A 47-7 loss in the Class 2A state semifinals is not the way the La Junta Tigers envisioned ending their season.
Especially considering that in the 11 games prior to their loss at the hands of eventual state champion, Bayfield, the Tigers surrendered less than six points per game.
But with 11 starters returning on the defensive side of the ball, La Junta is looking to put its stamp on the 2016 season and reach heights that will they hope will include a state title trophy at the end of the year.
“We have to play great defense,” coach Clint Buderus said. “That’s a big emphasis for us and if we can stay in a game and keep it close, that’s all we can ask for.”
It’s not just the defense that will provide the experience that the Tigers will need to overcome last year’s loss. For the last two seasons, La Junta has steadily become a better team and the senior class as a whole has had its eyes on this season as one that can be truly special.
“The first time we went (to the playoffs) three years ago, these kids were all sophomores and they were all playing,” Buderus said. “This class has been together for a long time. The majority of them got a taste of it and they’re excited to get going again.”
But excited doesn’t quite cover the range of feelings going through this senior class. The players were dominant in the regular season and for their first two playoff games.
With Bayfield proving to be just as good as advertised, the Tigers know that they have something to prove as the regular season prepares to kick-off.
“Our mentality right now is to ficus on one game at a time,” running back/linebacker Dax Bender said. “We know our expectations and we just need to be solid throughout the year.”
Bender was one of the key two-way players for the Tigers a year ago, running for over 500 yards while registering six turnovers on the defensive end.
He’ll be just one La Junta player amongst a strong senior class that Buderus will lean on for the Tigers.
“I really think we have a 12 leaders,” Buderus said. “I really do. Our kids are so close. They do everything together, they spend all their time together. It’s good to have a leader (like Bender) to put everybody on his back and take you.”
And that’s exactly what he plans on doing. The Tigers have been without a state football championship since 1958 and there is no doubt in their mind that they have the talent on the field this season to end that streak.
“We’ve been working really hard since our freshman year and we have a lot of varsity experience,” Bender said. “That’s the plan (to bring home a title) but we have to play really hard every game. We can’t let anyone undercut us.”
And if anything, that disappointing loss to Bayfield will only serve as firewood for La Junta. Buderus knows that that the season ending the way it did will only provide fruitful longterm results.
“The kids were upset,” Buderus said. “But I think it was good for us to get there. Obviously we wanted to get the win, but I don’t think the outcome should’ve been what it was. I think we were a little in the spotlight and we’d never been there. I think you need to knock on the door before you can kick it in.”
Valor Christian is No. 1 in 5A’s preseason poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
As is tradition, the defending state football champions have a way of finding themselves atop the initial set of CHSAANow.com football rankings.
Of the seven teams that came away with titles in their respective classes, six will come into the 2016 season with a No. 1 ranking.
With 12 first place votes in Class 5A, Valor Christian comes in as the top dog in the states highest classification. They return MaxPrep All-American quarterback Dylan McCaffrey and emerging running back Josiah Davis on the offensive side of the ball.
Defensively, Noah Elliss leads a front seven that could rank as one of the top in the state. With balance on both sides of the ball, the Eagles will look for their seventh title in eight seasons.
State runner-up Pomona takes the No. 2 spot in the polls and are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Valor in the 5A title game.
Mullen slides in at No. 3, while Cherry Creek and Grandview round out the top five teams.
Windsor is No. 1 in 4A. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
In 4A, defending champion Windsor is riding high after playing its way to the fourth football title in team history. The Wizards sit atop the rankings with Pine Creek nipping closely at their heels.
The Eagles had a string of back-to-back title reigns ended last season and are looking rebound from an unexpected exit in the 4A semifinals.
With two consecutive titles in hand, Pueblo East starts the season as the top team in the 3A polls, taking seven first place votes.
The Eagles went through Fort Morgan in the 3A semifinals last year and topped Roosevelt in the title game. Those two teams follow Pueblo East in the rankings with the Roughriders sitting at No. 2 and the Mustangs coming in at No. 3.
As a newcomer to 3A, Longmont comes in at No. 4 despite receiving six first place votes.
The 2A poll starts with the most distribution among voters in the class. Bayfield comes in at No. 1 with three first place votes. Delta, a team dropping down to 2A with the new football classification cutoff numbers, received the most first place votes with five, but the Panthers come in at No. 4 to start the year.
The Classical Academy — another newcomer to 2A for this cycle — lands at No. 5.
Buena Vista is No. 1 in 1A. (Bill Cronin)
Just as they ended last season duking it out with each other, Buena Vista and Paonia battled for the top spot in the 1A polls with the Demons coming away with the top spot.
They received 12 votes for the No. 1 spot while the Panthers snagged four.
Burlington (No. 3) and Crowley County (No. 4) also received high rankings after making playoff runs last year.
Other quarterfinal teams that made the top 10 this season are Limon (No. 5) and Meeker (No. 10).
Like in the 1A polls, the 8-man state champ and runner-up come in as the top two teams this preseason. Sedgwick County and Akron take the No. 1 and No. 2 spots respectively with Sargent coming in at No. 3 and Norwood coming in at No. 4.
Overall, seven of the eight quarterfinal teams in the 8-man playoffs come into the season ranked in the top 10.
Fleming comes in as the only No. 1 team who does not have championship hardware from a year ago. The Wildcats lost in last year’s 6-man semifinals to eventual champion Eads, but come in this year as the preseason favorite to take the state title.
After coming away with the state title, Eads comes in at No. 2 despite receiving the majority of the first place votes.
State runner-up Arickaree/Woodlin comes in at No. 4.
Kit Carson (No. 3) and Pawnee (No. 5) round out the top five teams in the 6-man poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Chatfield 25, Pueblo South 25, Fruita Monument 20, Monarch 17, Fort Collins 10, Montrose 10, Grand Junction 5, Greeley West 5, Pueblo Centennial 4, Pueblo West 4, Rampart 4.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Pueblo East (7)
0-0
126
2
Roosevelt
0-0
100
3
Fort Morgan (1)
0-0
89
4
Longmont (6)
0-0
75
5
Discovery Canyon
0-0
71
6
Palisade
0-0
65
7
Rifle
0-0
40
8
Evergreen
0-0
37
9
Holy Family
0-0
30
10
Thompson Valley
0-0
26
Others receiving votes:
Mead 23, Durango 16, Lutheran 10, Pueblo County 9, Eagle Valley 8, Lewis-Palmer 8, Silver Creek 8, Vista Peak 8, Palmer Ridge 7, Mitchell 6, Alameda 5, Conifer 1, Pueblo Central 1, Woodland Park 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Bayfield (3)
0-0
104
2
Kent Denver (1)
0-0
97
3
Platte Valley (2)
0-0
90
4
Delta (5)
0-0
78
5
The Classical Academy
0-0
68
6
D’Evelyn (3)
0-0
67
7
La Junta (1)
0-0
62
8
Resurrection Christian
0-0
58
9
Sterling
0-0
47
10
Brush
0-0
38
Others receiving votes:
Eaton 33, Faith Christian 20, Bishop Machbeuf 9, Manitou Springs 8, Moffat County 8, Elizabeth 7, Cortez 6, Fort Lupton 5, Steamboat Springs 5, Arvada 4, The Academy 4, Gunnison 3, Basalt 2, Weld Central 2.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Buena Vista (12)
0-0
149
2
Paonia (4)
0-0
146
3
Burlington
0-0
83
4
Crowley County
0-0
76
5
Limon
0-0
71
6
Strasburg
0-0
52
7
Bennett
0-0
50
8
Platte Canyon
0-0
41
9
Monte Vista
0-0
35
10
Meeker
0-0
34
Others receiving votes:
Rye 33, Cedaredge 24, Centauri 24, Dolores 16, Ellicott 15, Wiggins 14, Center 8, Dolores Huerta 8, Holyoke 8, Vail Christian 8, Colorado Springs Christian 6, Olathe 6, Rocky Ford 6, Grand Valley 5, Byers 4, Highland 4, Peyton 3, Trinidad 3, Hotchkiss 2, Front Range Christian 1.
8-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Sedgwick County (8)
0-0
96
2
Akron
0-0
87
3
Sargent
0-0
80
4
Norwood (2)
0-0
73
5
Dayspring Christian
0-0
61
6
Hoehne (1)
0-0
60
7
Merino
0-0
31
8
Granada
0-0
26
9
Caliche (1)
0-0
23
10
Dove Creek
0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
West Grand 15, Sangre de Cristo 14, Holly 12, Springfield 12, Sanford 10, Las Animas 9, Mancos 9, Miami-Yoder 6, Haxtun 5, Plateau Valley 3, Del Norte 2, Hayden 2, Soroco 2, Gilpin County 1, McClave 1.
Rock Canyon leads the 5A volleyball preseason poll. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
After a wild finish at the 2015 state volleyball tournament, it looks like the fun is going to continue in 2016.
Three defending champions sit at No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com volleyball rankings while two other squads are coming into the year with heavy expectations being placed on their shoulders.
After cruising through pool play only to fall in the semifinals, Rock Canyon comes in at No. 1 in the Class 5A volleyball rankings to start the year.
The Jaguars lost two seniors from last year’s team, but outside hitter Keeley Davis and libero Kendall Hanak both return.
Defending state champion, Cherokee Trail comes in at No. 5 to start the year with Fairview, Chatfield and Denver East filling the spots in between.
After being the first team in Colorado to take down two-time defending champion, Lewis-Palmer, Cheyenne Mountain claims the top spot in the 4A rankings. The Indians received 12 of 13 first place votes as the Rangers took the other one. That helped them take the No. 2 spot behind their league rivals.
Evergreen and Ponderosa take the next two spots in the poll after each team advanced to last year’s semifinals.
At No. 10, Pueblo West comes in as the only ranked 4A team that did not make last year’s state tournament.
Eaton leads the 3A poll. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
In 3A, someone is going to have to knock off Eaton before anyone will be convinced the Reds should not be the No. 1 team in the state.
Eaton has rattled off three straight state titles and have not lost a match since Sept. 14, 2014. The No. 1 ranking is a clear message to the 3A field: to be the champ, you have to beat the champ.
The 3A rankings are also filled with a lot of familiar names over the last few seasons. Valley (No. 2), University (No. 3), Colorado Springs Christian (No. 4), Platte Valley (No. 6) and Manitou Springs (No. 8) all carried over success from last season into this year’s rankings.
After beating Resurrection Christian (a 3A team from here on out) in last year’s state title match, Yuma comes in as the top team in the 2A rankings.
The Indians have played for the 2A title for the last two seasons and by taking six of 11 first place votes, they come in as a favorite to advance to the title match for the third-straight year.
With Resurrection Christian now out of 2A, Paonia (No. 2) and Lyons (No. 3) now become the most likely to contend with Yuma for the 2A title.
At No. 10, Byers is the only ranked team in 2A that did not make last year’s state tournament.
After making the semifinals but failing to advance to the title match, Fleming comes in as the No. 1 team in 1A.
Defending champion Otis will come in slightly under the radar to start this year, sitting at No. 7, with state runner-up Idalia sitting right behind the Bulldogs at No. 8.
Briggsdale (No. 5) and Caliche (No. 9) are the two teams ranked in the preseason that did not make last year’s state tournament.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
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.
Mead 18, Valor Christian 11, Palmer Ridge 7, Air Academy 6, Battle Mountain 6, Silver Creek 6, Erie 4, Steamboat Springs 3, The Classical Academy 3, Mullen 2, Niwot 2.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Eaton (11)
0-0
110
2
Valley
0-0
87
3
University
0-0
66
4
Colorado Springs Christian
0-0
64
5
Lutheran
0-0
49
6
Platte Valley
0-0
43
7
Coal Ridge
0-0
34
8
Manitou Springs
0-0
30
9
Resurrection Christian
0-0
25
10
St. Mary’s
0-0
21
Others receiving votes:
Alamosa 14, Delta 14, Pagosa Springs 12, Faith Christian 7, Middle Park 7, Sterling 6, Grand Valley 4, Bishop Machebeuf 3, La Junta 2, Salida 2, Skyview Academy 2, Bennett 1, Centauri 1, Jefferson Academy 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Yuma (6)
0-0
100
2
Paonia (4)
0-0
95
3
Lyons (1)
0-0
84
4
Limon
0-0
51
5
Union Colony
0-0
48
6
Fowler
0-0
38
7
Colorado Springs School
0-0
35
8
Dayspring Christian
0-0
34
9
Ridgway
0-0
32
10
Byers
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Sargent 14, West Grand 14, Highland 8, Simla 8, Akron 5, Hoehne 5, Merino 4, Vail Christian 3, Clear Creek 2, Soroco 2, Custer County 1, Front Range Christian 1, Haxtun 1, Meeker 1, Wiggins 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Fleming (7)
0-0
79
2
Prairie (1)
0-0
60
3
Kit Carson
0-0
57
4
La Veta
0-0
48
5
Briggsdale
0-0
30
6
Springfield
0-0
28
7
Otis
0-0
25
8
Idalia
0-0
18
9
Caliche
0-0
17
10
Flagler
0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
McClave 14, Heritage Christian 7, Sangre De Cristo 7, Cheyenne Wells 6, Genoa Hugo/Karval 6, Nucla 6, Eads 5, Holly 5, Weldon Valley 4, Jim Elliott 2.
The 2015 football players of the year. From left: Dylan Dixon of Eads; Keegan Wentz of Buena Vista; JoJo Domann of Pine Creek; Dylan McCaffrey of Valor Christian; Daniel Martin of Pueblo East; Kelton McCoy of Bayfield; Trey Walter of Sedgwick County. (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActoinShots.com; Bill Cronin; Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Jeff Tucker; and Sedgwick County HS)
The 2015 all-state football teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and then a vote of coaches.
The 2015 volleyball players of the year. From left: Antonya Schaffert, Otis; Bethany Cullity, Cheyenne Mountain; Shannon Webb, Cherokee Trail; Tara Traphagan, Yuma; Caiden Rexius, Eaton. (Photos: Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
The 2015 all-state volleyball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and then a vote of coaches.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
No. 3 Valor Christian beat No. 2 Grandview in a big 5A game at Valor on Friday. The Eagles won the Centennial League. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 9 of the 2015 season.
Bayfield is the No. 1 team in 2A this week. (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
There’s a new No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com Class 2A football rankings. After a convincing 41-7 win over Alamosa, Bayfield comes in at the top spot of this week’s poll.
The rest of the 2A rankings are relatively unchanged as no teams dropped out this week. Despite a 41-13 win over Brush, Sterling was unable to gain any spots, but look very dangerous as the No. 6 team in 2A.
Columbine held on to the top spot in the 5A rankings with an impressive 31-7 win over Chatfield Friday. The big surprise in 5A comes with Grandview’s jump from No. 4 to No. 2, overtaking Valor Christian, which won a physical 10-0 game against Cherry Creek on Friday night.
The Wolves and Eagles will play this coming Friday with the Centennial League title up for grabs. That game is scheduled for a 8 p.m. kick and Altitude will carry the broadcast.
Fresh off a 41-3 win over Durango, Pine Creek comes in as the unanimous No. 1 team in 4A. The top four teams from last week were able to hold their positions.
Denver South and Wheat Ridge both made their way into this week’s top 10 with the Rebels coming in at No. 9 and the Farmers taking the No. 10 spot. Wheat Ridge topped Aurora Central 37-14 Friday.
There were very few changes to the 3A poll this week. Pueblo East remains in the top spot after a 36-21 win over The Classical Academy.
TCA fell one spot as a result of the loss and Mean moved up to No. 9.
Buena Vista holds on to the No. 1 in 1A this week and the rankings overall went unchanged from a week ago.
In 8-man, Sedgwick County remains at No. 1 after a 44-18 win over No. 5 Dayspring Christian Academy. Vail Christian jumped two spots to No. 7 and Hohne is the lone newcomer to this week’s poll.
Fleming is still the No. 1 team in 6-man. No newcomers were added to this week’s rankings, but Peetz did fall two spots to No. 7 despite a 55-13 win over Weldon Valley.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Cheyenne Mountain is the new No. 1 team in the 4A volleyball poll. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
For the first time in the history of the CHSAANow.com volleyball rankings, Lewis-Palmer does not sit atop the Class 4A rankings.
After beating the Rangers 3-1 last week, Cheyenne Mountain now sits in the No. 1 spot. It was Lewis-Palmer’s first in-state loss since Oct. 26, 2013.
Cheyenne Mountain will host a tournament this weekend, but there will be no rematch with Lewis-Palmer as the Rangers opted to participate in a tournament in Arizona earlier this season.
Valor Christian was the only new team in this week’s 4A rankings as they break back in at No. 10.
In 5A, Cherokee Trail hangs on to the top spot. Legend jumped form No. 9 to No. 6 and defending 5A champion Grandview breaks into the poll, coming in at No. 10.
Eaton remains a unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in 3A, but a big shakeup occurred in the top three. Alamosa jumped from No. 6 to No. 3, pushing Manitou Springs down one spot.
Resurrection Christian is still the No. 1 team in 2A. No new teams were added to this week’s poll, but Union Colony and Ridgeway each jumped two spots coming in at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively.
With a stunning 3-1 upset over Idalia, Otis took the No. 1 spot in 1A away from the Wolves as the two teams head into the playoffs.
Flagler jumped five spots this week to come in at No. 3 and Briggsdale and McClave both joined the 1A rankings this. The Falcons come in at No. 9 and the Cardinals land at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday. These will be the final rankings of the regular season.
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.
Cherry Creek 17, Brighton 16, Ralston Valley 12, Columbine 8, Lakewood 2, Arapahoe 1, Fairview 1, Legacy 1.
Dropped out
Brighton (5).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Cheyenne Mountain (11)
16-1
128
2
2-0
2
Lewis-Palmer (2)
19-3
118
1
1-1
3
Ponderosa
11-6
92
3
2-0
4
Montrose
17-2
84
4
3-0
5
Longmont
17-1
77
6
1-0
6
Holy Family
18-3
56
5
1-1
7
Windsor
14-4
55
7
1-1
8
Delta
19-3
25
8
2-0
9
Steamboat Springs
17-3
22
10
2-0
10
Valor Christian
10-6
12
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
The Classical Academy 10, Elizabeth 8, Evergreen 7, Air Academy 6, Thomas Jefferson 6, Discovery Canyon 3, Pueblo West 3, Berthoud 2, Mullen 1.
Dropped out
The Classical Academy (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Eaton (11)
20-0
110
1
2-0
2
University
13-3
85
2
1-1
3
Alamosa
18-2
72
6
1-0
4
Manitou Springs
16-3
71
3
4-0
5
Colorado Springs Christian
15-2
64
5
3-0
6
Platte Valley
16-5
61
4
1-1
7
Lutheran
13-4
47
8
2-0
8
Valley
15-6
39
7
2-0
9
SkyView Academy
15-4
29
10
3-0
10
Middle Park
18-5
9
–
4-0
Others receiving votes:
Pagosa Springs 8, Sterling 4, La Junta 2, Coal Ridge 1, Faith Christian 1, Peak to Peak 1, St. Mary’s 1.
Dropped out
Faith Christian (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Resurrection Christian (8)
18-1
98
1
3-0
2
Yuma (1)
18-1
89
2
3-0
3
Lyons (1)
17-2
70
4
3-0
4
Dayspring Christian
17-2
56
3
1-1
5
Union Colony
17-2
49
7
2-0
6
Paonia
16-3
44
6
3-0
7
Ridgway
18-1
28
9
3-0
8
Ignacio
14-4
23
8
2-0
9
Colorado Springs School
17-2
21
10
2-0
10
Vail Christian
16-3
20
5
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Limon 16, Rye 13, Sargent 8, Cedaredge 7, West Grand 3, Kiowa 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Otis (5)
18-1
84
2
2-0
2
Idalia (3)
18-1
83
1
1-1
3
Flagler
16-3
55
8
2-0
4
Weldon Valley
15-4
50
3
2-1
5
Fleming
15-4
49
4
1-0
6
Kit Carson
17-2
48
6
2-0
7
La Veta (1)
18-1
34
7
1-0
8
Sangre de Cristo
18-1
29
5
1-1
9
Briggsdale
13-6
17
–
2-1
10
McClave
16-3
14
–
0-1
Others receiving votes:
Community Christian 6, Genoa-Hugo/Karval 5, Hi-Plains 5, Cornernstone Christian 4, Norwood 4, Elbert 3, Springfield 3, Prairie 2, Heritage Christian 1.
No. 3 Valor Christian beat No. 2 Cherry Creek in a big 5A game on Friday. Complete recap. (Photos: Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com; JackEberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 8 in the 2015 season.
