AURORA — The pairings for softball’s regional tournaments were released on Monday. Cherokee Trail (5A), Pueblo County (4A) and Strasburg (3A) earned top seeds.
The brackets for each classification are available here:
Teams qualified for the bracket either by securing an automatic berth out of their league, or via the final RPI standings of the regular season.
Cherokee Trail enters the 5A regionals at 21-2. The Cougars will host No. 32 Denver East in the first round; No. 16 Douglas County and No. 17 Smoky Hill are also in their region.
Other regional hosts include No. 2 Eaglecrest, No. 3 Fossil Ridge, No. 4 Loveland, No. 5 Legacy, No. 6 Brighton, No. 7 Columbine and No. 8 Rock Canyon.
Defending champion Legend is seeded No. 13, and will play No. 20 Prairie View in the first round of the Loveland regional.
Strasburg, the defending champion, is 3A’s top seed at 17-5. The squad will host No. 16 Sterling and No. 17 Riverdale Ridge. This is the first time a team from Riverdale Ridge, in its first year as a CHSAA member, has ever qualified for the postseason.
DENVER — Trailing by two scores, Smoky Hill football roared back with 24 unanswered points to seize control of its huge league matchup against Denver East on Friday evening.
The Buffaloes would use that momentum swing and turn it into a 30-20 victory, improving to 7-0 in the process. More important: The Buffaloes are now 6-0 in the 10-team Metro 10 League, the lone remaining unbeaten. They control their own postseason destiny from this point.
“That’s one of the great wins I would tell you I’ve ever had in terms of grit,” said veteran coach Tom Thenell, in his first year as Smoky Hill’s coach, but third decade as the head of a program. “Grit and determination. They just turned the tide. It’s a great bunch of kids.”
Denver East raced out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter on two passing touchdowns from sophomore Myles Patterson. The lead held up through halftime.
During the break, Smoky Hill junior Vincent King implored the team to calm down and have fun, according to senior David Hoage. Thenell referenced former NBA player and coach Rudy Tomjanovich: “Don’t underestimate the heart of the champion.”
“That’s about all I could say to my guys: ‘You guys want to be champions, you’re going to have to come out in the second half with heart and win this second half,’” Thenell said.
The defense led the way, starting with a safety off a poor snap with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter.
“I just think it juiced our confidence, flipped a switch there,” Thenell said of the safety.
Smoky Hill turned the ensuing possession into points when 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back Obasanjo Sanni plunged in for a 1-yard score. It was 14-9 at that point — eight seconds remained in the third quarter — and Smoky Hill had all the momentum.
“I felt the momentum before the touchdown even happened,” Hoage said. “As a team, we go off people’s vibes. … The touchdown, it made us strive to be better.”
Denver East got the ball back, but Smoky Hill forced the Angels to punt. And then Smoky Hill’s Chase Lyons partially blocked that punt. It went about 20 yards in the air, where Hoage caught it, and returned it for a score.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“I couldn’t have done it without Chase getting that punt block in,” Hoage said. “I love playing with him. He sets the tone, and we make big plays happen. It wasn’t my touchdown, it was a defensive touchdown. It was all of ours. We share it as a team.”
Suddenly, a sluggish start for Smoky Hill had been erased. The Buffaloes led 17-14 after a two-point conversion.
They didn’t stop there.
Smoky junior Xavier Gulick intercepted a pass on the next drive and returned it for a score. It made the score 24-14 with 10:48 to play, off 24 unanswered points. Smoky Hill’s defense and special teams had scored 16 of those points.
“Our defense turned the game around,” Thenell said.
Denver East responded quickly with an 80-yard touchdown from Patterson to Elijah Ewing, but the extra point missed, to cut the lead to 24-20.
Smoky Hill’s offense chewed up some clock, leading to a 26-yard field goal from Elisha Brown that made it 27-20 with 4:26 to go.
The Buffs’ defense then came up with a big stop, forcing a turnover on downs, and Brown added another field goal with 51 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
“We have a kicker that right now, field goal-wise, he’s as good as anybody out there,” Thenell said. “He was money in the clutch.”
In terms of a league win, it was about as big as they come. Both teams entered 5-0 in league play, so Smoky Hill is now alone in first place in the Metro 10. They also own now a head-to-head tiebreak over Denver East, one of two one-loss teams in the league.
In short, they will control whether or not they make the postseason via the league’s automatic berth.
“It’s huge,” Thenell said. “We’re in the driver’s seat. When you can control your own destiny, that makes your life in athletics easier.”
Added Hoage: “League champions? That’s what we want to be.”
Hoehne took a big step toward securing a league championship in the Arkansas Valley with a win over Holly on Friday.
The third-ranked Farmers beat Holly 54-20.
Holly actually led the game 20-8 in the first quarter, meaning Hoehne ripped off 46 unanswered points.
“It was kind of scary at first,” coach Gabe Dasko told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We made some defensive adjustments, and our kids kind of wore them down physically. Our kids are pretty physical.
“I mean, we’d rather play football in a phone booth,” Dasko continued. “They kind of spread you out, and they put you in some tough situations.”
Hoehne is now 5-1, and 4-0 in the Arkansas Valley. Every other team in the league has at least one loss.
“It’s not over yet,” Dasko said. “We’ve still got Wiley and McClave. We’re not good enough right now to take anybody lightly. McClave looks like they’re playing pretty decent right now. And we’ve just got to keep sharpening the edge on the knife for our kids, and getting better every week.”
Salida is now 6-0 after beating Pagosa Springs 35-7.
“I think last year set the table for us,” first-year Spartans coach Matt Luttrell told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids have been well-coached up to this point. Eric Handke did a great job kind of passing the baton on to me. And I’ve been around these kids since they were freshmen, as well. It’s just fun to be a part of. Last year definitely set the tone for us.”
6-man No. 1 Stratton/Liberty continued to roll, this time beating No. 9 Granada 52-12. The Knighted Eagles are 6-0.
Also unbeaten in 6-man are No. 2 Kit Carson (6-0) and No. 10 Mountain Valley (5-0). Mountain Valley has only scheduled eight games.
There are six unbeaten teams in 2A: No. 6 Basalt, No. 1 La Junta, No. 5 Resurrection Christian, No. 7 Salida, No. 2 Platte Valley and No. 3 Rifle. All are 6-0.
In 3A, No. 1 Erie, No. 6 Thomas Jefferson and No. 2 Discovery Canyon are all 6-0. No. 5 Harrison (5-0) plays Falcon on Saturday.
Undefeated teams in 1A: No. 4 Peyton (6-0) and No. 1 Limon (5-0). The Badgers play Yuma on Saturday.
Only No. 1 Loveland and No. 3 Montrose remain unbeaten in 4A. Both are 6-0.
Four teams are 7-0 in 5A: Smoky Hill, No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 3 Columbine and No. 4 Eaglecrest. 6-0 Valor Christian plays Rock Canyon on Saturday.
There are four unbeaten teams in 8-man, and only No. 2 West Grand is 6-0 so far. No. 1 Sedgwick County, No. 5 Mancos and No. 6 Sanford all play Saturday. Sedgwick County, a three-time defending champion, has the longest winning streak in the state at 28 games.
Hinkley’s football team is off to its best start in more than a decade following a 14-10 homecoming win over Kennedy on Friday night.
The Thunderbirds are now 3-0 this season — something the program hasn’t done since at least 2004.
On Friday, Hinkley trailed Kennedy 3-0 early, but responded with a quick touchdown, and added a safety to go up 8-3 at halftime.
Kennedy did grab a 10-8 lead after the third quarter, but Hinkley responded with a fourth-quarter touchdown to continue its perfect start to the 2018 campaign.
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Colorado PrepsCast audio recap
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1A: (2) Limon 25, (9) Meeker 16
Limon raced out to a 18-0 lead after three quarters, then held on for a 25-16 win over Meeker.
“That’s a really good football team, and they’re extremely well-coached,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “One thing about a Meeker team is they’re never going to give up.”
But, ultimately, “I was pleased that our kids just kind of stayed with what we do,” O’Dwyer said.
The Badgers are now 3-0 this season.
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5A/4A: (5A 2) Valor Christian 28, (4A 1) Pine Creek 7
(Paige Stingley/Valor Christian HS)
In a heavyweight matchup of big-school powers, Valor Christian quarterback passed for a touchdown and rushed for two others to lead his Eagles to another important win.
The game was tied at 7 after the first quarter before McCaffrey connected with Gavin Sawchuk on a 29-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the frame. McCaffrey added his second rushing score of the game 10 minutes later to put Valor up 21-7 at halftime.
Marcus Staples capped the scoring for Valor Christian with a three-yard rushing touchdown later in the fourth quarter.
Max Lofy scored Pine Creek’s lone touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Radio: Highland, Mesa Ridge among winners on Friday
Clips courtesy of KFKA 1310, Orange and Blue 760 and Xtra Sports 1300.
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Notables
In a cross-classification matchup of ranked teams, 2A No. 9 Salida took care of 1A No. 10 Buena Vista 43-0. Vince Deleo had four touchdowns for Salida.
A week after breaking a long losing streak, Niwot football has a second-straight win. The Cougars beat Littleton in the final seconds.
3A No. 7 Thomas Jefferson is 3-0 for the third year in a row following a 22-14 win over No. 9 Fort Morgan.
Another top-10 game in 3A: No. 4 Discovery Canyon beat No. 6 Holy Family in a shootout, 52-34. “We were fortunate to get out of that game with the score that we did, for sure,” coach Shawn Mitchell told the Scoreboard Show. Here’s a game recap from BoCoPreps.com.
Castle View beat rival Douglas County 28-0 and is now 3-1 this season. Its the best start for the Sabercats since the 2011 season, when they began 6-0 and finished 11-2.
Kit Carson controlled the game from start to finish in moving to 2-0 this season.
“We ran the ball really well,” coach Curt Connelley told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our special teams really got us on the board quickly.”
Joe Bryan returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and his brother, Chris Bryan, returned a punt for a score.
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8-man: Fowler 28, (4) Akron 20
Fowler knocked off the previously-unbeaten Rams with a late score. The Grizzlies recovered a kickoff after a fortunate bounce to set up the touchdown.
“It was a lot of smashmouth football. Akron had a couple of big plays on us. They did a great job defensively,” coach Mark Van Sickle told the Scoreboard Show. “We were three- to four-yards and a cloud of dust. It was great to get back to what I think Fowler football is.”
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Notables
Ponderosa got a huge win by upsetting No. 3 Windsor in 4A, 17-13. Nick Hoff and Ethan Waite each rushed for a touchdown.
Hinkley is off to its first 2-0 start since 2014 following a 7-0 win over Gateway. The Thunderbirds have opened the season with consecutive shutouts.
Pagosa Springs knocked off 1A No. 3 Centauri 31-12.
Smoky Hill is now 3-0 for the first time since 2007. The Buffs beat Northglenn 21-6.
Quite the stat line for Bryson Long of No. 6 Peetz in 6-man: He rushed for 270 yards and had five touchdowns in a 67-22 win over No. 9 Fleming.
It’s always a big rivalry game, and even though they’re now in different classes, this matchup was no different as 1A No. 1 Strasburg beat 2A No. 8 Bennett 32-8.
In a game that featured six lead changes, 4A No. 4 Chatfield held off Brighton 39-30.
In 8-man, No. 4 Prairie beat No. 10 Briggsdale 56-40. “We had a little bit more offensively efficiency. Our offense clicked a lot more tonight,” coach Justin Kerns told the Scoreboard Show of the difference from his team’s first game to its second. Photos from the game are here.
5A Castle View won a wild back-and-forth game on the final play of the game against Wasatch (Utah), 36-35. The Sabercats are now 2-1 under Todd Casebier in his first year — doubling their win total from last season.
Evergreen blocked a last-second field goal to upset Mead.
Denver North QB Erik Flores threw for 370 yards and five touchdowns in his team’s 56-40 win over Englewood. Four of those TDs went to Keon Brickens.
In 5A, Highlands Ranch beat Regis Jesuit in overtime, 20-17.
Eagle Valley snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 57-12 victory against Alameda.
2A No. 7 Basalt cruised to a 47-6 win over Battle Mountain. “The offensive line really played well tonight,” coach Carl Frerichs told the Scoreboard Show.
8-man No. 1 Sedgwick County has now won 25 games in a row after beating Gilpin County 60-0.
The ear-to-ear smile that stretched across John Thompson’s face in March when he unveiled Tom Thenell as Smoky Hill’s surprise new head football coach has grown even wider.
Eaglecrest started its season off with a big win over a top-10 foe, beating Highlands Ranch 49-35 in a Class 5A clash.
The Raptors, who led 28-14 at halftime, opened the third quarter with a 17-play, seven-minute scoring drive. That put them up 35-14.
“We executed really well on that drive,” first-year Eaglecrest coach Dustin Delaney told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “That really just demoralizes people when you do that. That’s the kind of football we want to play.”
Eaglecrest would stretch its lead to 49-21 midway through the fourth quarter before Highlands Ranch scored two late touchdowns to cut it to a 14-point game again.
“We didn’t keep our intensity for the whole time, and kind of let the game get closer than it should’ve been, quite honestly,” Delaney said. “That’s youth. There’s a lot of new starters from the team they had last year, so we’ve got to get them broken in. This was a good game to do it, and get ready for our real tough games down the road.”
Highlands Ranch actually drew first blood with a touchdown early in the first quarter. Eaglecrest responded with a touchdown of its own on the next drive, and then senior Elijah Anderson-Taylor forced a fumble on a sack that set up another touchdown.
The Raptors led the rest of the way.
Eaglecrest never punted, but did turn the ball over six times.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on, and hopefully we can get them fixed for next week,” Delaney said.
Peetz actually led 28-25 at halftime, but Otis outscored Peetz 27-8 in the third quarter to seize control of the game.
“We pretty much shot ourselves in the foot that whole first half,” Otis coach Paul Griese told the Scoreboard Show. “You know, missed assignments; we’ve got to work on some tackling. But you know what? We were playing the returning state champs, and we were tight. We were extremely tight.”
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3A: (3) Pueblo East 47, (6) Roosevelt 8
Pueblo East yet again looks ready to contend for a state championship.
The Eagles rolled through the top-10 matchup, scoring the game’s first 40 points.
Quarterback Luc Andrada was 12-of-14 with 263 yards and five touchdowns passing, and also rushed for a score, according to Jeff Bersch of the Pueblo Chieftain. Pueblo East won three-straight state championships prior to last season.
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4A: (6) Fruita Monument 10, (9) Pueblo West 6
In a tight defensive battle, Fruita Monument held Pueblo West off the scoreboard following a touchdown on the Cyclones’ initial drive.
The Wildcats went ahead for good on Jacob Burns’ 1-yard rushing touchdown with four minutes to play in the second quarter, per Anthony Sandstrom of the Pueblo West View.
“Our defense flew around, was really aggressive at them, and kind of cut them off,” first-year Fruita Monument coach Cameron Russ told the Scoreboard Show. “They did the same thing to us, so it turned into a ground game — ground-and-pound.”
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3A: Holy Family 19, (4) Pueblo South 7
Holy Family knocked off the defending 4A champions, who have moved down to 3A for this cycle.
Kyle Helbig had two interceptions on defense, including a big one late in the third quarter, according to Jon Yunt of Holy Family. He also had a receiving touchdown.
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Notables
Broomfield, No. 3 in 5A, beat rival Legacy (a 5A team) 55-14. It’s Broomfield’s first Mayor’s Cup victory since 2011. The game is annually the season-opener for both teams.
2A No. 7 Resurrection Christian beat Sterling 24-3. “The defense was just outstanding,” first-year Cougars coach Jeff Van Winkle told the Scoreboard Show. “The defense really stepped up.”
Bayfield, the reigning 2A champion who is ranked No. 1 in the preseason, crossed the border to beat Farmington (N.M.) 54-13. It was their first meeting since 1947.
Durango’s Dawson Marcum had a 99-yard touchdown run in his eighth-ranked team’s 34-6 win over Pagosa Springs.
In the first game under new coach Rod Sherman, Arapahoe rolled over Adams City 52-6.
Battle Mountain used a goal-line stand to win against Middle Park, 14-7.
Aspen upset 1A No. 5 Meeker 38-26. The Skiers were 8-2 a year ago.
Valor Christian beat Faith Lutheran (Nev.) 35-0, giving new coach Ed McCaffrey his first win as a head coach. Luke McCaffrey accounted for three total touchdowns.
