The scoreboard late in Friday’s game between Sand Creek and Air Academy. (Via @AAHSAthletics on Twitter)
The two teams combined for 130 points. Sand Creek running back Daniel Quin rushed for nine touchdowns. But ultimately, it was a defensive stop on fourth-and-2 that sealed the win for Sand Creek.
Sand Creek stopped a screen pass on fourth down with less than a minute to play to seal a 68-62 win over Air Academy on Friday night.
When the dust settled on Friday night, the spotlight shone brightest on Quin, who rushed his way into CHSAA’s record book. He finished with 553 yards and the nine touchdowns on 64 carries.
“It was crazy,” Sand Creek coach Rod Baker told CHSAANow late Friday night.
The 64 carries are the most in a single game in state history, while the 553 yards are No. 3 all-time. In fact, it was just the fifth time in state history a back had gained more than 500 yards. (Colorado’s rushing record belongs to Montbello’s Leonard Jones, who went for 584 in 1999.)
Finally, Quin’s nine rushing touchdowns are now tied for the second-best performance in state history with Colorado Deaf & Blind’s Sam Harris. Harris rushed for his nine in 2004. The record, set in 1930, belongs to Hugo’s Ken Pearson, who had 12 rushing scores.
Oh, and Quin also had three two-point conversions.
“We ran the ball, and they threw it. And that’s the story,” Baker said. “Their quarterback threw it well, and we missed some open-field tackling opportunities. They executed really well with their passing game, and protected well, and we just ran. We had one pass, when we got ’em on a formation, but other than that it was a run against pass.”
The game’s 130 combined points fell just five points shy of cracking the top-10 in all-time combined points. Still, that scoring record is dotted with 8-man and 6-man point totals — which is apples and oranges when it comes to 11-man football.
Air Academy Mike Roof takes a break from all the scoring during his team’s game with Sand Creek on Friday night. (Courtesy @AAHSAthletics on Twitter)
As such, the 130 points are believed to be the third-highest total for an 11-man game in state history. The two teams combined to score 49 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“At the end of the game, the kids were so tired, they could barely shake hands,” Baker said. “It was like a brotherhood between them, what they’d been through. It was an amazing event. The high school spirit was amazing tonight for both teams. And they just battled.”
Air Academy scored with less than four minutes to play to take a 62-60 lead, but Sand Creek — well, Quin — quickly responded with a touchdown of their own. One minute and thirty seconds remained.
“We scored too fast,” Baker said. “Daniel was so wide open, and I just thought about, ‘Just fall down at the 1 so we can run some time off the clock.’”
Air Academy made two first downs, and drove down to about Sand Creek’s 40-yard-line before attempting a screen pass to their tailback.
“We tackled them for about a 5-yard loss, and that was the game,” Baker said. “It was a defensive stop that decided the game. That’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?”
Sand Creek improved to 2-2 this season with the win. Air Academy fell to 2-2.
Baker said he was planning on compiling full stats on Saturday morning.
“I may need an abacus, though,” he said.
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4A: (2) Pueblo South 24, Falcon 21
Falcon dug its way out of a 13-0 hole to lead 14-13 at halftime, but second-ranked Pueblo South got a 23-yard field goal from Nathan Spinuzzi to seal the win with 13 seconds to play.
Falcon had taken a 21-13 lead in the third, and that lead held until Spinuzzi, also South’s quarterback, hit Dennis Ramos on a 55-yard score with 8:37 to play. After a two-point conversion, the game was tied.
Falcon turned around and drove down to Pueblo South’s 11-yard-line, but fumbled. That set up the Colts’ final drive, and the game-winning field goal.
Matt Bastian had 147 yards rushing and a score in the loss for Falcon.
1A: (8) Burlington 20, (3) Limon 19
Burlington stopped a late two-point conversion attempt to seal the win. Limon had scored with 20 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one point.
“We were sure they were going to go for two and try to get that win on the road,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “We got some penetration and got to their sweep and shut it down, and that was the difference in the game, that one play.
“This is a real big win for us,” he added. “Really felt good about the way the kid’s played and the effort they game.”
3A: Mead 10, Erie 7 (OT)
Tyler Levine hit the game-winning field goal in overtime as the Mavericks improved to 2-2 this season.
“That feels great,” Levine told BoCoPreps afterward. “As soon as I kicked it, I knew it was going to go in.”
4A: (1) Pine Creek 21, Pueblo West 14
For the second time this season, the Eagles survived a nail-biter from an unranked foe.
Pine Creek never actually trailed this time around — in fact, it led 18-0 in the third quarter — but Pueblo West rallied late to make things close.
Pueblo West had one final chance to tie the game with three minutes to play, but turned the ball over on downs on its final drive.
4A: Durango 29, Farmington (NM) 22
Justin Marcum hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Terrence Trujillo with 28 seconds remaining to lift the Demons in an out-of-state contest.
They had trailed much of the game, but then tied it with 3:31 to go on a two-yard rushing score from Lawrence Mayberry.
After a punt, Durango got the ball back with 1:53 to play at its own 23-yard-line. That drive led to the winning score.
5A: Rocky Mountain 31, Fossil Ridge 6
Rocky Mountain is 4-0 for the first time since 2008, when the Lobos finished 11-1 and made a deep playoff run.
“We have a great group of character young men, and they’ve busted their tails for us all summer,” coach Mark Brook told the Scoreboard Show after the game. “We had a lot of kids coming back from last year. … It’s good. For me, I’m proud to see them translate all their work and effort into wins.”
4A: Coronado 43, Widefield 0
Coronado, the defending 3A champion, is now 4-1 in its move up to 4A this season.
“We had a lot of excitement going into this season,” coach Bobby Lizarraga told the Scoreboard Show. “Unfortunately for us, we had a lot of youth also. And it’s paid its dividends at this point, but we had a lot coaching to do, where our coaches stepped up and got our young folks up to par to make an impact for us. Right now, we’re seeing some of those assets.”
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Notables
8-man’s top-ranked Dayspring Christian ran its state-best winning streak to 17 game. The Eagles, now 4-0 this season, have yet to give up a point in 2014. They’ve outscored their opponents 206-0, including a 46-0 win over Las Animas on Friday night.
Adams City is now 3-1 following a 19-8 win over Lincoln on Friday. Those three wins match the program’s combined win total over the previous seven seasons.
Gunnison is unranked in Class 2A, but for how long? Since a 39-12 loss to Kent Denver to open the season, the Cowboys have outscored opponents 145-14, including consecutive shutouts. Gunnison beat Roaring Fork 48-0 this week.
Cherry Creek rebounded from its tough loss to Jordan (Utah) with a 41-0 shutout of Grand Terrace (Calif.). Photos from the game are here.
Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig threw for another 286 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 50-7 win over Frederick. He now has 1,450 yards through four games, and is on pace for more than 3,600 yards and nearly 38 touchdowns. The yardage would be top-5 all-time.
Broomfield beat Loveland in overtime, 20-17.
St. Mary’s topped University 27-7. It was University’s first-ever night home game.
Mullen trailed Arvada West 28-23, but 15 unanswered points amounted to a 38-28 win.
Chaparral beat Rock Canyon 36-26 for its first win this season.
In 8-man Hoehne beat Cripple Creek 60-0 tonight, but the game actually had to be halted in the second quarter as Cripple Creek was down to just seven players after injuries.
Don’t think there’s much doubt that Paonia is the No. 1 team in 1A at the moment. The Eagles, now 4-0, handled highly-ranked Centauri last week and topped 2A No. 10 Bayfield this week, 55-44.
Rifle had a good win over an unbeaten Eagle Valley squad, 35-12. 3A’s fourth-ranked Bears are now 4-0.
Another eye-popping point total: Roosevelt 62, Northridge 50 in 3A.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 17 are below.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 9 are below.
Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.
Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 2 are below.
The Classification and League Organizing Committee meeting was Tuesday. (Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — Valor Christian’s athletic programs will reside in the Jefferson County League for the 2014-16 cycle.
The school, which is independent of a league during the current two-year cycle, had requested to join the Centennial League. And though the Centennial previously denied Valor’s request through a vote at a league meeting, there was still a chance that move would be approved at Tuesday’s Classification and League Organizing Committee (CLOC) meeting.
However, at the meeting, CLOC voted to not approve Valor’s move to the Centennial. Instead, through a 6-4 vote, it placed the Eagles in the Class 5A Jeffco League. Valor previously played in the 4A Jeffco from 2010-12. Their teams will continue to compete at the 4A level.
“That’s our job: to put them in a league. They had to be in a league,” CLOC chair Tom Arensdorf said after the meeting. “Every member has the right to be in a league after they’ve done their probationary period. They were not placed in a league two years ago … because basically their membership was in jeopardy. We felt it was best at that time not to put them in a league. No one wanted them, but the reasons for not wanting them were based on past issues that were pretty valid.
“In this past two-year cycle, Valor has done a lot of things to correct those issues. And they deserve to be placed in a league. That’s this committee’s job, to get them in a league.”
So Valor, finally, has a league for all of it’s sports — excepting football, which is still awaiting a conference. (That alignment will be finalized later in November.)
But that doesn’t mean it was easy.
(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
Valor athletic director Rod Sherman spoke briefly at the meeting about the reasons his school sought to join the Centennial. He also said, in part, “We believe now is the time for Valor’s transition from an independent status to being a full-time member of a league. It would be an honor for us to be a member of the Centennial League; there’s much we can learn. We believe we have respected the process of being placed and we humbly request placement in the Centennial League.”
A long discussion ensued, with Centennial and Jeffco reps also speaking, and emphasizing Valor Christian’s private status. Then, CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico spoke up.
“We’ve had a public-private school discussion going on for over two years now,” Angelico said. “I’m afraid I’m to blame for that because I wanted that to be an open and above-board discussion, rather than all the back-biting that was going on behind the scenes. If I would have known that it would have turned into this bickering that will never end, I think I would have stopped it … and not allowed it to start. There’s no end to this.
“A couple of points I need to make: There is no written or unwritten policy of any sort regarding public and private schools and league placement,” Angelico continued. “Secondly, in the last 24 months, I would say to you, that since that discussion started, it’s not the private schools I’m worried about. … The private school people have heard loudly your message of discontent. Their response has been one of that I can’t complain about. Whatever it takes to be above-board and avoid issues, they’re doing. That applies to Valor doubly. They’ve hired a consultant, they’ve done everything I’ve asked. To the point that last night, in our discussions, we talked about, ‘Well Valor had four ADs show up at the (All-School) Summit.’ I said, ‘Yeah, they did. I told them to, and they did what they were told.’
“I think we have our priorities goofed up and have kind of started turning around what we’re supposed to be about,” he added. “This isn’t a public/private school issue. I hear loudly that it’s an issue about unfair advantage or differences in schools. … Frankly, I would just like to get this conversation back to what it’s about: somebody needs a home. The fact that they’re a public or private school is not the reason you place them in a conference. Nor has it ever been. Let’s talk about what’s the best fit.
“The association has certainly survived with several public and private schools together in the same league. I just want to center this. This becomes a ‘Who can win the argument?’ not, ‘What’s the best thing?’ And I think we need to go back to what are we supposed to be doing here. The committee is charged with placing a school, and they will place a school, and they’ll have to do it to somebody’s chagrin.”
Shortly after, the committee broke into a private session, and then for lunch. When they came back, the vote on Valor request to join the Centennial League was quickly called. Three CLOC members abstained, three voted in favor of the request, and seven against.
Moments later, committee member Rich Wildenhaus from Erie proposed moving Valor to the 5A Jeffco League. There was no discussion from the audience, and the vote ended with six agreeing with the move, four against it and three abstaining. The entire process was swift.
(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
“Honestly, that surprised me,” Arensdorf said afterward. “Over the last two days, we probably discussed this issue as a committee for three-and-a-half hours — because whatever decision was made by the committee was going to be unpopular with some schools and cause some angst within leagues. There is no perfect fit.
“We went through a process that, if the first request did not pass, we — as a committee, it’s our responsibility to come up with something before the end of the day. And different committee members had different proposals,” he continued. “I was surprised that we finished that quickly. And I was surprised there was no feedback from the floor when that proposal was made by Richie Wildenhaus. I didn’t know what to expect at that point, because, as a committee, no one felt comfortable with any solution. There were no solutions that were going to make everybody happy.
“But, in the end, it is what it is, and all these people are professionals and they’ll deal with what they have to deal with and hopefully make the best situation for all the kids that participate in those programs.”
Valor Christian did approach Jeffco about joining the league prior to the CLOC meeting. Jeffco has 5A and 4A leagues.
“Right now, the CLOC committee voted for them to be in 5A Jeffco. I think that discussion still needs to happen,” Jim Thyfault, Jefferson County’s district athletic director, and a member of CLOC, said after the meeting. “Since we do have a 4A option, I think that needs to be discussed.
“I respect Rod Sherman and the people at Valor, I really do. They were in our league before. And, you know what? We’ll all be very professional about it, and I’m sure they will be, too.”
CLOC’s actions on Tuesday still need to be confirmed by the Legislative Council in January.
More league changes
Earlier, Burlington’s request to join the Lower Platte League was denied. That league had previously voted 9-0 against allowing Burlington admittance. CLOC voted 11-2 against overruling that vote. So Burlington will stay in the Union Pacific League.
Approved league changes:
(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
Broomfield (Northern to Front Range)
Canon City (South Central to Colorado Springs Metro)
The Classical Academy (Tri-Peaks to Colorado Springs Metro)
Clear Creek (3A Frontier to 2A Frontier)
Ellicott (Tri-Peaks to Black Forest)
Highland (Patriot to Mile High)
Holy Family (Metro to Tri-Valley)
Littleton (Continental to Jeffco)
Lyons (Patriot to Mile High)
Manzanola (Southeastern to High Plains)
Northridge (Tri-Valley to Northern)
Skyview Academy (Independent to Metro 3A)
Swallows Charter Academy (Independent to Santa Fe)
Twin Peaks Charter (New school, joining Mile High)
Vanguard (Black Forest to Tri-Peaks)
New members
Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy’s request for membership was denied. The school has a unique schedule to allow its students to train on the mountain during the week — training from 8 a.m. to noon, and then attending classes from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Tuesday through Friday during the winter.
However, after a lengthy discussion, the committee said they were uneasy going down the road of adding a sports academy as a member.
“It seems so fundamentally different than what our membership is now,” said committee member Mark Kanagy, Windsor’s athletic director.
The committee did approve membership for Caprock Charter Academy in Grand Junction, as well as Denver School of Science & Technology – Green Valley Ranch, and Venture Preparatory School in Denver.
Playdowns
The overwhelming majority of playdowns were approved, save for Abraham Lincoln football (5A to 4A), Estes Park football (2A to 1A) and Palmer football (5A to 4A). Approved playdowns:
(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
Adams City football (5A to 4A)
Alameda football (5A to 4A)
Antonito football (8-man to 6-man)
Aurora Central football (5A to 4A)
Boulder softball (5A to 4A)
Centaurus volleyball (4A to 3A)
Central (Grand Junction) football (4A to 3A)
Civa Charter boys/girls basketbal, volleyball (2A to 1A)
Denver North football (3A to 2A)
Dolores Huerta girls basketball (3A to 2A)
Greeley Central softball (4A to 3A)
Greeley West boys soccer (5A to 4A)
Miami-Yoder football (8-man to 6-man)
Mitchell football (4A to 3A)
Montbello girls soccer (5A to 4A)
Montezuma-Cortez soccer (4A to 3A)
Montezuma-Cortez football (3A to 2A)
Nederland football (1A to 8-man)
Niwot football (4A to 3A)
Rifle boys/girls soccer (4A to 3A)
Roosevelt boys soccer (4A to 3A)
Skyline softball (4A to 3A)
South Park football (8-man to 6-man)
Noteable
The committee set the 1A/2A cutoff at 92 students. So schools with 92 and below will be 1A in basketball and all other sports, while those with 93-240 students will be 2A.
Lakewood quarterback Casey Nicholls, pictured during a game against Fairview earlier this season.
Eighth-ranked Arapahoe was poised to escape with another slim win. Only, no one told Lakewood.
The Tigers’ Anthony Brown returned a punt 48 yards to Arapahoe’s 7-yard-line with under two minutes to play. Quarterback Casey Nicholls scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown on a sneak two plays later in a 46-39 upset.
Arapahoe needed overtime to beat Mullen last week. This week, the Warriors rallied from a 32-23 halftime deficit to take a 39-32 lead. But Lakewood dialed up a wide receiver pass to Tevin Lucas on third-and-17 to tie the game at 39 with 6:50 to play. The Tigers forced Arapahoe to punt on the ensuing drive, setting up Brown’s big return.
Lakewood improves to 2-5 this season, while Arapahoe falls to 5-2.
Elsewhere in 5A, No. 10 Cherokee Trail shook off some first-half rust to rally and beat Grandview 21-7. The Cougars trailed 7-0 at the break.
“We’re happy with how we played in second half,”coach Monte Thelen told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show on Friday night. “Beating Grandview at any time is a great achievement for us, so we feel good about our performance, especially in the second half tonight.”
Cameron Smith rushed 22 times for 132 yards and two scores for Cherokee Trail. Quarterback Aric Johnson was 9-of-18 with 121 yards passing.
Cherokee Trail turned the ball over three times in the first half, and also had a touchdown called back due to a penalty.
“We’re really happy with how our defense played the entire game to be honest with you, because we put them in a number of negative situations in the first half,” Thelen said. “They were able to come through. We just felt like if we could calm down and play our game in the second half that we could definitely get back into the game. We were fortunate to be able to do that.”
In 4A, No. 6 Falcon rebounded from a tough loss last week to Pine Creek to come back and top Ponderosa, 24-14. The Falcons scored the game’s final 24 points.
“What was interesting is that it was like a reciprocal of our game last week with Pine Creek,” co-head coach Brian Green told the Scoreboard Show. “We were up at half and Pine Creek came storming back. We kind of followed their same formula to victory this week.
“It was really just coming out and making plays. We made some good defensive plays that put us in position to score and kind of capture the momentum early in the third quarter and never looked back after that.”
Running back Kalen Ballage carried the ball 21 times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Justin Barron also had a rushing score, but the game turned on Dylan Cutkomp’s 51-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“That one put us on top, and we just carried that wave of momentum to the finish line,” Green said.
Eighth-ranked Mead stayed unbeaten in the 3A ranks with a 41-14 win over Northridge. Quarterback Griffin Nelson was 19-of-28 for 195 yards and two scores, while the Mavericks also racked up 415 yards and four scores on the ground.
“I was really proud of the fact that we rushed the ball really well tonight,” coach Jason Klatt told the Scoreboard Show. “And Griffin was just a real leader tonight. He hung in there and threw a bunch of key completions that kept drives alive and it was just a great all-around win.”
Mead is now 6-0, but isn’t worried about any outside pressures.
“That’s been a big question that we didn’t really know how that was going to go, but we have a senior-led group that is very resilient,” Klatt said. “They’ve bought into what we’re telling them and they are beginning to be mentally tough to where we don’t listen to that stuff and we’re not concerned about outside stuff and Wild Card points and all that stuff. The only thing that we can control is our attitude and our effort. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
Holy Family, ranked No. 6 in 3A, needed a stop of a two-point conversion to season a 20-19 win at Erie.
“They had a great drive, they put together a couple of plays, and they went for the two-point conversion,” coach Mike Gabriel told the Scoreboard Show. “It came down to I think about the 1-inch line, but we kept them out of the end zone.”
Holy Family is 3-0 since a crushing 45-14 loss to Silver Creek on Sept. 20.
“I think Silver Creek kind of revealed some stuff to us as a staff that we needed to work harder in practice and challenge the kids more in practice and just get after it a little more,” Gabriel said. “We’ve changed things, and the kids have responded. We’re starting to see the results.”
In all, Week 7 has belonged to the ranked teams. Ranked teams are 43-4 against unranked opponents across all classifications through Friday’s games.
