CHSAANow

Month: February 2020

  • Valor Christian names Donnie Yantis its new football coach

    Valor Christian Cherry Creek football
    (Steve Oathout)

    Valor Christian has hired Donnie Yantis, a coach with experience ranging from college to high school, to be its next football coach, the school announced on Friday.

    Yantis comes to Valor Christian from Arizona State University, where he was most recently the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator.

    “Coach Yantis is an unbelievable mentor to his players and comes with a wealth of football knowledge from the high school level all the way to NCAA Division I level,” said Valor Christian athletic director Brian Bonn. “Donnie’s desire to be more than a coach and be a supporter for all things that are Valor Christian is exactly what we need in our community.”

    Yantis was an assistant at Arizona State for two seasons, and served as the program’s assistant athletic director for football recruiting for two seasons prior to that.

    Prior to ASU, Yantis was the head football coach at Arizona Christian, an NAIA program which he helped start in 2014. That same year, he was named the NAIA Independent Conference coach of the year.

    He previously coached at Glendale (Ariz.) and Paradise Valley (Ariz.) high schools, where he was 94-70 in 13 seasons, and led his teams to nine playoff appearances.

    “My goal as … head football coach is to build upon the success of the program by reinforcing the championship culture at Valor, and to elevate it by integrating my years of knowledge and experience in coaching and leading young men, to be the best they can be both on and off the field,” Yantis said.

    Yantis succeeds Ed McCaffrey, who was hired as the coach at the University of Northern Colorado in December following two seasons as head coach. McCaffrey’s teams were 24-2, including a 14-0 run and the 2018 Class 5A championship. The Eagles were 10-2 last season, and reached the quarterfinals.

    Yanits is the fourth head coach in school history, following Brent Vieselmeyer (2008-12), Rod Sherman (2013-17) and McCaffrey (2018-19).

    The program has won eight championships in its history.

    Follow all of football’s coaching changes this offseason in our coaching changes tracker.

  • Schedule for this weekend’s state speech festival

    The state speech festival begins Friday at Northridge High School. The schedule of events is listed below.

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    2019-20 Speech Festival Schedule

  • Green Mountain boys basketball sinks OT game-winner at the buzzer

    LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain senior Matt Schlieper admitted he didn’t expect to take and make the game-winning shot Friday night.

    “I really wasn’t expecting the ball,” Schlieper said moments after celebrating a 62-60 overtime against Wheat Ridge with Green Mountain students that stormed the court after the game-winning shot at the buzzer. “When I got it I saw the hoop and did what I naturally do. We work on that shot 1,000 times a day during practice. It was just another shot for me.”

    Wheat Ridge senior Dominic Bronk (00) gets on the inside against Green Mountain senior Matt Schlieper during the first half Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The shot not only pushed the Rams’ winning streak to five games, but kept Green Mountain (13-4, 5-2 in Class 4A Jeffco) in the hunt for a conference title.

    Golden (12-6, 6-1) now has a one-game lead over Wheat Ridge (9-7, 5-2) and Green Mountain in the race for the league title.

    “We did a good job of making somebody else beat us,” Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd said after the loss. “It was a good game. I think it was a fun game for people to watch to the end. Maybe the two best teams in the league if you get down to the nitty gritty.”

    It was a back-and-forth game at Green Mountain High School with the Rams grabbing a 17-10 lead early in the second quarter thanks to a 12-0 run. The Farmers answered with a 11-0 run to take a 26-20 lead.

    Wheat Ridge senior Alex Morales poured in a game-high 24 points. His final bucket of the night came with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter and gave the Farmers a 54-53 lead.

    “He (Morales) can take over the game for sure. He knows how to get his,” Dowd said. “We had some great efforts tonight. Dom Bronk never comes out of the game and is the Iron Man for us.”

    Bronk finished with 18 points, but a missed free throw with 11 seconds and the game tied at 55-55. The senior did redeem himself with a 3-point play the hard way to open up the scoring in overtime.

    Wheat Ridge junior Wes Miller (3) fights to get a shot up over Green Mountain senior Blake Schell (24) during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Friday night at Green Mountain High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    However, a clutch 3-pointer by Schell with 2:43 left in overtime gave Green Mountain a 60-58 lead.

    “He (Schell) is coming into his own,” Green Mountain coach Mike Puccio said. “There is a lot of great players in this league. I think he is trying to prove in that conversation.”

    Wheat Ridge junior Wes Miller made a pair of free throws with 1:38 left in overtime to tie it up a 60-60. Green Mountain held possession of the ball for more than a minute and half leading up to Schell zipping a pass to Schlieper for the shot inside the paint to win it.

    “Wheat Ridge is tough. Tommy (Dowd) is one of the best,” Puccio said. “Honestly, I thought we got out-toughed to be honest. We are fortunate. I think some shots dropped late. Somehow we survived.”

    Green Mountain returns to action with a home game against D’Evelyn (7-11, 3-4) on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The Rams will try to avenge an overtime loss the first go-around against the Jaguars.

    “This was a nice recovery from the first time around,” Puccio said of Wheat Ridge defeating the Rams by 21 points in both team’s league opener back on Jan. 8. “We need to keep moving forward.”

    Wheat Ridge has a non-league game against Bear Creek on Monday, Feb. 3. The Farmers return to conference play at home against Littleton on Saturday, Feb. 8.

    “This game will play dividends down the road,” Dowd said. “You get a loss right now, but you get a win later because we’ve been through this.”

    Green Mountain senior Blake Schell (24) splits Wheat Ridge junior Kale Kissell (12) and senior Dominic Bronk (00) on Schell’s way to 22 points in the Rams’ fifth straight victory. Green Mountain edged Wheat Ridge 62-60 in overtime. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: No. 9 Colorado Springs School girls basketball tops Calhan

    In a close Black Forest League showdown, No. 9 Colorado Springs School girls basketball beat Calhan 42-37.

  • Photos: Calhan boys basketball hosts Colorado Springs School

    In a key battle in the Black Forest League, Calhan boys basketball hosted Colorado Springs School on Friday.

  • Photos: Ashley leads Rock Canyon boys basketball over Heritage

    Jalen Ashley scored 25 points to help Rock Canyon boys basketball get a 60-51 win over Heritage on Friday.

  • Photos: No. 4 Valor Christian hockey surges in win over No. 8 Cherry Creek

    No. 4 Valor Christian hockey picked up a top-10 victory in a 7-2 win over No. 8 Cherry Creek on Friday.

  • Arvada West girls basketball sinks conference win over Dakota Ridge

    ARVADA — Amanda Neff is making a name for herself while following in the footsteps at of her older brothers — Thomas and Luke — at Arvada West High School.

    “It’s cool to have my brothers and stuff,” Amanda said of her two brothers that had stellar careers at A-West before both played at the University of Denver. “But I want to make my own name too.”

    Neff had her breakout game Saturday afternoon on the Wildcats’ home court against Dakota Ridge. The sophomore poured in a career-high 29 points to lead A-West to a 64-47 victory.

    Arvada West sophomore Amanda Neff (13) drives to the hoop during her 29-point game against Dakota Ridge on Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “She (Neff) had a complete basketball game today,” A-West coach Brady Meeks said. “That’s what I’ve been expecting from her all year. It’s nice to see that come out in a big league win for us today. It wasn’t just her scoring today. She did a great job on defense and gobbled up her (rebounds) like she normally does. She was making the right basketball decisions.”

    A-West (11-6, 2-1 in Class 5A Jeffco) had a decent first half, but trailed Dakota Ridge (7-9, 1-2) at halftime — 25-22. The Wildcats took the lead early in the third quarter when they scored five points over the span of one second.

    Sophomore Jasmyn Williams, who hit her career-high with 18 points, made a layup and was fouled. Williams missed the free throw, but junior Madison Manson grabbed the rebound, scored, was fouled and was able to convert her 3-point play.

    “We’ve had a hard time getting to 40 points in some games this year,” Meeks said. “Amanda had a great game and Jasmyn really stepped up her game as well. At halftime we really talked about how we were we going to win the game and it was by slowing down a little bit.”

    A key 12-0 run in the fourth quarter put the game away. A-West made a living at the foul line in the second half. The Wildcats finished going 19-for-27 from the line after halftime.

    A-West outscored Dakota Ridge 42-22 in the second half.

    “Credit goes to the girls,” Meeks said of the Wildcats outscoring the Eagles by 20 points in the second half. “They adjusted to just the simple execution items.”

    Neff nearly hit the 30-point mark. She missed a free throw in the final minute that would have given her 30 points.

    Arvada West freshman Payton Reed (5) splits Dakota Ridge junior Sydnie Thornton (1) and sophomore Wakinyela Bear (3) in the first half Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “I knew this was going to be a tough game and I knew we had to get going early,” Neff said after her breakout game that included two 3-pointers and going 11-for-13 from the charity stripe. “I just started scoring in the flow of the game.”

    Dakota Ridge senior Emily Doolittle poured in 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half to keep the Eagles within striking distance. However, it wasn’t enough to get the road victory.

    “I think this is the first time we’ve got more than one league win in a few years,” said Meeks, who is in his second year at the helm of A-West’s girls basketball program. “I think the game against Lakewood proved we aren’t the doormat of the league anymore. I think we are moving in the right direction.”

    Lakewood edged A-West 56-50 early in the week, but Meeks took it as a positive that the Wildcats are a team on the rise and able to compete with some of the historically good programs in 5A Jeffco.

    It’s clear the youngest Neff will be a big part of the growth that is yet to come.

    “I’m really happy that this year our team and program has improved a lot,” Neff said.

    A-West returns to the court at Bear Creek on Wednesday next week. Dakota Ridge has a non-league game at home against Legacy on Monday before getting back into conference play at home versus Chatfield on Friday, Feb. 7.

    Dakota Ridge senior Taylor Legault (12) attempts to get past Arvada West sophomore Amanda Neff during the Class 5A Jeffco League game Saturday afternoon at Arvada West High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)