Legend (5A), Golden (4A) and Limon (3A) have each joined this week’s softball rankings.
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.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (3)
16-1-1
84
1
3-0-0
2
Cherokee Trail (6)
16-1-0
81
2
2-0-0
3
Eaglecrest
14-3-0
67
3
1-0-0
4
Fossil Ridge
14-3-0
58
5
3-0-0
5
Legacy
13-4-0
53
4
2-1-0
6
Rock Canyon
13-4-0
31
7
1-1-0
7
Brighton
13-4-1
30
8
3-0-0
8
Douglas County
12-5-0
25
6
0-2-0
9
ThunderRidge
12-5-0
14
9
1-1-0
10
Legend
9-9-0
11
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Arvada West 9, Valor Christian 9, Hinkley 8, Ralston Valley 4, Castle View 3, Mountain Vista 3, Columbine 2, Regis Jesuit 2, Cherry Creek 1.
Dropped out
Valor Christian (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Silver Creek (8)
17-2-0
90
2
2-0-0
2
Holy Family (2)
16-2-0
89
1
3-1-0
3
Erie
12-5-0
76
4
2-0-0
4
Pueblo County
16-2-0
68
5
4-1-0
5
Mountain View
11-6-2
51
3
1-1-0
6
Pueblo South
13-4-0
39
8
3-0-0
7
Conifer
17-2-0
35
6
2-0-0
8
Wheat Ridge
12-5-0
34
7
2-1-0
9
Golden
11-6-0
21
–
3-0-0
10
Roosevelt
11-7-0
13
9
0-3-0
Others receiving votes:
Longmont 8, Berthoud 7, Thomas Jefferson 5, Mullen 2, Windsor 2.
Dropped out
Berthoud (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (7)
15-3-0
96
1
3-0-0
2
Strasburg (2)
12-4-0
81
3
3-0-0
3
Eaton
13-4-0
78
2
2-1-0
4
Delta
15-2-0
57
6
5-0-0
5
Faith Christian (1)
12-4-0
54
4
5-0-0
6
Lamar
13-6-0
47
5
2-0-0
7
The Academy
15-1-0
36
8
4-0-0
8
Rocky Ford
11-5-0
31
10
3-0-0
9
St. Mary’s
15-3-0
25
7
2-1-0
10
Limon
11-8-0
11
–
2-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Meeker 9, Basalt 6, La Junta 5, Sterling 5, Brush 3, Fort Lupton 3, Holyoke 3.
Week five is shaping to be another impactful week of Colorado high school football coverage. Along with games covered by CHSAANow.com and its media partners, several games can be heard on radio broadcasts throughout the state.
[divider]
Pueblo South at Palmer Ridge
Time: 7 p.m. kick
Station: XTRA Sports 1300
On the call: Ryan Kaufman (Play by play), Ryan Pelton (Color)
Kaufman on the matchup: Tonight is a matchup between two defending state champions that are in very different situations. Palmer Ridge has their three headed offensive monster of Ty Evans, Anthony Roberson, and Raef Ruel but has suffered a couple losses to teams ranked in the top 5 of their respective classifications.
In those losses, Evans has thrown a combined 8 interceptions, so if this team is going to defend its 3A title, they need to get a little more balance offensively to take the pressure off of Evans
Pueblo South meanwhile has had to replace nearly all of their key offensive contributors from their 4A State Championship team of 2017. In their 42-41 overtime loss to Discovery Canyon last week, Junior QB Logan Petit made great strides in his development, throwing for 240 yards and 3 TDs. This is a team that has gotten better each game and should look even better in a game that figures to be a shootout.
Game time: 7:30 p.m. kick (Volleyball match at 6 p.m.)
Station: KAT Country 98.3 FM
On the call: Marc Romero
Romero on the matchup: This is a pretty cool volleyball and football doubleheader, with all 4 teams ranked and all 4 teams undefeated entering the week. On the volleyball side Otis has 3 different hitters with 50 or more kills, while Stratton/Liberty hasn’t quite put up the same attacking numbers.
On paper the football game has all the signs of a classic six-man scorefest with both teams averaging more than 60 points per contest.
Listen on KAT Country 98.3 FM or katcountry983.com by clicking sports.
[divider]
8-man: Haxtun at Merino
Time: 7:30 p.m. kick
Station: 94.5 The Ranch
On the call: Ben Blecha
Blecha on the matchup: Both teams are coming off a loss. It’s Merino’s league opener while Haxtun lost to Dayspring. Really can’t count out the loser but it’s going to be hard to secure a playoff spot for either team, especially for Haxtun, in the Plains if this game isn’t won. I fully expect a hard hitting game between the two long time rivals.
Listen to the game on 94.5 The Ranch or on the Tune-In Radio App.
[divider]
4A: Grand Junction at (6) Fruita Monument
Time: 7 p.m. kick
Station: The Team 1340
On the call: Jim Davis (Play by play), Reo Van Gilder (Color)
Davis on the matchup: The 6th ranked Fruita Monument Wildcats renew their rivalry with cross-valley Grand Junction Friday night in the Black n’ Blue game at Stocker Stadium. The Wildcats knocked off previously third ranked Chatfield 38-27, with the Tigers beating Liberty 28-14.
Burggraaf on the matchup: The Spartans are coming off of their second shut out win of the season over their rivals in Buena Vista, and rode a strong performance from Vince DeLeo who rushed for nearly 200 yards and 4 scores in the game. This week though, the Spartans face their longest road trip of the season to this point as they look to go 5-0 in non-league action.
Defense has been the key for Salida so far on the year, and expect them to use that to get things going in the right direction again in Cedaredge.
On the call: Jimmy Doogan (Play by play), Len Gates (Color)
Caleb Burggraaf on the matchup: For Buena Vista, the loss last week isn’t one they are thinking about too much. The goal instead is to finish their non-league schedule above 500 after last year’s team failed to win a non-league game. To do that, they have to take on a Centauri team which is coming off of an appearance in the state championship game.
Buena Vista will look to again assert their offense in this one, using speed and timing as well as smart play from quarterback Parker Johnson to earn the win. Don’t sleep on the Demon’s defense either, as the defensive line for Buena Vista will get some pressure on the Falcons quarterback.
On the call: Clark Johnson (Play by play), Mike Danson (Color)
Preps director Tanner Schwindt on the matchup: The true question is if Roosevelt can get through an extremely difficult first 4 games with a win. This contest doesn’t get any easier as Holy Family is another quality opponent.
Listen to the game at KFKA 1310 or online at 1310kfka.com.
ThunderRidge (5A), Pueblo South (4A), Roosevelt (4A) and Rocky Ford (3A) each joined the softball rankings this week.
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.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (8)
13-1-1
120
1
2-1-0
2
Cherokee Trail (2)
14-1-0
105
2
2-0-0
3
Eaglecrest
13-3-0
97
3
3-0-0
4
Legacy (2)
11-3-0
87
5
3-0-0
5
Fossil Ridge (1)
11-3-0
86
4
1-1-0
6
Douglas County
12-3-0
63
6
2-0-0
7
Rock Canyon
12-3-0
45
8
4-1-0
8
Brighton
10-4-1
41
7
2-1-0
9
ThunderRidge
11-4-0
16
–
1-1-0
10
Valor Christian
7-7-0
10
10
1-3-0
Others receiving votes:
Hinkley 8, Smoky Hill 8, Cherry Creek 5, Legend 5, Castle View 4, Columbine 4, Ralston Valley 4, Arvada West 2, Mountain Vista 2, Regis Jesuit 2, Broomfield 1.
Dropped out
Columbine (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (8)
13-1-0
106
1
3-0-0
2
Silver Creek (3)
15-2-0
99
2
3-0-0
3
Mountain View
10-5-2
66
5
3-0-0
4
Erie
10-5-0
63
3
1-2-0
5
Pueblo County
12-1-0
58
4
2-1-0
6
Conifer
15-2-0
47
7
4-0-0
7
Wheat Ridge
10-4-0
39
6
1-1-0
8
Pueblo South
10-4-0
38
–
3-0-0
9
Roosevelt
11-4-0
32
–
3-0-0
10
Berthoud
9-6-0
14
8
1-2-0
Others receiving votes:
Longmont 8, Mullen 7, Northridge 7, Frederick 2, Pueblo Central 2, Thomas Jefferson 2.
Dropped out
Mullen (9), Longmont (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (7)
12-3-0
109
1
2-1-0
2
Eaton (3)
11-3-0
97
2
2-0-0
3
Strasburg
9-4-0
90
3
2-0-0
4
Faith Christian (1)
7-4-0
62
5
3-1-0
5
Lamar
11-6-0
56
4
2-1-0
6
Delta
10-2-0
54
7
4-0-0
7
St. Mary’s (1)
13-2-0
50
6
3-0-0
8
The Academy
11-1-0
39
9
4-0-0
9
Basalt
8-1-0
37
8
2-1-0
10
Rocky Ford
8-5-0
20
–
3-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Limon 12, Sterling 9, Meeker 8, Fort Lupton 6, La Junta 5, Brush 3, Holyoke 3.
Loveland (in 5A) and Holy Family (4A) have taken over atop their respective softball rankings this week.
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.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (5)
10-0-1
83
9
4-0-1
2
Eaglecrest (1)
9-2-0
81
1
4-1-0
3
Cherokee Trail (2)
9-0-0
75
5
2-0-0
4
Legacy
5-2-0
60
3
2-0-0
5
Fossil Ridge (1)
8-2-0
56
2
2-0-0
6
Douglas County
7-2-0
55
4
2-1-0
7
Rock Canyon (1)
6-2-0
39
8
1-2-0
8
Columbine (1)
6-1-0
34
–
2-0-0
9
Brighton
6-3-1
28
6
2-1-1
10
ThunderRidge
7-1-0
22
–
3-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Valor Christian 21, Ralston Valley 15, Castle View 11, Hinkley 7, Legend 5, Prairie View 4, Chatfield 3, Grandview 2, Broomfield 1, Grand Junction Central 1, Mountain Vista 1, Regis Jesuit 1.
Dropped out
Valor Christian (7), Legend (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (3)
5-0-0
100
3
1-0-0
2
Silver Creek (3)
10-2-0
96
2
4-1-0
3
Erie (5)
7-2-0
88
1
4-2-0
4
Mountain View
5-4-2
62
4
1-2-1
5
Wheat Ridge
7-2-0
39
6
3-1-0
6
Pueblo South
6-2-0
38
7
2-2-0
7
Pueblo County
4-0-0
29
8
0-0-0
8
Mullen
2-6-0
28
5
1-4-0
9
Pueblo East
7-0-0
19
–
2-0-0
10
Northridge
6-2-0
18
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 17, Conifer 13, Longmont 12, Berthoud 6, Pueblo Centennial 6, Rifle 5, Golden 4, Northfield 4, Pueblo Central 4, Frederick 3, Evergreen 2, Ponderosa 1.
Dropped out
Conifer (9), Frederick (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Strasburg (5)
4-2-0
87
1
2-0-0
2
University (2)
8-2-0
86
2
1-1-0
3
Lamar
6-3-0
65
4
3-0-0
4
Eaton (1)
6-3-0
59
3
2-0-0
5
Faith Christian (1)
4-2-0
51
5
2-0-0
6
Delta
4-2-0
43
–
3-1-0
7
St. Mary’s (1)
8-2-0
32
10
3-0-0
8
Rocky Ford
2-4-0
28
7
0-1-0
9
Brush
5-3-0
23
6
1-1-0
10
Basalt
3-0-0
20
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
The Academy 16, Meeker 15, La Junta 7, Limon 5, Peak to Peak 5, Sterling 4, Aspen 2, Burlington 2.
Almost 250 mile separate West Grand High School and Caliche. For the West Grand Mustangs, it was 250 miles well traveled.
The No. 2 team in the 8-man polls hit the road Friday and came away with a 38-20 win over No. 5 Caliche in a game that could prove to be West Grand’s best win of the year.
“We had great senior leadership and a great week of practice,” coach Chris Brown told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We played well and were without one of our better linebackers and receivers, but they rose to the occasion.”
Brown noted that the Mustangs (2-0 overall) had been bit by the injury bug, but had overcome some depleted players to come away with a win over a very tough Caliche team.
The offense was powered by quarterback Luis Dominguez. The senior did enough for his coach to sing his praises to anyone within earshot.
“He played fantastic,” Brown said. “They did everything they could to take him out of the game and it didn’t work.”
The Mustangs return home next week for a showdown against South Park. The Burros will come into the game at 1-1 after grabbing a 30-15 win over Del Norte.
Radio highlights from the game:
[divider]
1A: (4) Centauri 38, (6) Paonia 0
(Paul Angelico/CHSAANow.com)
No. 4 Centauri took to the road and pitched a shutout over Paonia.
Chris Quintana got the scoring effort started with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. But the strength behind the Falcons’ win was the swarming defense.
“They did a great job,” coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “A few weeks ago I said the defense was going to be our key this year.”
Centauri is in for a battle next week when it heads to Pagosa Springs.
[divider]
3A: (1) Erie 35, (10) Pueblo South 14
(Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos)
Noah Roper was briefly knocked out of the game from an injury, but responded by coming back and running for over 100 yards in the first half.
A stretch of losses dating back to Oct. 13, 2016 came to an end for the Palmer Terrors. And in turn, it was the first win in 12 tries for coach Tom Reber.
The Terrors were down 12-0 at the half and rallied in the final two quarters to come away with an emotional win at Gerry Barry Stadium.
[divider]
5A: (10) Mullen 35, Doherty 28 (3 OT)
It took three overtimes, but No. 10 Mullen defended its home field in a thrilling win over Doherty.
The Spartans had a chance to tie the game in the second overtime, but a fumble at the goal line ended any chance for Doherty to walk away with its first win of the year.
[divider]
6-man: (8) Arickaree/Woodlin 26, (7) Fleming 20
In a low-scoring matchup between two top-10 6-man teams, it was Arickaree/Woodlin who started the season off with a win.
The Broncos host Kit Carson next week.
[divider]
Notables
2A No. 2 La Junta battled from behind to beat Pagosa Springs 24-14.
5A No. 6 Grandview edged Highlands Ranch 28-21 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Clint Buderus got his first win as the coach at Pueblo West as the Cyclones beat Pueblo County in the Pigskin Classic 20-0.
Pine Creek endured eight lightning delays and came away with a 45-23 win over Rio Rancho (N.M.).
In 4A, No. 4 Windsor beat No. 8 Vista Ridge 21-0.
4A No. 10 Skyline handled 3A No. 5 Mead 41-21.
In 1A, No. 6 Resurrection Christian beat No. 5 Faith Christian 28-7.
Sedgwick County pushed its winning streak to a state-best 24-games by beating No. 4 Hoehne in 8-man.
Another top-10 matchup in 8-man: No. 8 Akron beat No. 3 Holly 8-6.
And another one in 8-man: No. 9 Sargent beat No. 6 Fowler 46-28.
This week’s radio lineup included coverage of Loveland’s win over Broomfield, Rifle getting a big win over Eagle Valley and Eaton’s 37-25 win over Sterling. Audio courtesy of The Team 1340 and KFKA 1310.
