MONUMENT — Senior night for Class 4A No. 6 Palmer Ridge started out with some festivities, but once the actual sets began, it wasn’t the Bears doing to the bulk of the celebrating.
Despite a bumpy start to its season, No. 2 Lewis-Palmer looked every bit the part of a three-time defending state champion with a 25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17 win over Palmer Ridge, capturing their sixth league win of the season. The Rangers (12-5 overall, 6-0 Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) have not lost a league match since 2015, when they fell 3-1 to eventual state champion Cheyenne Mountain.
“We’ve been driven by defense all year,” said Rangers head coach Wade Baxter. “What we want to do is we want to funnel as much of the other team’s offense to (senior Gianna Bartalo) as we can. We just funnel everything to Gianna so that’s our strength offensively.”
The plan worked and even with this L-P team seemingly depleted from what it has been in years past, it has been difficult for teams to find ways to beat the Rangers.
“We knew they were going to have a good defense,” said Bears head coach Trevor Sullivan. “We tried our best offensively to just put the ball where they weren’t. Credit to them, they were a great defensive team picking up more balls than we thought they would. That’s how we prepped, we prepped to be as aggressively offensively as we could be.”
Lewis-Palmer had full control of the first set, winning 25-14. The Rangers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and never looked back. They never trailed at any point during the first set.
“I don’t think we were overwhelmed,” said Sullivan. “We talked about being in control of our minds a lot and we were in control of our minds, but the volleyball skill just wasn’t quite there. I think we did a really good job of regrouping and being calm going into that second set and just taking care of business.”
(Derek Lee/CHSAANow.com)
That skill seemed to even out a bit in the second set. The Bears (11-6, 3-2) battled to a 25-23 win, giving the Rangers just their second dropped set all season in PPAC play.
“They really hurt us in the second set hitting over us,” said Baxter. “Our block was a little bit slow and so we moved the block outside.”
For a team that has a lot less varsity experience than previous years, the Mustangs haven’t missed a beat. They’ve relied on seniors such as Bartalo—who had 35 digs tonight—and Danielle Norman (19 kills), but other players have stepped up as well.
“It’s just a case of everyone stepping up when they need to,” said Baxter. “Dani’s our No. 1 hitter but everybody really contributed tonight. Kaitlynn Bird (13 kills), our other outside hitter, had a great game so I was really pleased with the way she stepped up.”
Baxter said that this season hasn’t been as easy as last year was because last year’s team had a really overwhelming offense.
“We don’t have that now so we’re kind of dominating in a sense that we’re 6-0, but every point has been harder fought than they were last year,” he said. “There were a lot of quick sets and quick points last year where we’re having to fight and fight and fight and play long points and just lay out everything on the floor defensively more this year than we’ve had to in the past.”
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Chaparral (9)
14-2
107
1
0-0
2
Legend
13-3
90
2
0-0
3
Cherokee Trail (1)
14-2
82
3
1-0
4
Broomfield (1)
16-0
73
4
2-0
5
Rampart
14-1
70
5
1-0
6
Valor Christian
14-1
53
6
2-0
7
Fort Collins
13-2
42
7
2-0
8
Grandview
11-5
31
8
1-0
9
Chatfield
12-4
19
10
2-0
10
Windsor
12-2
15
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Eaglecrest 12, Fairview 8, Ralston Valley 3.
Dropped out
Eaglecrest (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo County (9)
19-1
115
1
3-0
2
Lewis-Palmer (3)
11-5
112
2
2-0
3
Coronado
11-5
77
6
2-0
4
Pueblo West (1)
12-4
68
4
1-0
5
Discovery Canyon
11-5
67
3
0-2
6
Palmer Ridge
11-5
65
5
1-1
7
Montrose
14-3
63
8
2-0
8
Mead
11-3
57
7
2-0
9
Woodland Park
14-1
24
9
3-0
10
Erie
11-5
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 16, Silver Creek 14, Battle Mountain 6, Mullen 4, Cheyenne Mountain 2, Glenwood Springs 1, Skyline 1, Steamboat Springs 1.
Dropped out
Thomas Jefferson (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (8)
10-0
88
1
1-0
2
Eaton
14-3
70
5
2-0
3
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
19-1
59
4
2-0
4
Faith Christian
12-3
53
7
1-1
5
Sterling
15-0
51
2
1-0
6
Alamosa
20-3
44
3
2-1
7
University
9-7
26
10
0-2
8
Lamar
16-2
23
8
2-0
9
Platte Valley
11-4
19
9
2-0
10
Resurrection Christian
9-7
18
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Cedaredge 11, Valley 6, Bayfield 5, Centauri 4, Pagosa Springs 4, Delta 3, St. Mary’s Academy 3, La Junta 2, Middle Park 2, Peak to Peak 1.
Dropped out
Cedaredge (6).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Denver Christian (9)
17-0
90
1
2-0
2
Union Colony Prep
16-1
76
2
3-0
3
Meeker
15-2
59
5
2-0
4
Wiggins
14-4
53
3
0-1
5
Limon
13-5
52
6
3-0
6
Fowler
14-3
49
4
1-1
7
West Grand
15-2
43
7
1-0
8
Rye
13-4
20
10
2-0
9
Dolores
14-3
17
9
2-0
10
Simla
13-4
14
8
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Telluride 11, Sedgwick County 5, Highland 3, Ignacio 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
La Veta (4)
17-0
75
1
1-0
2
Merino (3)
16-1
71
3
3-0
3
Kit Carson (1)
16-1
62
2
2-0
4
Fleming
15-1
60
5
2-0
5
Briggsdale
13-3
47
4
1-1
6
Genoa-Hugo/Karval
14-2
38
6
1-0
7
Prairie
10-3
29
7
0-1
8
Otis
11-6
21
9
1-0
9
Springfield
11-4
14
10
2-0
10
Dove Creek
16-1
9
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Mile High Academy 7, Flagler/Hi-Plains 2, Front Range Baptist 2, Sangre de Cristo 2, Weldon Valley 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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Chaparral (5)
14-2
94
3
2-0
2
Legend (1)
13-3
82
2
1-1
3
Cherokee Trail (3)
13-2
77
1
1-1
4
Broomfield (1)
14-0
66
5
2-0
5
Rampart
13-1
62
4
1-0
6
Valor Christian
12-1
48
6
2-0
7
Fort Collins
11-2
36
7
1-0
8
Grandview
10-5
24
8
1-1
9
Eaglecrest
12-4
20
9
2-0
10
Chatfield
10-4
10
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Windsor 8, Cherry Creek 6, Fairview 5, Grand Junction 4, Pine Creek 4, Ralston Valley 4.
Dropped out
Fairview (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo County (8)
16-1
95
1
5-0
2
Lewis-Palmer (2)
9-5
77
3
2-0
3
Discovery Canyon
11-3
76
2
1-0
4
Pueblo West (1)
11-4
66
4
1-1
5
Palmer Ridge
10-4
63
5
1-0
6
Coronado
9-5
56
6
1-0
7
Mead
9-3
43
7
2-0
8
Montrose
12-3
42
10
2-0
9
Woodland Park
11-1
31
9
1-0
10
Thomas Jefferson
10-5
19
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Silver Creek 11, Erie 8, Battle Mountain 4, Mullen 4, Longmont 3, Air Academy 2, Cheyenne Mountain 2, Glenwood Springs 2, Evergreen 1.
Dropped out
Erie (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (8)
9-0
97
1
1-0
2
Sterling
14-0
79
2
2-0
3
Alamosa
18-2
77
3
2-0
4
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
17-1
63
4
3-0
5
Eaton
12-3
60
5
2-0
6
Cedaredge
14-0
49
6
3-0
7
Faith Christian
11-2
36
7
2-0
8
Lamar
14-2
33
–
2-0
9
Platte Valley
9-4
14
8
1-1
10
University
9-5
12
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Coal Ridge 10, Eagle Ridge Academy 8, SkyView Academy 8, Englewood 3, Bayfield 1.
Fruita Monument 29, Golden 20, Hinkley 17, Ponderosa 8, Longmont 6, Wheat Ridge 6, Skyline 5, Vista Ridge 5, Greeley West 3, Monarch 2, Air Academy 1, Mesa Ridge 1, Windsor 1.
Dropped out
Hinkley (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Palmer Ridge (16)
5-1
194
1
W
2
Mead (4)
6-0
173
2
W
3
Pueblo South
5-1
165
3
W
4
Discovery Canyon
5-1
111
4
W
5
Conifer
6-0
100
8
W
6
Frederick
6-0
85
6
W
7
Durango
4-2
55
9
W
8
Lutheran
4-2
51
7
L
9
Green Mountain
4-2
47
5
L
10
Harrison
5-1
27
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Holy Family 21, Thomas Jefferson 21, Erie 19, Pueblo Central 19, Palisade 15, Roosevelt 11, Northridge 10, Fort Morgan 9, Pueblo East 8, Battle Mountain 6, Evergreen 4, Littleton 3, Eagle Valley 1.
Dropped out
Palisade (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rifle (18)
6-0
223
1
W
2
Sterling (2)
5-1
189
4
W
3
Platte Valley (1)
5-1
180
3
W
4
Resurrection Christian (2)
5-1
169
5
W
5
Delta
5-1
125
2
–
6
Faith Christian (1)
5-1
124
6
W
7
Basalt
6-0
114
7
W
8
Elizabeth
5-1
53
–
W
9
Eaton
4-2
48
9
W
10
The Classical Academy
4-2
42
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Lamar 14, Englewood 13, La Junta 12, Alamosa 9, Bennett 2, University 2, Aspen 1.
Dropped out
La Junta (8).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Strasburg (16)
6-0
178
1
W
2
Limon
5-1
151
2
W
3
Holyoke (2)
6-0
134
3
W
4
Florence
6-0
124
4
W
5
Colorado Springs Christian
5-1
95
7
W
6
Meeker
5-1
83
6
W
7
Centauri
5-1
81
5
W
8
Wray
5-1
38
8
W
9
Hotchkiss
5-1
32
10
W
10
Highland
3-3
22
9
L
Others receiving votes:
Flatirons Academy 15, Rye 14, Peyton 8, Buena Vista 7, Burlington 5, Grand Valley 3.
Dropped out
None.
8-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (11)
7-0
145
1
W
2
Fowler (3)
6-0
134
2
W
3
Sanford
6-0
115
7
W
4
Merino
5-1
85
5
W
5
Mancos
5-1
76
3
L
6
Dayspring Christian Academy
5-1
66
4
L
7
Vail Christian (1)
6-0
57
8
W
8
Pikes Peak Christian
4-1
46
9
W
9
Caliche
4-2
30
6
L
10
Dove Creek
5-1
18
10
Bye
Others receiving votes:
Rangely 11, West Grand 10, Elbert 9, Holly 7, Hoehne 6, Sargent 6, Soroco 4.
A 27-point second quarter sparked the win as Rifle won the battle of the top two teams in Class 2A football.
The top-ranked Bears (6-0) beat No. 2 Delta, 47-29.
“It was a really neat environment, and I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” Rifle coach Damon Wells told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “It was a close football game, and that’s what you would expect with a team like Delta. Their kids are tough, and I know Ben Johnson is going to have them prepared.”
Rifle trailed 3-0 early, but then scored 21 unanswered points to go up 21-3 late in the second quarter. The Bears led 27-9 at halftime.
Delta narrowed the lead to 27-17 with five minutes to play in the third quarter, but Rifle had an answer, going up 33-17 a minute into the fourth.
Rifle had six rushing touchdowns in the win.
“We ran the football, but we were able to throw it in some pretty high-leverage situations,” Wells said. “I was pretty happy with how our kids responded throughout the night.”
The Bears held a high-scoring Delta offense well below its average of 45.6 points.
“Our kids played hard, and our defensive staff really put together a great plan,” Wells said. “We were a little more exotic with our blitzes than we had been, and I think that paid off.”
The Raiders flexed their muscles in a big top-10 win.
David Dody rushed for five touchdowns for Regis Jesuit in the game, and the Raiders are now 7-0. Nicco Marichiol also had a 35 yard TD pass to Bryce Sloan in the first quarter.
The game was tied at 7 midway through the second quarter before Dody scored two rushing touchdowns in the final five minutes of that quarter to go up 19-7 at halftime.
[divider]
3A: (1) Palmer Ridge 42, (7) Lutheran 20
Palmer Ridge (5-1) picked up yet another big win, this time in league play, as it improved to 5-1 this season.
Raef Ruel had three rushing touchdowns to lead the Bears, Noah Brom also rushed for a score, and Luke McAllister threw a TD pass to Anthony Roberson II.
The game was tied 14-14 following a 95-yard kickoff return from Lutheran’s Brandon Belgrave with three minutes to play in the half. But Palmer Ridge, after punting away the ensuing possession, took the lead when Roberson II scored on a 50-yard fumble recovery.
It was 21-14 at halftime.
The Bears extended their lead with a 49-yard rushing score from Ruel in the third quarter, and then pushed that lead to 35-14 with a 42-yard touchdown by Ruel.
[divider]
1A: (1) Strasburg 35, (9) Highland 14
Strasburg (6-0) jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, fought off a Highland rally, and then secured another top-10 win.
“It was a pretty hard-fought win,” Strasburg coach Brian Brown told the Scoreboard Show. “That’s a very good football team we played tonight, and a very good football team, and we were fortunate to come out on top.”
With the game tied at 14, Collin Russell found Jayden Zacher for a 5-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 21-14 lead just before halftime.
Strasburg extended its lead to 27-14 on a 15-yard rushing score by Zacher late in the third quarter, and Russell put it out of reach with a 30-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Hemphell with eight minutes left.
Russell had three touchdown passes, and another on the ground. Jack Swanson had a receiving touchdown.
[divider]
8-man: (7) Sanford 52, (3) Mancos 24
Kelton Gartrell was a human highlight reel for Sanford (6-0), accounting for four total touchdowns, including three rushing.
Included in Gartrell’s haul was an 87-yard rushing score, a 93-yard rushing score and a 78-yard punt return for a score.
“Our kids did a super job. They got off an they got their blocks,” Sanford coach Joe Cary told the Scoreboard Show. “We had a big run game from Kelton Gartrell. He just lit up the field tonight. I just can’t say enough about our boys. They came out and played a really good game tonight.”
Mancos led 6-0 and 12-6 in the first quarter, but Sanford took the lead as the first quarter closed, and never looked back. It was 26-12 at halftime.
Chase Moore had three rushing touchdowns in the loss for Mancos, and he now has 22 this season.
Sanford’s defense played really well in the win.
“Every time we had a tackle, we had 5, 6, 7 guys in the ball,” Cary said.
[divider]
8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 56, (4) Dayspring Christian 16
With the game tied 8-8 in the first quarter, Sedgwick County (7-0) scored twice in the second to built a 22-8 halftime lead, and then put up 20 points in the third quarter to take a 42-16 lead going to the fourth quarter.
The Cougars, four-time defending champions, scored twice more in the fourth to roll in the win.
Sedgwick County had six rushing touchdowns, and two passing.
“Early on, that game is a lot closer than that score shows,” Sedgwick County coach Chris Michel told the Scoreboard Show. “They’re always tough.”
Of breaking open a tight game, Michel said, “We managed to find some seams later in the second quarter, and then in the second half.”
[divider]
Notables
Merino vs. Caliche. More photos. (Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)
8-man No. 5 Merino built a 21-6 halftime lead en route to a 28-6 win over No. 6 Caliche.
An important upset for Cherokee Trail, which knocked off 5A No. 4 Grandview 26-7. CT is now 5-2, while Grandview is 6-1.
In a big matchup that may decide a playoff berth in the 5A Metro 10 conference, Smoky Hill beat Denver East 49-26. With the win, the Buffaloes are 6-0 in league. Every other team has at least two losses. “(Obasanjo Sanni) returned the opening kickoff, which kind of just kicked the wheels in motion,” coach Tom Thenell told the Scoreboard Show. Full highlights of the game are available here.
Quarterback Jordan Woolverton had seven total touchdowns, and kicked a field goal, as 3A No. 9 Durango rolled past Pueblo Centennial 52-10.
In 2A, Elizabeth upset No. 8 La Junta 7-6.
Fort Morgan beat Roosevelt in overtime, 28-27.
5A No. 5 Ralston Valley beat Mullen 58-17 and is 7-0. “We scored a lot of points, but there were three defensive touchdowns,” coach Matt Loyd told the Scoreboard Show.
In a game played on Thursday, Chris Hile of 6-man No. 5 Flagler/Hi-Plains rushed for 286 yards and eight touchdowns on just 16 carries as his team beat Peetz 72-27.
[divider]
More coverage
Conifer vs. Green Mountain. More photos. (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Tyler Calhoun (9) poses with his Palmer Ridge teammates at Denver Broncos fall sports media day. (Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos)
Palmer Ridge quarterback/wide receiver Tyler Calhoun enjoys movie night with his dad. It’s just not a typical movie night as most people know it.
There is no tub of popcorn to snack from or members of the Avengers saving the world in spectacular fashion on the big screen.
Instead there is paper so notes can be taken and a remote control so that the action on the screen can be paused.
One of the favorite pastimes for the Bears senior is sitting down with his father, Troy, and watching football game film. It’s father-son bonding happening around a central component of each other’s life.
Football is certainly life for Troy Calhoun, the head coach at the Air Force Academy. The same can be said for University of Colorado head coach Mel Tucker and Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo.
All three have gotten to this point of their careers by their love of the game. And all three have sons playing on Colorado high school teams. Each coach bonds with their kid over the game in different ways, but it boils to down to love of the game. And of course, love for each other.
Standing on the sideline after Palmer Ridge’s 24-19 win over Pueblo South on Sept. 27, Tyler Calhoun couldn’t keep a smile off his face when describing how he and Troy bond over the game. The Air Force Academy played at home the same night, beating San Jose State, so Troy couldn’t be at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl.
But when each Calhoun got home, stories would be shared and analysis would be had.
“We’ll watch each other’s film together so I’m pretty pumped,” Tyler said. “It happens every week. I watch film with him and he watches film with me.”
As a high school player, it has to be exciting having a Division I coach constantly putting eyes on his game film. It adds a little bit of a special feel when that coach is also involved in your daily life.
How’d school go today? Where should we go on vacation? Who are you taking to prom?
Those questions probably get spread out over the course of a calendar year. For the fall, the focus is set on what happens on whichever high school football field these boys are playing on.
(Photo courtesy of Drew Bobo)
The film experience isn’t unique to the Calhouns. After each game that Drew Bobo plays at Resurrection Christian, he and CSU coach Mike Bobo always rehash what happened and they’ll watch the game unfold together.
“We watch some of my games together as much as we can and then he tells me what I did well and what I need to work on,” Drew said. “And then we watch other games too and he tells me who to watch and what to do.”
When asked how much do they deal with dad and how much they deal with a college football coach, the answer is the same from all three. They always deal with dad. It just happens to be a dad who loves every bit of the game they’re playing.
And when it comes to these players going out for football, they’re never given any special treatment because of who they are and what their parents do for a living. Monarch’s Christian Tucker learned that right away.
The son of Mel Tucker came into a program that saw the sons of former CU coach Mike MacIntyre also suit up and play. From the second he stepped on the field this year, he never felt like anything was handed to him and he was instantly a part of the team.
“The boys here are really loving and caring and they brought me in early and he never made me feel left out or isolated cause I was Coach Tucker’s son,” Christian said. “They just treat me like anyone else.”
Being the son of a high-level coach can almost come with instant pressure to get involved in the game. But that may not always be the case. Like most kids, they feel like their parents are supportive of those decisions.
Even if the decision isn’t necessarily the one that the parent wanted them to make.
“He never wanted me to play football,” Christian said. “He thought it was too dangerous but I convinced him to let me. Once he did he was hands off and let me go at it.”
And his experience mirrors that of Calhoun and Bobo to this point. They may not get to see all of each other’s games, but they’ll talk about the outcomes and how they can improve as players.
But they all do it while speaking to their fathers instead of a college football.
All three father-son relationships when it comes to the game appear to be every bit as normal as any player on any roster in the state.
“I feel like I’m talking to my dad most for the time because he’s telling me more what to do,” Drew said. “We have our same relationship with talking to him about other type of stuff.”
Three fathers. Three sons. One game.
With Calhoun a senior in the Class 3A and Tucker and Bobo both sophomores at schools in different classes, it is unlikely they will cross paths during high school competition.
But for one kid in Fort Collins, one in the Boulder area and one in Colorado Springs, there is a unique circumstance that ties them together.
Others will undoubtedly see it before they do. They see themselves as just kids. Kids who get to sit down with dad each weekend and film of the game that has created a concrete bond between father and son.
