Heading into 2019, here’s a look at football jobs that are open around the state.

On Wednesday, we brought you our most-read stories from the 2018 calendar year. Today, we list some of our favorite stories that have run on CHSAANow this year, ordered chronologically.

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Outdoor game could be a building block for Woodland Park hockey

Jan. 3 | By Dan Mohrmann

It was a party in the woods on Wednesday night in Woodland Park. And in the middle of it was a hockey game.

Read the full story here.

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Conifer’s Cayden Condit takes aim at becoming state wrestling’s first female placer

Jan. 11 | By Ryan Casey

There is no mistaking her goal. Cayden Condit wants to become the first female wrestler to ever place at the state tournament.

Read the full story here.

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Chloe Welch is the engine that drives Mesa Ridge girls basketball

Jan. 19 | By Dan Mohrmann

What makes Mesa Ridge girls basketball star Chloe Welch so special is that she’s the best when it comes to rallying her teammates.

Read the full story here.

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Bahls balance family and basketball on the court

Feb. 5 | By Dennis Pleuss

Amy and Michael Bahl work as a team to balance family life while coaching successful basketball programs at Evergreen High School and Metro State University.

Read the full story here.

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Ed McCaffrey is ready to dive headfirst into his passion: coaching football, and mentoring young athletes

Feb. 7 | By Ryan Casey

Ed McCaffrey says he took a step back from football over the past decade, not wanting to draw away from his sons. He’s ready to dive back in.

Read the full story here.

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Deaguero family continues to add to its legacy with Adams City wrestling

Feb. 16 | By Brian Miller

It was only fitting that during the first state wrestling tournament in nearly three decades that he hasn’t served as a head coach, Tom Deaguero received a huge ovation from a packed house Friday night at Pepsi Center.

Read the full story here.

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USA Basketball, NBA recommend shot clock for high school basketball; what does it mean for Colorado?

Mar. 20 | By Ryan Casey

The use of a shot clock in high school basketball has long been debated. Now USA Basketball and the NBA have weighed in.

Read the full story here.

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Palmer Ridge girls lacrosse’s Liz Phillips likes to shine on the big stage

Apr. 5 | By Dan Mohrmann

There’s something about being on a field with a stick in her hands that brings out the best in Palmer Ridge’s Liz Phillips.

Read the full story here.

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Denver East’s Arria Minor has become one of the country’s best sprinters

Apr. 12 | By Ryan Casey

Arria Minor is a junior at Denver East, but she is already one of the nation’s top sprinters — thanks in part to some growth in dealing with pre-race anxiety.

Read the full story here.

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Dawson’s Gavyn Pure is one of Colorado’s best lacrosse players ever, but he’s about more than lacrosse

May 10 | By Ryan Casey

Gavyn Pure is a two-time player of the year, and one of the best lacrosse players in state history. And, according to his coach, he’s not overly concerned with any of that.

Read the full story here.

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Telluride’s Soleil Gaylord continues to rack up medals at state track

May 18 | By Dan Mohrmann

Telluride’s Soleil Gaylord is no stranger to piling up medals and she continued to do just that on the second day of the state track meet.

Read the full story here.

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Windsor’s Sarah Johnson wins two state titles in two days

May 25 | By Quentin Sickafoose

In a matter of about 24 hours, things for Sarah Johnson changed more drastically than she ever could have imagined.

Read the full story here.

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Palmer Ridge’s Ty Evans has a competitive edge that makes him stand out on the football field

June 29 | By Dan Mohrmann

Ty Evans hates losing. It doesn’t matter if it’s with his Palmer Ridge teammates on the football field or by himself when he’s playing pickup basketball at lunch against one of his friends.

Read the full story here.

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Castle View football in good hands with Todd Casebier’s blueprint

July 6 | By Dan Mohrmann

After finding success at three other programs, Todd Casebier is looking to turn around the football fortunes at Castle View.

Read the full story here.

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La Veta’s summer athletic programs take a back seat to Spring Fire

July 13 | By Dan Mohrmann

La Veta High School no longer hosts summer workouts for its athletes. Instead it is used as a staging ground to help firefighting efforts.

Read the full story here.

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Gilpin County’s new football field and track is a jewel in the mountains

July 27 | By Ryan Casey

It’s a jewel cut into the side of a mountain. And come Friday nights this all, that jewel will be shining bright above the casinos just down the road.

Read the full story here.

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Kit Carson’s volleyball dominance is fueled by its family makeup

Aug. 15 | By Dan Mohrmann

Kit Carson is ready for an encore of 2017’s historical volleyball season. The Wildcats didn’t drop a set and came away with the 1A title.

Read the full story here.

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Football players get a small taste of the NFL at media day

Aug. 18 | By Ryan Casey

Football players from 20 teams took part in the inaugural high school football media day hosted by the Denver Broncos and CHSAA on Friday.

Read the full story here.

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Sedgwick County, a three-time defending football champion, is embracing the target on its back

Aug. 21 | By Ryan Casey

The most consistently successful high school football program in Colorado over the past three years? It’s Sedgwick County. And there’s no debate.

Read the full story here.

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The addition of 2A boys soccer provides more opportunities for student-athletes

Sept. 5 | By Dan Mohrmann

The new 2A classification of boys soccer began play this fall with 25 teams who were split out based on enrollment numbers.

Read the full story here.

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Colorado Academy’s Jordaan twins looking for big senior years in boys tennis and girls golf

Sept. 13 | By Dan Mohrmann

Richter and Caroline Jordaan enter their senior years at Colorado Academy looking for elusive titles in boys tennis and girls golf.

Read the full story here.

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A turnaround at Jefferson football is underway in the form of a 3-0 start

Sept. 19 | By Kevin Carmody

Jefferson, which came into the season with a 37-game on-field losing streak, is one of the season’s early surprise stories, starting 3-0 and injecting plenty of hope for the future.

Read the full story here.

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Aurora Central’s new gym floor has a unique twist: it’s all black

Sept. 27 | By Ryan Casey

When a project to upgrade Aurora Central’s heating system meant the gym floor would need to be replaced, athletic director Rod Harrison saw a great opportunity ahead.

Read the full story here.

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Surgery doesn’t derail Chatfield’s Christian Holmes in his quest to defend tennis title

Oct. 3 | By Dennis Pleuss

Defending Class 5A No. 1 single state champion Christian Holmes of Chatfield is back on the tennis court less than two months after knee surgery.

Read the full story here.

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With the South Central League full of Pueblo teams, rivalries set to intensify

Oct. 4 | By Dan Mohrmann

With the Pueblo teams back in the same conference, the South Central League will provide intense football rivalries in 2018.

Read the full story here.

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Montrose and Fruita Monument volleyball rallied together for Alzheimer’s awareness

Oct. 24 | By Dan Mohrmann

A personal connection for Shane Forrest prompted the Montrose and Fruita Monument volleyball teams to rally for Alzheimer’s awareness.

Read the full story here.

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The story of Colorado’s first sanctioned high school football season, and championship game, in 1921

Nov. 13 | By Ryan Casey

Nearly 97 years ago, the formation of a group of schools into an athletic conference gave rise to what became the first-ever sanctioned high school football championship in the state of Colorado. This is the story of the 1921 season

Read the full story here.

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What does it take to reach a state football championship game? The coaches weigh in

Nov. 30 | By Ryan Casey

There are three championship football games set for Saturday. This week, the coaches of all six teams talked about what it took to get there.

Read the full story here.

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Stanford girls basketball lineup will soon fill with Colorado talent

Dec. 21 | By Dan Mohrmann

Regis Jesuit’s Fran Belibi, Discovery Canyon’s Ashten Prechtel and Cherry Creek’s Jana Van Gytenbeek have found a shared basketball home.

Read the full story here.

As 2018 winds down, we look back on the year, and count down CHSAANow.com’s most-read stories over the course of the past 12 months:

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15. Legislative Council: Changes to football’s calendar; volleyball moves to bracket format

In January, the Legislative Council had a busy meeting. Among their changes: A tweak to the football calendar, a new bracket format for state volleyball, the establishment of foundation games, and baseball moving to a 23-game regular season in 3A, 4A and 5A.

Read the full story here.

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14. Grandview boys basketball beats George Washington to claim first title

With a 57-52 victory over George Washington, Grandview boys basketball won its first-ever championship in winning the Class 5A title in March.

Read the full story here.

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13. Loveland races to 4A football championship, defeating Skyline

Loveland, a power all season long, won its first state football title in 2003 with a 62-14 win over Skyline on Dec. 1.

Read the full story here.

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12. Conifer’s Cayden Condit takes aim at becoming state wrestling’s first female placer

Conifer freshman Cayden Condit made waves during the 2017-18 season, raising expectations that she may become the state’s first female to place at the state wrestling tournament. Condit is now a sophomore.

Read the full story here.

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11. 2A state wrestling: Wray captures its first title in 30 years

Wray secured the Class 2A state wrestling title in February, notching the program’s first championship since 1988.

Read the full story here.

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10. Five former Colorado high school football players selected in the NFL Draft

In a major day for former Colorado high school football players, five of them were selected on one day in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Read the full story here.

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9. Boys volleyball, girls wrestling and unified bowling get green light as pilots

In February, the Board of Directors gave the green light — for the first time ever — to begin pilot seasons for three sports: boys volleyball, girls wrestling and unified bowling.

All three are currently in pilot seasons during the school year.

Read the full story here.

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8. 4A & 5A wrestling semifinals: Historic night could be in store for championship round

On the second-to-last day of the 2018 state wrestling tournament, we looked at what was potentially ahead for Saturday’s finals. This story examined the seven wrestlers looking to become three-time champions.

Read the full story here.

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7. Cherry Creek beats Columbine in tough 5A football semifinal, heads to title game

In a matchup of 5A football powers, Cherry Creek emerged from the semifinals with a 10-7 win over Columbine in November.

Read the full story here.

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6. 3A, 4A and 5A state baseball tourneys postponed to avoid rain this weekend

Sigh. Of course this list includes inclement weather news, and of course it’s from the spring season. In May, the 3A, 4A and 5A state baseball tournaments had to be delayed due to rain.

Read the full story here.

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5. Denver East’s Arria Minor sets records in 200 and 400, now has top time nationally

Arria Minor, the star track athlete from Denver East, had quite the day during the state track and field championships in May, setting records and hold the top time in the country.

Read the full story here.

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4. Fran Belibi dunks as No. 2 Regis Jesuit girls basketball beats No. 1 Grandview

Regis Jesuit’s star senior threw down a monster dunk in a monster matchup between the top two girls basketball teams in Class 5A this season.

Read the full story (and watch the dunk!) here.

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3. Legislative Council passes new transfer rule

CHSAA’s transfer rule was changed for the first time since 2003-04 when the Legislative Council approved a new transfer rule in April.

Read the full story here.

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2. Cherry Creek and Valor Christian set to meet for 5A football championship

A preview of the 2018 Class 5A state football title game, which featured Valor Christian and Cherry Creek in a big matchup.

Read the full preview here.

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1. Valor Christian beats Cherry Creek to win 5A football championship

A recap of the Class 5A football state championship game, played on Dec. 1. Valor Christian beat Cherry Creek 24-14.

Read the full story here.

 

Our mid-week report covered fantastic finishes and prepped us for some of our top squads heading out of state.

Our Fever Crew has seen our top players compete with some of the nations best during the spring/summer and had no doubt our CHSAA squads would open eyes in Florida and Las Vegas this week!

Guess what? They absolutely did and we had some sweet local performances along the way as well. Check it out!

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The Look Back

Thursday, Dec. 20

• Our 4A No. 5 squad Lincoln got the end of week report started with a tight 44-43 win over Lexington Catholic (Kentucky) and three of their studs scored in double figures led by James Felton’s 17 points.
• Mountain Vista, 5A No. 2 squad, started the Creek Holiday right with a 21-point win over Vista Ridge with Ben Grusing and Corban Gamble score 13 points each.
• No. 4 Ranked Rangeview is in Vegas as well for the Tarkanian Classic and Quincey Jewett was ready putting up 15 points with 7 rebounds along with Jodaun Dotson’s 14 points in the 14-point win over Juan Diego Catholic from Utah.
• Valor got 20 points from Roger Rosengarten but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump vs. Centennial (NV) in Las Vegas losing 84-77.
• Our No. 1 team Chaparral was tested right away in Las Vegas by Timpview of Ogden Utah. Kobe Sanders scored 20 points with 3 assists in the loss by 8 for the Wolverines.
• Kwane Marble is no stranger to Las Vegas high level play and helped the Angels to a win “stat-stuffin” 24 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals in 9-point win over Preston Wood Christian out of big bad Texas!
• No. 5 Grandview on the road for Vegas action as well took a loss to Rancho Christian (CA) by 8 despite senior Davon Walker’s 15 points.
• Senior Tre Martin poured in 16 points and super soph Kendale Johnson Jr. matched his 16 points but George Washington came up short in first Las Vegas action for them vs. Spring Valley (NV) 70-66.
• It seams like Cherry Creek only plays close games and those young sophs are playing with poise. This night Julian Hammond III scored 18 and Myles Purchase 10 points including the sweet baseline floater that won the game by 2 over Thomas Jefferson

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bro3mt-FsXn/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=v7l5o7fledpa

• How about overtime for No. 6 ThunderRidge out in Florida Game 1! This one was back and forth the entire way with the Grizz winning 51-48 over Pembroke Pines (FL).
• Our 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer continues to roll early behind player of the year candidate Joel Scott and now they’re even stronger with the return of sharp-shooting Matthew Ragsdale!
• Three undefeated teams and Alameda is one of them!

Friday, Dec. 21

The Fever Crew got over to the Creek Holiday Tourney and it was worth it as host Cherry Creek and Fairview made it fun in a game of swings and runs.

Fairview had the most important run with a bunch of their 3-point shots coming in the second half, keeping the Bruins just far enough away in the 81-76 tourney win.

Those sophs Julian Hammond (26) and Myles Purchase (17) continued to lead the young Creek squad that will be a tough “out” come tourney time!

In other games:

• No. 8 Overland starts with a win in Las Vegas Tark action with FIVE players scoring in double figures and big Ike Graham led the way with a 14 point, 12 rebound double-double! Fourteen point win over Desert Vista.
• No. 1 Chaparral gets back on track with 9-point win over Boyd Anderson (FL) out in Vegas and Kobe Sanders continues to play out of his mind scoring 35 of Chap’s 63 in the win!
• Rangeview sent Vegas a message pounding Agassi Prep by almost 30 points and that inside/out tandem of Jodaun Dotson and Quincey Jewett were HUGE again combining for 43 of the Raiders 73 points!
• “We ain’t scared of Compton!” said the senior big man Malik Patton who scored 20 points and pulled down 9 rebounds for GW in their 9-point win over Dominguez (Compton CA). Kendale Johnson helped Malik inside with 9 points and 11 rebounds. When Johnson gets inside he’s a different dude!
• ThunderRidge jumped on Cardinal Gibbons 16-8 in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead to get their second tourney win out in Florida!
• Three Angels in double figures and this time senior Caulin Swain led with 19 points in East’s win over Desert Oasis in Vegas. FRESHMAN ALERT: might be our first freshman “stat-stuffin” moment from RaShawn Wilson’s 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals!
• Grandview drew some tough squads in Vegas and dropped another to Chino Hills (CA) by 12 on day 2 in Tark Classic.
• No. 7 Rock Canyon continues out of state winning ways by 13 over McArthur (FL).
• On “Alumni Night” Arapahoe got a needed win over Dakota Ridge by 2! Great tradition Coach Jansen.

Great night last night. Warriors beat a tough, well coached Dakota Ridge. Then 5th annual alumni games to follow. 70+ alumni. One of the best nights of the year to reconnect with former Warriors! Why you coach! pic.twitter.com/u08XUQGHgw

— Brad Jansen (@coachjansen) December 22, 2018

• Mountain Vista has a balanced attack and it showed with 4 players in double figures and this time Rhys Pulling scored 17 in the Creek Holiday Classic win over Doherty.
• Game of the night candidate held up to its hype as it took overtime for Eaglecrest to beat Regis by 4 in this showdown! High flying soph Ty Robinson put up 18 points for the Raptors and Raiders big man Daniel Carr matched that 18 in the loss.
• Everyone got involved for No. 3 Smoky Hill as they put up 95 points on the visit to Northglenn!

Smoky Hill 95, Northglenn 44
Final pic.twitter.com/5HeQdEPSvc

— Smoky Hill Hoops (@SmokyHillHoops) December 22, 2018

• Arvada West was feeling quite DEFENSIVE only giving up 24 points to Mountain Range while Josh Rogers scored 23 and senior Oliver Lindeblad pulled down 12 rebounds!
• No. 4 Cheyenne Mountain continues to put up BIG numbers and tonight it was 79-60 over Coronado with senior Will Louis scoring 18.
• “Whoa!” another “monsta” double-double for big Ike Graham and this 20 point, 14 rebound effort came in the Trailblazer waxing of Denver East in Las Vegas 72-40!
• Cole Bott put up 20 points and helped Valor to their first Vegas win by 10 over Central (Fresno CA).
• Another CO win out of state? Yep! Rangeview 58-53 over Grant (Portland OR).
• In top 10 4A action Pueblo West sinks one at the buzzer to take down Holy Family!

Saturday, Dec. 22

Ball Fever Chat: When you lead your team to a 2-1 Tarkanian Classic Las Vegas Trip, score 20, 35, 25, and add a game winning shot in the final game we have to catch up with you for a little Ball Fever “Chat”!

The smooth lefty from Chaparral, Kobe Sanders, has been on an absolute tear and in true lead point guard fashion he was giving kudos to his teammates when we had a chance to catch up:

“Players are finding their role on the team but so far it’s working out,” Sanders said. “Guys are really stepping up in their individual roles and my favorite is our center Dalton Waldron who doesn’t get a lot of the ‘pub’ but does his job and at 6-foot-5 is out here in Vegas banging with dudes 6-foot-11!”

With the target of being No. 1 on their back Sanders knows that defense is what will get their squad over the top stating, “We’re number 1 because of our focus on defense this year. We can score the ball but if we defend like we did vs. teams like T-Ridge and Smoky, we’ll be set.”

Kobe can score the ball with the best in the state but he’s embracing his new role as a distributor and leader: “My role this year is to lead the team and keep everyone involved,” he said.

The Fever Crew had the pleasure of spending time with Sanders this spring/summer and his poise, leadership, and desire to get others involved comes as no surprise. The young man comes from an outstanding family and the Chaparral community should be proud to have this young man leading the way!

Check out Kobe’s game-winning lay up in Chap’s final Vegas game:

Game winning layup today by @kobesanderss. He finished with 25 points @tannergiles22 had 14 and @BryceMatthews24 had 8. @tizzylewis1 was a dog on D. We finished the @TarkClassic 3-1 and took 3rd place in our bracket. Good finish to the first semester. #gottakeepimproving https://t.co/HQexhJjjFp

— Chap Hoops (@Chap_Hoops) December 23, 2018

In other games:

• Seniors Caulin Swain and Kwane Marble combined for 48 points but not nearly enough as the Angels lost their last Vegas game 94-73 to Grant out of Portland, OR.
• No. 1 Lewis-Palmer made a rare trip into the city to face Vista Peak and Matthew Ragsdale showing again he’s ready to ball scoring 21 points in another dominating 18-point win for the Rangers.
• Lincoln had some ups and downs in their trip to Vegas but finished with a win and their three big “dawgs” all scored in double figures.

🏀 Tarkanian Classic

📍 Las Vegas, NV

📅 December 22, 2018

Lincoln Lancers 62

Desert Oasis (NV) 56

Kwaheem Brown & James Felton 17pts apiece

Ty Foster 14pts

— Lincoln Lancer Hoops (@LincolnHoops_) December 22, 2018

• Our local Cherry Creek Holiday Classic brought some good games too and gave folks a chance to see this Mountain Vista squad that has soared (see what we did there?) to the No. 2 spot in the state and they didn’t disappoint going 3-0 this week and winning the tourney title game by 18 points over Fairview, who has been playing strong ball themselves. Multiple players who can step up on this Eagles squad and Simon May stepped up with 18 points in the championship game! Coach Wood flat out gets it done.

Mtn Vista, Cherry Creek Holiday BB Tournament Champs. #VistaBB pic.twitter.com/pqmUcdRFWh

— Vista Basketball (@MtnVistaBball) December 22, 2018

• In another local tourney, the Mullen Classic, we had a performance for the ages! Our Digital Media Guru, Ryan Casey, will have to give us the goods on if this is some kind of record but if I was a betting man I’d say Christian Davis’ 55 points with an INSANE FIFTEEN THREE POINTERS might just qualify for the record books as Mullen raced away from Chatfield 91-58!
• Rock Canyon won it last year and this time the T-Ridge Grizzlies went down to Florida and brought back some hardware winning the Kruel Classic! it was low scoring 49-42 and T-Ridge shut Corner Canyon (Utah) down in the third quarter 15-4 to seal the title. Big man Bailey Verk named tourney MVP!

Great tournament- Congratulations!! pic.twitter.com/nUYo0H5uJ3

— ThunderRidge (@TRidgeGrizzlies) December 23, 2018

• NO BETTER way to end 2018 Ball Fever with two of our CO squads meeting in the Tarkanian Classic “Select” Division championship game in Las Vegas! We’ve discussed the ultra tough schedule Coach Fisher always throws at his Overland squad and that battle tested mentality certainly helped the Trailblazers go undefeated in Vegas beating our Rangeview squad 64-57! Big man Ike Graham was named tournament MVP and putting up 26 points, 14 rebounds with 2 assists had to be a big part of that!

64-57, Final, OVERLAND!!! Select Division Champions at the @TarkClassic Congrats Graham Oke on being named @TarkClassic Select Division MVP! 💚🏀💙#OVE @OHShoopSquad @aurorasports pic.twitter.com/YhtshKE3En

— Overland Athletics (@WeAreOverland) December 23, 2018

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The Look Ahead

Umm…uhhh…well, folks. My look ahead consists of Christmas Cajun Turkey and New Years Crab legs!! That. Is. All.

Don’t worry though, our main man Ryan Casey, has you covered regarding the rules over the break

Our young men are pushing each other here in Colorado and CLEARLY proved we have what it takes to perform at the national tournaments and stage! Can’t wait to see what 2019 has to bring…Ball Fever will be here to cover it ALL for you. Peace.

AURORA — The annual winter break which takes place each year is upon us.

Here’s what that means for the 2018-19 season:

• No games, meets or matches will be held from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. (Nor on Dec. 23, as it is a Sunday.)
• No practices can be held from Dec. 24-27, or on Jan. 1. This period is also a no-contact period between coaches and players.
• Practices are allowed on Dec. 28, 29 and 31 — not Dec. 30, as it is a Sunday — but any that take place over that time must be on a voluntary basis. No coach may compel a player to participate in practice over this period.
• The winter break will end on Jan. 2, and regular competition and practices can resume on that day, which is a Wednesday.

Here’s the calendar in bullet form:

Winter break info

• Dec. 23: Sunday. No games, no practices.
• Dec. 24: Winter break begins. No games, no practices.
• Dec. 25: No games, no practices.
• Dec. 26: No games, no practices.
• Dec. 27: No games, no practices.
• Dec. 28: No games. Voluntary practice permitted.
• Dec. 29: No games. Voluntary practice permitted.
• Dec. 30: No games. No practice, as it is a Sunday.
• Dec. 31: No games. Voluntary practice permitted.
• Jan. 1: No games, no practices.
• Jan. 2: Winter break ends, normal calendar resumes.

LITTLETON — Ralston Valley hockey players came out the energy and urgency of last-minute holiday shoppers in the third period Friday night.

The Mustangs tacked on a pair of goals in the final period while outshooting Columbine 14-3 in the final 17 minutes to secure a 7-3 victory at The Edge Ice Arena.

“We knew we had to come out strong. (Columbine) kind of had the momentum going into the period,” Ralston Valley forward Zack Savarise said. “We wanted to work it up toward their defense a lot.”

Savarise scored his second goal of the night 40 seconds into the third period. Ralston Valley defenseman Carson Hellman took a shot from the point and Savarise tipped it through the five-hole of Columbine goalie Landon Wair. The goal gave the Mustangs a 6-3 lead.

Ralston Valley (3-3 record, 1-1 in Pinnacle League) added a goal in the final minutes by forward Sam Clark to put the game away.

“Our only message between the second and third periods was to really go the first five minutes we would be fine,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Schoepflin said. “That was my challenge to them. We wanted to play our absolute best hockey those first five minutes and everything else would take care of itself.”

Ralston Valley never trailed, taking a 4-1 lead midway through the second period. Cody Hutchison, Jason Ruszka, Savarise and Anthony Colagrosso all scored for the Mustangs to take a three-goal lead.

Columbine (2-5-1, 2-1-1 in Highlands League) battled back late in the second period with goals by Luke Juergensen and Drew Bauer. Bauer was able to match Savarise’s output. Both had two goals and an assist.

Savarise had an opportunity to score a hat-trick, but passed up a couple of shooting chances, instead trying to get teammates in the goal scoring column in the third period.

“He (Savarise) is a tremendous player and a great asset to our team,” Schoepflin said. “I think the biggest thing is his 200-foot game. He is so responsible in the defensive end, on face-offs and is just a good teammate.”

Ralston Valley goalie Blake Hart picked up his third victory in net this season making 15 saves on the night and getting the Mustangs’ record to .500 before the winter break.

“I think the different going into the second half of the season 3-3 instead of 2-4 is a huge difference,” Schoepflin said. “It’s nice to have that good feeling coming off of a win. It’s a good way going into break.”

No one can say Ralston Valley or Columbine have had an easy schedule so far. Coming into Friday’s game all three of Ralston Valley’s losses — Chaparral, Cherry Creek and Fort Collins — were against teams ranked in the top-10 of the CHSAANow.com hockey poll.

Columbine has been in the same boat. The Rebels’ previous four losses — Denver East, Dakota Ridge, Mountain Vista and Chaparral — were also all against top-10 squads.

The Mustangs and Rebels both have a two-week break before their next game action. Columbine hosts Mullen at The Edge on Friday, Jan. 4.

Ralston Valley heads to Loveland to face Resurrection Christian on Saturday, Jan. 5. The Mustangs are trying to bounce back after their roughest season in the program’s history. Ralston Valley went 3-16-1 last season.

“Last year was obviously a tough year,” Schoepflin said. “I think there is tremendous potential with this group. I’m excited that we keep getting a little bit better and a little bit better every time out.”

CENTENNIAL — A two-goal second period gave seventh-ranked Chaparral hockey a lead, and the Wolverines went on to upset No. 2 Cherry Creek 3-1 on Friday.

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CENTENNIAL — Top-ranked Regis Jesuit hockey is now 6-0-0 following a 3-1 win over Heritage on Friday.

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DENVER — No. 6 Dakota Ridge hockey beat No. 8 Denver East 5-1 in a top-10 matchup on Friday.

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Pueblo West’s Brett Finegan hit a layup with 1.7 seconds to play to lift the No. 6 Cyclones to a win over No. 3 Holy Family in boys basketball.