Cherry Creek’s defense forced two key second-half turnovers, providing the spark to help the Class 5A top-ranked Bruins stay unbeaten with a win over Eaglecrest on Friday.
The Bruins, down 13-0 at half, rallied to defeat No. 4 Eaglecrest 14-13. They are now 8-0, while Eaglecrest drops to 7-1.
“It was just heart,” Cherry Creek senior Alec Pell told Altitude TV after the game. “(Nothing changed) scheme-wise, we knew what we were doing, it was just digging deep. Coming up with those fumbles was big, and just being a family and sticking together.”
Eaglecrest had seized the lead in the first half by controlling the clock with long drives — and by finishing those drives.
Isaiah Emecheta had a 7-yard score midway through the second quarter, and then quarterback Dylan James raced 43 yards for another score after picking up his own fumble. But the extra-point after the second touchdown wasn’t attempted after a snap and hold was mishandled.
The Raptors’ defense also looked mighty impressive, ending the half with a sack when Cherry Creek had the ball at the Raptors’ 20-yard-line.
But things changed as the second half opened.
Cherry Creek’s Cormier Euell forced a fumble with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter, and Dade Bissell recovered. That led to the Bruins’ first score: a 9-yard pass from Alex Padilla to Vance Brazile.
The Bruins’ defense also forced a fumble on the next possession, and once again Bissell recovered. After converting a fourth-down from the Eaglecrest 29, Cherry Creek’s Jayle Stacks rumbled in for a score to make it 14-13.
Eaglecrest drove down and had a shot to take the lead with 1:19 to play, but a 34-yard field goal attempt missed just to the right, and Cherry Creek held on.
“It just show what we are this year,” Pell said. “We’re just a different beast. We’re all together, we’re so close. And that closeness and that heart is what got us that win.”
[divider]
3A: Frederick 41, (7) Holy Family 23
Frederick made a statement with a big upset of Holy Family, and has now won six games in consecutive seasons. The Warriors are 6-1 in 2018.
“We showed up,” Frederick coach Travis Peeples told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids are physical now. And, boy, are they excited. We’re on the bus, and we’re having a great ride home.”
Frederick broke open a game in which they led 20-17 at halftime to pick up their biggest win of the season so far.
“Our kids had a great week of practice,” Peeples said. “They just wanted to show what they could do against a quality opponent, and that was one of the questions everyone had: Could we beat a quality opponent? And this one was circled on Monday.”
In the win, Peeples said his team “dominated the line of scrimmage tonight.”
“I think we wore them down,” Peeples said. “We started running the ball inside the tackles. Our offensive line, all seven of the guys up front were tremendous. We had some gaping holes, and we ran the ball really well tonight.”
[divider]
3A: (2) Discovery Canyon 39, (5) Thomas Jefferson 22
Marshall Pike rushed for three touchdowns to help Discovery Canyon stay unbeaten at 7-0, and hand previously unbeaten Thomas Jefferson (6-1) its first loss of the season.
Zack Anderson also tossed two passing touchdowns for the Thunder, one to Zach Surface and another to Kevin Pasion.
The top-ranked Badgers continued to roll, this time picking up a top-5 win.
“It was just a great all-around effort by everybody,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show. “Defensively, we got some turnovers, some interceptions, and we had some short fields to work with. It was one of those games where we just had some fortunate things go our way.
“I thought we did a great job defensively putting kids in places to make plays, and those kids made those plays.”
[divider]
Notables
Greeley West, No. 5 in 4A, beat Brighton 48-17, and is now 6-1. “We’ve got a lot of weapons on offense,” coach Jason Renouf told the Scoreboard Show. “I’m really proud of how they’re performing.”
Aspen had one of the biggest upsets of the night, taking down No. 3 Rifle 20-19 in 2A. “It’s a huge win,” coach Travis Benson told the Scoreboard Show. “I am super proud of the defense. The eight guys in the box, they played hard, they fought, they played the run. And our secondary came up with some picks when we needed to.”
In 2A, No. 5 Resurrection Christian beat No. 8 Eaton 26-7. “The kids responded the way we wanted them to, and that was good to see,” coach Jeff Van Winkle told the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “That’s a tough Eaton team.”
Another top-10 game in 2A: No. 5 Basalt beat No. 10 Delta 13-0.
In 1A, No. 10 Holyoke knocked off No. 8 Wray 30-14.
Perhaps one of the lowest-scoring 8-man games in a long time: No. 4 Caliche beat No. 8 Akron 6-0.
There were top-10 matchups all over the board in 6-man: No. 1 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 6 Arickaree/Woodlin 60-20; No. 2 Kit Carson beat No. 9 Granada 60-24 and No. 3 Otis beat No. 7 Idalia 68-56.
This week’s football rankings saw just two new teams hop into the polls across all classifications: Grand Junction Central (4A) and Briggsdale (6-man).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and 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
Cherry Creek (8)
7-0
124
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
7-0
116
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
7-0
109
3
W
4
Eaglecrest
7-0
88
4
W
5
Pomona
5-2
74
5
W
6
Grandview
6-1
69
6
W
7
Ralston Valley
6-1
40
8
W
8
Fairview
6-1
31
9
W
9
ThunderRidge
6-1
29
10
W
10
Cherokee Trail
6-1
17
7
L
Others receiving votes:
Smoky Hill 13, Castle View 3, Arvada West 1, Doherty 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (15)
6-0
177
1
W
2
Pine Creek (2)
5-1
157
2
W
3
Montrose (1)
6-0
136
3
W
4
Broomfield
5-1
124
4
W
5
Greeley West
5-1
86
8
W
6
Ponderosa
4-2
67
7
W
7
Fruita Monument
4-2
59
9
W
8
Pueblo West
4-2
54
10
W
9
Heritage
5-1
35
5
L
10
Grand Junction Central
4-2
27
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Longmont 23, Air Academy 12, Skyline 10, Rampart 7, Vista Peak 6, Chatfield 4, Dakota Ridge 2, Windsor 2, Brighton 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Longmont (6).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (11)
6-0
142
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
6-0
135
2
W
3
Palisade (1)
5-1
102
4
W
4
Palmer Ridge (1)
4-2
97
3
W
5
Thomas Jefferson (1)
6-0
88
6
W
6
Harrison
6-0
86
5
W
7
Holy Family
5-1
73
7
W
8
Pueblo East
4-2
61
8
W
9
Durango
4-2
55
9
W
10
Fort Morgan
5-1
15
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Frederick 6, Green Mountain 5, Evergreen 4, Lewis-Palmer 4, George Washington 3, Mead 3, Glenwood Springs 1.
The mountain air has taken on the crispness of fall and the calendar has turned to October. That means with Week 7 of the football season comes the start of league play for all classifications.
Several radio stations throughout the state will be broadcasting these all-important league matchups.
[divider]
1A: (9) CSCS at Buena Vista
Time: 7 p.m. kick
Station: Eagle Country 104
On the call: Len Gates (Play by play), Bob Marken (Color)
Sports director Caleb Burggraaf on the matchup: Buena Vista looked like a championship team against St. Mary’s on Friday, despite giving up three scores once the running clock was started near halftime. The Demons now welcome Colorado Springs Christian to their home field, as the look for a 2-0 start to their league schedule. This game will come down to the defense for the Demons slowing down the running game of the Lions. If they can slow down that part of the game, the Demons offense should be able to build into a rhythm and pick up where they left off against St. Mary’s.
On the call: Caleb Burggraaf (Play by play), Dan R. (Sideline)
Burggraaf on the matchup: In the Spartans first taste of the Intermountain League, they get a familiar opponent. For the past two year, the Pagosa Springs Pirates have been on the Salida schedule, and Salida has had success. This year, Pagosa is being led by a strong senior at quarterback who has started for four years for the Pirates. His test will be going against a Salida defense which has only allowed more than 7 points a game once this season, and has two shutouts to their record. Keep an eye on the Spartans running game on the other side of the ball, where Vince DeLeo and Eli Smith form a two headed monster for teams to handle in the backfield.
On the call: Ryan Kaufman (Play by play), Ryan Pelton (Color)
Kaufman on the matchup: Air Academy is on pace for the largest single season win total in more than a decade after a 4-1 mark through their non-conference schedule. Their hot start can attributed to a style of play that would make the other school on campus (the Air Force Academy) proud. They have averaged 182.6 yards per game on the ground this season thanks to the duo of Kyle Pope and Zach Martin and have given up less than 7 points per game on average over the last four games, including back to back shutouts.
Coronado meanwhile is looking for consistency after a 2-3 run through the non-conference. Turnovers have plagued the Cougars in their losses, something that coach Monte Gutowski has spent extra time this week trying to fix. When they do hang on to the football, they have dynamic playmakers in Ladarius Mays and Willy Bobrick who Coronado will look to get out in space in order to get big gains on the stout Kadet defense.
On the call: Clark Johnson (Play by play), Mike Danson (Color)
Tanner Schwindt on the matchup: The No. 8-ranked Reds look to defend home field on homecoming night against a scrappy academy team that wants to knock off a top tier team.
Listen to the game at KFKA 1310 or online at 1310kfka.com.
[divider]
6-man: (7) Idalia at (6) Arickaree/Woodlin
Game time: 1 p.m. Saturday
Station: KAT Country 98.3 FM
On the call: Marc Romero
Romero on the matchup: 1-loss Arickaree/Woodlin and top ranked Stratton/Liberty are the only teams with unblemished East Central league records, while Idalia is trying to keep pace and currently 1-1 in conference. It is almost eerie how closely these teams match up (at least on paper) with both offenses putting up 41 points per game, and each of the last 2 meetings being decided by 8 points (one win for each side).
Listen on KAT Country 98.3 FM or katcountry983.com by clicking sports.
Voted upon by coaches and 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
Cherry Creek (8)
6-0
123
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
6-0
116
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
6-0
109
3
W
4
Eaglecrest
6-0
88
5
W
5
Pomona
4-2
72
6
W
6
Grandview
5-1
64
4
L
7
Cherokee Trail
6-0
45
8
W
8
Ralston Valley
5-1
35
7
W
9
Fairview
5-1
24
9
W
10
ThunderRidge
5-1
21
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Smoky Hill 10, Castle View 3, Denver East 2, Doherty 1, Highlands Ranch 1, Regis Jesuit 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (14)
5-0
176
1
W
2
Pine Creek (2)
4-1
161
2
Bye
3
Montrose (1)
5-0
131
3
W
4
Broomfield
4-1
118
4
W
5
Heritage (1)
5-0
75
7
W
6
Longmont
4-1
63
8
W
7
Ponderosa
3-2
60
10
W
8
Greeley West
4-1
58
–
W
9
Fruita Monument
3-2
47
5
L
10
Pueblo West
3-2
40
9
Bye
Others receiving votes:
Air Academy 11, Skyline 11, Grand Junction Central 10, Rampart 6, Vista Peak 6, Chatfield 3, Golden 3, Standley Lake 3, Brighton 2, Windsor 2, Hinkley 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Skyline (6).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (9)
5-0
131
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
5-0
119
2
Bye
3
Palmer Ridge (1)
3-2
86
6
Bye
4
Palisade (1)
4-1
81
3
W
5
Harrison
5-0
76
5
W
6
Thomas Jefferson (1)
5-0
75
4
W
7
Holy Family
4-1
58
8
W
8
Pueblo East
3-2
50
7
Bye
9
Durango
3-2
44
9
Bye
10
Fort Morgan
4-1
17
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Lewis-Palmer 8, George Washington 7, Mead 6, Green Mountain 5, Evergreen 3, Frederick 3, Pueblo Central 1.
Voted upon by coaches and 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
Cherry Creek (8)
5-0
123
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
5-0
113
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
5-0
102
3
W
4
Grandview
5-0
82
5
W
5
Eaglecrest
5-0
75
7
W
6
Pomona
3-2
73
4
W
7
Ralston Valley
4-1
33
10
W
8
Cherokee Trail
5-0
31
–
W
9
Fairview
4-1
30
9
W
10
ThunderRidge
4-1
16
6
L
Others receiving votes:
Arvada West 15, Castle View 11, Smoky Hill 6, Arapahoe 3, Doherty 1, Lakewood 1.
Dropped out
Arvada West (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (13)
4-0
148
1
W
2
Pine Creek (1)
4-1
128
2
W
3
Montrose (1)
4-0
100
4
W
4
Broomfield
3-1
79
5
W
5
Fruita Monument
3-1
72
6
W
6
Skyline
3-1
55
3
L
7
Heritage
4-0
40
9
W
8
Longmont
3-1
37
–
W
9
Pueblo West
3-2
35
–
L
10
Ponderosa
2-2
34
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Greeley West 26, Chatfield 21, Rampart 13, Windsor 12, Denver South 7, Vista Peak 6, Grand Junction Central 5, Vista Ridge 4, Air Academy 1, Hinkley 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Chatfield (7), Rampart (8), Windsor (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (10)
4-0
144
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
5-0
134
3
W
3
Palisade (2)
3-1
112
2
L
4
Thomas Jefferson (1)
4-0
99
5
W
5
Harrison (1)
4-0
84
7
W
6
Palmer Ridge
3-2
65
6
W
7
Pueblo East
3-2
52
4
L
8
Holy Family
3-1
48
8
W
9
Durango
3-2
47
9
W
10
Fort Morgan
3-1
30
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Battle Mountain 15, Lewis-Palmer 12, Mead 11, Frederick 9, Green Mountain 7, Evergreen 5, Canon City 2, Skyview 2, George Washington 1, Pueblo Central 1.
Brian Mosley rushed for three touchdowns to help Doherty football pull off a big upset of previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked ThunderRidge on Friday night.
“We knew this was going to be a four-quarter fight, and it came down to the last minute of the game,” Doherty coach Jeff Krumlauf told CHSAANow. “ThunderRidge is truly a top-10 program in the state right now. They have some special kids and some great coaches. For us to be down by 14 and sustain a course was huge for us on a high level.”
The Spartans entered the week winless at 0-4, but had played the second-toughest schedule in the state according to the RPI, with losses to Cherry Creek, Mullen, Pine Creek and Fairview to open the season. All have been ranked in the top-10 at some point this season.
On Friday, Doherty rallied from down 14 to take a 21-14 lead at halftime, thanks to two scores from Mosley, and a defensive fumble return for a TD.
In the end, the Spartans were able to hold off a rally from ThunderRidge, which had started the season 4-0.
[divider]
Colorado PrepsCast
A recap of Friday’s games:
[divider]
1A: (2) Limon 36, (1) Strasburg 6
Limon led 21-0 early, taking that lead into the break, before Strasburg made it 21-6 after three. But the Badgers only added to the margin in the fourth quarter.
“I thought our kids were really ready to play; I think they were excited to play,” coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “With our win that we had last week against Meeker, our kids got a little bit of confidence playing against a really good team. And obviously Strasburg is also a great team, and I think they were really looking forward to the challenge.”
Hauk Hubbard led Limon with 111 yards rushing and two scores, while Celby Hollenbaugh also had a rushing touchdown. Cannan Bennett also threw a touchdown pass for Limon.
The game was briefly interrupted in the second half when the sprinklers came on.
“You don’t see it too often,” O’Dwyer said. “I think that was the second time in my career I’ve seen that happen.”
Limon limited Strasburg to just 15 yards rushing. Strasburg entered the game averaging close to 200 yards per game.
The Badgers rushed for 291 yards themselves.
[divider]
4A/3A: (4A 4) Montrose 21, (3A 2) Palisade 17
(Tom Hoganson)
MONTROSE — Fourth-ranked Montrose won 21-17 in front of a full house on Friday night.
The game went back-and-forth all night. Palisade grabbed a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but Montrose cut it to 10-7 on a 85-yard interception return for a touchdown from Cauy Boulder with 23 seconds left in the half.
Montrose grabbed its first lead when Cole Simmons scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter, but Palisade responded with a rushing score from quarterback Cam Tucker with 8:34 to play.
The ensuing kickoff went out-of-bounds, giving Montrose the ball at their own 35. They then used a clock-chewing drive to score the winning touchdown with 40 seconds left. Again, it was Simmons who scored, this time on a six-yard rush.
“We beat a good team,” Montrose coach Brett Mertens said afterward. “Cauy Boulden’s interception was big for us. We had some young kids step in and play the line and they did a great job.”
“We had some young kids fill in on the line and they open holes for me,” Simmons said.
— Tom Hoganson
[divider]
6-man: (1) Stratton/Liberty 77, (2) Otis 6
(Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)
The Knighted Eagles flexed their muscles in a matchup of 6-man’s top two teams.
5A No. 7 Eaglecrest quarterback Dylan James rushed for three touchdowns as his team cruised to a 5-0 start this season with a 50-14 win over No. 8 Arvada West.
Pueblo West led 4A No. 9 Pine Creek 9-0 at halftime, but the Eagles scored 21 unanswered points to win 21-9. The turning point was a muffed punt return in the third quarter that set Pine Creek up with a short field, and led to their first touchdown.
Alameda defeated Valley 51-43 to end an 18-game losing streak.
Fountain-Fort Carson sophomore Alexisius Jones Jr. rushed for 340 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s 58-18 win over Overland.
6-man: In a win over No.4 Flagler/Hi-Plains, freshman Yahir Enriquez rushed for six touchdowns and 292 yards on 22 carries for No. 8 Idalia. He also threw a touchdown pass, and caught another. He had 383 all-purpose yards. “Everything was clicking for us,” Idalia coach Colby Newton told the Scoreboard Show.
2A No. 10 Kent Denver scored a tying touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:42 to play in regulation, then went on to beat Pueblo Centennial in overtime, 34-28.
Hinkley football is now 4-0 after a 30-14 win over Sand Creek. Hinkley was 1-19 over the past two seasons, and has won more than three games in a season just once since 2004.
Steamboat Springs football cruised to a 40-7 win over Hotchkiss in their first game in their home stadium after it was renovated.
5A No. 5 Grandview had its way with Mullen, beating the Mustangs 56-3.
In 1A, No. 6 Centauri beat No. 10 Buena Vista 41-7.
In 8-man, No. 6 Holly edged No. 8 Fowler 29-28. “It was crazy,” coach Dayne Eaton told the Scoreboard Show. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a game where the kids were playing that hard against each other.”
Fort Collins beat Poudre in overtime, 20-14. The Lambkins had led 14-0 at halftime, and Poudre rallied to tie it and send it to OT.
Vista PEAK is now 4-0 in 4A after beating Aurora Central 30-14. This is the best start in the seven-year history of the program.
6-man: Granada and No. 5 Cheyenne Wells traded scores seemingly every other minute in a shootout, one that saw Granada ultimately pull off the upset win 74-64.
Emmanual Heurta rushed for three touchdowns to help 1A No. 5 Wray beat Brush 26-7.
Noah Roper scored three touchdowns on just seven carries as 3A No. 1 Erie topped Canon City 55-7. He also recovered a fumble.
Denver East quarterback Myles Patterson threw for 242 yards and three scores in a 44-6 win over Mountain Range. The Angels are now 4-1 after going 2-8 last season. It’s their best start since they opened 6-1 in 2014.
In a matchup of returning champions, 3A No. 6 Palmer Ridge beat Pueblo South 45-14.
Joshia Davis, a running back who missed the past three games with injury, made his return for Valor Christian in a 27-0 win over Menlo Atherton (Calif.). He had six carries, and scored a touchdown.
