On May 15, 2021, the Far Northeast football team beat Boulder in the Season C state championship game at CSU-Pueblo’s Thunderbowl to capture the program’s first title. Filmmaker David Parfitt captured the action.

In the latest coaches poll, Jefferson Academy claimed the top spot in Class 3A.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls

Coaches looking to vote should email bcochi@chsaa.org.

(Brad Cochi)

PUEBLO — Tony Lindsay Sr. can’t help but smile when he talks about community and family. To him, those make up the foundation of a solid football program. And he wanted to display that in his first championship game as the coach at Far Northeast.

His family was there. His sons followed from Denver South, wanting to partake in the task of rebuilding the school formerly known as Montbello.

“I told my sons that they could stay there,” Lindsay said. “One of them could get the head coaching job there.”

But they wanted to follow dad and do something special.

On May 15, 2021 they got to do just that. The Far Northeast Warriors claimed their program’s first football title with a 34-0 win over Boulder to claim the Season C Class 5A title. What was more special was how Lindsay got to watch more family contribute to that special moment.

Emmit Anderson got himself a rushing touchdown in the first half, but Gregory did it all. He ran for a touchdown, caught one, threw for one and even had an interception on defense.

A jack of all trades and the game’s Most Outstanding Player as a result.

“It’s a team sport, it’s not just me,” Gregory said. “The linemen block, the quarterback makes the passes, the running backs make great runs. It’s not just me, I was just contributing.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

He as just contributing at a high level that will go down in legend when people recount how the Warriors earned the trophy that will sit in a display case for all to see.

Gregory got the Warriors (5-2 overall) on the board with a 24-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Emmit made it a 13-0 game with a touchdown run in the second and then Gregory created his own opportunity. He picked off a Tristan Langenegger pass and was rewarded when Andy Martinez found him on a deep route to make it a 20-0 game.

“To end off my senior year like this, not a lot of people get that opportunity,” Gregory said. “I’m blessed to do it with these guys, my brothers. I love them.”

The Warriors’ first touchdown of the second half came on an Anderson throw as he took the handoff and found Jaylen Byrd streaking down the sideline. The throw was perfect and the lead increased to 27-0, giving the Warriors a feeling that a championship was well within their grasp.

All that was needed was one last defensive stand, which the Warriors got by applying consistent pressure to Langenegger. With the ball back in their hands, Martinez went to the air one more time, finding Leonardo Ramos-Valles for a touchdown.

The offense played well, Gregory Anderson was spectacular and the defense as a whole was stellar.

“That’s the heart; that is our heartbeat,” Lindsay said. “Those five guys down there (on the defensive line), you watch any game it’s all them. Defense wins championships.”

Perhaps the biggest source of pride for Lindsay through it all was that he felt the joy coming from the kids that reside in the community. These were Far Northeast kids doing something special at Far Northeast.

He was aware of the challenge that he was facing when he took the job. But it was a challenge he was excited to face.

“That’s why I went there,” he said.

The first step to building a program back is easy in his mind. A team has to start winning. He stood on the field of the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl in Pueblo and soaked in what his guys accomplished. They won.

Now the real work begins.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

PUEBLO — The final Season C football championships were claimed as Far Northeast and Rifle left the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl with titles.

Coverage

• 3A: Rifle erases the clock to beat TCA for state title | Bracket
• 5A: Anderson does it all as Far Northeast beats Boulder for state title | Bracket

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Rifle 35, TCA 34

• Link to gallery

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

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Far Northeast 34, Boulder 0

• Link to gallery

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

(Brad Cochi)

The first team to emerge from the Class 4A semis was the No. 2 Far Northeast Warriors, who rode their stifling defense to win over No. 3 Vista PEAK. Then on Saturday night, No. 4 Boulder won a low-scoring slugfest against No. 8 Denver East.

Far Northeast and Boulder will go head-to-head for the trophy when the 5A state championship game begins on Saturday at 7 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo’s Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium

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(2) Far Northeast 23, (3) Vista PEAK 16

What started as an uncertain and confusing school year now has a chance to end in a special and potentially historic football season for the Far Northeast Warriors.

At Evie Dennis Stadium on Friday night, the second-seeded Warriors (5-2) won 23-16 over the No. 3 Vista PEAK Bison (5-3) in the Class 5A state semifinals for the spring Season C campaign. It took an outstanding defensive effort and a late stand against a dangerous Bison offense to get them there, and the Warriors earned a chance to compete for their program’s first state championship on Saturday night in Pueblo.

“I told my guys that this is a weird year,” FNE head coach Tony Lindsay Sr. said. “Montbello has been to the championship a couple times – like in ’81 – but we’ve never taken state. Aside from remembering the pandemic, you’ll remember what you did during the pandemic. So, to top it off with something like that would be special after all the months and months of everything we’ve had to do just to come out and play football.

“It’s just awesome.”

The Warriors’ defense paced their semifinal triumph from start to finish, forcing a sack fumble for a safety on the Bison’s opening drive of the evening and holding Vista PEAK well below its scoring average of 26.75 points per game. The Bison only led briefly in the first quarter when Jaylen Carrizales caught a touchdown pass.

Both teams were playing with significant injuries to key offensive players. But Far Northeast’s Gregory Anderson was able to overcome his bumps and bruises to run for a long touchdown in the second quarter. Later in the frame, the Warriors forced their second of three first-half turnovers, another sack fumble that Daeontez Thomas returned for a touchdown. Warriors senior Abdullahi Mberwa made a spectacular diving touchdown grab late in the second quarter to send Far Northeast into halftime with a 23-6 lead.

In the second half, the Warriors fumbled twice and a 28-yard field goal combined with Carrizales’ second touchdown of the game cut the lead to seven. With 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the game, Vista PEAK’s Nathan Hunholz blocked a punt at midfield to give his team a chance at a game-tying drive. But the Warriors defense held strong one more time to seal the victory and punch their ticket to the title game.

“We’ve worked for this all week and all season,” Warriors senior Emmanuel Nwaneto said. “Our defensive coach got us ready and we came out strong. We came out here with 14 dudes. Other teams have us outnumbered. But it’s just the heart and the coaching staff that we have. We just came out here and showed why we’re the best defense in the state.

“We’re a family and a strong group of individuals, and there’s nothing that can break us.”

In Saturday’s title game at CSU-Pueblo’s Thunderbowl Stadium, Far Northeast will face the winner of Saturday afternoon’s semifinal between No. 4 Boulder and No. 8 Denver East.

(Brad Cochi)

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(4) Boulder 6, (8) Denver East 3

It has been nearly three decades since the Boulder football team last played for a championship, but that opportunity has finally arrived once again at the end of the Season C campaign.

On Saturday night at Recht Field, the No. 4-seeded Panthers ground out a 6-3 win over No. 8 Denver East in the Class 5A state semifinals to punch their ticket to the spring title game. The Panthers last won the state championship in 1992, and will have a chance to win their program’s fourth when they take the field at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl next Saturday night.

“We’ve all had to overcome so much — the community, us personally, with COVID, with everything,” Boulder coach Ryan Bishop told BoCoPreps.com’s Brent New. “Words can’t describe it. I lost my mom in September and I know that she is just so proud, so proud. And that’s what this is about. Overcoming adversity, making this community proud, this school proud, the administration proud.”

(Brad Cochi)

In the first poll of Season D, Grandview, Evergreen, Colorado Academy and Dawson are the preseason No. 1s.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls

Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email bcochi@chsaa.org.

Fourth-seeded Boulder moved into the Class 5A football semifinals after beating No. 5 Fort Collins 21-14 on Friday.

In the final coaches poll of the Season C regular season, Denver South, Thomas Jefferson, Glenwood Springs, Buena Vista and Hoehne were voted No. 1 in their respective classifications.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing bcochi@chsaa.org. These rankings are part of the postseason seeding process.

Football’s 2021 state playoff bracket for Class 5A.

2021 CHSAA Football Championships Class 5A

No. 9 Boulder beat No. 8 Adams City 3-0 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A boys soccer tournament.