Shawn Marsh, a veteran of creating successful football programs on the Western Slope, has been named the head football coach at Eaglecrest.
Marsh spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Grand Junction Central
Eaglecrest announced the hire on Friday morning, and Grand Junction Central also announced Marsh’s resignation.
“We are excited to welcome Shawn Marsh to Eaglecrest High School,” Raptors athletic director Vince Orlando said in a statement. “Coach Marsh is a great fit for our school and community. We are confident that he will provide outstanding leadership for our young men and lead our program to continued success in the coming years.”
Marsh was 24-38 in six seasons leading the Warriors, primarily in Class 4A, though they were 3A in 2014 and 2015. He took over a team that went 0-10 the year prior to he was hired, and built them into a program that was 7-4 last season, and made the postseason. His team also made the playoffs in 2016, the program’s first winning season since 2004.
Prior to joining Central, Marsh was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Division II Colorado Mesa University. He has also been a head coach for 15 seasons, including stints at Paonia (1995), Fruita Monument (2010) and Grand Junction (2001-07). He led the Tigers to a runner-up finish in the 4A title game in 2005.
“I want to thank Eaglecrest High School and the Cherry Creek School District for the opportunity to coach football in such an amazing high school an school district,” Marsh said in a statement. “My family and I are excited to be part of the Eaglecrest family and community.”
At Eaglecrest, Marsh will take over one of 5A’s top programs. The Raptors, runner-up in 2017, have reached at least the quarterfinals each of the past three seasons — one of six 5A teams to do so.
After Dustin Delaney resigned early in the 2018 season, Eaglecrest was led by Garrett Looney on an interim basis last fall.
Follow all of football’s coaching changes this offseason in our tracker.
After just a few minutes, it’s clear that Manual senior guard Jaedon Bowles belongs on a basketball court.
He’s fast, he’s aggressive and there isn’t a basketball skill that he doesn’t know how to utilize. And it’s helping the Thunderbolts evolve into a force when it comes to the Class 3A basketball landscape.
They’re playing well at 9-2 overall (4-0 in the 3A Metro League) and Bowles ranks No. 2 in the state in scoring at 26.6 points per game. That’s not just in 3A, that’s in all classes. And that number is nothing new. He’s averaged over 23 points per game since his sophomore year. As a freshman, he maintained a modest 18 points per game average.
One of his goals is to be better than everyone else and he knows that in order to do that, he needs to put in more effort and better effort than those he’s competing with.
“I always say that there’s someone else out there working just as hard as I am,” Bowles said. “I always want to be the hardest working person in the gym and outside of the gym.”
And that’s consistent with what his coaches see in him. Sometimes Manual coach Omar Henry looks around the city of Denver and see what players from East, George Washington or Grandview are doing and there’s no doubt in his mind that Bowles is right on that same level.
The biggest problem that he sees in terms of recognition is that Bowles plays at a 3A school. He doesn’t think the classification should have anything to do with perception, but he’s not letting Bowles make excuses in that regard. He preaches that if his star player wants to be seen as a true star, he just needs to get his talking done with his play.
“For Jaedon my expectation was for him to start trying to get some more respect than what he had been getting,” Henry said. “At Manual he doesn’t get the respect that he should get. Our goal for him this year was to work on his game over the summer and have him get a little more aggressive and a little more polished.”
It’s the same goal he has for his team overall. And his team is following through on that goal thus far. Henry praised the play of senior point guard Davion Davis for his ability to score and distribute when necessary.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
He’s quick to say that Davis is a big reason that Bowles is having an outstanding season on the court and Bowles isn’t arguing that point at all.
“We all have the same mindset,” Bowles said. “We came into the season wanting a better team this year. We came in with the same goal and we want a championship at the end of the year.”
A year ago, the Thunderbolts had the look of a championship team but couldn’t quite that push in the state tournament. They fell to league foe Faith Christian in the Great 8 and have been motivated to get back to the postseason ever since.
And while on that mission they certainly appear to mean business. On Tuesday, the No. 2-ranked Thunderbolts beat No. 3 Kent Denver 79-41.
Bowles scored 29 points while junior Jaden Stoffell added 27 and senior Adontre Thompson scored 10. It was the kind of statement win that just might get Manual that respect that Coach Henry believes it has earned.
“I hope so. I really hope so,” Henry said. “Our main focus is that we want respect, but we want to take things one game at a time.”
For his team, he wants a championship. For his top player, he wants people to talk about Bowles the way they’d talk about the other top players in the state. And for the Thunderbolts, the best way to have both of those things is to play as if they are directly tied to each other.
“If we continue to build, then he’ll get that respect when he gets his team to a championship game,” Henry said. “You can’t be the best player if you’ve never gotten your team to a championship game.”
Whether or not that’s true is up for the talking heads to debate when the season comes to an end. But for Henry, Bowles and the rest of the Thunderbolts they intend to play to a level that will force those same talking heads and basketball fans around the state to acknowledge them as nothing but the best.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Mady Leahy scored a team-high 11 points as Coronado girls basketball beat Rampart 42-40 in a Colorado Springs Metro League game on Thursday.
GOLDEN — Wheat Ridge finally got a chance to celebrate at the conclusion of a boys basketball game against rival Golden.
The Farmers, No. 9 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A rankings, ended more than a decade-long losing streak to the Demons on Wednesday night. Wheat Ridge defeated Golden 59-48 on the Demons’ home court.
“I’m just glad for my kids,” Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd said after the long awaited victory over Golden. “I’m really happy for them. It’s been awhile. It’s just nice to get it over with.”
Golden junior Kevin Mulligan, far right, scored a team-high 14 points for the Demons, but finds himself trapped here by Wheat Ridge junior Alex Morales (10) and senior Julian Claussen (24). (Dennis Pleuss/Jefco Athletics)
Wheat Ridge (11-3, 4-0 in 4A Jeffco) hadn’t defeated rival Golden since the Farmers moved from 5A Jeffco into 4A Jeffco a decade ago. According to MaxPreps.com, the Demons were 17-0 against the Farmers since the 2008-09 season.
“We hadn’t beaten them in a while,” Wheat Ridge senior Blair McVicker said. “We knew we have a really good group of guys and we can all play together. We just wanted to go out and get the job done today.”
The Farmers never trailed and used a 13-0 run in the third quarter to push their lead to double-digit points against the Demons (6-8, 3-1). The victory also gave Wheat Ridge sole possession of first place in the conference.
Wheat Ridge had four players — McVicker (16 points), Julian Claussen (12 points), Dominic Bronk (11 points) and Alex Morales (10 points) — all finish in double figures.
“It’s hard to stop us because a lot of guys can score,” Dowd said. “If we would have shot it well tonight we would have run (Golden) out of here. We got good looks, but didn’t hit shots.”
McVicker led the charge in the second half for the Farmers. The transfer from Faith Christian Academy had a quiet first half with just three points, but was aggressive offensively after halftime.
“We needed to get to our pace,” the Farmers’ point guard said of the third quarter where the Farmers outscored the Demons 18-7. “We run and fast-break, we wanted to turn our defense into offense.”
Golden junior Carter Thompson, right, does his best on trying to guard Wheat Ridge’s 6-foot-10 senior Zeke Van Tuyl in the post Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Defensively, Wheat Ridge held Golden to 17-for-64 shooting on the night. Wheat Ridge’s 6-foot-10 senior Zeke Van Tuyl manned the middle of the paint for the most of the night, forcing the Demons to shoot from the outside.
“We couldn’t put the ball in the hole tonight at all,” Golden coach Lou Vullo admitted as his team shot just 27 percent from the field. “We were struggling with that. We were keeping the game close, but we’ve got to make shots against a zone (defense).”
Golden junior Kevin Mulligan had a team-high 14 points for the Demons. Senior David O’Connell pitched in 10 points in the loss.
The victory was extra special for Claussen, who transferred to Wheat Ridge from Golden after his sophomore year. He was also playing with a heavy heart.
“His grandfather passed away last night, so there was a heavy burden on him,” Dowd said of Claussen. “Our kids wanted to win for him. I’m happy for Julian. He is such a good kid.”
Claussen was congratulated by several Wheat Ridge fans, along with some former classmates and teachers after the Farmers’ win.
Wheat Ridge senior Julian Claussen (24) had a successful return Wednesday night to Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It means a lot. It’s cool to see my old friends out there and in this environment,” Claussen said. “It’s just a cool win. It feels like getting revenge on your buddies.”
Wheat Ridge is back on home for a 1 p.m. game Saturday, Jan. 19, against D’Evelyn. After the home game Saturday, the Farmers play six straight games on the road.
“I’m excited about every league game coming up. I think we can win out this year, truly,” Claussen said.
Golden has a non-league road game against DSST: Byers at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, before getting back into conference play at D’Evelyn on Wednesday, Jan. 23.
“We still have a long season to go and I honestly feel the league is still up for grabs,” Vullo said.
The Demons will get their shot at revenge when they travel to Wheat Ridge for a regular-season finale for both teams Feb. 14 for the conference rematch.
“When I first got the position the boys were telling me about this rivalry,” said Vullo, who is in his first season coaching at Golden. “I know it really hurts them right now, but as I told them I’m on their side now and part of this rivalry.”
Golden senior David O’Connell (2) drives on Wheat Ridge junior Dominic Bronk (00) during the Class 4A Jeffco League showdown Wednesday at Golden High School. The Farmers ended a decade-long losing streak to the rival Demons with a 59-48 victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Smoky Hill Buffaloes’ Kenny Foster had a big game, finishing the big shot late for the 71-70 win against the No. 4 Overland Trailblazers on Wednesday night.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Class 5A No. 4 Cherry Creek girls basketball improved to 4-1 in Centennial League play with a 60-36 win over Cherokee Trail on Wednesday.
The hoops is hot as we approach mid-season and dig into league play, folks!
We will touch on our top two 5A teams in the mid-week thoughts at the end of this report. As far as 4A? Shoot … there’s plenty of folks who believe, with good reason, that 4A Lewis-Palmer and defending champ Longmont can play with anyone at any level!
Let’s see how they fared in early Week 7 play.
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The Look Back
Monday, Jan. 14
(Ismael Gomez)
Wheat Ridge playing good ball and up to No. 9 in our 4A poll but 5A Ralston Valley was having NONE of it using a 26-9 fourth quarter advantage to pull away 87-55! Jordan Stratch scored 24 and junior Caden Gigstad 25 in the win.
EVERYONE got involved as Denver East raced Kennedy, putting up 103 points. “Freshman Alert” as RaShawn Wilson was “stat-stuffin” 16 points, 9 assists, and 6 steals for the Angels! With Langston Reynolds and Wilson strong contributors as freshman East has to be pumped about that tandem’s future.
The Bellos (FNE) took a strong record into Boulder but we had a feeling this would be a real test for them and junior Adam Sessions led three Panthers in double figure scoring as Boulder was not a kind host dropping the Warriors by 14.
Matthew Ragsdale and Joel Scott at it again combining for 36 for No. 1 Lewis-Palmer. The Rangers continued their run with an 18-point road win at Discovery Canyon.
Columbine is now outside the 5A top-10 and Castle View has joined at No. 10 but it was SIX Rebels scoring in double figures led by Luke O’Brien’s 18 that secured the 12-point league win.
Arvada West dropped from the Top-10 but got 21 from Josh Rogers along with Taylor Kline’s 19 to secure the 13-point win over Monarch and start the week off right!
Broken record here, but this young man Javonte Johnson is becoming “must see” hoops for Cheyenne Mountain tallying a “Monsta” double-double of 31 points, 16 rebounds to help his squad hold on late by 2 over Sand Creek.
It’s not often we get a 5A No. 1 vs. No. 2 regular season match-up but when we do the Fever Crew will do our best to get there!
This night we were honored to be Blake Olson’s guest on the 9News “live” Game of the Night with Chaparral hosting unbeaten No. 1 Mountain Vista.
The JV game went to double-OT and perhaps that took some of the wind out of Vista’s sails as they seemed to come out a bit off. They pushed the pace in Coach Wood fashion, even after made Chap buckets, but the Wolverines were supremely confident in their own gym from beginning to end — even without big man Bryce Matthews down to injury.
A big part of that Chap confidence was the hot left hand from junior point guard Kobe Sanders. Sanders started with hitting tough-angled shots from all over the floor. Hes finished with 19 and big man Dalton Waldron stepped up with a double-double inside in Matthew’s absence.
This was a total and complete game by Chap to take down No. 1!
Fairview, in at No. 9 in 5A, and faced a Poudre squad coming in at 12-2 but the Knights held court to go 4-0 in league play winning by 14.
Quincey Jewett starting to garner some serious attention as a double-double machine for No. 7 Rangeview and added another 21-point, 18 rebound “monsta” in the blowout of Westminster.
Pueblo West and Pueblo East pride on the line with Brett Finnegan’s 18 points leading a balanced attack of four in double figure scoring for No. 5 West in the 10-point win.
Jackson Hayslip poured in 19 points for No. 7 Greeley Central as they held off Niwot in a close one 50-49!
Nothing wrong with a little double-overtime action in the city! Lincoln pulled this one out late 60-58 over GW to begin DPL play.
No. 3 Holy Family jumped out 33-16 at the half and it was never close beating Berthoud by 24 on the road!
We talked about defending 4A champ somehow “quietly” rolling along undefeated and Coach Kloster kept those winning ways rolling.
Peyton Egloff’s game winner earned a Regis an upset of ThunderRidge in another Continental slow-down 30-point battle.
Wednesday, Jan. 16
Wednesday nights in the Centennial League have been special as long as we can remember and Kenny Foster added to the legend, doing “Kenny thangz” for the Buffaloes hitting this sweet fade-away for the win over No. 4 Overland
Eaglecrest has dropped from our top-10 but a blowout of Arapahoe and strong play of late has us hopeful for a #CentennialTough effort at Grandview Friday night! We’ll be there, and the Raptors only have one league loss!
How much fun have we had following Josh Rogers and Arvada West?!! He took full advantage of the moment tonight: 41 points with SEVEN 3s…that’s Ball Fever!! A-West wins by 6!
With Chaparral taking down unbeaten Mountain Vista, the Fever Crew sees Grandview and Chap moving into those top two 5A spots. The Wolves did their part again beating Mullen by 14 to remain unbeaten in Centennial league play.
The Fever Crew will be in the house as Eaglecrest tries to find a chink in Grandview’s armor Friday night!
