Football is back, and things seem to be picking up right where we left them.
Valor Christian leads the first-ever CHSAANow.com 5A football poll, which is voted on by coaches and media members across the state. The Eagles are four-time defending champions across three classifications, and beat Cherokee Trail to win last year’s 5A crown. Cherokee Trail, not surprisingly, is No. 2 in the preseason poll.
ThunderRidge, a semifinalist a year ago, is third, followed by Cherry Creek and Pomona. Grandview is No. 6 to begin the season, Ralston Valley is No. 7, while Columbine (No. 8), Chaparral (No. 9) and Regis Jesuit (No. 10) round out the 5A poll.
A total of three teams received first-place votes in the ranking: Valor Christian got 14, while Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek received one each.
Monarch, the defending 4A champion, leads the preseason ranking in that classification, while Denver South, runner-up a year ago, is second. Wheat Ridge, Pine Creek and Pueblo West round out 4A’s top five teams.
In fact, each of the defending champions lead their respective preseason rankings. That includes Silver Creek (3A), Kent Denver (2A), Cedaredge (1A), Hoehne (8-man) and Fleming (6-man).
Complete polls for all classifications are below.
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CHSAANow.com Football Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
| Class 5A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Valor Christian (14) | 0-0 | 157 | – |
| 2 | Cherokee Trail (1) | 0-0 | 139 | – |
| 3 | ThunderRidge | 0-0 | 102 | – |
| 4 | Cherry Creek (1) | 0-0 | 98 | – |
| 5 | Pomona | 0-0 | 81 | – |
| 6 | Grandview | 0-0 | 71 | – |
| 7 | Ralston Valley | 0-0 | 62 | – |
| 8 | Columbine | 0-0 | 37 | – |
| 9 | Chaparral | 0-0 | 35 | – |
| 10 | Regis Jesuit | 0-0 | 23 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Mullen 22, Fairview 15, Fountain-Ft. Carson 9, Arapahoe 8, Eaglecrest 7, Mountain Vista 5, Douglas County 3, Chatfield 2, Grand Junction 2, Lakewood 2, Fort Collins 1. | ||||
| Class 4A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Monarch (14) | 0-0 | 140 | – |
| 2 | Denver South | 0-0 | 103 | – |
| 3 | Wheat Ridge | 0-0 | 93 | – |
| 4 | Pine Creek | 0-0 | 71 | – |
| 5 | Pueblo West | 0-0 | 64 | – |
| 6 | Vista Ridge | 0-0 | 58 | – |
| 7 | Ponderosa | 0-0 | 57 | – |
| 8 | Windsor | 0-0 | 39 | – |
| 9 | Mesa Ridge | 0-0 | 35 | – |
| 10 | Falcon | 0-0 | 32 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Dakota Ridge 20, Longmont 19, Loveland 10, Standley Lake 8, Montrose 7, Broomfield 5, Green Mountain 5, Cañon City 2, Mountain View 2, Cheyenne Mountain 1. | ||||
| Class 3A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Silver Creek (8) | 0-0 | 97 | – |
| 2 | Rifle (2) | 0-0 | 63 | – |
| 3 | Elizabeth | 0-0 | 61 | – |
| 4 | Pueblo East | 0-0 | 58 | – |
| 5 | Conifer | 0-0 | 47 | – |
| 6 | Discovery Canyon | 0-0 | 37 | – |
| 7 | Pueblo Central | 0-0 | 32 | – |
| 8 | Roosevelt | 0-0 | 31 | – |
| 9 | Holy Family | 0-0 | 30 | – |
| 10 | The Classical Academy | 0-0 | 18 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Glenwood Springs 17, Lutheran 14, Eagle Valley 12, Palisade 9, Delta 8, Erie 7, D’Evelyn 5, Northridge 3, Evergreen 2, Skyline 2. | ||||
| Class 2A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Kent Denver (8) | 0-0 | 80 | – |
| 2 | Platte Valley | 0-0 | 68 | – |
| 3 | Florence | 0-0 | 62 | – |
| 4 | Eaton | 0-0 | 53 | – |
| 5 | Bayfield | 0-0 | 46 | – |
| 6 | Brush | 0-0 | 38 | – |
| 7 | La Junta | 0-0 | 30 | – |
| 8 | Faith Christian | 0-0 | 27 | – |
| 9 | Grand Valley | 0-0 | 17 | – |
| 10 | Strasburg | 0-0 | 8 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Manitou Springs 3, Middle Park 3, Bennett 2, Trinidad 2, The Academy 1. | ||||
| Class 1A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Cedaredge (8) | 0-0 | 90 | – |
| 2 | Buena Vista (1) | 0-0 | 74 | – |
| 3 | Limon | 0-0 | 71 | – |
| 4 | Centauri | 0-0 | 49 | – |
| 5 | Wray | 0-0 | 47 | – |
| 6 | Monte Vista | 0-0 | 43 | – |
| 7 | Wiggins (1) | 0-0 | 41 | – |
| 8 | Hotchkiss | 0-0 | 37 | – |
| 9 | Holyoke | 0-0 | 28 | – |
| 10 | Resurrection Christian | 0-0 | 23 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Burlington 14, Ignacio 9, Paonia 8, Crowley County 4, Platte Canyon 4, Rye 4, Byers 2, C.S. Christian 2. | ||||
| Class 8-man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Hoehne (7) | 0-0 | 70 | – |
| 2 | Granada | 0-0 | 57 | – |
| 3 | Fowler | 0-0 | 55 | – |
| 4 | Dayspring Christian | 0-0 | 38 | – |
| 5 | Elbert | 0-0 | 32 | – |
| 6 | Walsh | 0-0 | 26 | – |
| 7 | Akron | 0-0 | 22 | – |
| 8 | Caliche | 0-0 | 20 | – |
| 9 | Dove Creek | 0-0 | 16 | – |
| 10 | Hayden | 0-0 | 9 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| McClave 8, Swink 8, Cheyenne Wells 6, Kiowa 5, Haxtun 4, Merino 3, La Veta 2, Sargent 2, Springfield 2. | ||||
| Class 6-man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Fleming (5) | 0-0 | 25 | – |
| 2 | Eads | 0-0 | 17 | – |
| 3 | Deer Trail | 0-0 | 12 | – |
| 4 | Hi-Plains | 0-0 | 10 | – |
| 5 | Liberty/Stratton | 0-0 | 7 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Otis 3, Briggsdale 1. | ||||