Below is a list of Week 10 games for teams which did not make the Class 5A football playoff bracket. These teams were paired up by the 5A seeding committee.
| Home | Away |
| Poudre (3-6) | Mullen (3-6) |
| Boulder (3-6) | Rock Canyon (3-6) |
| Chatfield (3-6) | Douglas County (3-6) |
| Hinkley (3-6) | Legend (2-7) |
| Arvada West (2-7) | Northglenn (2-7) |
| Palmer (2-7) | Smoky Hill (2-7) |
| Highlands Ranch (1-8) | Mountain Range (0-9) |
| Fruita Monument (0-9) | Warriors (Montbello) (1-8) |
| Gateway (0-9) | Thornton (0-9) |
Jennifer Romero led Columbine to the biggest upset in the softball regionals on Saturday.
The sophomore pitched in all three games her No. 31-seeded Rebels played in the Class 5A bracket, and didn’t allow a run — including a complete-game performance against No. 2 Legacy, the defending 5A champion, which clinched a berth in next weekend’s state tournament.
“She really stepped it up a notch,” Columbine coach Brooks Roybal told CHSAANow.com on Saturday evening. “She pitched really, really well.”
Columbine actually dropped its opening game of the 5A Region 8 bracket at Broomfield Industrial Park. That was also against Legacy, and the Rebels fell 6-0.
But Romero entered in the final two innings of the opening game, and didn’t allow Legacy another run.
Columbine dropped to the loser’s bracket for the second game, and face Cherokee Trail — a team the Rebels had beaten 12-11 in the second game of the season. Like the first meeting, offense ruled. Cherokee Trail led 7-6 midway through before Romero again entered again — and again shut the opposing offense down.
Columbine went on to rally and win that game, 11-7, thanks in part to a home run from Carly Perry.
Meanwhile, Douglas County had topped Cherokee Trail 6-0, and then beat Legacy 7-0 to win the region. It set Columbine up with a rematch, with a berth to state on the line.
This time, Romero started. She pitched a complete-game shutout, and buoyed by a grand slam from Perry, Columbine pulled the upset, 8-0.
“I think playing against Cherokee Trail, our bats came alive a little bit and they had a little more confidence going against Legacy that second round,” Roybal said. “Especially after we shut them down. Legacy might have been down a little bit, too, because they just got beat by Douglas County. You catch them at the right time sometimes.”
The end result was this: Columbine, a No. 31 seed, moved on to the state tournament, while Legacy did not.
“We told them afterwards it was probably the biggest win Columbine has had in the last eight years,” Roybal said. “We haven’t been a qualifier for seven or eight years.”
Columbine already had a number of big wins this season, including topping Brighton and Ralston Valley.
“They’ve got a few good wins under their belts this year which have been huge,” Roybal said. “You know, we’ve never beat Brighton, we’ve never beaten Ralston Valley. And I’m sure we’ve never beaten Legacy. We’ve always thought we could beat anybody, if we played well.”
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A complete schedule for the Class 5A regional softball playoffs. All games are Oct. 11, unless noted.
These tournaments are in a double-elimination format. The winners of games four and five in each region will qualify for the state tournament.
Printable bracket: PDF
Go to region: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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WESTMINSTER — Ayden Karraker rushed for two touchdowns and 93 yards, Dominick Castiglione had 159 yards and a score, and Horizon beat rival Mountain Range in football on Friday, 31-7.
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Dakota Ridge was upset by Ralston Valley last week, and is now No. 4.
Prairie View (No. 8) and Denver East (No. 9) joined the 5A ranking this week.
Frederick (4A) and Strasburg (3A) stayed atop their respective 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.
Complete rankings for each class are below.
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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.
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Dakota Ridge was upset by Ralston Valley last week, and is now No. 4.
Prairie View (No. 8) and Denver East (No. 9) joined the 5A ranking this week.
Frederick (4A) and Strasburg (3A) stayed atop their respective 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.
Complete rankings for each class are below.
[divider]
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 | Brighton (7) | 14-1-0 | 92 | 2 | 4-0-0 |
| 2 | Fossil Ridge (5) | 15-1-0 | 89 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Dakota Ridge | 13-3-0 | 73 | 1 | 1-1-0 |
| 4 | Castle View | 14-2-0 | 66 | 4 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Legacy | 13-4-0 | 61 | 7 | 3-0-0 |
| 6 | Legend | 14-3-0 | 54 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Mountain Range | 14-3-0 | 39 | 6 | 2-1-0 |
| 8 | Prairie View | 15-2-0 | 25 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 9 | Denver East | 14-3-0 | 18 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Grandview | 11-6-0 | 9 | 9 | 2-1-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Broomfield 6, Douglas County 5, Eaglecrest 5, Grand Junction Central 5, Ralston Valley 4, Pomona 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Chaparral (8), Grand Junction Central (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Frederick (8) | 18-0-0 | 80 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Wheat Ridge | 12-4-0 | 69 | 3 | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Discovery Canyon | 14-2-0 | 53 | 4 | 2-1-0 |
| 4 | Valor Christian | 14-1-0 | 49 | 5 | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | Vista Ridge | 15-3-0 | 42 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Pueblo West | 13-3-0 | 36 | 6 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Mountain View | 15-2-0 | 34 | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 8 | Berthoud | 11-6-0 | 23 | 8 | 1-1-0 |
| 9 | Niwot | 12-4-1 | 17 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Woodland Park | 15-2-0 | 14 | – | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Silver Creek 7, Erie 5, Evergreen 3, Pueblo East 3, D’Evelyn 2, Falcon 2, Ponderosa 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Windsor (9), Erie (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Strasburg (7) | 17-0-0 | 70 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Valley | 14-3-0 | 62 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Sterling | 13-4-0 | 57 | 3 | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | Lamar | 11-5-0 | 46 | 6 | 1-0-0 |
| 5 | Eaton | 12-4-0 | 45 | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| 6 | La Junta | 14-2-0 | 34 | 5 | 0-1-0 |
| 7 | Cedaredge | 11-5-0 | 22 | 10 | 3-1-0 |
| 8 | Skyline | 13-4-0 | 18 | – | 2-1-0 |
| 9 | Rocky Ford | 11-4-0 | 12 | 9 | 2-0-0 |
| 10 | Brush | 9-8-0 | 11 | 8 | 1-2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| The Academy 4, Burlington 3, Basalt 2, Gunnison 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Basalt (7). | |||||
WESTMINSTER — No. 7 Legacy beat No. 6 Mountain Range 10-0 in Class 5A softball on Saturday.
WESTMINSTER – Opposing teams have been hard-pressed in recent weeks to find ways to cool off the blazing bats of Legacy’s softball team.
During its current eight-game winning streak – including Saturday’s impressive 10-0 victory over No. 6 Mountain Range – the seventh-ranked Lightning has been lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of more than 12 runs per game.
Legacy sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first inning Saturday and pushed five runs across, the big blow coming on a 3-run home run from senior Celyn Whitt.
Lightning coach Dawn Gaffin isn’t taking any credit for those numbers though – she gives it all to assistants John Waller and Lauren Green.
“They have worked with these girls on hitting and team at-bats, and individual at-bats, and an approach at the plate, and hitting the ball where it’s pitched,” Gaffin said. “I’m giving them kudos and credit because it is totally and all about them.
“These girls responded to that today.”
The victory kept Legacy (13-4, 8-1) just behind No. 3 Fossil Ridge in the Front Range League standings with two league games remaining. If the teams finished tied, the Sabercats would own the tiebreaker by virtue of a 13-12 victory over Legacy on Sept. 9.
Mountain Range (14-3, 6-3) has hit the ball as well as any team in the state this fall, but the Mustangs couldn’t muster much offense against Lightning ace Haley Smith. Mountain Range was limited to only one hit and three base runners overall through five innings on the team’s Senior Day.
“They circled this game at the beginning of the year and they wanted it more than anything,” Mustangs coach Dane Craig said. “Hats off to Legacy, they came out and swung the bat really well in the beginning of the game, and Haley Smith pitched an excellent game.
“We just didn’t have an answer for them right now, but we’re 14-3 and we have a good head of steam going into regionals.”
Legacy opened the game up with a bang. With two runners on, Whitt unloaded a pitch from Hunter Huser over the left-field wall to put her team up 3-0. Jordan Sheard and Trisha Cook added run-scoring singles in the frame.
“What we try to do every inning is we come out and we score first,” Whitt said. “We win every inning. It’s a big thing for us to get some runs to back up our pitcher.”
Whitt doubled in a run in the second and scored on another double from Emily Taggart, and Alyssa Geist added a 2-run home run in the fourth inning.
Smith pitched five scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing only a fourth-inning single to Ally Richter.
“It’s definitely a team win,” Whitt said. “When we pull all of our parts together, nothing feels better.”
The defending Class 5A state champions host Fairview and Rocky Mountain to close out the regular season before regional tournaments get underway.
“That’s what we’re preparing for – we know we have two games, and we’re keeping the girls focused on those two games,” Gaffin said. “Then we start season No. 2 on Oct. 6.”
Mountain Range – which opened the season with nine consecutive victories, including a 13-6 triumph over current 5A No. 1 Dakota Ridge – closes at Horizon and Poudre. The team has enjoyed a remarkable run behind an offense that was hitting above .500 coming into Saturday, with junior Riley Craig and senior Kaylee Dethouars each in the top five in 5A in hits.
Dane Craig said he has no doubts his squad will put this loss behind them quickly.
“We’re not overlooking anybody. We know we have to go in strong to regionals,” he said. “I know they will. We’re going to rebound from this.”
BROOMFIELD — Mountain Range jumped out to a 7-2 lead after four innings, and then the No. 6 Mustangs held on for an 8-6 win over Broomfield in softball on Tuesday.
Riley Craig went 5-for-5 and Tirzah Sisneros was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
BROOMFIELD — Photos from the Mountain Range vs. Broomfield gymnastics dual meet on Tuesday.
Fossil Ridge moved up four spots in this week’s Class 5A softball poll from CHSAANow.com.
The Sabercats, who went 4-0 last week to improve to 12-1, are now No. 3.
Dakota Ridge remained on top of the 5A ranking again this week, though voting continues to be split. The Eagles got five of the 11 first-place votes, with No. 2 Brighton getting two and Fossil Ridge the other four.
The 5A poll got two new teams this week: No. 9 Grandview and No. 10 Grand Junction Central.
In 4A, Berthoud (No. 8) and Erie (No. 10) joined. That ranking continued to be led by Frederick.
Strasburg stayed atop the 3A poll, and rightfully so. The team beat then-No. 2 Sterling and then-No. 3 Valley as part of a 4-0 week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Complete rankings for each class are below.
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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 | Dakota Ridge (5) | 12-2-0 | 98 | 1 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 | Brighton (2) | 10-1-0 | 94 | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Fossil Ridge (4) | 12-1-0 | 93 | 7 | 4-0-0 |
| 4 | Castle View | 11-2-0 | 70 | 3 | 3-1-0 |
| 5 | Legend | 12-3-0 | 55 | 4 | 2-1-0 |
| 6 | Mountain Range | 12-2-0 | 53 | 6 | 3-1-0 |
| 7 | Legacy | 10-4-0 | 49 | 8 | 3-0-0 |
| 8 | Chaparral | 11-3-0 | 22 | 5 | 1-2-0 |
| 9 | Grandview | 9-5-0 | 16 | – | 3-0-0 |
| 10 | Grand Junction Central | 13-3-0 | 12 | – | 5-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Broomfield 11, Prairie View 10, Douglas County 9, Denver East 8, Eaglecrest 3, Rampart 2. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Eaglecrest (9), Douglas County (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Frederick (9) | 15-0-0 | 90 | 1 | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Mountain View | 13-0-0 | 80 | 2 | 4-0-0 |
| 3 | Wheat Ridge | 10-3-0 | 71 | 3 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Discovery Canyon | 12-1-0 | 53 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 5 | Valor Christian | 11-1-0 | 45 | 4 | 2-0-0 |
| 6 | Pueblo West | 11-3-0 | 33 | 7 | 1-1-0 |
| 7 | Vista Ridge | 13-3-0 | 29 | 8 | 3-0-0 |
| 8 | Berthoud | 10-5-0 | 19 | – | 2-0-0 |
| 9 | Windsor | 10-4-0 | 15 | 6 | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Erie | 8-7-0 | 14 | – | 3-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Niwot 12, Ponderosa 12, Woodland Park 7, D’Evelyn 5, Pueblo East 3, Evergreen 2, Falcon 2, Silver Creek 2, Mullen 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Ponderosa (9), Woodland Park (10). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Strasburg (7) | 14-0-0 | 70 | 1 | 4-0-0 |
| 2 | Valley | 11-3-0 | 59 | 3 | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Sterling | 10-4-0 | 52 | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| 4 | Eaton | 10-2-0 | 51 | 4 | 4-0-0 |
| 5 | La Junta | 14-1-0 | 36 | 9 | 3-0-0 |
| 6 | Lamar | 10-5-0 | 36 | 5 | 2-0-0 |
| 7 | Basalt | 10-4-0 | 32 | 8 | 4-0-0 |
| 8 | Brush | 8-6-0 | 20 | 6 | 1-2-0 |
| 9 | Rocky Ford | 9-4-0 | 12 | 10 | 2-1-0 |
| 10 | Cedaredge | 8-4-0 | 10 | 7 | 2-0-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Burlington 3, Skyline 2, Lyons 1, The Academy 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||