CHSAANow

Month: November 2019

  • No. 4 Arvada West boys soccer advances to 2nd round of 5A state tournament

    ARVADA — Arvada West’s boys soccer team is back in familiar territory.

    A 3-1 victory over Gateway on a bitterly cold late Friday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada sent the No. 4-seeded Wildcats into the second round of the Class 5A state tournament for the second straight season.

    Arvada West junior Gabe Schultz (12) collides with Gateway junior Victor Carbajal during the Class 5A playoff opener Friday at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Last season, A-West defeated Poudre 2-1 in overtime in its playoff opener. The Wildcats’ season came to an end with a 1-0 second-round loss to eventual state champion Arapahoe.

    “I’m very excited,” Johnston said of getting to host No. 13 Rocky Mountain back at NAAC on Wednesday, Nov. 6. “I know a lot of teams have struggled with them. It will be a very good game for sure.”

    The Lobos defeated No. 20 Aurora Central in overtime with a 2-1 victory late Friday afternoon in Fort Collins. A-West and Rocky Mountain actually faced each other in an early season non-league game. The Wildcats took a 4-1 victory.

    “We played them earlier this season, but both of our teams are different at this point in the season,” A-West coach Troy Gette said. “I think we’re all right.”

    Arvada West’s leading scorer — Johnston — was key in the Wildcats advancing to the second round. He scored his 16th and 17th goals on the season in the opening half against No. 29 Gateway.

    Arvada West senior Judah Johnston leaps over Gateway senior Jose Vazquez during the first half Friday at the North Area Athletic Complex. Johnston scored a pair of first-half goals in the playoff opener. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Johnston fired a shot past Gateway goalie Jesus Ascencio with an Olympian defender hanging on him in the 7th minute.

    A-West (14-2 record) extended its lead to 2-0 in the 15th minute after a centering pass from senior Zack Marcolina found Johnston in front of the net for an easy tap-in goal.

    Things did get a little dicey in the final 10 minutes of the first half. First, Johnston went down with an injury in the 31st minute of the first half.

    “A kid kicked my foot just before I was about to plant,” Johnston said of the injury that had him miss the final minutes of the first half. “I pretty much stepped on the side of my foot and rolled my ankle. At first I had a little doubt if I would come back in, but after getting it taped up and the trainer clearing me after seeing me run. It felt pretty good running on it.

    With Johnston on the bench, Gateway (10-6) got back into the mix with a late first-half goal by senior Winston Franco del Cid in the 34th minute to make it a 2-1 game at halftime.

    Arvada West senior Zack Marcolina (11) and Gateway sophomore Diego Ocampo (7) wait for a ball to settle during the opening half Friday at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    A-West had several scoring opportunities in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net until the 76th minute. Sophomore Caleb Patterson’s goal sealed the victory.

    “Of course it was good,” Gette said of Patterson’s late goal. “In a cold and sloppy game with a bad bounce anything can happen. I did feel pretty comfortable the whole game.”

    Junior goalie Jacoby Landskov was sold in net for the final 40 minutes to preserve the victory and shut out Gateway in the second half.

    “He (Landskov) has grown into the roll very well,” Gette said of the first-year starting goalie for the Wildcats. “I think he gets better every game. I think the boys and coaching staff has a ton of confidence in him.”

    Gette added that he felt A-West could have put several more into the back of the net. Johnston agreed.

    “No excuses,” Johnston said about miss firing on a few scoring chances himself that prevented him from getting his first hat-trick of the season. “It was disappointing, but in the end we won. That’s all that matters.”

    Arvada West junior Noah Kanagy (13) advances the ball up the first during the opening half Friday at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: No. 1 Chaparral volleyball sweeps Longmont

    Chaparral volleyball swept Longmont 25-14, 25-16, 25-13 at the Cheyenne Mountain tournament on Friday.

  • Photos: No. 6 Valor Christian volleyball sweeps Fossil Ridge

    Sixth-ranked Valor Christian volleyball swept Fossil Ridge on Friday at the Cheyenne Mountain tournament.

  • Football roundup: North Park earns just second playoff win in school history

    North Park raced out to a 20-6 lead, weathered a second-quarter comeback from Granada, and then scored three third-quarter touchdowns in pulling off the upset.

    According to Colorado Preps, it is just the second postseason victory in program history as No. 11 North Park advanced in the 6-man playoffs over the No. 6 Bobcats.

    “It’s huge for us — we’ve just got to keep taking steps forward,” coach Chad Carlstrom told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I think the program’s in the right spot. The kids are excited. The young kids are excited. That’s just building a little bit of a tradition. I hope I’ve done that.”

    North Park had six rushing touchdowns in the game, including three from Destry Schmidt, two from Cordell Garriott and one from Brock Follett.

    “We just overpowered them on our running game,” Carlstrom said. “We’ve got three dynamic running backs that they all provide something different, that change of pace, and our blocking up front has been solid. It makes it tough to figure out who’s going to get the ball and which way we’re going to go.”

    Dominic Coleman, just a sophomore, led the way for Granada with four total touchdowns, two rushing and two passing.

    In other 6-man playoff games on Friday:

    • No. 1 Kit Carson beat No. 16 Peetz 73-7.
    • No. 4 Fleming beat No. 13 Deer Trail 72-27.

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    Playoff brackets

    The 8-man, 1A, 2A, and 5A state playoff brackets will be seeded and released on Sunday. The 3A and 4A brackets are due out on Nov. 9.

    As always, these will be posted on CHSAANow.com, and the CHSAANow app.

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    4A: Ponderosa 7, (3) Montrose 0

    Ponderosa (6-3) got the only score of the game midway through the fourth quarter, and set up a showdown for the 4A Metro League title with Heritage next week.

    “It was just a total team effort,” Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen told the Scoreboard Show. “When we needed it, our offense got a drive to score, and they got a couple of first downs to ice it.”

    Mustangs quarterback Jack Hanenburg scored on a three-yard rush with eight minutes remaining to provide the game’s only points. It was set up by a great scramble and throw on third down from Hanenburg, Cohen said.

    “Jack got behind our big boys and got it in,” Cohen said.

    Montrose nearly responded but a Ponderosa defender tracked down a Montrose player at the five, and then the Mustangs’ defense held firm on 4th-and-goal from the 1.

    Montrose is now 8-1 this season.

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    1A: (2) Holyoke 14, (3) Limon 12

    Holyoke (9-0) scored twice in the first half for a 14-0 lead, then held off a fourth-quarter rally from Limon (7-2) to secure the North Central League title.

    “It was a very exciting game,” Holyoke coach Dustin Sprague told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a championship game, and our kids came up with some big plays.”

    Blake Mosenteen opened the scoring with a 6-yard rush in the second quarter, and then Miles Sprague added a 61-yard dash for a two-score Holyoke lead.

    Things stayed 14-0 until the fourth quarter, when the Badgers scored with nine minutes remaining. A two-point conversation attempt was no good, making the score 14-6.

    Kory Tacha then added a rushing touchdown for Limon with three minutes left, but the Badgers couldn’t convert a two-point attempt to tie the game.

    “This is what we set out to do,” Sprague said. “But we didn’t come this far just to come this far.”

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    5A: (10) Cherokee Trail 36, (9) Eaglecrest 32

    In a wild game, Cherokee Trail (7-3) rallied from a huge 29-0 hole in the third quarter to pick up a big win over the Raptors (7-3).

    The Cougars scored 21 unanswered points in the later part of the third to cut the Eaglecrest lead to 29-21 going to the fourth. The Raptors added a field goal, and went up 32-21 with nine minutes left in the fourth.

    Then Jayden Lavigne hit Samuel Hart for a 45-yard touchdown pass, and the Cougars converted a two-point attempt to make it 32-29.

    Lavigne then found Donovan Swift with three minutes remaining on a 34-yard TD to give CT its first lead of the game — and it proved to be the winning score.

    Lavigne finished with three touchdown passes.

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    5A: (1) Cherry Creek 44, (7) Grandview 21

    Cherry Creek built a quick 17-0 lead, and the Bruins were up 20-7 at halftime en route to the win.

    Grandview did cut it to 20-14 early in the third quarter following a blocked punt, but Cherry Creek reeled off 24 unanswered points into the fourth to make it 44-14.

    The Bruins finish the regular season 10-0. Grandview is 8-2.

    [divider]

    1A: (7) Florence 13, (5) Colorado Springs Christian 10

    Florence (8-1) stormed back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to secure the win, and the Tri-Peaks League title.

    “That’s a dang good football team, and we were just able to grind it out,” coach Jeremy Nix told the Scoreboard Show.

    The Huskies tied the game in the third quarter with a passing score and a field goal, and then took the lead with a 27-yard field goal from Jenkins Phillips with less than a minute to play to win.

    Here’s video of the winning kick, from KOAA:

    Peyton Brones had a rushing touchdown for CSCS (7-2).

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    8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 60, (9) Merino 0

    Sedgwick County (9-0) cruised to an unbeaten regular season.

    The Cougars led 32-0 at halftime, and had six rushing scores and two passing in the win.

    Merino ends the regular season 6-3.

    [divider]

    Notables:

    • In a top-10 1A matchup, No. 6 Meeker beat No. 8 Hotchkiss 42-26 to win the 1A Western Slope League. “We’re excited about having the opportunity to get out there and compete next week,” coach Shane Phelan told the Scoreboard Show. “We’ll see where it goes from there.”
    • Yuma upset 1A No. 10 Wray 27-7 in their rivalry game, the Harvest Cup.
    • In another rivalry contest, No. 9 Basalt got a last-second stop on fourth down to preserve a 17-14 win over Aspen.
    • Hayden beat rival Soroco for the first time since 2012. Here’s a game story from the Steamboat Pilot & Today.
    • Windsor beat Greeley West 33-20, giving coach Chris Jones his 100th career win.

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    More coverage:

  • No. 2 Ralston Valley football shuts out No. 5 Pomona to win league title

    ARVADA — Ralston Valley senior JJ Galbreath appeared to be everywhere on the field Friday night at the North Area Athletic complex.

    Galbreath seemed to be in on every other play defensively. On the offensive side of the ball, the senior had a pair of touchdowns catches as No. 2 ranked Ralston Valley shutout rival and No. 5 Pomona by a score of 17-0.

    Ralston Valley senior JJ Galbreath (8) breaks free on a 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter against Pomona on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “You can never really tell,” Galbreath said when asked if he thought he would have such a huge game in the regular-season finale. “You just have to come out fighting 100 percent every play and you can’t let up. That’s what we did tonight. We didn’t let up.”

    The victory wrapped up an undefeated regular season for the Mustangs (10-0, 5-0 in Class 5A Metro West League) and gave Ralston Valley the conference title.

    “It’s a great feeling,” Galbreath said of winning the conference title. “It’s been a couple of years here since we’ve done that.”

    The shutout loss for Pomona was the first time the Panthers haven’t scored in a game since being blanked by Valor Christian back in 2011.

    “It’s awesome,” Galbreath said of the shutout. “I think right now with the intensity we come out with our defense it’s awesome. We all fight to the whistle.”

    It was a defensive tussle in the first half with Ralston Valley managing the lone big offensive scoring play before halftime. Senior quarterback Walker Brickle hooked up with Galbreath for a 55-yard catch and run with 9:56 left in the second quarter.

    Galbreath was able to duck under a would-be tackler and sprint into the end zone to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.

    “I’m so proud of JJ. He had a great game. We really needed that to get going,” Ralston Valley senior Chase Wilson said of the first touchdown catch by Galbreath. “It was a dogfight at first. We needed a big play like that.”

    Pomona sophomore Chase Muller (9), junior JuJu Howard (41) and senior Kyle Moretti (33) celebrate a fumble recovery for the Panthers. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Ralston Valley’s stellar defense got the ball right back to the Mustangs’ offense following the first score. A sack and fumble recovery by Ralston Valley junior Parks Jones. Ralston Valley took over on Pomona’s 28-yard line, but would have to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Jones to extend the lead to 10-0 at halftime.

    Pomona (6-4, 4-1) just couldn’t get much going offensively. Ralston Valley’s pressure on Pomona junior quarterback Brady Ritzmann kept the Panthers from mounting much offensively the whole night.

    “Our defense has been terrific all year. It’s just another game of playing awesome,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said. “My defensive coordinator Greg Francis is awesome. He gets guys set up and in different looks. It looks like we are bring a lot of guys, but actually we aren’t. We just bring guys from different places.”

    Ralston Valley put the game on ice with a 21-yard touchdown from Brickle to Galbreath with three minutes to play to extend the lead to 17-0.

    Pomona and Ralston Valley will play the waiting game to see how the 32-team 5A state tournament bracket shakes out. The Colorado High Schools Activities Association is schedule to hold the 5A seeding meeting on Sunday, Nov. 3. The top-8 teams receive first-round byes.

    Going into the week the top-3 teams — Ralston Valley, Columbine and Pomona — in the 5A Metro West conference were all in the top-8 in RPI. So there is a chance the Mustangs, Rebels and Panthers could all get a first-round bye.

    Loyd said the week off will be a benefit to his team that has had some costly injuries this season. Wilson agreed.

    “Coach Madden has a great team. After this win it’s kind of nice to get heathy again heading into playoffs,” Wilson said.

    Pomona junior quarterback Brady Ritzmann (15) is sacked during the first half Friday night at the NAAC in what was the Class 5A Metro West League championship game between Pomona and Ralston Valley. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • No. 4 Discovery Canyon football eats away the clock in win over No. 8 Lutheran

    Discovery Canyon Lutheran football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — Everything about the atmosphere at District 20 Stadium felt like a playoff atmosphere. From the level of talent to the way the game played out, anyone could have guessed that it was a game fitting of mid to late November.

    Even the weather screamed playoffs.

    But in 24 degrees, it was Class 3A No. 4 Discovery Canyon grinding out a 20-7 win over No. 8 Lutheran.

    “The only thing that didn’t make it feel like the playoffs was getting one day of prep,” Discovery Canyon coach Shawn Mitchell said.

    After snow days canceled school for District 20 on Monday and Wednesday – and all afternoon activities called off for the incoming snow storm on Tuesday – Mitchell and Thunder athletic director Ron Sukle jumped onto a plow to clear the team’s grass practice field for a Thursday practice.

    In some ways the one day of practice showed as running back Marshall Pike fumbled the ball at one point, something uncharacteristic of him this season.

    “Honestly, it was freaking cold and we didn’t play the way we should have,” Pike said.

    If he felt that way then no one bothered to inform him of his final numbers. He ran the ball 35 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown in the second quarter put the Thunder (8-1 overall, 4-0 Central League) up 7-0.

    Discovery Canyon Lutheran football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    The Lions (6-3, 2-2) struck back almost immediately as Max Rivkin found Noah Tack for a 58-yard touchdown pass. Outside of that passing play, Lutheran was trying to rely on a heavy dose of running back Brandon Belgrave, who ran for 109 yards on nine carries in the first half.

    But the Lions squandered a couple of key opportunities with two second-quarter fumbles, both in Discovery Canyon territory, including one inside the 10-yard line.

    “Turnovers inside the red zone and not scoring, you’re not going to win many games like that,” Stephen Robbins said.

    Discovery Canyon really changed the tempo of the game with its first drive of the second half. Starting on their own 35, they drove inside the Lutheran 10 and even though Connor Clancy’s field goal attempt was blocked, more than eight minutes had been taken off the clock.

    “You always want points there,” Mitchell said. “But in terms of a drive where you don’t score, that’s everything you can ask for. Going about the length of the field and taking about nine minutes off the clock.”

    It’s also a good way to win big games; especially playoff-type games.

    “There were some implications here tonight,” Mitchell said. “I’m not a true numbers guy so I don’t know exactly what had to happen in all these scenarios, but I knew a win tonight gave us a really good chance at hosting a playoff game which would be pretty cool.”

    Despite the loss, Lutheran has the benefit of having played in a game that felt every bit like a playoff atmosphere, but having some time to clean up things like turnovers in opposing teams’ territory.

    The big key that they learned on Friday was that they need to have the ball for more than a couple of quick drives in the second half.

    “That was really frustrating,” Robbins said. “I looked at the clock and it was going into the fourth quarter and we had run four plays.”

    For Discovery Canyon, the ball control in the second half was a statement. Pike ran for 105 yards in the final two quarters alone and his second touchdown was set-up by a 22-yard run by Kevin Frye.

    Pike then dragged the Lutheran defense for nearly 13 yards to put the game all but out of reach.

    “It’s good to know we can stick and get the (win) when we need to,” Pike said.

    Their biggest challenge will be doing that next week as they’ll face Palmer Ridge for the Central League title.

    Discovery Canyon Lutheran football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Photos: No. 14 Rock Canyon boys soccer tops No. 19 Valor Chrisitan in shootout

    A shootout went No. 14 Rock Canyon’s way as the Jaguars beat Valor Christian in the first round of the Class 5A boys soccer tournament.

  • Photos: No. 3 Valor Christian football finds the end zone to beat Highlands Ranch

    A touchdown a quarter for the first three quarters was enough for Class 5A No. 3 Valor Christian football in a 34-7 win over Highlands Ranch.

  • Photos: No. 10 Cherokee Trail football rallies to beat No. 9 Eaglecrest

    Down 29-0 at one point, Class 5A No. 10 Cherokee Trail football rallied in the second half to beat No. 9 Eaglecrest 36-32.

  • Photos: Arapahoe football hangs on to beat Overland

    Arapahoe football concluded its regular season with a 14-7 win against Overland. The Warriors finished the regular season with a 6-4 record.