Valor Christian is in search of a new football coach after Ed McCaffrey stepped down to take the head coaching position at the University of Northern Colorado.
McCaffrey, a former Denver Broncos wide receiver, took the job after the 2017 season and won a state championship in his first year in the helm in 2018.
McCaffrey went 26-2 in his two years with the Eagles, including a 10-2 mark this season.
The story was first reported by Football Scoop and was confirmed by McCaffrey himself on social media. The school also confirmed McCaffrey’s leaving, and said their search for a new coach would begin immediately.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5_RyWLJzhA/
All four of McCaffrey’s sons played football at Valor Christian and later collegiately. Max was a wide receiver at Duke, Christian was a running back and Stanford and now stars for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL, Dylan is a quarterback at Michigan and Luke just finished his freshman year at Nebraska.
Valor Christian went 9-1 during the regular season, and was the No. 3 seed in the state playoffs. The Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals, where they fell to Columbine 37-30.
The Eagles will now look for their third head coach in the last four seasons, a process that athletic director Brian Bonn says will start right away. He also praised McCaffrey for what he accomplished in his time coaching the team.
“We are so excited to see Coach McCaffrey take his coaching abilities to the collegiate level,” Bonn said. ”He is an amazing coach and we are so thankful for the 2 years that he served our program. We know that the University of Northern Colorado is getting a remarkable coach that is passionate about the game of football and will only make their program better for years to come.
“Coach McCaffrey finishes his amazing high school coaching career 24-2 and we couldn’t be more thankful for the relationships and time that he has spent making our program better while serving at Valor Christian.”
Welcome back hoops fans! Based on the early tournament and non-league action we will once again be in for a stellar year for big school 5A/4A boys hoops.
Due to a wonderful addition to the Trotman Family (Ms. Nailah Anne Desiree aka NAD) and the expansion of our personal business we won’t be able to spend as much # BallFever time with you as we’ve done in the past, but I believe the Digital Media Guru (Ryan Casey) and I have devised a new plan and format that you will like!
We’ll be doing more a “Look Ahead” preview of the top teams that will include the week’s new Monday rankings along with some tidbits from the previous week. And of course keeping an eye out for those “monsta” double-double and high scoring team/individual performances!
We’ve also been invited back as a guest commentator on thegameofthenight.com 9News Facebook Live action this year with our Ball Fever buddy, Blake Olson. Let’s get to it!
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The Look Back
Friday, Dec. 6
What’s better than getting the year started with Blake Olson and crew at the first home game of the No. 1 team in the statee? Nothing!
The only issue we ran into was COLD shooting from our preseason No. 1 Rangeview and No. 3 Grandview. At one point the teams were a combined 2-of-24 from 3-point land and the stands were raging “get the ball inside!”
Grandview did establish some inside presence with their stud, UC-Davis bound Caleb McGill along with CSU-Pueblo bound Liam Romero’s penetration, but in the end the “Speller twins” Christian and Christopher of the No. 1 Raiders created some late game transition opportunities that sealed the low-scoring 38-37 win for Rangeview.
Impressed with Raiders senior Jovaughn Wright, who kicked in 12 important points displaying a nice stroke from mid-range. He’ll help the Raiders a ton this year in their quest to repeat.
Fossil Ridge, who came out of their early tourney 2-1, face 1-3 Poudre who will be hungry for a win. Coach Matt Johannsen does a great job each year with the “GoJo Sports Tip Off Classic” tournament!
Check out the results, including all tournament team:
Denver East took home the title up north and sitting pretty at 3-0, No. 5 in the state. The Angels are young but they are stacked with talent with young sophs Langston Reynolds and Quise Davis along with junior Boston Stanton. Senior leader Patrick Steed is off to a blazing start at 17 points per game, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists! Perhaps even more impressive is Reynolds leading the team in scoring at 24 points per game as a soph! No surprise in the Fever camp, our crew has watched this young man closely since 6th grade! Tough duty for Mesa Ridge Tuesday, who’s still looking for their first win.
There’s a little nice non conference action between FNE (Montbello) and Chatfield. This may be a 9News Game of the Night so we’ll have a lot more info on these two next week!
Pretty rare to see a Regis team off to an 0-3 start but two of those losses came to solid teams in out of state tourney play in Arizona and the other loss to our state’s No. 2 Overland in a tight game. Boulder and Regis will be solid action with teams who have great fan support.
Eaglecrest comes in at No. 6 this week at 2-0. We know the “two-sport-stud” Ty Robinson who is one of the best overall athletes our state has seen along side another high flying junior Skylar Wilson, both scoring 11 points per game early but look out for senior guard Zion Ruckard, who is at 18 per game early. Cant wait to see these guys go. The Raptors visit Douglas County who is 2-2 tonight.
If you need some action down south there’s Pueblo West, who dropped from the 4A top 10, tangling with Sierra!
Mountain Vista advanced to the Coliseum last year, 2-0 early, and ranked No. 3, will face Dakota Ridge who’s being led by Gino Corridori’s 17 points per game and the highlight reel known as Taeshaud Jackson Jr.
In an intriguing possible “Game of the Night” type action we have a 5A/4A tussle in No. 4 Grandview visiting 4A No. 5 Lincoln. The senior college bound athletes from Grandview vs. some hungry seniors in Ty Foster and TJ Bamba for the Lancers. Bamba off to a blazing 30 points per game!
Wednesday, Dec. 11
Smoky Hill starts this week at No. 7 in the rankings. Hate to miss the A-Town/Denver battle they’ll have with GW early in the week but that should set them up just fine for this visit to Legacy, who’s looking for that first win. Senior Quinten Rock is leading the Buffs early at 14 points per outing along with junior Jalen Weaver at 13 points so far. Weaver, with a college offer from UMASS, picked up an offer from Montana State this week! Impressive for the junior stud the Fever Crew refers to as “da problem!”
Legend got 6 “Top 10” votes in this weeks poll but not enough to crack the top 10. Two young and gritty squads will battle in this game that has been moved to Cherokee Trail.
Part of the Chap/TRidge “Tip Off Classic” two teams surprisingly looking for that elusive first win in ThunderRidge and Grand Junction will help get the tourney action started! Keep in mind the Grizzlies two early losses came to top 10 squads. Coach Ortiz will get the Grizz right!
If you want exciting guard play make time to check out Chaparral. They dropped from our Top 10 this week but senior Kobe Sanders and exciting sophomore Jeremiah Coleman are catching eyes and making highlights already. They host FNE (Montbello) in the Tip Off Wednesday.
GW comes in at No. 10 this week and started season 3-0 behind talented junior Kendale Johnson leading the team in scoring, steals, and assists through first three wins. The Patriots will make a rare trek out to Mullen on this night.
Thursday, Dec. 12
4A Thomas Jefferson came in at No. 8 in preseason poll but dropped out after a 3-1 start. The Spartans travel to 1-1 Longmont and the scoring machine Darius Hornbuckle is one to keep an eye on for the Spartans here.
As discussed previously, throw Regis’ record out the window (especially when they play at home) and the place will be rockin’ with No. 1 Rangeview in the house!
Cherry Creek is in at No. 9 5A and hoop fans know they’ve started without some absolute studs who just won a 5A state football title and will be ready to prove the trip to the Coliseum last year was no accident. While missing these football “two sport studs” Thomas Hawley has led the scoring and we have a “Freshman Alert” with Christian Hammond getting some minutes and leading the team with 2.3 steals per game. The Bruins are headed to Boulder.
The Canyon Crazies will be ready when Dakota Ridge comes to visit. Jalen Ashley off to a strong 15 points per game for 2-1 Jags.
Down south is strong in 4A once again this year and Harrison starting out at No. 3 this week and 3-0. Donta Dawson, a junior, pouring in 17 points per game and the Panthers head to D’Evelyn on this night.
Two of our state’s best in Graham Ike of Overland and CU commit Luke O’Brien (avg 26 points per game early) will be on display. Columbine right on the verge of cracking our Top 10 and they’ll get a chance to prove it this night.
Lewis-Palmer is No. 1 again in 4A and the defending champs. Will be fun to see this squad that lost a ton of talented seniors but they are back and Cameron Lowe is leading scorer headed into this match vs. Sierra.
Friday, Dec. 13
Ponderosa tournament action brings in No. 10 4A Pueblo East vs. relatively new school Regis Groff.
Up north? How about a little Fossil Ridge vs. Fort Collins Friday night action?
Boulder travelling to No. 3 Mountain Vista is solid.
A ton of undetermined Friday night match ups due to tourney play and how things play out. We’ll keep you updated via twitter! Give us a follow:
Rampart takes its shot at No. 1 Rangeview if you’re in need of some 2 pm Saturday action!
Mead (No. 4) and Longmont (No. 10) are no strangers and it’s even better when both squads are Top 10! Trey Ward leading Mead in scoring at 18 points and almost 4 steals per game.
Regis visits Cherry Creek! Will the football studs have their basketball legs and return? Can’t wait!
Lincoln with a rare trip to 5A Mullen at 5 pm! The Fever Crew is liking the non-conference challenges for both schools early on.
5A Doherty hosts 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer. Throw classification out the window: “braggin’ rights!”
Week 1 was a little light folks, but as you can see, Week 2’s non-conference and tourney action will be filled with good hoops!
Lewis-Palmer moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s boys basketball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rangeview (13)
1-0
148
1
1-0
2
Overland (1)
3-0
130
2
3-0
3
Mountain Vista (1)
2-0
92
8
2-0
4
Grandview
1-1
73
3
1-1
5
Denver East
3-0
72
9
3-0
6
Eaglecrest
2-0
66
10
2-0
7
Smoky Hill
1-1
48
4
1-1
8
Highlands Ranch
3-0
47
–
3-0
9
Cherry Creek
2-1
28
5
2-1
10
George Washington
3-0
22
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Chaparral 19, Columbine 19, ThunderRidge 17, Fairview 9, Mullen 7, Ralston Valley 7, Legend 6, Doherty 3, Mountain Range 3, Vista Peak Prep 3, Fruita Monument 2, Arapahoe 1, Castle View 1, Regis Jesuit 1, Valor Christian 1.
Dropped out
ThunderRidge (6), Chaparral (7).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (5)
3-0
118
3
3-0
2
Cheyenne Mountain (5)
4-0
100
4
4-0
3
Harrison (3)
3-0
96
1
3-0
4
Mead
2-1
78
2
2-1
5
Lincoln
2-1
45
7
2-1
6
Erie
2-0
44
–
2-0
7
Pueblo East
2-1
35
6
2-1
8
Green Mountain
3-0
34
–
3-0
9
Golden
2-1
31
–
2-1
10
Longmont
1-1
30
5
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 19, Sand Creek 13, Evergreen 11, Palmer Ridge 10, Ponderosa 10, Northfield 9, Montrose 8, Frederick 6, Wheat Ridge 5, Centaurus 3, Silver Creek 3, Holy Family 2, Mitchell 2, Pueblo West 2, Coronado 1.
Dropped out
Thomas Jefferson (8), Centaurus (9), Pueblo West (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (11)
2-0
163
1
2-0
2
Resurrection Christian (6)
3-0
155
3
3-0
3
Faith Christian
2-0
130
5
2-0
4
Manual
0-0
107
4
0-0
5
The Vanguard School
1-1
99
2
1-1
6
Sterling (1)
2-1
88
6
2-1
7
DSST: Byers (1)
2-0
65
7
2-0
8
St. Mary’s
3-0
36
–
3-0
9
University
3-0
33
–
3-0
10
Eaton
2-1
23
8
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Montezuma-Cortez 22, Kent Denver 17, Centauri 16, Coal Ridge 13, Gunnison 13, Manitou Springs 11, Colorado Springs Christian 10, Colorado Academy 7, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 7, Alamosa 6, DSST: Montview 5, Bennett 4, Delta 4, Pagosa Springs 4, Strasburg 4, Jefferson Academy 2, Lamar 1.
Dropped out
Colorado Academy (9), Coal Ridge (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (10)
1-0
144
1
1-0
2
Highland (4)
3-0
134
2
3-0
3
Fowler
1-0
119
4
1-0
4
Ignacio
2-0
76
10
2-0
5
Limon (1)
1-1
72
3
1-1
6
Mancos
0-0
62
5
0-0
7
Denver Christian
1-0
57
7
1-0
8
Holly
1-0
50
8
1-0
9
Wray
1-1
39
9
1-1
10
Sanford
0-1
38
6
0-1
Others receiving votes:
Vail Christian 18, Rocky Ford 5, Sedgwick County 4, Dawson School 3, Peyton 2, Dolores Huerta Prep 1, Heritage Christian 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
De Beque (7)
2-0
79
1
2-0
2
Evangelical Christian (1)
2-0
62
3
2-0
3
Sangre de Cristo
3-0
53
4
3-0
4
Kit Carson
0-0
48
2
0-0
5
Merino
2-0
41
5
2-0
6
Briggsdale
1-1
33
7
1-1
7
Mile High Academy
1-0
25
10
1-0
8
Genoa-Hugo/Karval
2-0
21
–
2-0
9
Kim/Branson
2-1
16
–
2-1
10
Haxtun
0-2
13
6
0-2
Others receiving votes:
Cotopaxi 9, Peetz 8, Ouray 7, Cheraw 6, Longmont Christian 4, Fleming 3, Idalia 3, Walsh 3, Belleview Christian 2, Pikes Peak Christian 2, Granada 1, South Baca 1.
Briggsdale has moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Class 1A girls basketball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
