Brighton is No. 1 in 5A softball this week. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Brighton has returned to the top spot in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The Bulldogs, 15-1 to this point, received seven of the 12 first-place votes and had 92 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Fossil Ridge got the other five first-place votes and is No. 2.
Brighton was last No. 1 in the Sept. 8 poll. A week later, Dakota Ridge supplanted the Bulldogs, though Brighton has remained No. 2 for the ensuing three weeks.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Chukwuma Obinnah, pictured during a game against ThunderRidge earlier this season. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Grandview’s Chukwuma Obinnah had a four-yard touchdown in overtime to lift the Wolves to a 34-27 overtime win against Eaglecrest on Friday night.
Obinnah finished with 261 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries.
The night nearly belonged to Eaglecrest, which played the Wolves incredibly tight. The game was tied 7-7 at the half and Grandview led 14-13 after three quarters. The Wolves looked to have the game all but locked up when Obinnah made it 27-19 with 1:20 to play on his fourth touchdown.
But Eaglecrest wouldn’t go quietly. Though a 65-yard touchdown pass at the start of the drive was called back on a penalty, Eaglecrest marched down to Grandview’s 14-yard-line with 12.1 seconds remaining. Then, the Raptors scored as time expired and converted a two-point conversion to tie the game at 27.
That led to overtime, and Obinnah’s winning score.
Grandview, ranked No. 3 in 5A, is now 5-0 to start the season.
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3A: D’Evelyn 34, Lewis-Palmer 33
It seems we can’t go a week this season without updating the state record book in some fashion. Once again Friday, it was the single-game passing mark under assault.
D’Evelyn quarterback Owen Burke threw for 535 yards and five touchdowns. That is now No. 5 all-time, and is the third time this season a quarterback has cracked the top-10. Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig threw for 491 on Sept. 5, and Air Academy’s Adam Brown broke the state record last week by throwing for 589 yards.
Meanwhile, Burke’s main target, Cameron Brown, had 316 receiving yards and caught all five scores. Both figures are tied for third-best in state history.
Lewis-Palmer running back Charley Young, meanwhile, rushed for 331 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries in the loss.
When the night ended, the two teams had combined for 1,111 yards of total offense, which is now the eighth-most in state history.
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3A: (5) Rifle 36, (3) Delta 19
Rifle jumped all over Delta early, leading 10-0 after the first quarter, and then cruised to the win.
In fact, by the time Rifle led 16-0 midway through the second quarter, Delta didn’t yet have a first down, according to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent.
Rifle running back Brock Clark had three total touchdowns.
“We had to fight for everything we got, so I’m extremely proud that, if we have to do that we were still able to score 36 points,” Rifle coach Damon Wells told the Post-Independent.
“Fantastic atmosphere,” Platte Valley coach Troy Hoffman Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “Football’s crazy. Anytime you’re playing such a big game, a rivalry game like this, and then also a league opener, it just added to the atmosphere and I’m very, very happy to come out on top tonight.”
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4A: (8) Greeley West 31, Greeley Central 14
The Spartans are now 5-0 after going 1-9 last season.
“Really, it started in December, just working in the offseason and changing our offense a little bit,” Greeley West coach Jason Renouf told the Scoreboard Show. “We really hit the weight room hard, and our kids have really bought into what we’re selling to them. It’s been great to be a part of.”
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6-man: (4) Peetz 42, (3) Fleming 28
Peetz jumped out to a 28-0 lead at halftime and cruised from there.
“I think we sent a message to everyone else in the conference that we’re to reckon with,” coach Scott Sorensen told the Scoreboard Show. “I know Pawnee’s got a really strong team; we still have Weldon Valley on our schedule, too. If we’re going to finish this out, we have to stay focused and play good football.”
The Bruins cruised out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back.
Henry Lyon kicked three field goals — 48, 23 and 20 yards — Milo Hall had a 2-yard rushing touchdown, and Joseph Parker caught a 12-yard score.
Cherry Creek improved to 3-2 this season. Cherokee Trail is also now 3-2.
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8-man: (4) Akron 20, (5) Merino 12
The Rams won a physical top-10 game on Friday. Akron is now 5-0.
“I knew going into the season that we were going to be young, but I knew were going to go have some talent,” Akron coach Jerome Weers told the Scoreboard Show. “I think to some extent, they’ve even exceeded at times my expectations. … They can play real well when they want to, and they play well as a group, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Columbine’s Jake Lowry threw four touchdowns in his team’s 56-35 win over Mullen. Yes, that’s correct. Surprisingly, though, that’s not a school record for the traditional rush-happy offense. That belongs to former Rebel great Danny Spond, who threw five against Thomas Jefferson in 2009. Still, Lowry’s performance even had former Columbine great and current Denver Broncos player Ryan Miller weighing in.
Adams City beat Aurora Central 24-21 and is now 4-1 for the first time since 2005, when the team actually started 4-0. The move to 4A has really helped the program. For perspective on the turnaround: Adams City won four total games from 2006-2013, going 4-76 over that span. One of those wins was a forfeit.
Air Academy had itself another wildly offensive game, and once again, the Kadets fell short. A week after losing 68-62 to Sand Creek, they lost 76-41 to Canon City. Canon City’s Trenton Stringari rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns, according to the Canon City Daily Record. A week after breaking the state’s passing record, Air Academy quarterback Adam Brown threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Teammate Jalen Etsep had two kickoff returns for a score: 97 and 96 yards. Canon City’s Dacian Sullivan also had a kickoff return for a score (87 yards), part of a three touchdown night.
Mountain Vista moved to 5-0 with a 21-17 win over rival ThunderRidge. It is the first time in school history the Golden Eagles have won that game in nine tries. Vista quarterback Brock Rubley threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns, while Matt Yockey had 18 tackles and two sacks.
There were two instances where cross-town rivals played for the first time Friday: Longmont beat Silver Creek 42-21, while Chaparral beat Legend 33-30.
More rivalries: Heritage beat Arapahoe 23-14 for the Milk Can, while Harrison beat Sierra 25-9. It is Sierra’s first loss.
Green Mountain led Wheat Ridge 14-7 and 20-14 in the fourth quarter, but the Farmers rallied to take a 29-20 win.
In a game we previewed this week, No. 9 Berthoud moved to 5-0 with a 17-7 win over Erie in 3A.
Fountain-Fort Carson edged Douglas County 21-20 in overtime. FFC totally turned things around at halftime, when the Trojans were being shutout and had just one first down. Later, they rallied from down 13-7 with seven minutes to play.
Rangely topped Hayden in overtime, 20-14. Hayden made a goal-line stop to even get to overtime, but Rangely prevailed.
Palmer beat Sand Creek 35-28 in overtime to win on homecoming. Sand Creek tied the game with a touchdown in the final moments to force overtime.
Platte Canyon, No. 10 in 1A, beat Front Range Christian 29-0 to move to 4-1. “We preach that we’re going to try to improve every week,” Platte Canyon coach Mike Schmidt told the Scoreboard Show. “We’re young still, we’ve only got five seniors, so we feel like we’ve still got a long way to go, and a lot of improving to do.”
On its debut week in the 5A top-10, No. 10 Rocky Mountain beat Horizon 31-20.
In 3A, No. 8 Lamar beat No. 9 St. Mary’s 25-10.
Glenwood Springs upset 3A No. 10 Palisade, 17-10. It was sealed by a hard count which drew Palisade offside.
Ranked football teams had an outstanding weekend last week, and as a result, there wasn’t a whole lot of movement in the latest CHSAANow.com rankings on Monday.
Top-10 teams went a combined 54-11 last week, and only two of those losses came to unranked foes.
So it follows that all seven No. 1 teams remained the same this week. Leading their respective rankings are Valor Christian (Class 5A), Pine Creek (4A), Lutheran (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A), Dayspring Christian (8-man) and Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man).
There wasn’t a whole lot of change elsewhere.
In 5A, the teams ranked Nos. 1-6 — Valor, Pomona, Grandview, Ralston Valley, Fairview and Regis Jesuit — didn’t budge.
The classification did add at Rocky Mountain at No. 10, and Overland jumped Cherry Creek for the No. 7 spot, but it was a quiet week otherwise. Regis Jesuit remains No. 9.
Pomona remained ranked No. 2 in 5A this week. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The 4A poll added Greeley West at No. 8. The biggest mover there was Fort Collins bumping up to No. 4 this week.
Palisade rejoined the 3A poll at No. 10, while 2A added No. 10 Montezuma-Cortez. Platte Canyon (also No. 10) was 1A’s newcomer, and Flagler (another No. 10) joined the 6-man ranks.
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 moved up to No. 4 in this week’s 5A volleyball rankings. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Ralston Valley has joined this week’s Class 5A volleyball rankings as released by CHSAANow.com.
The Mustangs, now 7-1, entered at No. 8 this week.
Elsewhere in 5A, Eaglecrest made a big jump in going from No. 6 to No. 2. Unbeaten Fairview also had a big move as the Knights went from No. 8 to No. 4.
All five No. 1 teams remained the same this week: Rampart (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
There are two new teams in the 3A ranking this week: Peak to Peak (No. 8) and Eagle Ridge (No. 9).
In 2A, Simla joined at No. 7.
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.
Fossil Ridge softball is now ranked No. 3 in the 5A poll. (Pam Wagner)
Fossil Ridge moved up four spots in this week’s Class 5A softball poll from CHSAANow.com.
The Sabercats, who went 4-0 last week to improve to 12-1, are now No. 3.
Dakota Ridge remained on top of the 5A ranking again this week, though voting continues to be split. The Eagles got five of the 11 first-place votes, with No. 2 Brighton getting two and Fossil Ridge the other four.
The 5A poll got two new teams this week: No. 9 Grandview and No. 10 Grand Junction Central.
In 4A, Berthoud (No. 8) and Erie (No. 10) joined. That ranking continued to be led by Frederick.
Strasburg stayed atop the 3A poll, and rightfully so. The team beat then-No. 2 Sterling and then-No. 3 Valley as part of a 4-0 week.
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. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Arickaree/Woodlin is the new No. 1 team in the 6-man football poll this week. More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Turns out a win over a No. 1 team does help you move up to the top spot.
Arickaree/Woodlin, No. 2 in CHSAANow’s 6-man football poll last week, moved up to No. 1 this week following its 60-30 win over Stratton/Liberty on Friday night.
Coach David Saffer was expecting the move after the game on Friday.
Saffer’s squad was the only new No. 1 team this week. Valor Christian (5A), Pine Creek (4A), Lutheran (3A), Brush (2A), Paonia (1A) and Dayspring Christian (8-man) all held firm atop their respective rankings.
Ralston Valley is up to No. 4 in this week’s 5A football poll. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Valor held on to the top spot despite its loss to Chandler (Ariz.). But the Eagles are no longer a unanimous selection: they received 13 of the 18 first-place votes this week.
No. 2 Pomona, No. 3 Grandview and No. 4 Ralston Valley — which got three — also received first-place votes in 5A this week. Fairview rounds out the top five after bumping up one spot.
Regis Jesuit is sixth, Cherry Creek fell to seventh following its loss to Jordan (Utah), Overland moved up to eighth and Cherokee Trail fell to No. 9 after losing to Regis Jesuit. Doherty is the lone newcomer in 5A this week, and joins at No. 10.
Among the biggest movers this week was Fort Collins, which jumped up from No. 9 to No. 5 in the 4A poll following its win over Windsor last week.
The 4A ranking added Pueblo Centennial (No. 10), 3A added Berthoud (also No. 10) and St. Mary’s joined 2A (No. 9). In 1A, newcomer Rye is No. 10, and 6-man has two new teams this week: No. 9 Hanover and No. 10 Weldon Valley.
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.
