’s zero in on some of our boys who may not get the “shine” of being a top scorer but aren’t afraid of doing the “Dirty Work” to help get the team a win.
Week 7, Ball Fever “Dirty Work” Edition, Part 1:
[divider]
Monday, Jan. 15
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, Jan. 16
Appropriate that this week’s action starts with GW who jumped to No. 3 in our poll after an ultra impressive week of 3 wins on the road last week. GW began league play vs. Montbello (FNE) and they kept on marching with a 76-64 win. Mohammed Diallo has been scoring more of late but he’s our “dirty work” player pulling down 8 offensive rebounds and 5 defensively for 13 total! Patriots are rolling…
Dennis Pluess covered D’Evelyn taking on tough 3A Faith Christian … and it took a rally
We know No. 1 Rock Canyon has two prolific scorers in that back court but once again the third senior of “The Firm” did the “dirty work” as Blake Williams scored 13 with 9 big rebounds in the rivalry win over No. 8 Regis
Let’s go over to 4A for some more top 10 action! Silver Creek, now No. 6, hosted No. 4 Longmont and came up just short at home by 2. Longmont’s dirty work? Dallas Dye is leading in rebounds at 6 per game and Brady Renck is running away with an impressive 3 steals per.
Mountain Range traveled to Legacy and came away with a 20 point win. How about senior Mike Polson’s work with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals! Now that’s “stat stuffin” a little “dirty work”.
When you think blue collar work a Mead/Windsor battle should pop right up. Mead got the upset on this night over No. 9 Windsor by 5. Junior Brennen Seyboldt was grinding for 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
Boulder made a late run but came up just short in a league game at Horizon 60-59. Junior Alex Lawrence hit big for 24 points in the win.
Widefield shut Mitchell down defensively only giving up single digits in two of the four quarters. Tre Pierre can do many things well but he was in the paint for 8 “dirty work” rebounds and even found time for 2 assists.
ThunderRidge has somewhat quietly worked it’s way right on up to 5A No. 2 this week. Our Fever Crew has documented the improvement of Douglas County down south…well? The Grizzlies weren’t impressed as they “doubled-up” DougCo 64-32. The scoring of Hammonds and McCaw has been stated before but fellow senior Tyson Cruickshank scored 11 in this win and is averaging 3 assists, 3 steals per game!
Thompson Valley, in at No. 10 in 4A, is no stranger to work and Hayden Ell’s workman like 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals helped in the pounding of Niwot at home.
Harrison pulled off the win down south over Sierra but no fault of the Stallions soph Imani Grigsby who scored 22, pulled down 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Again, stat-stuffing dirty work!
Shooting 8-11 for 73% from the field you will get some “dirty work” love from our Crew! That was Pierre Taylor’s scoring for Pueblo West in the win over Pueblo County and he added 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Haven’t talked about this young man enough and even though Brendan Sullivan is Highlands Ranch “go-to guy”, leading scorer he’s earned a shout in the “dirty work” edition. He’s averaging 22 per game and a huge reason H-Ranch is ranked 10 in 5A.
Rampart was on a bit of a streak but Doherty has a couple of guys putting in work on the inside too! Alijah Bates 12 rebounds and Joe Golden’s 11 (along with 4 assists) helped the Spartans make an early league statement winning by 10 at Rampart.
Chap’s Bryce Matthews is a D-1 baseball stud on the rise but the Wolverines are so happy he joined the hoops squad this year! He’s tough, does the dirty work we’ve discussed today, and…ummm…welll…uhhhh can grab alley oops off the backboard too! Chap humbled Pondo on this night with numerous high flying dunks and defense.
Valor has climbed to No. 7 in our poll but got a scare from Wheatridge who took them to the final minute of a 61-59 Eagles win. Workhorse? Jeremy Randle leads Valor in scoring, assists, and steals!
Smoky Hill has dropped from our 5A top 10 but we have a feeling this team is long from written off. They held home court tonight 66-48 over Centennial foe Arapahoe. Big man Will Becker can get it done offensively but he’s also pulling 10 rebounds and blocking 3 shots per game!
You can’t say “dirty work” in Aurora/EMAC without mentioning Rangeview’s Ryan Ongala. The tough big man scored 17 and pulled down 4 rebounds in win over Broomfield which is the role he plays night in and night out for the Raiders.
It seemed like just last week the Fever Crew was saying that Grandview was just about as hot as it could get. Well, a week or so later, take a look at Overland heating up at the right time! The Trailblazers have benefited from a brutal early schedule and one of their hard workers senior Goy Wang scored 16 in the last second win over the Wolves where Daijon Smith hit the “walk off” 3! Feel the excitement.
Adam Thistlewood did the scoring for No. 6 Golden and our “dirty work” candidate in the win over Littleton is senior Joe Madden and his 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Lincoln has been playing better ball of late but Boulder was determined not to lose another heart breaker in back to back nights. The Panthers had two sophs not just doing the little things but scoring big in Caleb Wehmuller’s 20 points and Tyler Turner’s 18. Five point road win for Boulder.
The Fever Crew made it out to Cherry Creek for our first look at “new look” Eaglecrest. We’ve seen Cherry Creek and knew football stud Dimitri Stanley would surely be all over the “dirty work” for the Bruins, but it was the Raptors who took this game Creek had a chance to tie at the buzzer but a 3-pointer came up short with no time remaining. Sophomore Sebastian Cole was impressive for Creek and plays much more poised than a soph, but the Raptors timely late plays including this “monsta” jam by Thomas Dangerfield III helped seal the road win.
That was fun, folks! Top scorers and well known players keep our high school scene fun but as many a coach has shared with us over the years: “It’s the little things and the guys who do the ‘dirty work’ that make the difference!”
