Quarterback Cody Summers and Grandview are now the top-ranked team in Class 5A football. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Grandview, now 8-0, is the new No. 1 team in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings this week.
The Wolves took over the top spot previously occupied by Valor Christian, which lost an in-state game for the first time in 28 outings on Friday when then-No. 9 Cherry Creek upset the Eagles 33-17.
Led by senior Andrew Wingard, Ralston Valley is No. 2 in the 5A poll. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Ralston Valley also had a good claim to the top ranking. The Mustangs are 8-0, too, and won a monster game over then-No. 3 Pomona on Friday. They settled into the No. 2 spot this week, just 10 overall points behind Grandview.
Grandview received 10 first-place votes; Ralston Valley got five.
Meanwhile, Fairview moved up two places to No. 3 after escaping an upset bid from Fossil Ridge.
Pomona dropped one spot to fourth, Cherry Creek rocketed up from No. 9 to No. 5, and Valor fell all the way to sixth. Regis Jesuit is seventh, dropping one place despite a good win over then-No. 7 Mountain Vista.
Rocky Mountain remained at No. 8, Mountain Vista fell to No. 9 and Doherty rejoined the 5A poll at No. 10.
Speaking to the uncertainty in the 5A ranking at the moment, spots Nos. 4-7 are separated by a mere five points. Things could get much more clouded â Valor Christian and Grandview play in their regular season finale on Friday.
In the other six classificatoins, none of the top-ranked teams were displaced. It means Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man) stayed on top.
There were no newcomers in the 4A ranking this week, though 3A added Palisade (No. 10), and St. Mary’s (No. 9). Eaton (No. 10) joined the 2A poll. 1A added Crowley County (No. 10), and North Park joined 6-man’s ranking at No. 9.
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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Fountain-Fort Carson is ranked No. 10 in 5A this week. (Dennis Pleuss)
Buoyed by its four-overtime win against Doherty on Friday night, Fountain-Fort Carson cracked CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings on Monday.
The Trojans, now 6-1, entered the poll at No. 10. They have won their last five games.
Elsewhere in 5A, Valor Christian stayed atop the ranking after receiving ten of the 16 first-place votes. Grandview, which got four first-place votes after its big win against Cherry Creek, returned to the No. 2 spot this week.
Pomona is third, and Ralston Valley is fourth. Those two cross-town rivals play one another on Friday night.
Fairview rounds out 5A’s top five, Regis Jesuit is sixth, Mountain Vista moved up to No. 7 and Rock Mountain is No. 8. Cherry Creek fell three places to No. 9.
The other No. 1 teams also remained put, including Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man).
Newcomers (or returners to the rankings) this week include Dakota Ridge (No. 9 in 4A); Berthoud (No. 9, 3A); Fort Morgan (No. 10, 3A); Sterling (No. 9, 2A); and Cheyenne Wells (No. 10, 6-man).
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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Mountain Vista is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 5A poll. (Paul DiSalvo/MaxPreps)
Mountain Vista, off to its best start in seven seasons, has joined CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings this week.
The Golden Eagles are now 6-0 following a 34-7 win over Rock Canyon on Friday. The six wins are the most since Mountain Vista went 7-4 in 2009, and the unbeaten start is the best since the Golden Eagles began 7-0 in 2007. Mountain Vista also started 6-0 in 2006, when it went 10-2.
Mountain Vista is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 5A poll.
Valor Christian continued to lead the 5A ranking after beating Eaglecrest last week, as the Eagles got 12 of the 17 first-place votes and amassed 165 total points. Pomona remained in the No. 2 spot following its fifth-straight win, while Grandview jumped Ralston Valley for No. 3.
Broomfield is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 4A poll. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Cherry Creek reamined in the No. 6 spot, and Regis Jesuit stayed at No. 7. Doherty bumped up two places to No. 8, while Rocky Mountain is again No. 9 this week.
The six other No. 1 teams in the rankings also stayed put: Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man).
Broomfield joined the 4A poll at No. 10, while 3A added Glenwood Springs, also at No. 10.
New to the 2A ranking is Montezuma-Cortez (No. 10), and 6-man added Mountain Valley (No. 10).
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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Pueblo Centennial is now 4-1 this season. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
PUEBLO — It seems only fitting in a game full of tradition, the Pueblo Centennial High School football team made more history.
The Bulldogs beat their rival Pueblo Central 28-26 last Friday to win The Bell Game before a crowd of 13,000 at Dutch Clark Stadium.
This was the 114th meeting between Centennial and Central and the 64th in the Bell Series, which began in 1950. With the dramatic win over the Wildcats, Centennial won its fifth consecutive game in the Bell Series for the first time. Central leads the all-time series 55-50-9.
“This just feels great to make our mark in history, honestly,” Centennial senior star quarterback/running back Quincy Kindred said. “We’ve never won five Bell Games in a row and it just feels so great.”
The Bulldogs (4-1) have now won four games in a row and are ranked No. 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll, the second week in a row Centennial has held that spot. The Dogs’ only loss was in their season-opener to Pine Creek (49-12). Pine Creek is the atop the 4A poll.
Now, Pueblo Centennial is seeking its first playoff berth since 2009.
“We’re battle tested and I take my hat off to these guys,” Centennial coach Mike Palumbo said while pointing to his players. “This (Bell Game) win means a lot to them. We’ve never won five Bell Games in a row at our school. We tried not to focus on that fact, but it was there.”
Kindred was the catalyst for his team at The Bell Game — like he has been all season.
Pueblo Centennial’s Quincy Kindred. (Tracy Renck/CHSAANow.com)
The senior had 17 carries for 168 yards against the Wildcats, scoring three touchdowns on runs of 42, 76 and 7 yards. On the season, Kindred has a team-high 744 yards rushing and nine scores. He also has thrown two touchdown passes.
Kindred doesn’t work alone. Fellow senior running back Caleb Miranda, a 5-foot-9, 190-pounder, has 662 yards rushing and six touchdowns.
Miranda’s biggest run so far this season came when he dashed 50 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter against Central, which put Centennial up 28-20.
“Quincy and Caleb are special athletes,” Palumbo said. “In our offense, we preach patience, patience, patience. People have to be real aggressive to stop us and you can’t be aggressive and perfect every time. Fortunately, we have kids who can take advantage of that.”
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound Kindred concurred with his coach.
“This win just gives us momentum and just give us drive to keep going hard every week in practice,” Kindred said.
Palumbo’s well aware of the success of the Bulldogs’ program. He played for renowned Centennial coach Tom Brockman, graduating in 1986. Brockman led the Bulldogs to two state championships in 1987 and 1992. Palumbo has been Centennial’s coach since 2008.
In ’87, the Bulldogs defeated a powerful Longmont squad 34-14 in the Class 3A title game. Then in ’92, Centennial trounced Sierra 33-12 in the 5A championship. Centennial also lost to Longmont 26-0 in the 5A state championship.
“We’ve been building and building,” Palumbo said about his Centennial program. “We have a lot of kids back out now. Hopefully this win over Central will propel us to our goals, which is to get the postseason and win a playoff game and go from there.”
Up next for the Bulldogs is a clash with Coronado (5-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Garry Berry Stadium in Colorado Springs. This is the Southern League opener for Centennial, while the Cougars are 1-0 in league. Coronado won the 3A state championship a year ago before moving to 4A this fall.
Jake Sanchez, Centennial’s junior quarterback, clearly is upbeat about what the Bulldogs can accomplish.
“We have great coaches and we all believe in what we are doing,” said Sanchez, who has 239 yards rushing and one touchdown. “We have a lot of confidence right now. I’m just glad I have Quincy and Caleb and my offensive linemen on my team. They are all making my job a lot easier because we are able run the ball and make big plays.”
