The 6-man football state playoff bracket was released on Sunday, and Kit Carson is the top overall seed.
The unbeaten Wildcats are 8-0, and are the champions of the South East League. They were No. 1 in the final RPI standings of the regular season, which is the primary seeding consideration for the 6-man bracket.
No. 1 University 12, No. 16 Lamar 2. Kyra McFarland and Tayler Frank hit home runs for the Bulldogs.
No. 8 Limon 8, No. 9 Lyons 7. Limon walked it off with an extra-inning win in the eighth.
No. 4 Strasburg 14, No. 13 Fort Lupton 2. Strasburg broke up a game that was 3-2 in the fourth to advance. Jodie Archuleta hit a three-run homer in the win.
No. 5 Riverdale Ridge 7, No. 12 The Academy 2. Sienna Mullin homered as Riverdale Ridge won a state tournament game for the first time in school history.
No. 3 Brush 11, No. 14 Cedaredge 1. Brush jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the second inning en route to the win.
No. 6 Eaton 8, No. 11 Rocky Ford 2. Jennifer Jarnagin homered and Alexis Schmitt allowed just one earned run in the win.
No. 2 Basalt 13, No. 15 La Junta 12. In a wild game, Basalt scored eight runs in the the first inning, then La Junta came storming back to go ahead 12-11 in the top of the sixth. Basalt tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, and won it in the seventh.
No. 7 Sterling 10, No. 10 Montezuma Cortez 5. Sterling rallied from down 2-1 through three innings to go ahead 6-3 after four, and pushed its lead to 9-4 after five in the win.
In quarterfinal games:
No. 1 University 12, No. 8 Limon 3. Andi Padilla and Kyra McFarland each homered for the Bulldogs, who led 9-3 after five innings.
No. 4 Strasburg 6, No. 5 Riverdale Ridge 5. Strasburg used a two-run home run to take a 4-3 lead, then held on for the 6-5 win over the Ravens.
No. 3 Brush 12, No. 6 Eaton 2. Allie Christensen homered, and Brooke Rule drove in four runs for the Beetdiggers.
No. 7 Sterling 10, No. 2 Basalt 0. Emi Reeves homered, and the Tigers scored four runs in both the fourth and sixth innings.
Semifinals (10 a.m. Saturday, Complex A):
No. 1 University vs. No. 4 Strasburg
No. 3 Brush vs. No. 7 Sterling
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Class 4A
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
In first round games:
No. 1 Golden 4, No. 16 Evergreen 3. Marla Goodspeed and Molly Hord each had two RBIs in the extra-inning win.
No. 8 Roosevelt 9, No. 9 Pueblo County 1. Marin Lovern hit a three-run home run to help the Roughriders advance.
No. 4 Wheat Ridge 15, No. 13 Rifle 4. Izzie Quezada and Cassandra Uhl both went deep for the Farmers.
No. 5 Silver Creek 1, No. 12 Coronado 0. Ashley Gaccetta hit a walk-off home run to lift the Raptors.
No. 14 Erie 18, No. 3 Pueblo South 14. In a marathon game with a number of twists and turns, Jen Williams drove in five runs.
No. 11 D’Evelyn 16, No. 6 Mead 1. Kylee Ornstein and Aubrey Garabeck each homered in the big win.
No. 2 Holy Family 19, No. 15 Mesa Ridge 0. Holy Family plated 13 runs in the first inning as the Tigers rolled.
No. 10 Pueblo Central 7, No. 7 Elizabeth 5. Thalia Amaro hit a three-run home run to help Central advance.
In quarterfinal games:
No. 1 Golden 14, No. 8 Roosevelt 5. Kayla Middleton went 3-for-4 with four RBI’s and she scored four runs for the Demons.
No. 5 Silver Creek 9, No. 4 Wheat Ridge 4. Down 1-0 in the second, Silver Creek tied the game, then went ahead with three runs in the third. The Raptors added four more in the fourth and another in the sixth.
No. 14 Erie 10, No. 11 D’Evelyn 4. Lauren Russel’s home run to start the third inning gave the Tigers some breathing room. They held on despite a late rally attempt from the Jags.
No. 2 Holy Family 5, No. 10 Pueblo Central 3. Annika Manzanares homered and drove in two runs for the Tigers.
No. 16 Ralston Valley 6, No. 1 Rock Canyon 3. In a game that was the talk of the morning, Sydney Wilken hit a three-run home run to tie the game in the top of the fourth, and then Ralston Valley went ahead for good with a double from Ashley West later in the inning. Photos from the game are available here.
No. 9 Loveland 7, No. 8 Brighton 1. Loveland went ahead 3-0 after the first inning, tacked on two more on a home from Allison Westbrook, and secured a spot in the quarters.
No. 4 Broomfield 13, No. 13 Legend 5. Broomfield raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first, held on as Legend cut it to 5-4, and then went back up 8-4 after four in the win.
No. 5 Fossil Ridge 9, No. 12 Lakewood 5. Katelyn Hays went deep and drove in two runs for the Sabercats.
No. 3 Rocky Mountain 5, No. 14 Ralston Valley 4. Kaia Cobb homered and the Lobos edged out the close win.
No. 6 Arapahoe 12, No. 11 Smoky Hill 1. Down 1-0, Arapahoe exploded for 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth as they won.
No. 2 Columbine 10, No. 15 Valor Christian 0. Ally Distler doubled, homered and drove in three runs for the Rebels. Find a photo gallery from the game here.
No. 7 Legacy 3, No. 10 Chatfield 2. Legacy walked it off in the bottom of the eighth with a bases-loaded wild pitch.
No. 16 Ralston Valley 4, No. 9 Loveland 1. The Mustangs continued their tear through the 5A tournament with another big upset. RV jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, and pushed it to 4-0 after four.
No. 5 Fossil Ridge 6, No. 4 Broomfield 4. Fossil Ridge jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, and went up 4-1 after two, but Broomfield battled back to tie it at 4in the third. Fossil Ridge played two in the top of the seventh to win.
No. 3 Rocky Mountain 11, No. 6 Arapahoe 1. Chloe Pentico hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, Cora Aguirres homered twice, and Brooklyn Himmelberg drove in three runs for the Lobos. Photos from the game are available here.
No. 2 Columbine 7, No. 7 Legacy 5. Ally Dister’s 3-run home run capped a four-run fourth inning for the Rebels. Korbe Otis scored twice in the win.
Pueblo South scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in a top-10 matchup against Durango on Friday night.
Trailing 34-28, Class 3A’s third-ranked Colts (7-1) scored on a 10-yard pass, then converted the all-important extra point to beat the No. 7 Demons 35-34.
“It was a wild finish,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids, they kept fighting, they kept playing hard. We were fortunate enough to make a couple of plays down the stretch and find a way, and keep fighting and scratching, and clawing for everything we got.”
South quarterback Logan Petit threw three touchdowns, including the winner to Jackson Dickerson in the fourth.
“Those two have been making those catches for a long time. We wanted to put our best guys in our best situation that we could,” Goddard said. “Logan made an excellent throw. Everett Howland for them make an excellent play for them, too, but Jackson Dickerson, he found a way to get across the goal line. It was just a tremendous effort play, and the kid didn’t want to lose. He gave it everything he had to put his team in the best position.”
Pueblo South built a 20-6 lead into the second quarter following a 40-yard fumble return for a score from Dylan Atencio-Lujan. But Durango cut that lead to 20-12 at halftime. The Demons made it a one-point game less than two minutes into the third quarter on Everett Howland’s 41-yard score.
Durango took its first lead of the game at 27-20 when Jordan Woolverton threw a touchdown pass to Gage Mestas, his second of the game, with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.
But South, which hadn’t scored since that fumble return, responded in the form of a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Petit to regain the lead after a two-point conversion at 28-27 with four minutes left.
“It was just that type of game where I didn’t know if we were going to get another possession,” Goddard said. “I figured we’d put a little pressure on them to drive the field, and they did.”
Again, Durango drove down and scored. Again, it was Woolverton, this time on a 45-yard rush. And it was 34-28 Demons with one minute remaining.
“I wasn’t real comfortable because I knew the type of player (Woolverton) was, and he made a run on 4th-and-4 that went for about (45) yards, and he bounced off about six guys trying to make a tackle on him,” Goddard said. “At that point, there was 1:05 left. We just had a huge kickoff return at that point.”
South’s Luke Guarienti set his team with with a big return on the ensuing kickoff.
“It was a big play at a big time,” Goddard said. “This was a big-time game, and big-time guys make big-time plays. And he’s one of them. He put us in a good spot.”
The Colts marched down the field and finished the drive on Petit’s 10-yard pass to Dickerson, along with the extra point, was the difference.
Woolverton finished with four total touchdowns for Durango (5-3).
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3A: Pueblo Central 23, Pueblo Centennial 0
In the 119th Bell Game, the oldest rivalry matchup west of the Mississippi, the Wildcats ensured the Bell would ring blue.
Christian Romero opened the scoring for Central with a 41-yard fumble recovery for a score. Jeromey Baros and Brandon Martin each had a rushing touchdown.
Check out this kickoff to start the second half:
Central's kickoff team with a HUGE play to start the second half, Central recovers an amazing bounce at the 1 yd line, and scores right away. 2 pt conversion is good, score is 23-0 Central with 10:00 left in the 3rd. #DutchClark#CoPreps#ESPNTop10#BellGame@espnpic.twitter.com/3LXjMliUDo
The Bruins (9-0), newly anointed as the No. 1 team in 5A, started fast and held a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter as they cruised to the win.
Julian Hammond III rushed for a touchdown and passed for another, and Jayle Stacks and James Walker II both rushed for a score. Myles Purchase had a 94-yard punt return for a TD.
Cherokee Trail is now 6-3 this season.
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2A: (1) Rifle 21, (8) Basalt 9
Rifle trailed 9-7 early in the fourth quarter, but rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to remain unbeaten at 8-0.
“Quite frankly, I felt like our kids rose to the occasion,” Rifle coach Damon Wells to the Scoreboard Show. “They played really physical football. It was a really neat environment. It was great to get out of there with a win.”
The Bears clung to a 7-6 halftime lead, and then Basalt kicked a field goal to go up 9-7 in the fourth.
But Rifle marched right down to take a 14-9 lead with just under eight minutes to play, and then added another one to seal with two two minutes left.
The win clinched a league title for Rifle.
“This experience is going to be invaluable,” Wells said. “We have some areas we have to get better with.”
It was Basalt’s first loss, and the Longhorns are now 6-1.
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1A: (6) Centauri 28, (4) Florence 20
Centauri (7-1) built a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, only to see Florence cut it to a 21-20 lead after three quarters.
But the Falcons got a two-yard rushing score from Mason Claunch, his second of the game, with nine minutes to play to help secure the upset.
“I was really impressed with my kids,” Centauri coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “They came out and they didn’t put their heads down. They continued to fight and we ended up grinding out the win.”
Eric Maez had a rushing and passing score for Centauri, and Baron Holman had a receiving touchdown.
Owen Busetti and Josh Martinez each had a rushing touchdown for previously unbeaten Florence (7-1), and Jian Aguilar had a pick-six.
“We knew that they were a very physical team and physical up front with great backs,” Forster said. “I thought our kids did a really good job of containing them. Those kids that they have, you can’t stop them, and they battled all night.”
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1A: (3) Limon 40, (10) Wray 9
Limon (7-1) led 20-9 at the break, then scored 20 more points in the second half in the win.
Kory Tacha had two rushing touchdowns for the Badgers — runs of 31 and 67 yards — and Jeremiah Leeper also had a rushing TD.
“We did a nice job of running the ball,” coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “Both Kory Tacha and Jeremiah Leeper did a great job of running the ball, and our offensive line continues to improve and get a little bit better and they opened up some good holes.”
Tyler Collins had a passing touchdown for Wray (5-3).
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 50, (9) Caliche 0
The Cougars had six rushing touchdowns in the big win. Now 8-0, Sedgwick County led 38-0 at halftime and it was 50-0 after three.
Caliche is now 5-3 this season.
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Notables:
No. 3 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 5 Flagler/Hi-Plains in a 6-man showdown. “It was a fun win, and we’re excited about going forward,” Knighted Eagles coach Toby Kechter told the Scoreboard Show.
Quite a notable upset in 5A, where Doherty (2-7) knocked off No. 10 Legend (7-2) 36-34. Tight all game long, Brandon Becker had two second-half touchdowns to help secure the win for Doherty.
Longmont knocked off No. 10 Brighton in 4A, 20-14.
Highlands Ranch started the season 0-5, but has now won four in a row — all in league play — following its 35-28 win over Mountain Vista, and has a shot to claim the Metro South league title against Valor Christian next week.
Horizon beat Rocky Mountain 20-10 in an important 5A Front Range League matchup. The Hawks are now 3-1 in league play, and 4-5 overall. “We knew we had a tough non-league schedule,” Horizon coach Frank Ybarra told the Scoreboard Show. “We knew we might take some losses because we’re a pretty young football team, and we just hoped it would help us come league. And so far, so good.”
Golden beat Wheat Ridge 21-14. It is the first time in more than 25 years that the Demons have beat their rivals in consecutive years.
Ralston Valley senior Jackson White (3) and Arvada West junior Kyler Tate (2) chase down a loose ball during the Class 5A Jeffco League finale Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Wildcats completed a sweep through conference play with a 3-1 victory over the rival Mustangs. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — It was a furious, but extremely successful final week of the regular season for Arvada West’s boys soccer team.
The Wildcats — No. 10 in the current CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys soccer rankings and No. 5 in RPI — played three conference games over the span of five days. A-West won all three 5A Jeffco League games by a combined score of 13-1, concluding the run with a 3-1 victory Friday night over rival Ralston Valley at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Arvada West senior Judah Johnston (17) attempts to weave past Ralston Valley junior Charlie Tingle (5) during the first half Friday at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“For my senior year it feels really great,” A-West senior Judah Johnston said of the undefeated run through conference play. “It’s a clean slate now. We’ve got league done with eight wins. We’ve got to head into playoff full throttle for sure.”
It’s the second straight conference title for the Wildcats (13-2, 8-0 in 5A Jeffco). A-West won league last season, but suffered a loss to Chatfield early during conference play.
“It means a lot to go through Jeffco undefeated,” A-West coach Troy Gette said after the win against Ralston Valley. “To go in (to playoffs) the right way was to put this stamp on the season. In a rivalry game and get it done.”
It wasn’t easy to get past Ralston Valley (7-5-3, 5-2-1). The Mustangs actually held a 1-0 halftime lead on A-West. A header by junior Addison Walker off a free kick found the back of the net in the final minute of the first half.
Ralston Valley was the runner-up in 5A Jeffco could host a first-round game, along with A-West next week to start the state tournament.
Four minutes into the second half, A-West senior Conner Bickford scored the equalizer. Bickford’s free kick got past Ralston Valley goalie Dante Porchetta to tie the game at 1-1 in the 44th minute.
Arvada West senior Conner Bickford, left, collides with Ralston Valley junior Addison Walker during play Friday at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
It looked like the game might go overtime, but junior Noah Kanagy’s goal in the 76th minute gave A-West its first lead of the game.
“I was just kind of in the right place at the right time,” Kanagy said of his eventual game-winning goal in the 76th minute. “Caleb (Patterson) did all the work. He got the ball and I just cleaned up. I was kind of tracking the goalie and when the ball popped out to me I knew I just had to get a foot on it.”
Johnston scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season in the 78th minute to put the game away.
“I think the expectations are pretty big,” Johnston said. “I think Troy (Gette) can hold us accountable. I think we are going to go into playoffs knowing what we need to do and we’re going to get it done this year.”
A-West was actually the lone 5A Jeffco team to get out of the first round of the playoffs last season. The Wildcats lost to eventual state champion Arapahoe in the second round.
“It’s pretty cool to be in this position,” Kanagy said. “We have a really good team this year.”
Weather might be one obstacle all playoff-bound teams will face next week. Several inches of snow is expected in the Denver Metro Area starting Saturday until Wednesday next week. The 5A first-round games are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31.
“It’s going to be ugly,” Gette said of the upcoming weather forecast. “We played Valor in nearly six inches of snow Wednesday. I think we’ll be prepared for anything.”
Arvada West and Ralston Valley are both headed to the Class 5A 32-team state tournament that begins Thursday, Oct. 31. The Wildcats and Mustangs could both host games Thursday night at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
