The 2015 CHSAA Hall of Fame inductees. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — Eight new members joined CHSAA’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday night following an induction ceremony at the Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast.
Coaches Judy Beardsley (Merino/Sterling), Maurice “Stringy” Ervin (Littleton), Art Wollenweber (Sheridan); participants Natalie Hughes (Palisade), Amy Van Dyken-Rouen (Cherry Creek), Edward “Chuck” Williams (Denver East); sponsor Jess Gerardi (Durango/Englewood); and significant contributor Homer “Irv” Moss (Denver) were all honored on Wednesday.
Together, they comprise the 2015 class, which is the 27th in the history of the Hall of Fame.
Williams spoke for the group. In a speech, he said, “We all feel that it was essential to have the passion and the love for our respective endeavors.”
Judy Beardsley (Merino/Sterling) – One of the finest volleyball coaches in the state, Beardsley’s teams have won 11 state titles, including 10 at Merino and one at Sterling. Her teams compiled records of 502-88 (85%) through last year. She was named Class 1A Coach of the Year on 10 occasions and has earned numerous other coaching honors, including induction last spring into the CHSCA Hall of Fame. Her teams were runners up four times, finished third on three occasions and earned three trips to the final four. Beardsley was named coach of the year on 16 occasions, including 2000 when she was the National High School Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year.”
Jess Gerardi (Durango/Englewood) – The “godfather” of blending marching band and concert bands, Gerardi is recognized as the state’s most balanced instrumental music director. His bands have excelled at the highest level, at the state, regional and national levels. He served in nearly every role possible in the Colorado Music Educators Association and Colorado Bandmasters Association (CBA). He is an accomplished judge as well, judging strings and bands with aplomb. Gerardi is a member of the CBA’s Hall of Fame and the Colorado Music Educators Association’s Hall of Fame. He was named “Citizen of the Year” in Englewood and “Colroado’s Outstanding Music Educator” by the National Federation (NFHS) in 1994. In 2006, Gerardi received the covetous “Citation of Excellence” award from the National Band Association. Of note is that Gerardi served as director of entertainment for the Denver Broncos Football Club and was director of the Denver Broncos Band from 1967 to 1998.
Maurice “Stringy” Ervin (Littleton) – A coach for five decades, Erwin’s girls’ swimming teams won five state championships and his boys’ teams won another seven. He has coached 19 individual state champions, as well. He has also coached football and baseball. He has won too many honors to count and has been an integral part of the leadership team for the CHSCA. For a man who never learned to swim himself, Ervin can always be found at the pool coaching all levels of swimmer. He was a classroom teacher for LHS for over 30 years and is a meticulous record keeper. He was named the 1998 National Swimming Coach of the Year. He is the recipient of The Denver Post’s Dave Sanders Award (2001), as well as multiple other coaching and leadership awards. As a three-sport high school athlete at LHS, he led his teams to a state championships in football (quarterback) and basketball.
Natalie Hughes (Palisade) – One of the state’s most prolific runners, Hughes won 13 individual state titles in high school. She won three cross country titles (1997, 99, 00) and then won titles in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters in track and field. She went on to run at Florida State where she was a seven-time All-American and eight-time All-ACC runner during her time with the Seminoles. She still holds the mile record at FSU.
Homer “Irv” Moss (The Denver Post) – Moss has been writing prep sports stories since 1955 and was in integral part of the early coverage for high school sports in Colorado. He and Manual Boody (CHSAA HoF 1990) were the first two newspaper writers to give life in the major papers to prep sports. He printed the CHSAA championship programs until 1988. He was hired as a part-timer while still a student at Denver West. If you are anyone in high school sports, you can’t pass on into the next world without an obituary from Irv Moss. He was instrumental in developing the Metro vs. Suburbs Baseball All-Star game at Bears Stadium and remains one of the state’s most compelling voices in sports, serving as a resource for prep, collegiate and professional sports in Colorado.
Amy Van Dyken-Rouen (Cherry Creek) – Van Dyken is now one of the world’s most recognizable athletes after a stellar swimming career at Cherry Creek High School and Colorado State University. In high school, she set the state record in the 50 free and 100 butterfly. Her teams won state titles each year from 1987-1991. She was named the 1991 Female Swimmer of the Year. She competed in the Olympics winning six Gold Medals. After suffering a serious injury several years ago, she has become a strong spokesperson for the Paralympic athletes and those with spinal cord injuries.
Edward “Chuck” Williams (Denver East) – An all-state basketball and track athlete at Denver East High School, Williams is one of the state’s finest basketball players. He played on three state championship teams, winning in football (1962), basketball (1964) and track (1964). He also played on a football and basketball team that finished runners-up. He earned All-State honors in football and basketball as a senior. He is a member of the DPS’s All-Century Teams in both football and basketball.
Art Wollenweber (Sheridan) – One of the state’s iconic coaches and administrators, Wollenweber baseball teams won over 300 games, captured seven league titles and made the state tournament eight times. As an administrator for SHS, Wollenweber played a key role in the Metro League, serving as the league secretary/treasurer from 1973-1989. He spent many years on the CHSAA Board of Control (Legislative Council) and was a member of the CHSAA Executive Committee (Board of Directors).
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.
Video courtesy of Quentin Sickafoose/The Coloradoan
(3) Windsor 20, (11) Palmer Ridge 14 (OT)
For much of the afternoon, Palmer Ridge looked like it might pull off the upset. But Windsor quarterback Brad Peeples had a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
“After last year’s second-round loss, I told the boys, ‘The sun will come up tomorrow,’” Windsor coach Chris Jones told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show after the game. “And today’s speech was, ‘The sun came up. It’s tomorrow. It’s our moment.’ They just had faith that they were going to get it done no matter what.”
After Shields scored, “It was a great moment of euphoria for all of our fans, our players, our coaches,” Jones said.
Palmer Ridge led 14-7 at halftime, and it stayed that way until Peeples’ touchdown.
“We had a lot of ups and downs to overcome early in the game and in the third quarter,” Jones said. “It was a very gut-wrenching game there at the end there.”
The Wizards get a rematch with Longmont. The two teams played a tight defensive battle during the regular season, which ended in a Hail Mary score to give Longmont a win.
Longmont beat Denver South. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Longmont’s Conlan Berger rushed for two touchdowns and also had a receiving score, while Eli Sullivan returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and also added a four-yard rushing score.
In addition, Ethan Gabrielle had a rushing TD, and David Speidel threw a touchdown.
Pine Creek cruised to its 37th-straight win, this one coming after yet another fast start. It was 36-0 at halftime.
Brock Domann passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, while his brother JoJo had a rushing TD, and was on the receiving end of one of the passing score.
Joey Long scores two rushing touchdowns, and Kacin Nowlin had a receiving touchdown.
“We just didn’t give up the big plays,” Fort Morgan coach Harrison Chisum told the Scoreboard Show. “We were able to be aggressive yet disciplined on their counters. A lot of the end-arounds, we were able to set the edge.”
The Mustangs will play at defending champion Pueblo East in the semifinals.
Roosevelt advanced to the semifinals. More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
(2) Roosevelt 42, (7) Evergreen 19
Roosevelt built a big lead early in cruising to the semifinals. The Roughriders led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-6 at half. It was 42-6 after three.
Carlos Ortega had two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving score for Roosevelt. Cameron Hurtado added two passing touchdowns, and also rushed for one.
“Our guys showed up to play today, and I think the scoreboard shows it,” Roosevely coach Noland Eastin told the Scoreboard Show. “It doesn’t get any easier, but it’s a good way to end a good week of practice.”
Roosevelt will face Delta in the semifinals at home.
The game was a rematch of a regular season game, also won by Pueblo East.
Pueblo East will be home in the semifinals.
(3) Delta 27, (6) The Classical Academy 14
Delta trailed 14-13 at halftime, but rallied to secure a spot in the semifinals.
Kole Roberts gave his team the lead for good with a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and then the quarterback found Tristan Brown for an insurance score in the fourth quarter.
“We knew that it was going to be a battle. It was 13-7 at the half. So we knew they were a tough team, that we just had to put our hats on,” coach Gary Heide told the Scoreboard Show.
Of the second half, Heide said, “We came out on defense, played well … and then we drove the ball down and scored. … When we scored, I knew that we were here to play the second half.”
Kelton McCoy threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more in leading Bayfield to the win. Brody McGhehey was on the receiving end of two of those scores.
Wyatt Freier and Taed Heydinger each had a receiving touchdown, while Zane Phelps scored on the ground.
Bayfield was last in a championship game in 2011, when it lost to Florence.
(3) Platte Valley 29, (2) Kent Denver 23
Platte Valley, down 17-0 in the second quarter and 23-7 at halftime, had a furious rally to reach the title game.
The Eagles rallied late to earn a chance at defending their championship yet again.
Paonia, which is a two-time defending champion, got a touchdown from Jeremiah Hillman with 3:06 to play, then got a late interception to seal the win.
“It was third down, and we just ran a little off-tackle play, and Jeremiah Hillman just buried it in,” Paonia coach Brent McRae told the Scoreboard Show.
The win sets up a rematch with Buena Vista for the 1A title. The championship game will be in Buena Vista.
“We’re pretty familiar with each other in the postseason,” McRae said. “It’s going to be very interesting, a very competitive ballgame.”
(1) Buena Vista 42, (5) Crowley County 0
The top seed rolled into the championship game, which it will host next weekend.
“The score doesn’t do the game justice. It was a pretty hard-fought battle. It was 14-0 at half,” Buena Vista coach Matt Flavin told the Scoreboard Show. “But we got the win, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Keenan Barr had two rushing touchdowns and a defensive score, and Keegan Wentz also scored twice on the ground.
Of the rematch with Paonia, Flavin said, “Those guys, the last few years, have just been the dominant team. … I hope we can rise to that occasion.”
(1) Sedgwick County 50, (4) Sargent 8
The Cougars led 20-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime in rolling to the championship game.
“We got a couple of quick scores, and that always helps,” Sedgwick County coach Chris Michel told the Scoreboard Show.
This marks the first appearance in a title game for the Sedgwick County football co-op, which is comprised of Julesburg and Revere. Julesburg has won four titles in school history, and Revere has won nine. That program was last in a title game in 2004, when it lost to Hi-Plains for the 6-man championship.
“The boys are excited, the community is excited,” Michel said. “It should be a fun week.”
The championship against Akron will be a rematch of a 22-3 Sedgwick County win on Oct. 30.
“They say it’s always hard to beat a good team twice, and Akron’s a very good program,” Michel said. “They’ve got a good defense. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
(3) Akron 16, (2) Norwood 0
Akron’s defense pitched a shutout as the Rams advanced to a title game for the first time since 2009. That was the last appearance in a stretch of five-straight for the program.
“Our kids just showed up to play today and did a really good job,” Akron coach Jerome Weers told the Scoreboard Show. “Our kids definitely have a very good defensive mindset, and they like playing it. They’re going to have to play good next week against SedgCo.”
The 2015 all-state softball players of the year. From left: Mountain Range’s Hunter Huser, Valor Christian’s Alexandria Kilponen, and Strasburg’s Annie Oakley. (Photos: Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com; Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com; Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com
The 2015 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Those nominees included every player who was a first-team all-league selection.
Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Pine Creek is the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A football playoffs. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — The state playoff brackets for Class 4A and 3A football were released on Sunday, with Pine Creek and Pueblo East each earning No. 1 overall seeds.
Both teams are defending champions.
Pine Creek, which went 10-0 during the regular season, is a two-time defending champion which enters the postseason on a 35-game winning streak. That mark is tied for the ninth-longest in state history.
The Eagles’ schedule was anything but easy. According to the CHSAA RPI, which will be used for postseason qualification beginning next season, it was the second-toughest schedule in 4A. They have wins over five ranked opponents, including four who were ranked in the top-5 at the time. In those games, Pine Creek’s average margin of victory was 26.8 points.
Pine Creek has been to the 4A title game in three of the past four seasons.
Longmont, the team Pine Creek beat to win 4A last year, is the No. 2 seed. The Trojans also went 10-0 in the regular season.
Those teams sit atop the 16-team field in 4A which is comprised of seven league champions and nine Wild Card spots. As it turned out, the field is comprised entirely of the top 16 teams in the final Wild Card points standings.
Other top seeds who will host first round games include No. 3 Windsor, No. 4 Vista Ridge, No. 5 Durango, No. 6 Dakota Ridge, No. 7 Ponderosa and No. 8 Wheat Ridge.
Pueblo East is the No. 1 seed in 3A football. (Mark Adams)
In 3A, Pueblo East went 9-1, with the lone loss coming in a cross-classification showdown with Longmont in Zero Week. The Eagles won their final nine games by an average of 31.8 points.
Their schedule, too, was a tough one. Five opponents eventually made their postseason field in the class they play in. Pueblo East went 4-1 in those games.
Also seeded highly in 3A are No. 2 Roosevelt, No. 3 Delta, No. 4 Fort Morgan, No. 5 Palisade, No. 6 The Classical Academy, No. 7 Evergreen, No. 8 Discovery Canyon. Rifle, last season’s runner-up, is No. 9.
The 16-team 3A field is made up of six automatic qualifiers via league champions, and then 10 Wild Card teams. Like 4A, the final field turned out to be the top 16 in the Wild Card points standings.
Pine Creek remains No. 1 in 4A football. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
Pine Creek is still the king of the Class 4A CHSAANow.com football rankings. The Eagles received 14 of 16 first-place votes this week. This is the last set of regular season rankings, which saw the Eagles hold on to the top spot from start to finish.
No new teams were added to this week’s 4A poll, and with the exception of a few teams falling or rising one spot, the overall poll was pretty consistent with last week. Regular season play for 4A ends this week and the playoff bracket will be released on Sunday.
Like Pine Creek, the Pueblo East Eagles also helped on to their place in the 3A rankings. For the first time this season, however, they don’t have Fort Morgan right behind them. Roosevelt climbed to No. 2 and Fort Morgan fell to No. 3, despite a 56-7 win over Elizabeth that kept them undefeated on the year.
The 3A rankings did see the addition of two new teams as D’Evelyn (No. 9) and Discovery Canyon (No. 10) made the cut this week.
Regular season play for 3A also ends this week and the 16-team playoff bracket will be released on Sunday.
The state playoff brackets in 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man were released on Sunday, and as such, they will not have any further rankings this season.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will serve as the final polls of the regular season.
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.
Pomona’s defense had an outstanding night, limiting Ralston Valley to just two field goals in a 13-6 win on Friday night.
The Panthers, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, pulled the upset of the No. 5 Mustangs. The win continued a streak of equality in the rivalry: Since 2009, Pomona and Ralston Valley have traded wins every other year.
On Friday, Pomona grabbed a 7-0 lead after the first quarter on a punt return for a score. Ralston Valley got a field goal near the end of halftime, but Pomona answered with a touchdown early in the third quarter.
Ralston Valley did cut it to a one-score game with another field goal, but couldn’t get any closer.
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3A: (1) Pueblo East 36, (9) The Classical Academy 21
The Classical Academy led 7-0 early, but then Pueblo East took over. The Eagles scored 19 unanswered points to take a 19-7 lead at halftime, thanks to five Titan turnovers.
Austin Burkholder’s rushing score late in the third quarter gave Sterling the lead back and the Tigers never looked back. Freshman Isaac Harris made it 27-13 a short while later, Burkholder added another score — his fourth — and Sterling cruised.
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 44, (5) Dayspring Christian 18
Sedgwick County jumped out to a 30-3 lead at halftime, and kept the pressure on in an important win for the playoff picture.
The loss avenged a 53-21 defeat last season.
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2A: (10) Bennett 40, Strasburg 39
Bennett stopped a two-point conversion in the final minutes to hold off the upset bid.
“Big play from Jesse Rodriquez, our corner, (who) intercepted their two-point conversion try,” coach Rick Jacoby told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.
Bennett recovered the ensuing onside kick and then ran out the clock.
Bennett had led with three minutes to play, but Strasburg responded with its own touchdown with under two minutes left prior to the two-point attempt.
“We were behind most of the game,” Jacoby said. “We didn’t take the lead until about the seven minute mark of the fourth. We were down, I think, 19 at one point in the third quarter. We ended up being able to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
With the win, Bennett clinched the Frontier League championship.
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Notables
West Grand beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran 80-28 on Friday, giving coach Chris Brown his 305th career win. He can tie the state record for victories at Vail Christian next week.
2A No. 4 La Junta beat Lamar 35-0 in Colorado’s second-oldest rivalry, a matchup known as the Whistle Game.
5A No. 5 Palisade had 689 total yards in a 62-18 win over Grand Junction Central.
In 8-man, No. 4 Sargent beat No. 6 Dove Creek 30-18. “It was a tough battle,” Sargent coach Trevan Pepper told the Scoreboard Show. “We were a little bit asleep getting off the bus on that first drive, they went down and scored, and then we kind of stepped it up on defense the rest of the first half.”
1A No. 6 Crowley County won a tough game against Limon, 21-14. The Chargers won the South Central League as a result. “We had a big, long drive in the third quarter and were able to put it in on a little option play,” coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show. “We just played really great team defense after that.”
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.
