Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Boulder 21, Pine Creek 17, Poudre 17, Montbello 15, Palmer 11, Brighton 7, Denver East 7, Fort Collins 5, Eaglecrest 4, Highlands Ranch 4, Adams City 3, George Washington 3, Cherokee Trail 2, Heritage 1, Littleton 1.
Dropped out
Eaglecrest (7), Boulder (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Battle Mountain (7)
4-0-0
111
1
1-0-0
2
Broomfield (3)
4-1-1
101
2
2-0-0
3
Air Academy (1)
6-0-0
98
4
2-0-0
4
Cheyenne Mountain (1)
3-1-0
93
3
1-1-0
5
Evergreen
3-1-0
67
6
0-0-0
6
Niwot
2-1-1
46
5
0-0-0
7
Ponderosa
3-2-0
38
7
1-1-0
8
Silver Creek
3-1-0
24
10
0-0-0
9
Lewis-Palmer
4-1-1
14
–
1-0-1
10
Denver North
4-0-0
12
–
1-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo West 10, Longmont 9, Golden 8, Wheat Ridge 8, Valor Christian 7, Pueblo South 4, Summit 4, Mullen 3, Denver West 2, Centaurus 1.
Dropped out
Pueblo West (8), Denver South (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
The Classical Academy (5)
6-0-0
110
1
2-0-0
2
Colorado Academy (4)
5-0-0
106
2
2-0-0
3
Holy Family
3-0-0
71
3
0-0-0
4
Coal Ridge (1)
3-0-0
70
4
0-0-0
5
Manitou Springs (1)
6-0-0
66
6
2-0-0
6
Salida
5-0-0
41
9
2-0-0
7
Kent Denver (1)
2-2-0
38
7
1-0-0
8
Faith Christian
3-2-1
37
8
1-0-0
9
Basalt
3-2-0
23
5
0-1-0
10
Bruce Randolph
3-0-1
19
–
1-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Roaring Fork 14, Jefferson Academy 12, Peak to Peak 10, C.S. Christian 9, Denver Christian 7, Frontier Academy 7, Fountain Valley 6, Liberty Common 5, Colorado Rocky Mountain 4, Sheridan 3, Vail Mountain 2, Lutheran 1.
The expectations were already high. Now, perhaps, things have been kicked up a notch.
ThunderRidge, coming off a 36-18 win over then-No. 3 Ralston Valley, took over atop the CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A this week. The Grizzlies had been No. 2, but jumped Valor Christian, which lost in overtime to Bingham (Utah).
Valor has yet to play an in-state opponent this season, and the four-time defending champion still received half of the first-place votes. Still, the Eagles are No. 2 this week.
Cherry Creek had its own big win last week — over then-No. 6 Pomona — and moved up on place to No. 3.
Grandview (No. 4) also moved up one place, and faces ThunderRidge this week.
Columbine went from No. 7 to No. 5 to round out the top five.
Ralston Valley settled in sixth following its loss, Regis Jesuit is seventh and Fairview is eighth.
The 5A top-ten is rounded out by two newcomers: Chatfield (No. 9) and Grand Junction (No. 10).
In 4A, Monarch continued its hold on the No. 1 spot. Denver South moved up to second, and the ranking added Standley Lake at No. 9.
Class 1A also got a new No. 1 team this week with Buena Vista taking over at the top.
Pomona 42, Cherokee Trail 40, Arapahoe 34, Douglas County 20, Doherty 8, Horizon 4, Legend 2, Mullen 2, Mountain Range 1, Mountain Vista 1.
Dropped out
Pomona (6), Cherokee Trail (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Monarch (19)
2-0
192
1
2
Denver South (1)
2-0
170
3
3
Pueblo West
2-0
120
7
4
Montrose
3-0
113
5
5
Wheat Ridge
1-1
98
2
6
Falcon
2-0
96
6
7
Loveland
2-0
88
8
8
Pine Creek
1-1
70
4
9
Standley Lake
2-0
31
–
10
Windsor
1-1
29
9
Others receiving votes:
Montbello 15, Dakota Ridge 14, Mesa Ridge 14, Durango 13, Pueblo Centennial 9, Longmont 7, Vista Ridge 5, Sand Creek 4, Ponderosa 3, Widefield 3, Green Mountain 2, Pueblo South 2, Thompson Valley 2.
Dropped out
Dakota Ridge (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Silver Creek (8)
2-0
124
1
2
Discovery Canyon
3-0
97
2
3
Rifle (4)
2-0
89
3
4
Holy Family
2-0
80
6
5
Conifer
2-0
79
5
6
Palisade
2-0
53
8
7
Lutheran (1)
3-0
50
9
8
Coronado (1)
3-0
45
–
9
Roosevelt
1-1
35
7
10
Elizabeth
1-1
28
4
Others receiving votes:
Eagle Valley 16, Pueblo East 15, Northridge 10, Erie 4.
Dropped out
D’Evelyn (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Platte Valley (7)
2-0
79
1
2
Brush (1)
2-0
64
4
3
Kent Denver
1-1
62
3
4
Florence
1-1
45
2
5
La Junta
2-0
40
6
6
Strasburg
2-0
36
8
7
Eaton
1-1
33
5
8
Manitou Springs
1-0
18
10
9
Lamar
2-0
16
9
10
Bayfield
1-1
12
–
Others receiving votes:
Fort Lupton 11, Denver West 7, Faith Christian 7, Ridgeview Academy 6, University 2, Aspen 1, KIPP 1.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Rangeview 25, Denver East 24, Standley Lake 20, Poudre 18, Fossil Ridge 16, Montbello 14, Arvada West 11, Aurora Central 8, Abraham Lincoln 7, Adams City 6, Heritage 4, Palmer 4, Brighton 2, Fort Collins 2.
Dropped out
Denver East (5), Fossil Ridge (7), Heritage (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Battle Mountain (8)
3-0-0
121
1
2-0-0
2
Broomfield (3)
2-1-1
107
2
2-1-0
3
Cheyenne Mountain (1)
2-0-0
104
4
2-0-0
4
Air Academy (1)
4-0-0
93
5
3-0-0
5
Niwot
2-1-1
65
3
1-1-1
6
Evergreen
3-1-0
57
7
3-0-0
7
Ponderosa
2-1-0
41
8
1-1-0
8
Pueblo West
2-0-0
21
–
1-0-0
9
Denver South
1-1-0
17
6
0-1-0
10
Silver Creek
3-1-0
14
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Longmont 11, Denver North 10, Valor Christian 10, Lewis-Palmer 9, Windsor 9, Golden 6, Sand Creek 3, Denver West 2, Mullen 2, Summit 2, Wheat Ridge 2, Montrose 1, Steamboat Springs 1.
Dropped out
Sand Creek (9), Valor Christian (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
The Classical Academy (6)
4-0-0
111
2
1-0-0
2
Colorado Academy (4)
3-0-0
104
1
2-0-0
3
Holy Family
3-0-0
77
4
2-0-0
4
Coal Ridge (1)
3-0-0
72
6
3-0-0
5
Basalt
3-1-0
63
3
1-1-0
6
Manitou Springs
4-0-0
40
–
2-0-0
7
Kent Denver (1)
1-2-0
37
5
0-1-0
8
Faith Christian
2-2-1
35
7
1-1-1
9
Salida
3-0-0
33
9
1-0-0
10
Jefferson Academy
3-1-0
16
–
3-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Peak to Peak 10, Bruce Randolph 9, Fountain Valley 7, Machebeuf 7, Denver Christian 6, Jefferson 6, Lake County 6, Frontier Academy 5, Roaring Fork 5, Liberty Common 4, C.S. Christian 3, Aurora West 2, Lutheran 2.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Eaglecrest held onto its spot atop the CHSAANow.com softball poll, but things are getting close at the top of the Class 5A ranking.
Four different teams received first-place votes this week: Brighton (No. 2), Douglas County (No. 3) and Fossil Ridge (No. 5). Loveland was the lone newcomer to the poll, at tenth.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Rock Canyon 17, Grand Junction 16, Standley Lake 12, Arvada West 10, Pine Creek 9, ThunderRidge 7, Chatfield 4, Rampart 4, Columbine 3, Rocky Mountain 3, Cherokee Trail 2, Mountain Vista 2.
Dropped out
Rock Canyon (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Wheat Ridge (12)
9-1-0
120
1
1-1-0
2
Erie
7-2-1
96
3
2-0-0
3
Pueblo East
7-2-1
90
2
2-0-0
4
Ponderosa
8-1-0
77
4
2-0-0
5
Frederick
6-3-0
61
5
2-1-0
6
Silver Creek
7-3-0
51
6
1-1-0
7
Berthoud
7-2-0
50
8
3-1-0
8
Broomfield
5-4-0
24
7
1-0-0
9
D’Evelyn
6-2-0
20
9
3-2-0
10
Pueblo South
7-2-0
17
–
1-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Valor Christian 14, Discovery Canyon 13, Pueblo West 12, Mullen 4, Roosevelt 4, Niwot 3, Thomas Jefferson 2, Thompson Valley 2, Falcon 1.
Ralston Valley junior Collin Root (9) and ThunderRidge linebacker Clay Johnson (10) both leap for a pass in the first half Saturday at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
ThunderRidge’s early game of keep-away set the tone for the Grizzlies’ 36-18 victory over Ralston Valley on Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
In the football matchup between the No. 2 and No. 3 Class 5A teams in this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll, ThunderRidge ran 25 offensive plays to Ralston Valley’s three in the first quarter.
“We just came out a little bit flat and we weren’t executing,” Ralston Valley senior quarterback Jacob Knipp said. “ThunderRidge had a good scheme. They ran the ball, took a lot of time off the clock and we couldn’t get a roll going.”
The Grizzlies moved the ball systematically most of the night on the ground with the power running of Matt Stanley. The tailback had 31 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown.
ThunderRidge quarterback Brody Westmoreland had a strong night on the ground with 14 carries for 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The senior’s 4-yard diving effort into the end zone with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter gave the Grizzlies their biggest lead of the night at 36-12.
Westmoreland was effective through the air, too, going 7-for-10 for 85 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
“I’m more satisfied with how well we played as a team,” Westmoreland said when asked if the two passing or two rushing touchdowns were more rewarding. “Our defense stepped up big time to shut Ralston Valley down and our offense came together.”
ThunderRidge (2-0) will host Grandview (2-0) next Friday night in an attempt to keep its unblemished record intact.
“I still think we have stuff to work on, but we are getting there,” Westmoreland said.
Ralston Valley junior Anthony Vessa (36) hangs on to tackle ThunderRidge running back Matt Stanley during the Class 5A non-league game Saturday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
Ralston Valley (2-1) suffered its only regular season loss to ThunderRidge last season before advancing to the 5A semifinals. The Mustangs went on a nine-game winning streak last year after the setback to the Grizzlies.
“You’ve got to take the positives along with the negatives,” said Knipp, who finished 13-for-19 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns. “This whole game will make us better.”
The Mustangs’ offensive managed a pair of big plays in the fourth quarter while playing catch-up. Knipp connected with senior Kevin Meadows for touchdowns of 53 and 51 yards in the final quarter. Junior running back Andrew Wingard scored the Mustangs third touchdown while carrying the ball 16 times for 90 yards.
“I just try to play with as much heart as I could. We gave it all we had,” Meadows said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to work on.”
Ralston Valley next chance to improve will come on the Western Slope when it faces Grand Junction (3-0) at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Stocker Stadium.
The North Area Athletic Complex (NAAC) in Arvada will host a pair of Class 5A football heavyweight tilts in Week 2.
Four teams — ThunderRidge, Ralston Valley, Cherry Creek and Pomona — ranked in the top six of this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A football poll will square off at the Jeffco School District’s football/soccer complex on Highway 93 and 64th Parkway in Arvada.
(4) Cherry Creek (1-0) vs. (6) Pomona (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday
The Cherry Creek Bruins racked up 340 yards of total offense en route to a 42-6 victory in their season opener in Clovis, N.M. Junior Milo Hall led the way on the ground for Cherry Creek with 57 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. Senior Mikey McCauley had a big game with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Pomona Panthers rallied from a 14-6 deficit through three quarters last week on the road against 4A Broomfield. The Panthers pulled out a 21-14 victory thanks to 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and Pomona’s defense shutting out Broomfield in the second half.
Senior Chris Marquez carried much of the load with 25 carries for 188 yards on the ground. Seniors Konner Burns and Lukas Russell each found the end zone in the fourth quarter to push Pomona to victory.
(2) ThunderRidge (1-0) vs. (3) Ralston Valley (2-0) 7 p.m. Saturday
The ThunderRidge Grizzlies’ home opener went as planned with a 30-7 victory over 4A Dakota Ridge. The Grizzlies advanced into the 5A semifinals of the state playoffs last season before falling to eventual champion Valor Christian.
The Ralston Valley Mustangs had a similar ending to last season, falling to eventual state runner-up Cherokee Trail in other 5A semifinal. The Mustangs are off to a strong start with wins over Mullen and 4A Longmont.
Senior quarterback Jacob Knipp has some impressive passing numbers so far going 38-of-44 through the air for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Andrew Wingard had a monster game against Longmont last week with 18 carries for 217 yards and five touchdowns.
We’ve got a No. 2 vs. No. 3 showdown on our hands this Saturday in Class 5A football.
ThunderRidge, following an impressive showing, bumped up one spot from its preseason No. 3 ranking in this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll. And Ralston Valley, the Grizzlies’ opponent this weekend, went from seventh to third after two big wins.
Valor Christian remained in the top spot, and garnered 22 of the 23 first-place votes. Cherry Creek stayed put at fourth, while Grandview (No. 5) and Pomona (No. 6) swapped spots.
Columbine is seventh in the 5A ranking, and Cherokee Trail dropped from second to eighth following its loss to Chatfield.
Regis Jesuit moved up one spot to ninth, and Fairview is the lone new team to the 5A poll, at tenth. The Knights edged Chatfield with 42 total points to the Chargers’ 38. Grandview and Arapahoe are also just on the fringe.
The 4A ranking continued to be led by Monarch, and added Montrose (No. 5), Loveland (No. 8) and Dakota Ridge (No. 10).
Silver Creek stayed on top of 3A, which added Palisade (No. 8), Lutheran (No. 9) and D’Evelyn (No. 10).
Platte Valley is the only new No. 1 team among all classifications, having taken over the top spot in 2A following a win over previous No. 1 Kent Denver.
