Quarterback Cody Summers and Grandview are now the top-ranked team in Class 5A football. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Grandview, now 8-0, is the new No. 1 team in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings this week.
The Wolves took over the top spot previously occupied by Valor Christian, which lost an in-state game for the first time in 28 outings on Friday when then-No. 9 Cherry Creek upset the Eagles 33-17.
Led by senior Andrew Wingard, Ralston Valley is No. 2 in the 5A poll. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Ralston Valley also had a good claim to the top ranking. The Mustangs are 8-0, too, and won a monster game over then-No. 3 Pomona on Friday. They settled into the No. 2 spot this week, just 10 overall points behind Grandview.
Grandview received 10 first-place votes; Ralston Valley got five.
Meanwhile, Fairview moved up two places to No. 3 after escaping an upset bid from Fossil Ridge.
Pomona dropped one spot to fourth, Cherry Creek rocketed up from No. 9 to No. 5, and Valor fell all the way to sixth. Regis Jesuit is seventh, dropping one place despite a good win over then-No. 7 Mountain Vista.
Rocky Mountain remained at No. 8, Mountain Vista fell to No. 9 and Doherty rejoined the 5A poll at No. 10.
Speaking to the uncertainty in the 5A ranking at the moment, spots Nos. 4-7 are separated by a mere five points. Things could get much more clouded â Valor Christian and Grandview play in their regular season finale on Friday.
In the other six classificatoins, none of the top-ranked teams were displaced. It means Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man) stayed on top.
There were no newcomers in the 4A ranking this week, though 3A added Palisade (No. 10), and St. Mary’s (No. 9). Eaton (No. 10) joined the 2A poll. 1A added Crowley County (No. 10), and North Park joined 6-man’s ranking at No. 9.
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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Fairview’s defense stuffed Fossil Ridge’s late two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 42-40 win in Fort Collins, and keep the No. 5 Knights (8-0) unbeaten this season.
Senior quarterback Johnny Feauto had another stellar night, including a few of his characteristic creative scores. Feauto finished with three touchdowns, including two passing scores, but did get a scare late when he took a hit and had to miss a few plays while having his knee attended to.
Feauto returned to finish out the win, and indicated afterward that he should be fine.
Fairview, meanwhile, had built a 42-28 lead after three quarters. But Fossil Ridge kept fighting. The SaberCats got a touchdown pass from Mitchell Salmela to Josh Visee, and eventually cut it to 42-40 with 41 seconds to play. Andrew Spraberry then took a handoff up the middle, but a number of Knights were there to meet him.
The ensuing onside kick failed, and Fairview ran out the clock to win.
Spraberry finished with three touchdowns, and 173 yards according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Feauto had 445 yards of total offense, according to the paper.
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5A: Eaglecrest 23, Cherokee Trail 17
This Centennial League is no joke.
Darian Turner scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with 6:12 to play as Eaglecrest topped Cherokee Trail 23-18 on Friday night in Class 5A.
Turner had set up the play with a 44-yard reception on a screen. He then recovered a game-sealing fumble deep in Eaglecrest’s territory with less than a minute to play.
Though it was back-and-forth for much of the early going, Eaglecrest was able to build a 17-9 lead at halftime. Cherokee Trail chipped away with a field goal in the third quarter, then took an 18-7 lead with 11:25 remaining in the game.
That set the stage for Turner’s score, and Eaglecrest’s answer.
Alex Barnes rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders cruised to a win in this top-10 showdown.
Regis quarterback Matt Houghtaling threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 33 yards.
The Raiders led 28-0 at halftime, and cruised to a win in this top-10 showdown.
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6-man: (6) Walsh 76, (5) Kit Carson 52
The two teams combined for 128 points, with Walsh coming out on top.
“It was kind of an introduction to 6-man football, wasn’t it?” coach Ronny Tate told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “They were pretty tough. That wide-open thing, that makes a coach pull his hair out.”
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5A: Prairie View 42, Denver East 38
Ben Meraz scored the winning touchdown with 39 seconds to play as the Thunderhawks moved to 7-1 this season.
“That last drive, our O-line came up big,” Prairie View coach Todd Riccio told the Scoreboard Show. “We had to drive 80 yards. There were two minutes left on the clock when we got the ball back.”
It was a back-and-forth game, with Denver East rallying from down 28-16 early in the third quarter to take a 30-28 lead in the fourth. The Angels were clinging to a 38-35 lead prior to Meraz’s score.
“I’m still catching my breath from it,” Riccio said. “It was a shootout, and it was fun to be a part of.”
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3A: Northridge 37, Mead 31
Mead led 33-24 late into the fourth quarter before Northridge scored 14 points within a span of 15 seconds to steal a win.
Northridge got a pick-six with 2:24 remaining. On the ensuring kickoff, Northridge recovered a fumble. The Grizzlies scored on the next play, with 2:09 remaining. They held on to win.
“We were lucky tonight. We didn’t deserve to win,” Northridge coach Jeff Fulton told the Scoreboard Show. “Mead dominated most facets of the game. … We snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.
“We’re going to wake up in the morning and feel pretty good,” he added later. “But we were very fortunate. Our kids just never died. They never gave up.”
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Notables
In 8-man, No. 2 Caliche beat No. 3 Akron 49-24.
No. 2 Buena Vista beat No. 8 Rye 40-14 in 1A. “We got a couple of turnovers and kind of changed the momentum,” Buena Vista coach Matt Flavin told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a dog-fight there in the beginning, and when that momentum changed over, it definitely helped us out.”
Pine Creek appears to be rolling. 4A’s No. 1 team (and defending champion) is now 8-0, with consecutive shutouts under its belt. Last week, it was a 47-0 decision over Liberty. This week, it was 56-0 at Durango.
Crowley County knocked off 1A No. 10 Limon, 25-0. “I thought our ‘D’ did a good job getting to the ball … and making big stops when they had to,” Crowley County coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show.
St. Mary’s upset 2A No. 7 Florence, 42-19.
Eagle Valley upset 3A No. 6 Delta, 18-7.
6-man’s Genoa-Hugo/Karval went winless last season (0-8), but is now 4-4 following a 49-13 win over South Park on Friday.
With Valor Christian’s in-state winning streak stopped at 28, we looked up the longest current streaks. In order: 8-man’s Dayspring Christian (20), Pine Creek (19) and 1A’s Paonia (18). All three won titles last season.
Fountain-Fort Carson is ranked No. 10 in 5A this week. (Dennis Pleuss)
Buoyed by its four-overtime win against Doherty on Friday night, Fountain-Fort Carson cracked CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings on Monday.
The Trojans, now 6-1, entered the poll at No. 10. They have won their last five games.
Elsewhere in 5A, Valor Christian stayed atop the ranking after receiving ten of the 16 first-place votes. Grandview, which got four first-place votes after its big win against Cherry Creek, returned to the No. 2 spot this week.
Pomona is third, and Ralston Valley is fourth. Those two cross-town rivals play one another on Friday night.
Fairview rounds out 5A’s top five, Regis Jesuit is sixth, Mountain Vista moved up to No. 7 and Rock Mountain is No. 8. Cherry Creek fell three places to No. 9.
The other No. 1 teams also remained put, including Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man).
Newcomers (or returners to the rankings) this week include Dakota Ridge (No. 9 in 4A); Berthoud (No. 9, 3A); Fort Morgan (No. 10, 3A); Sterling (No. 9, 2A); and Cheyenne Wells (No. 10, 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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Mountain Vista is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 5A poll. (Paul DiSalvo/MaxPreps)
Mountain Vista, off to its best start in seven seasons, has joined CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings this week.
The Golden Eagles are now 6-0 following a 34-7 win over Rock Canyon on Friday. The six wins are the most since Mountain Vista went 7-4 in 2009, and the unbeaten start is the best since the Golden Eagles began 7-0 in 2007. Mountain Vista also started 6-0 in 2006, when it went 10-2.
Mountain Vista is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 5A poll.
Valor Christian continued to lead the 5A ranking after beating Eaglecrest last week, as the Eagles got 12 of the 17 first-place votes and amassed 165 total points. Pomona remained in the No. 2 spot following its fifth-straight win, while Grandview jumped Ralston Valley for No. 3.
Broomfield is ranked No. 10 in this week’s 4A poll. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Cherry Creek reamined in the No. 6 spot, and Regis Jesuit stayed at No. 7. Doherty bumped up two places to No. 8, while Rocky Mountain is again No. 9 this week.
The six other No. 1 teams in the rankings also stayed put: Pine Creek (4A), Discovery Canyon (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man).
Broomfield joined the 4A poll at No. 10, while 3A added Glenwood Springs, also at No. 10.
New to the 2A ranking is Montezuma-Cortez (No. 10), and 6-man added Mountain Valley (No. 10).
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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
Discovery Canyon has taken over the top spot in the 3A football rankings. (Pam Wagner)
Discovery Canyon has perhaps the best combinations of wins to date in Class 3A football this season. As a result, the Thunder now own the No. 1 spot in CHSAANow.com’s ranking.
Voting in 3A remained split again this week, continuing a season-long trend, but the Thunder received seven of the 13 first-place votes, and had 122 total points. Lutheran, No. 1 since the preseason, dropped to No. 2 with six first-place votes and 114 points.
Elsewhere in the classificatoin, Rifle moved up to No. 3, while Holy Family is now No. 4. The 3A poll added Conifer (No. 10) this week.
Ralston Valley moved up to No. 3 in the 5A poll this week. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Cherry Creek is up to No. 6 after shutting out then-No. 9 Cherokee Trail. Regis Jesuit is No. 7, Overland No. 8 and Rocky Mountain is No. 9. Doherty rejoins the poll this week at No. 10.
In 4A, Pine Creek extended its stay at No. 1. The Eagles beat then-No. 5 Vista Ridge last week. That ranking didn’t add any teams this week, though Fort Collins moved up to No. 2 from No. 4.
Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man) each stayed atop their respective polls this week.
Newcomers included Gunnision (No. 9) and Bayfield (No. 10) in 2A; Rye (No. 10) in 1A; Sangre de Cristo (No. 10) in 8-man; and Pawnee (No. 7) in 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 select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding, except in 5A where they are used as part of the seeding criteria.
