The 2016 all-state baseball players of the year are (from left): Holly’s Ricardo Juarez (1A); Dawson’s Luke Feigal (2A); ThunderRidge’s Jake Eissler (5A); Lewis-Palmer’s Paul Tillotson (4A); and Faith Christian’s Austin Stone (3A). (Photos: Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com; Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com; Chris Fehrm/MaxPreps; Michael Hankins/MaxPreps)
The 2016 all-state baseball teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They 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 head coaches.
Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.
[divider]
Class 5A
ThunderRidge’s Jake Eissler is the 5A baseball player of the year. (Michael Hankins/MaxPreps)
Player of the year: Jake Eissler, ThunderRidge
Coach of the year: Allan Dyer, Cherokee Trail
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Austin Alarid
Rocky Mountain
LHP/1B
Senior
Jerome Bohannon
Cherokee Trail
LHP/OF
Senior
Quin Cotton
Regis Jesuit
OF
Senior
Jake Eissler
ThunderRidge
RHP/3B/1B
Senior
Maverick Handley
Mullen
C/INF
Senior
Travis Marr
Regis Jesuit
RHP/1B
Senior
Conner Nantkes
Cherokee Trail
LHP/UTIL
Junior
Ryan Sullivan
Cherokee Trail
1B
Senior
Nate Sweeney
Cherry Creek
RHP/SS/OF
Senior
Bo Weiss
Regis Jesuit
RHP
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Peter Carlson
Ralston Valley
SS/RHP
Senior
Bailey Collins
Dakota Ridge
OF/P
Senior
Eric Cox
Cherokee Trail
RHP/OF
Junior
Cade Crader
Grandview
1B/RHP
Senior
Tommy Gillman
Columbine
SS
Senior
Jay Onken
Pine Creek
OF/RHP
Sophomore
Casey Opitz
Heritage
C/SS/RHP
Junior
Tanner O’Tremba
Cherry Creek
OF/RHP
Sophomore
Sam Schroeder
Fruita Monument
P/OF
Senior
Josh Schumacher
Rangeview
2B/SS/P
Senior
John Sorensen
Rocky Mountain
SS/RHP
Junior
Honorable mention:
Cuba Bess, Senior, Fruita Monument
Evan Bolin, Senior, Prairie View
Wade Council, Senior, Pine Creek
Aaron Dammel, Senior, Highlands Ranch
Chris Diehl, Senior, Rocky Mountain
Riley Egloff, Sophomore, Heritage
Cole Farmer, Senior, Brighton
Matt Givin, Junior, Rock Canyon
Alex Gonzales, Senior, Rocky Mountain
Tanner Hauptman, Senior, Ralston Valley
Tyson Hays, Junior, Grandview
Ryley Humrighouse, Senior, Castle View
Ricky Marshall, Senior, Fountain-Fort Carson
Jake Minnick, Senior, Douglas County
Jacob Moyer, Senior, Fort Collins
Dylan Paulsen, Senior, Gateway
Walter Pennington, Senior, Broomfield
Nick Perez, Junior, Cherokee Trail
Rocco Porreco, Junior, Mullen
Chase Powell, Senior, Lakewood
Tony Rice, Senior, Liberty
Jacob Rodriguez, Senior, Adams City
Joey Salvato, Junior, Mullen
Tyler Smith, Senior, Grandview
Jordan Stubbings, Junior, Legend
Nathaniel Swanson, Junior, Northglenn
Jadon Uhrich, Junior, Rocky Mountain
Razzo Vigil, Junior, Westminster
[divider]
Class 4A
Lewis-Palmer’s Paul Tillotson is the 4A baseball player of the year. (Chris Fehrm/MaxPreps)
Player of the year: Paul Tillotson, Lewis-Palmer
Coach of the year: Keith Wahl, Valor Christian
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Clint Allen
Erie
C/INF/P
Senior
Rocco Arguto
Pueblo West
RF
Senior
Holden Bernhardt
Mountain View
P/OF/1B
Senior
Wyatt Featherston
Green Mountain
OF/P
Senior
Jake Greenwalt
Windsor
–
Senior
Cole McKissock
Air Academy
INF
Senior
Dauson Tate
Pueblo West
C
Senior
Paul Tillotson
Lewis-Palmer
–
Senior
Austin Wood
Silver Creek
1B/P
Senior
Luke Ziegler
Valor Christian
3B/RHP
Sophomore
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Mike Berg
Thompson Valley
C/OF/3B
Junior
Issac Bracken
Berthoud
–
Senior
Jaspar Carmichael
Delta
SS/P
Sophomore
Billy Cook
Lewis-Palmer
–
Junior
Nyk Crumrine
Valor Christian
INF/RHP
Senior
Bailey Hansen
Air Academy
P/OF
Senior
Davis Heller
Valor Christian
RHP/1B
Freshman
Ethan Keller
Delta
CF/P
Junior
Ruben Portillo
Erie
P/INF
Junior
Cooper Rothe
Longmont
CF
Senior
Judah Wilbur
Denver North
INF/SS/2B
Junior
Honorable mention:
Kavan Andrew, Senior, Longmont
Locke Bernhardt, Senior, Mountain View
Cameron Brosh, Senior, Canon City
Josh Crites, Senior, Erie
Kyle Daniels, Senior, Fort Morgan
Blake Donels, Junior, Valor Christian
Gavin Fesmire, Senior, Pueblo Centennial
Daniel Gurrola, Senior, Denver North
Spencer Hamilton, Senior, The Classical Academy
Jaeden Hegmann, Junior, Mesa Ridge
Dane Kapande, Senior, Evergreen
Joe Lucas, Senior, Palisade
Zach Manchester, Senior, Canon City
Garrett Martin, Junior, Eagle Valley
Lawrence Mayberry, Senior, Durango
Mitch Menard, Senior, D’Evelyn
Skyler Messinger, Junior, Niwot
Jared Miller, Sophomore, Montrose
Brett Muscatello, Senior, Evergreen
Max Noland, Junior, Palisade
Dylan Norsen, Junior, Mountain View
Gunner Pickett, Senior, Mead
Blake Reiher, Junior, Delta
Morgan Robinson, Senior, Rifle
Stephen Romero, Junior, Glenwood Springs
Andrew Shaw, Junior, Summit
Tyler Shubert, Senior, Windsor
Isiah Torres, Senior, Pueblo East
Sean Weller, Senior, Battle Mountain
Kaylor Werner, Sophomore, Northridge
Cole Winn, Sophomore, Silver Creek
[divider]
Faith Christian’s Austin Stone is the 3A baseball player of the year. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Lewis-Palmer is the new No. 1 team in 4A boys basketball. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
There are two brand new No. 1 teams in this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.
Lewis-Palmer ascends to the top spot of the Class 4A rankings while defending 1A champion Holly now sits atop the 1A poll.
The Rangers have been one of the most dominant teams in 4A this season. They took down league foe Sand Creek last week, getting their second double-digit win over the Scorpions this season.
They assume the top spot after Pueblo South suffered a shocking loss to Air Academy on Saturday.
Cherokee Trail rejoins the 5A poll at No. 10 after falling out of the rankings last week.
The Denver School of Science and Tech-Stapleton hangs on to the top spot in the 3A poll, but Faith Christian jumped two spots to land right behind them at No. 2.
Manitou Springs also made a two-spot jump which put the Mustangs at No. 7 ahead of their league showdown with defending 3A champ, No. 3 Colorado Springs Christian School.
No new teams were added to the 3A poll this week.
Sanford is still the top team in the 2A poll, snagging 10 of 11 first-place votes this week.
Landing at No. 9, Highland is the lone newcomer to the 2A rankings.
Shining Mountain made the biggest jump in 1A this week, coming in at No. 7 which is three spots higher than a week ago.
Faith Baptist joins the 1A rankings at No. 10 this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Denver East 10, George Washington 5, FNE Warriors 5, Boulder 1, Grand Junction 1, Mountain Vista 1.
Dropped out
Denver East (6).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (8)
16-1
171
2
2-0
2
Valor Christian (4)
15-1
159
4
3-0
3
Longmont (3)
15-1
157
3
2-0
4
Pueblo South (4)
15-1
144
1
2-1
5
Pueblo West
15-2
112
5
2-0
6
Golden
12-5
66
6
2-1
7
Windsor
13-4
65
9
2-0
8
Denver South
12-5
49
7
1-1
9
Vista Ridge
13-4
41
10
2-0
10
Rifle
15-1
32
8
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Sierra 23, Holy Family 10, Durango 7, Vista Peak 3, Mead 2, Evergreen 1, Pueblo Central 1, Thomas Jefferson 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
DSST-Stapleton (7)
15-1
136
1
2-0
2
Faith Christian (4)
11-4
117
4
2-0
3
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
9-4
97
2
1-0
4
DSST-Green Valley Ranch (2)
11-0
90
5
0-0
5
Eaton
12-2
84
6
1-0
6
Lutheran
10-3
71
3
1-1
7
Manitou Springs (1)
13-1
67
9
2-0
8
Sterling
11-3
65
7
2-0
9
Alamosa (1)
9-4
45
8
0-0
10
Grand Valley
11-2
40
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Bennett 18, Basalt 13, Colorado Academy 9, The Pinnacle 9, Bayfield 4, Pagosa Springs 4, Manual 3, Peak to Peak 2, St. Mary’s 2, Frontier Academy 1, James Irwin 1, SkyView Academy 1, Valley 1.
The Denver School of Science and Tech (Stapleton) is the new top team of the Class 3A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.
The Knights, who sit at 13-1 overall on the season, have rising in the ranks all year and have been knocking at the door of the top spot. A St. Mary’s win over previous No. 1, Colorado Springs Christian, is all they need to finally begin their reign at the top of the 3A poll.
As a result of the loss to St. Mary’s, the Lions dropped one spot to No. 2. A similar situation happened last year when CSCS was toppled by St. Mary’s and fell out of the top spot, but then went undefeated en route to winning the 3A state title.
Grand Valley is the lone newcomer to the poll this week. The Cardinals come in at No. 10 after falling out of the rankings a few weeks ago.
Legend is No. 10 in this week’s boys basketball rankings. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)
The 5A poll looks very similar to what it did last week. Rangeview escaped a scare from Aurora Central and was able to hang on to the top spot. The only change from a week ago is that the Legend Titans rejoin the rankings, landing at No. 10.
The same consistency applies to this week’s 4A rankings. Since grasping the No. 1 spot, Pueblo South held on to the position, going 2-0 last week.
Windsor was the only team to play their way into the 4A poll as they debut at No. 9.
Undefeated Sanford still sits atop the 2A poll, taking eight of the 10 first-place votes this week. Crowley County joins the 2A top 10 at No. 7.
Fleming remains the team to beat in 1A after winning both of their games last week. Shining Mountain joins the 1A rankings, landing at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Greeley West 7, Cherokee Trail 4, Aurora Central 1.
Dropped out
Cherokee Trail (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo South (17)
13-0
194
1
2-0
2
Lewis-Palmer (1)
14-1
165
2
3-0
3
Longmont (2)
13-1
161
3
2-0
4
Valor Christian
12-1
146
4
2-0
5
Pueblo West
13-2
110
6
1-0
6
Golden
10-4
95
5
2-1
7
Denver South
11-4
64
7
2-0
8
Rifle
12-1
36
10
2-0
9
Windsor
11-4
33
–
4-0
10
Vista Ridge
11-4
25
9
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Holy Family 24, Conifer 14, Evergreen 7, Mead 6, Sierra 6, Skyview 4, Air Academy 3, Pueblo Central 2, Sand Creek 2, Thompson Valley 2, Thomas Jefferson 1.
Dropped out
Holy Family (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
DSST-Stapleton (6)
13-1
113
2
2-0
2
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
8-4
107
1
2-1
3
Lutheran (2)
9-2
101
3
1-0
4
Faith Christian (3)
9-4
95
6
2-0
5
DSST-Green Valley Ranch (3)
11-0
83
5
3-0
6
Eaton
11-2
71
4
1-1
7
Sterling
9-3
59
7
1-1
8
Alamosa
9-4
52
9
2-0
9
Manitou Springs
11-1
34
10
3-0
10
Grand Valley
9-2
28
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Colorado Academy 23, Pagosa Springs 13, Bennett 11, St. Mary’s 8, Liberty Common 5, The Pinnacle 5, Bayfield 4, Manual 3, The Vanguard 3, Peak to Peak 2, Strasburg 2, Basalt 1, Kent Denver 1, SkyView Academy 1.
Rangeview is the new No. 1 team in the 5A boys basketball rankings. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)
There is a new king of the Class 5A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings. The undefeated Rangeview Raiders assumed the top spot after beating No. 5 ThunderRidge and No. 10 Cherokee Trail in the first full week of competition since the winter break.
To get to the top spot, they also got some help from Regis Jesuit, who got coach Ken Shaw’s 700th win by upsetting Overland. The Trailblazers would drop their second game of the season later in the week as they fell to Eaglecrest, who climbs to No. 2.
Regis Jesuit climbed to No. 3 thanks to the win over the Trailblazers, but an upset loss to Fossil Ridge Saturday night likely kept them from a higher ranking this week.
Though many teams changed spots from the previous set of rankings that was released Dec. 21, there were no new teams added to the 5A poll this week.
In 4A, Longmont remains the top team, getting 15 of 21 first-place votes. The other six went to a streaking Pueblo South team that has proven to be a legitimate contender in the class.
The Colts take over the No. 2 spot after Golden dispatched Valor Christian on Friday night.
The loss also saw Lewis-Palmer rise to No. 3. The Rangers looked impressive in their route of Sand Creek on Wednesday. They then had to battle for a tight road win against Vista Ridge on Friday. Despite losing the game, the Wolves jumped into this week’s poll at No. 10.
Evergreen also broke into the 4A rankings, coming in at No. 9.
Defending 3A champion CSCS remains at No. 1 in class, despite two losses at the City of Champions Tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
The Denver School of Science and Tech is becoming a major presence in the 3A poll as both the Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch campuses made significant jumps this week.
Stapleton lands at No. 3 this week while Green Valley Ranch comes in at No. 6.
The Eaton Reds also made an impressive leap, landing at No. 5, up four spots from the previous rankings.
Liberty Common is the lone newcomer in 3A, landing at No. 10.
With 8 of 10 first-place votes, Sanford remains the top team in the 2A rankings.
Paonia made the biggest jump in the 2A poll, going from No. 8 to No. 5. The only new team for 2A this week is Dayspring Christian who rounds out the poll at No. 10.
The 1A poll was the only other set of rankings to see a new team emerge at the top. Thanks to a buzzer-beater loss to Sedgwick County on Saturday, Fleming fell out of the top spot and South Baca is the new top team in the class.
Rocky Mountain Lutheran is the lone team to break into the 1A poll as the Eagles come in at No. 10 this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Fossil Ridge 13, Greeley West 11, Legend 10, Rampart 8, Boulder 5, George Washington 4, Grandview 4, Aurora Central 3, FNE Warriors 3, Broomfield 1, Cherry Creek 1, Mountain Vista 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Longmont (15)
9-0
195
1
3-0
2
Pueblo South (6)
9-0
185
3
1-0
3
Lewis-Palmer
8-1
156
4
3-0
4
Valor Christian
8-1
144
2
1-1
5
Golden
6-3
112
6
3-0
6
Pueblo West
11-2
103
5
4-1
7
Denver South
7-3
77
9
1-0
8
Mead
7-3
31
10
2-0
9
Evergreen
8-2
28
–
2-1
10
Vista Ridge
8-3
27
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Conifer 20, Pueblo Central 17, Sand Creek 15, Windsor 8, Holy Family 7, Rifle 7, Wheat Ridge 6, Durango 4, Sierra 4, D’Evelyn 3, Ponderosa 3, Vista Peak 3.
Dropped out
Sand Creek (7), Pueblo Central (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Colorado Springs Christian (7)
4-2
123
1
1-2
2
Colorado Academy (3)
7-4
104
2
2-0
3
DSST-Stapleton (3)
9-0
103
5
3-0
4
Lutheran
7-2
91
4
1-0
5
Eaton (1)
7-1
62
9
2-0
6
DSST-Green Valley Ranch
6-0
54
10
2-0
7
Sterling
5-2
51
3
1-1
8
Alamosa
5-4
47
6
0-2
9
Faith Christian
4-4
42
7
1-0
10
Liberty Common
5-0
16
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Grand Valley 13, The Pinnacle 13, Manitou Springs 12, Pagosa Springs 12, Bennett 10, Bayfield 4, Manual 4, Strasburg 4, Peak to Peak 2, James Irwin 1, SkyView Academy 1, St. Mary’s 1.
Dropped out
The Pinnacle (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sanford (8)
8-0
93
1
2-0
2
Resurrection Christian (1)
8-0
88
2
1-0
3
Sedgwick County (1)
8-0
75
4
2-0
4
Ignacio
6-0
69
3
1-0
5
Paonia
7-1
50
8
1-0
6
Rye
5-2
42
6
1-0
7
Holyoke
5-2
39
7
2-1
8
Center
6-1
37
10
2-0
9
Simla
6-0
24
9
2-0
10
Dayspring Christian
7-1
11
–
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Meeker 10, Crowley County 7, Caliche 3, Evangelical Christian 1, Rocky Ford 1.
Dropped out
Meeker (5).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
South Baca (3)
7-0
70
2
1-0
2
Fleming (2)
5-2
66
1
1-1
3
Longmont Christian (2)
6-0
52
4
1-0
4
Kit Carson
7-1
51
5
2-0
5
Ouray
7-0
49
6
2-0
6
Holly
6-2
47
3
1-0
7
Sierra Grande (1)
6-1
28
8
1-0
8
Wiley
6-2
18
10
2-0
9
Arickaree/Woodlin
5-2
15
7
1-1
10
Rocky Mountain Lutheran
6-2
12
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Peetz 8, Shining Mountain 7, Cotopaxi 5, Front Range Baptist 5, Community Christian 3, Norwood 2, Mile High Academy 1, Faith Baptist 1.
Doherty boys basketball jumped into the 5A rankings this week. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
Going into the final CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings of 2015, the top teams from last week’s polls all remained in place.
And even though the top of the rankings look similar, new teams were added in all classes, giving some squads a momentum boost as the schools head into winter break.
In Class 5A, Overland came in as a unanimous choice at No. 1 fresh off winning the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.
The top six teams from last week’s 5A poll all held their place as they are playing quality basketball heading into the break. It was Chatfield who made the biggest jump, going from No. 10 to No. 7, thanks in part to an overtime win against Palmer on Thursday.
An impressive looking Doherty team cracks the rankings this week after taking down Legend last week.
In 4A, the top teams are all playing high quality basketball. Longmont posted three impressive wins this week while Valor Christian won a nail-biter against Pueblo Central, surviving Mike Ranson’s 44-point performance.
Even with the loss, the Wildcats broke back into the rankings at No. 8.
Denver South and Mead were other two newcomers in 4A, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
Colorado Springs Christian remains at the top of the 3A poll. They didn’t see any official action last week, although they did compete at the City for Champions tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
There were two new additions to the 3A rankings as The Pinnacle comes in at No. 8 and Denver School of Science and Tech – Green Valley Ranch breaks in at No. 10.
Sanford received every first-place vote this week to hold their position atop the 2A rankings.
A win and a close loss to Ignacio was good enough for the voters to make Center the lone newcomer to the 2A rankings as they grabbed the No. 10 position this week.
Like all other classes, there was not a chance at the top of the 1A rankings this week as Fleming still comes in at No. 1. Longmont Christian did make quite a splash as a newcomer. Unranked last week, the Warriors came in at No. 4, even snagging a first-place vote along the way.
Front Range Baptist also broke into the 1A poll as they jump in at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Legend 8, Dakota Ridge 4, Boulder 3, George Washington 2, Lakewood 2, Greeley West 1, FNE Warriors 1.
Dropped out
Legend (7).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Longmont (10)
6-0
143
1
3-0
2
Valor Christian (3)
7-0
133
2
2-0
3
Pueblo South (2)
8-0
120
3
3-0
4
Lewis-Palmer
5-1
94
4
0-0
5
Pueblo West
7-1
89
5
0-0
6
Golden
3-3
47
7
0-2
7
Sand Creek
5-2
45
6
2-1
8
Pueblo Central
5-5
34
–
1-1
9
Denver South
6-3
29
–
2-0
10
Mead
5-3
21
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Conifer 17, Evergreen 16, Thomas Jefferson 12, Vista Ridge 7, Rifle 6, Windsor 6, D’Evelyn 2, Wheat Ridge 2, Ponderosa 1, Vista Peak 1.
Dropped out
Vista Ridge (8), Thomas Jefferson (9), Conifer (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Colorado Springs Christian (8)
3-0
112
1
0-0
2
Colorado Academy (2)
5-4
92
2
2-1
3
Sterling
4-1
83
3
1-0
4
Lutheran
6-2
66
5
0-1
5
DSST-Stapleton (1)
6-0
61
7
1-0
6
Alamosa
5-2
56
6
1-0
7
Faith Christian
3-4
39
4
0-0
8
The Pinnacle
3-1
29
–
0-0
9
Eaton (1)
5-1
23
9
3-0
10
DSST-Green Valley Ranch
4-0
21
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Grand Valley 17, Bennett 13, SkyView Academy 12, Strasburg 9, Manual 7, St. Mary’s 6, Arrupe Jesuit 4, Pagosa Springs 4, James Irwin 3, Platte Valley 3.
Dropped out
Bennett (8), Grand Valley (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sanford (10)
6-0
100
1
1-0
2
Resurrection Christian
7-0
87
2
2-0
3
Ignacio
5-0
81
3
1-0
4
Sedgwick County
6-0
71
4
2-0
5
Meeker
4-0
43
5
1-0
6
Rye
4-2
41
8
3-0
7
Holyoke
3-1
29
7
1-1
8
Paonia
6-1
26
6
2-1
9
Simla
4-0
25
10
1-0
10
Center
4-1
13
–
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Highland 12, Dayspring Christian 10, Burlington 4, Crowley County 4, Haxtun 2, Merino 1, Rocky Ford 1.
Dropped out
Dayspring Christian (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Fleming (6)
4-1
77
1
1-0
2
South Baca (1)
6-0
65
3
1-0
3
Holly
5-2
61
7
3-0
4
Longmont Christian (1)
5-0
53
–
2-0
5
Kit Carson
5-1
46
2
2-1
6
Ouray
5-0
45
4
3-0
7
Arickaree/Woodlin
4-1
29
5
2-0
8
Sierra Grande
5-1
24
6
2-0
9
Front Range Baptist
6-0
17
–
0-0
10
Wiley
4-2
12
8
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Shining Mountain 6, Community Christian 3, Dove Creek 1, Springfield 1, Faith Baptist 1.
Horizon was stuffed on fourth down with less than three minutes to play, and it looked like Legacy might escape with a big win in Class 5A football. But then the Hawks got a game-changing, go-ahead safety and walked away with a 22-21 win on Friday night.
The game was a wild one.
Legacy jumped out 14-0 in the second quarter, but Horizon battled back to tie it at 14 in the third quarter.
Legacy took the lead when quarterback Matt Lynch, a UCLA commit, threw a touchdown pass later in that quarter. Horizon answered with a Cade Verkler rushing score, but the extra point missed, making it a 21-20 Legacy lead in the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Horizon had a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard-line. The Hawks were stuffed. But two plays later, Horizon got the key safety. It was 22-21, and the Hawks would hold on to win.
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2A/1A: (3) Bayfield 35, (1) Paonia 0
Bayfield ended Paonia’s 26-game winning streak in stunning fashion.
“We had to be physical up front, and we had to stop them,” coach Gary Heide told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “The plan worked to perfection.”
Paonia’s 26-game streak was the second-longest in the state.
“I’m kind of a low-key, one-game-at-a-time, and, ‘No game is no more important than the other’ guy, but this morning, I just realized the opportunity that Bayfield had, along with getting a win,” Heide said. “A game like this, you end up gaining a lot of confidence.”
“We don’t pass a whole lot, but when we do, we try to do it at optimal times. Tonight, it really worked out,” Heide said. “Kelton McCoy threw some really nice passes.”
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3A: (1) Pueblo East 47, Discovery Canyon 36
Discovery Canyon nearly pulled off a major upset, but Pueblo East was able to pull out a win.
“It was a fun night,” Pueblo East coach Lee Meisner told the Scoreboard Show. “We knew we were going to get everything they had. … We had a heck of a game.”
This game featured 10 ties or lead changes, including a number in the final quarter. It also had a 99-yard kickoff return.
Discovery Canyon led 28-27 going to the fourth. Pueblo East soon went ahead 33-28, and Discovery Canyon answered to retake the lead at 36-33.
Then, with 2:45 to go, Pueblo East took the lead for good at 40-36. The Eagles added a late touchdown to ice the game.
Said Meisner: “We just kept preaching to our kids: ‘We have to play four quarters of football. No matter what the score is, just at the end of it, do your job, and then worry about the score.'”
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5A: Doherty 24, Fruita Monument 21 (OT)
Doherty jumped out to an 18-0 lead at halftime, but then Fruita Monument started to chip away.
Limon pulled off the upset of its rival, and improved to 4-0 this season.
“Our kids really stepped up tonight,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “I thought they played really well. By far, the best game we’ve played all year.”
Of the shutout, O’Dwyer said, “Anytime you play Burlington, they’re so disciplined and so well-coached, you have to play assignment defense and everybody has to do their job and not worry about what everybody else is doing. You just have to take care of your job. I thought tonight, our assignment defense really played very, very well.”
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1A: (5) Cedaredge 40, (10) Center 13
It was 14-13 at halftime, but Cedaredge pulled away to notch a huge top-10 win to move to 4-0.
“They had some turnovers and we capitalized on those turnovers,” coach Brandon Milholland told the Scoreboard Show. “Another important piece that I realized late in the fourth quarter is we’re starting to get out of our own way and kind of believe in what we’ve going on.”
Cedaredge pulled away to 25-13 after the third quarter, then put the game away in the fourth.
“We got a lucky bounce,” coach Brandon Alexander told the Scoreboard Show. “We scored quick, and turned the ball over, and scored again. Two scores early in the third quarter, that was really huge for us.
“Sargent was a great team, they were very athletic and fast, so it was exactly what we had to have.”
There were a number of games decided by wide margins on Friday. By the time the night was over, there were 22 total shutouts, 11 of which were decided by 40 or more points. In all, the average margin of victory for all games was 27.8 points.
Ranked teams are 39-9 so far in Week 4, but only two of those losses have come to unranked teams.
In 5A, TJ Jones had six touchdowns, including the game winner, to help Boulder beat Prairie View in overtime, 41-35.
8-man’s West Grand beat Elbert 46-0, and gave head coach Chris Brown career win No. 302. He’s four shy of the all-time mark of 306 held by longtime Denver East and Machebeuf coach Pat Panek. The Mustangs are 4-0 this season.
Alameda moved to 4-0 for the first time in more than a decade following a 38-0 win over Denver North in 2A. The Pirates are ranked No. 10.
In 8-man, No. 8 Granada escaped an upset with a 28-26 win over Kiowa.
A bit of a surprise, also in 8-man: No. 2 Sedgwick County handled No. 10 Holly 64-7.
Cheyenne Mountain picked up its first win of the season in 4A, beating Mitchell 36-35 on a 28-yard field goal with 7.2 seconds remaining.
In 6-man, No. 4 Arickaree/Woodlin beat No. 6 Otis 53-14.
3A No. 4 Rifle shutout Eagle Valley 26-0. “That’s a pretty tough place to go play, but ultimately we’re very happy with the way our kids played,” Bears coach Damon Wells told the Scoreboard Show. “We’ve been around long enough to know that any time you win a game in our league, it’s worth cherishing.”
Bayfield has a big game against Paonia this week. (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
Colorado Preps‘ Kevin Shaffer looks at Week 4’s big football matchups around the state.
This week, the show includes comments from Alameda vs. Denver North, Vista Ridge vs. Palmer Ridge, Mountain View vs. Greeley West, and previews of many others in all classes.
We’ll be following Week 4 action on Friday night, including our live coverage.
