(NFHS Network)

Palisade’s rushing attack held off a monster game from Allen Ortiz, and the Bulldogs beat Green Mountain in a 3A top-10 battle.

Gabe Harrison had two scores to lead Palisade’s offense, while Franklin Barks and Julio Rodriguez also scored on the ground as the eighth-ranked Bulldogs beat seventh-ranked Green Mountain 31-24.

“We knew we had to win to stay in the hunt,” Palisade coach Joe Ramunno told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.

The Bulldogs are now 3-1 this season, with tough games against Conifer and Eagle Valley remaining.

“It’s tough, you’ve got to win to stay in, I know that,” Rammuno said.

Green Mountain’s Ortiz had four receiving touchdowns, twice scoring from 80 yards out. He also had touchdown catches of 56 and 22 yards.

“Boy, there’s a lot of talent on the field,” Rammuno said. “Green Mountain’s got a fine football team.”

The coach added that his team’s own passing attack helped to open the ground game.

“We were able to have some balance offensively,” Rammuno said. “We were able to get the ball in the air a little bit, which really opened up our option game. Tremendous effort by our guys.”

Down 6-0 after the first quarter, Palisade scored twice in the second to go up 14-6 at halftime. The second score came via a 28-yard score by Harrison.

In the third quarter, Rodriguez pushed the lead to 21-12 with his touchdown.

Later in that same frame, the third of Ortiz’s scores cut it to 21-18, but Palisade, and Harrison, responded. His second TD made it 28-18 late in the third.

The score stayed that way until Rudolfo Dexter made a 40-yard field goal with four minutes to play, pushing the lead to 31-18.

Ortiz’s final score made it 31-24 with two minutes to play, but Palisade recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.

Palisade’s defense had two interceptions in the win.

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4A: (9) Fountain-Fort Carson 35, (8) Pueblo West 21

A close game throughout, the Trojans get a key touchdown from Q Jones with 5:54 to play that made it 35-21.

Fountain-Fort Carson led 20-7 after the first quarter, but Pueblo West slowly chipped away that that lead. It was 20-14 midway through the third quarter, and later 27-21 early in the fourth.

But Jones’ 15-yard score seemed to put the game away:

4Q: ⁦@7Jonesjr⁩ with a 15 yard run to make it 35-21 Trojans with 5:55 remaining! ⁦@CHSAA⁩ ⁦@DanMohrmann⁩ ⁦@RobNamnoum⁩ ⁦@LindseySquints⁩ ⁦@gazettepreps⁩ ⁦@JakeGadon_TV⁩ pic.twitter.com/CuhngLJmPH

— TROJAN ATHLETICS ⚔️ (@FFCHSAthletics) October 31, 2020

Fountain-Fort Carson is now 4-0 this season.

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8-man: (3) Sanford 36, (6) Dove Creek 12

Sanford turned an 18-6 first-half lead into a big top-10 win.

After the half, Sanford’s defense made a stop and the offense responded.

“We came out and had a really good stop on their first possession,” Sanford coach Joe Cary told the Scoreboard Show. “Our offense started clicking a little bit better. We started figuring out some different things on how to go at them. The had two great, big linebackers that were really tough in the middle, so we had to figure out how to go around them. We had a few things that we did, and it seemed to work.”

Sanford is now 4-0 this season, but Cary thinks they haven’t yet reached their potential.

“I still don’t think we’ve seen our team play at the level that we want them to,” the coach said. “We’re not content with where we’re at. We’re going to keep pushing to try to get to that level.”

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6-man: (4) Granada 67, (7) Cheraw 60

It was a shootout in a big top-10 matchup.

Cheraw led 60-45 in the fourth quarter, but Granada was able to rally for the win.

“It was a very, very wild football,” coach Traegon Marquez told the Scoreboard Show. “A fun one to be a part of. But ‘wild,’ I think, is a mild way to put it.”

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Notables

More photos from the game. (Lance Wendt/wendt5280.com)

• Brighton is now 3-1 in 4A this season after it’s 30-14 win over Erie. A photo gallery from the game is available here.
• In a tight contest, 5A No. 6 Fairview beat previously unbeaten Legacy 43-32. Liam O’Brien threw for 267 yards and rushed for another 134. He had three total touchdowns.
• Gavin Sawchuk had six touchdowns as 5A No. 2 Valor Christian beat Castle View 63-21. Photos from the game are available here.
• 1A No. 2 Strasburg beat rival Bennett 42-0. “Bennett came to play, but we did some really good things,” coach Brian Brown told the Scoreboard Show. “They kind of stopped some of our big-play offense, but we really showed a very diverse offense tonight.”
• Moffat County had a big upset of 2A No. 9 Woodland Park, 27-23.
• Longmont QB Keegan Patterson had another big game. He was 29-of-41 with 316 yards and four touchdowns as his Trojans beat Greeley West 43-21. Photos from the game are available here.

More photos from the game. (Brad Cochi)

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More coverage:

• An updated top-10 scoreboard through Friday, and Saturday’s top-10 slate.
• All scores from Week 4 so far.
• Updated RPI standings through Friday’s games.
• In perhaps the game of the week, 4A No. 2 Palmer Ridge beat No. 7 Montrose.
• Photos from Regis Jesuit’s win over Douglas County.
• A new quarterback helped Chatfield beat Golden.
• Photos from Fossil Ridge’s win over Poudre.
• Photos from Broomfield’s win over Heritage.
• Photos from Cherry Creek’s win over Overland.
• Photos from Grandview’s win over Smoky Hill.

LAKEWOOD — Chatfield sophomore Mason Lowe has gone from receiver to running back to quarterback in the span of four weeks.

Chatfield starting quarterback senior Ethan Delfino suffered an injury late in the game last week against Bear Creek. Chargers’ coach Brett McGatlin called on Lowe to take over the reins at quarterback Friday night at Jeffco Stadium.

Chatfield senior Jack Gillespie (22) sacks Golden quarterback Joey Mancuso (2) and forces a fumble during the first half Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“He (Lowe) is our best player. He is a special kid and is someone the state is going to know really well over the next couple of years,” McGatlin said of his new quarterback that helped the Chargers to a 37-14 victory over Golden. “He is one of the best athletes in the sophomore class in the state. We taught him quarterback in three days.”

Lowe had never played quarterback at any level, let alone a Class 4A Jeffco League varsity football game. The sophomore looked comfortable running ‘Wildcat’ for the majority of the snaps and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run just before halftime to put Chatfield up 16-0.

Lowe went to the air in the second half to extend Chatfield’s lead. He hooked up with fellow sophomore Blake Cowgill for a 7-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the third quarter. Lowe tossed his second touchdown pass of his career midway through the fourth quarter with a 31-yard strike to junior Mason Cowgill.

“I came in here not expecting to throw too much,” Lowe admitted. “Once I got in the groove I was like, ‘I’ve got this.’ I’ll do whatever it takes to win games.”

Lowe had 215 yards rushing and 174 yards receiving on the season coming into the game. McGatlin expects to likely use Lowe at quarterback for the final two weeks of the regular season.

“He truly is a slash,” McGatlin said of Lowe. “He can do it all. It’s going to be fun to watch him the next couple of years.”

While Lowe might have been the headliner, Chatfield defense actually got things started.

“Last week I felt like we were a little too unaggressive,” McGatlin admitted. “We built this defense to be aggressive because the type of players we have. We have a lot of players that are young and aggressive.”

Chatfield junior Elijah Rodriguez (33) closes in for a sack of Golden quarterback Joey Mancuso during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

The Chargers defense put immense pressure on Golden all night, including sacking Golden quarterback Joey Mancuso six times in the first half. Chatfield junior Elijah Rodriguez opened up the scoring with an interception of Mancuso late in the first quarter.

Rodriguez returned the pick 35 yards to the end zone to give Chatfield (2-2, 2-1 in 4A Jeffco) a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

“That was crazy. I don’t know what was going on in my head,” Rodriguez said of the pick-6. “I didn’t think I had the ball. It was the best felling in my life.”

Golden (1-3, 1-2) did prevent the shutout with a nice drive in the fourth quarter. Mancuso hooked up with junior Joshua Torrey to get the Demons down to Chatfield’s 7-yard line. Junior De’Jour DuBois scored on a 7-yard touchdown run on the next play.

Mancuso had a 12-yard touchdown pass late to senior Andy Toth to close out the scoring.

“At times late in the second half there were definitely some positive stuff,” Golden coach Jared Yannacito said after the loss. “This is a year where we’ve been tested.”

Friday night was the first games this season where no spectators were allowed in the stands for prep football games at Jeffco Stadium, Trailblazer Stadium and North Area Athletic Complex.

“I noticed it in the fourth quarter. I turned around and all that were there was the poms and cheers,” McGatlin said. “I actually went over and talked to them. That’s the first time I’ve done that in my coaching career. I told them I appreciate them being here. It’s weird, but we’ve got to play football. That’s the best part.”

The Jefferson County Public Health announced new mitigation strategies to curb the current spike of COVID-19 in Jefferson County on Thursday night. The new public health order that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, prohibits spectators at all high school sporting events, including Colorado High School Activities Association events.

“It was a new experience for sure,” Yannacito said of the empty stands. “It’s different, but at least the kids are out here and able to compete.”

Golden is back at Jeffco Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Demons are scheduled to face undefeated and No. 1 Dakota Ridge (4-0, 3-0). Golden actually upset the Eagles last season in its regular-season finale to help the Demons clinch a postseason berth.

Chatfield heads to the North Area Athletic Complex to face Standley Lake (3-1, 2-1) next Saturday.

Golden senior Chance Maccagnan (18) tries to make a juggling catch in front of Chatfield’s sideline Friday night at Jeffco Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MONUMENT — Palmer Ridge coach Tom Pulford snapped awake at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. He couldn’t get the first game he coached out of his head. It was a game at Montrose, a game the Bears lost by 39 points.

The next year they lost by 41. Those games lingered through his head more than 12 hours ahead of kickoff at a time when most people would take advantage of their time to rest. But Pulford couldn’t get a sense of urgency out of his head.

That urgency made its way onto the field as Class 4A No. 2 Palmer Ridge overcame a tough first half to beat No. 7 Montrose 42-20.

“The urgency was high,” Pulford. “Everyone’s got a plan until you get punched in the mouth.”

And that’s how Montrose started the day. Three stout defensive plays that led to a Palmer Ridge punt. Then Montrose blocked the punt. Austin Griffin led the ground effort for Montrose on that first drive and punched the ball in from six yards out.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

He added a second rushing touchdown after Montrose got the ball back when Eli Evans intercepted Palmer Ridge quarterback Luke McAllister. The high-flying offense of Palmer Ridge found itself down 14-7 at halftime.

Montrose threw a couple of haymakers and caught the Bears (4-0 overall, 3-0 Western Slope) right in the mouth.

Then the game got urgent. Montrose (3-1, 2-1) was set to get the ball to start the second half but the Bears surprised everyone with an onside kick. Two plays later, McAllister found Anthony Costanzo for a 13-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.

Urgency then turned into rhythm and the Bears were back to their usual comfort level.

“Once we got it figured out, we were rolling,” McAllister said. “They couldn’t stop us.”

McAllister threw three total touchdown passes in the second half, finding Nathaniel Robinson and Cam Jones on the others.

When Jones caught McAllister’s pass to get the score to the eventual final 42-20 it was actually his second touchdown reception on the night. McAllister took a hard hit in the second quarter and had to come out on the play.

Backup Jimmy Thomas played one snap and threw one pass which found Jones for a 97-yard score.

“Jimmy is calm, cool and collected,” Pulford.

He praised the growth of Thomas behind McAllister just like McAllister received behind Ty Evans and like Evans received behind Isaiah Sanders.

By the time the Bears had departed the field, the score would indicate a typical night, but this was perhaps the first time all year that they had been put on their heels early and needed a spark, like two onside kick recoveries, to really get the offense in a groove.

“I don’t really have words,” Montrose coach Brett Mertens said. “It’s just one of those things. It doesn’t always go your way. The first one we had a chance at and the second one we weren’t even close.”

Despite a rough first half, McAllister finished with a banner night completing 19 of 30 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He overcame throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble to get the Bears their biggest win since moving up to 4A.

“I know my team has my back all the time,” McAllister said. “Right after I threw that pick they kept telling me to keep my head up and focus on the next play. I love the team and the way they handle things.”

The way they handled things on Friday should let their coach get a couple more hours of sleep in the coming days.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Brighton football is now 3-1 in 4A this season after it’s 30-14 win over Erie.

10th-ranked Regis Jesuit football beat Douglas County 42-0 on Friday.

Fossil Ridge football beat Poudre 27-7 on Friday.

Gavin Sawchuk rushed for five touchdowns to help 5A No. 2 Valor Christian beat Castle View 63-21.

Broomfield, No. 6 in 4A football, beat Heritage 26-13 on Friday and is now 4-0 this season.

Keegan Patterson continue his great season with 316 yards and four touchdowns in Longmont’s 43-21 win over Greeley West.

5A No. 1 Cherry Creek football is now 4-0 following its 45-0 win over Overland on Friday.