No. 3 Ralston Valley at No. 2 Columbine on Thursday highlights Week 4’s top-10 football slate. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 4 in the 2015 season.
Mullen rejoined the 5A football rankings this week at No. 6. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Mullen, Arapahoe and Heritage all climbed into this week’s CHSAANow.com football rankings after impressive wins over the weekend.
The Mustangs are No. 6 in Class 5A this week, while Arapahoe is No. 8 and Heritage is No. 9.
Cherry Creek remained the No. 1 team in 5A, getting 17 of the 18 first-place votes. Pomona dropped from No. 2 to No. 7 in Class 5A, following a stunning loss to Mullen. The Panthers held a 11-point lead in the third quarter but couldn’t hang on. As a result, Columbine takes over the No. 2 spot this week.
Ralston Valley moved up behind the Rebels and is No. 3. Valor Christian sits at No. 4, and Regis Jesuit rounds out the top-5.
Cherokee Trail is the No. 10 team in 5A this week.
But it was Vista Ridge and quarterback Elway Tubbs that turned heads this week as they trounced then-No. 7 Ponderosa 57-35 Friday night. The Wolves leapt from No. 5 to No. 3 with a date with Pine Creek still on the horizon.
The Western Slope added two teams this week as Montrose comes in at No. 9 while Durango makes an appearance at No. 10.
The record-breaking numbers that Holy Family put up in the previous two weeks came to a halt as they were topped by Palisade in a big 3A matchup. The Bulldogs jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 as a result and even garnered a firs-place vote. Holy Family fell to No. 6.
Pueblo East remained No. 1 in 3A this week. Conifer was the lone newcomer in this week’s 3A poll.
A 49-7 win over Denver West keeps Kent Denver in firm position atop the 2A rankings. But La Junta received a huge surge in votes after scoring 27 points off turnovers in a 33-14 win over Eaton. The Tigers jumped from No. 6 to No. 2.
They are joined in the 2A rankings by Sterling (No. 7), The Academy (No. 9), and Alameda (No. 10).
The top three spots in 1A remained intact, including No. 1 Paonia. Resurrection Christian garnered three first-place votes after an impressive 42-6 win over Platte Canyon.
Center is the lone newcomer in 1A at No. 10.
The 10 teams in the 8-man poll remain the same, but the order changed slightly thanks to Merino’s win over Granada. The Bobcats fell from No. 4 to No. 8 and the Rams jumped one spot to No. 5.
Dayspring Christian remained No. 1 in 8-man.
Cheraw and Le Veta played their way into the 6-man rankings, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. Fleming held on to the top spot in that poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Ponderosa 20, George Washington 11, Wheat Ridge 8, Aurora Central 7, Adams City 4, Denver South 4, Palmer 4, Mountain View 3, Mesa Ridge 2, Pueblo West 2, Liberty 1.
Dropped out
Ponderosa (7), Wheat Ridge (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Pueblo East (9)
3-1
134
1
2
Fort Morgan (3)
3-0
116
2
3
Palisade (1)
3-0
105
5
4
Rifle (1)
3-0
91
4
5
Roosevelt
2-1
66
6
6
Holy Family
2-1
64
3
7
Berthoud
3-0
48
7
8
Mead
3-0
36
10
9
Delta
2-1
33
8
10
Conifer
3-0
20
–
Others receiving votes:
D’Evelyn 19, Steamboat Springs 7, Evergreen 6, Mitchell 6, Harrison 5, Lewis-Palmer 5, Discovery Canyon 2, Eagle Valley 2, Pueblo County 2, The Classical Academy 2, Pueblo Central 1.
Dropped out
Lewis-Palmer (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Kent Denver (8)
3-0
106
1
2
La Junta (2)
4-0
92
6
3
Bayfield
2-0
77
4
4
Brush (1)
2-1
75
3
5
Platte Valley
3-1
65
5
6
Eaton
2-1
57
2
7
Sterling
3-1
31
–
8
Lamar
2-1
28
9
9
The Academy
3-0
22
–
10
Alameda
3-0
20
–
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 11, Gunnison 8, Florence 5, Machebeuf 4, Olathe 2, Valley 2.
Dropped out
Faith Christian (7), Florence (8), Trinidad (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Paonia (9)
3-0
126
1
2
Buena Vista (1)
3-0
111
2
3
Resurrection Christian (3)
4-0
110
3
4
Burlington
3-0
75
5
5
Cedaredge
3-0
64
7
6
Monte Vista
2-1
63
6
7
Rye
3-1
46
8
8
Platte Canyon
2-1
41
4
9
Meeker
1-2
23
9
10
Center
3-0
14
–
Others receiving votes:
Limon 12, Wiggins 12, Dolores 7, Crowley County 6, Peyton 3, Ellicott 2.
Rocky Mountain is the No. 10 team in this week’s Class 5A football poll. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Cherry Creek remains the top overall team in the Class 5A CHSAANow.com rankings after a 7-6 win over Pomona Friday night.
The Bruins received all but one of the first-place votes. It was the Panthers who got that other No. 1 vote.
Following its second-straight loss, Valor Christian fell one slot to land fourth in the polls, with Columbine taking over the third spot.
Both Cherry Creek and Valor Christian will travel out of state for games this week.
Newcomers to the 5A poll include Cherokee Trail, fresh off an impressive win over Denver East, and Rocky Mountain.
Like in 5A, the rest of last week’s top teams remained at No. 1 in the polls, with some newcomers being filtered in.
Pine Creek remains the top team in 4A after its bye week. Greeley West made the biggest jump in the 4A pool, going from ninth to sixth, thanks to a 28-20 win over D’Evelyn.
After starting the year 2-0, Palmer Ridge broke into the 4A poll at ninth, followed by fellow-Colorado Springs newcomer, Rampart, at No. 10. The Rams blanked Coronado on Saturday and have yet to surrender a point this season.
Defending champion Pueblo East is still on top in the 3A poll. The top seven teams in 3A held their positions and only one team, Mead, broke in as a newcomer. They join this week’s poll at 10.
Kent Denver remains atop the 2A polls, but the biggest shake-up of the week happened right behind them. Faith Christian fell from second to seventh after a stunning loss to Florence. The Huskies joined the poll this week at eighth on the strength of their 15-12 win over the Eagles.
Trinidad also joins the 2A polls at No. 10 this week. The Miners look good early this season, outscoring their opponents 93-14 through two games.
Crowley County joined the 1A polls at No. 10 this week.
Springfield and Holly each made their way into the 8-man polls. They come in and ninth and 10th, respectively. Merino also jumped from No. 10 to No. 6 this week.
In 8-man, Cheyenne Wells breaks into the top 10, coming in at ninth. Pawnee also jumped from fifth to third this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Cherry Creek is atop the Class 5A football poll this week. More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Cherry Creek, fresh off of two impressive wins to begin the season, has ascended to the top of CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A football rankings this week.
The Bruins, defending 5A champions, beat Heritage in Zero Week, then followed it up with a 17-3 win over then-No. 4 Regis Jesuit in Week 1. They received 11 of the 18 first-place votes, and edged out Pomona, which moved up to No. 2 after getting six first-place votes.
Cherry Creek and Pomona play on Friday.
Pomona, No. 3 in the preseason, beat No. 1 Valor Christian last week. Valor Christian fell to No. 3 in the 5A poll.
Columbine is fourth, and Grandview moved into the top five following its win over Chaparral. Ralston Valley also moved up — to sixth — after its Week 1 win over Eaglecrest.
Regis Jesuit fell three spots to seventh, Fairview is eighth and Doherty moved up to ninth. Mullen is the lone newcomer to 5A this week at No. 10. The Mustangs opened the season with a 41-0 win against Gateway.
There are also new No. 1 teams in the 2A and 8-man rankings.
Kent Denver is now No. 1 in Class 2A. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
In 8-man, Dayspring Christian takes over at the top. The Eagles narrowly edged out Norwood with 75 total points to Norwood’s 74 — despite Norwood actually getting more first-place votes (four) than Dayspring (three).
The 8-man poll added Haxtun (No. 9) and Merino (No. 10) this week.
Each of the other No. 1 teams held firm this week: Pine Creek (4A), Pueblo East (3A), Paonia (1A) and Fleming (6-man).
The biggest movers in 4A’s ranking were Windsor, which moved up to fourth and Vista Ridge, now ranked No. 6. That poll added three new teams: No. 8 Ponderosa, No. 9 Greeley West and No. 10 Wheat Ridge.
In 3A, Rifle jumped up from No. 8 to No. 4. That poll, too, has three new members: No. 7 Berthoud, No. 8 D’Evelyn and No. 9 Lewis-Palmer.
There were no new teams in 1A, though Burlington did jump from No. 10 to No. 6.
The 6-man poll added Cheraw at No. 8.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Loveland 13, Montrose 7, Pueblo West 7, Rampart 6, Denver South 4, Palmer Ridge 4, Fort Collins 3, Durango 2, Silver Creek 2, Greeley Central 1.
Dropped out
Denver South (5), Fort Collins (8), Pueblo South (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Pueblo East (8)
1-1
130
1
2
Fort Morgan (5)
1-0
109
2
3
Holy Family
1-0
107
4
4
Rifle (1)
2-0
89
8
5
Palisade
1-0
72
5
6
Roosevelt
1-1
50
6
7
Berthoud
1-0
43
–
8
D’Evelyn
1-0
35
–
9
Lewis-Palmer
1-0
29
–
10
Delta
1-1
24
9
Others receiving votes:
Discovery Canyon 20, Mead 13, Evergreen 11, The Classical Academy 8, Conifer 7, Erie 6, Mitchell 4, Pueblo Central 4, Canon City 3, Pueblo County 2, Eagle Valley 1, Frederick 1, Lutheran 1, Thomas Jefferson 1.
It was not a good week to be ranked as the 2015 football season began in earnest.
When the dust settled on Friday night, here’s what we were left with:
Three No. 1 teams lost on Friday night. 5A’s Valor Christian was clipped by No. 3 Pomona. 2A’s Brush, the defending champion, last to 3A No. 2 Fort Morgan, and 8-man’s Caliche fell to unranked Kiowa.
Ranked teams are just 35-23 so far in Week 1. That includes three ranked 4A teams which lost to unranked opponents on Friday alone.
In all, there have been 16 upsets so far in Week 1, including 13 ranked teams losing to unranked opponents.
To the games.
[divider]
3A/2A: (2) Fort Morgan 47, (1) Brush 7
Fort Morgan controlled this rivalry game from start to finish — a game that had a new twist with new Brush coach Reid Kahl, who graduated from Fort Morgan.
“I consider Reid Kahl one of my good friends. When I got to Fort Morgan, the Kahls took me in,” Fort Morgan coach Harrison Chisum told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s tough coaching against friends. He’s an outstanding coach and I have a lot of respect for him. … I’m just glad it’s done and we’re still friends.”
Brush had won five consecutive games in the rivalry.
“It was a little more enjoyable this year,” Chisum said. “Five years in a row, they’ve had our number. To finally come out on top, it feels good. The boys did a good job.
“I didn’t realize it was five years. I think I was trying to forget some of those years. … It’s pretty nice to be able to start off with a win.”
[divider]
8-man: Kiowa 12, (1) Caliche 6
In a rare low-scoring game, Kiowa knocked off the No. 1 team, and defending champions.
Kiowa led 12-0 after the first quarter, and it turned out to be all the points it would need.
The win avenged last season’s 49-6 loss to Caliche. Kiowa went on to finish 2-7 in 2014. This win actually snapped a six-game losing streak.
Conversely, Caliche had won nine games in a row — including a Zero Week game against Soroco.
[divider]
4A: Loveland 36, (5) Denver South 18
Quarterback Ayden Eberhardt had four total touchdowns to lead Loveland to the upset of Denver South.
“Our quarterback is just a great, nifty little runner and can do things,” Loveland coach Wayne McGinn told the newspaper. “You don’t know where he’s going. I don’t know where he’s going half the time.”
[divider]
6-man: (3) Arickaree/Woodlin 58, (5) Peetz 50
Arickaree/Woodlin, the defending 6-man champion, out-gunned Peetz in a shootout despite having a young roster.
“Our starting six or seven have a lot of experience, but they’re in some different positions this year,” Arickaree/Woodlin coach David Saffer told the Scoreboard Show. “And we’ve got a bunch of young kids and they’re just kind of learning high school football and adjusting to the speed and learning what it takes to win at this level.”
[divider]
Notables
Arvada beat Sheridan 27-14, and in doing so, snapped an 18-game losing streak which dated to 2013. The Bulldogs’ last win came on Sept. 13, 2013, in overtime against Skyview. The program had been 1-22 over its past 23 games going back to 2012.
Manitou Springs recovered five onside kicks in its game against Faith Christian. Faith Christian, however, won 46-32.
It was a top-5 matchup in 2A as No. 5 Platte Valley beat No. 3 Strasburg 30-7.
In 3A, Mitchell beat Widefield 34-28 in double overtime. It wasn’t the night’s only extra time. 1A’s Olathe beat Hotchkiss in overtime, 29-27, and in 5A, Cherokee Trail beat ThunderRidge 22-15.
In 1A, No. 1 Paonia beat No. 7 Monte Vista 21-7.
Dakota Ridge, ranked No. 3 in 4A, opened with a big 38-9 win over 5A Monarch. “We challenged our kids all week that they needed to play physical and play tough,” coach Ron Woitalewicz told the Scoreboard Show. “Our kids really rose to that expectation.”
Eaglecrest led 5A No. 9 Ralston Valley 14-13 at halftime, but the Mustangs stormed back to take a 33-27 win. Ralston Valley nearly fell victim to a comeback of its own, as it held a 33-14 lead in the fourth quarter but had to hold on.
5A No. 6 Fairview led Grand Junction 21-0, but had to hold on for a 21-12 win.
Lakewood handed 5A No. 8 Fountain-Fort Carson its second straight loss, this one a 31-21 decision.
Chaparral played 5A No. 7 Grandview tough early, but the Wolves pulled away for a 29-12 win.
Six more Colorado teams played out-of-state opponents on Friday, going 4-2. Durango, Holly, La Junta and Sedgwick County all notched wins, while Wray and Montezuma-Cortez lost on Friday. So far in 2015, Colorado teams are 8-2 against out-of-state foes.
Longmont and Pueblo East played on Friday night. (Photo: @GoTrojanNation on Twitter)
It doesn’t get much bigger for Zero Week: One defending champion, one runner-up — both from different classifications.
On Friday, Longmont, the Class 4A runner-up last season, held off Pueblo East, the reigning 3A champ, with a 48-27 victory. The Trojans got five touchdowns from Conlon Berger, according to BoCoPreps’ Brad Cochi.
The game was actually knotted at 21 at halftime, but Longmont seized a two-touchdown lead just two drives into the second half. Pueblo East fumbled on the next possession, and Longmont’s Berger scored on the very next play.
Longmont, ranked No. 2 in 4A’s preseason poll, cruised thereafter to knock off top-ranked Pueblo East.
[divider]
1A/2A: (4) Resurrection Christian 15, (5) Platte Valley 13
Resurrection Christian scored two touchdowns in a span of 1:28, and it would be all the Cougars needed to upset 2A foe Platte Valley, 15-13.
Platte Valley battled back, and even scored a touchdown to make it 15-13 with 2:37 remaining, but couldn’t convert the two-point attempt to tie the game.
[divider]
3A: (9) Delta 38, The Classical Academy 35
In a game that featured seven lead changes, Delta was finally able to hold off The Classical Academy.
TCA led 28-24 with 8:29 to go in the third quarter, but Delta was able to rally to take a 31-28 lead heading to the fourth.
The Classical Academy drove down to the Delta 1-yard-line with a chance to take the lead, but turned the ball over. Delta scored on the ensuing possession to make it 38-28.
[divider]
8-man: (10) Sargent 40, (8) Springfield 28
Sargent built at 32-14 lead at halftime, and was able to pull the upset of Springfield.
The game looked to be a back-and-forth affair early on, but a 66-yard kickoff return for a score made it 24-8 and broke the game open.
[divider]
5A: Cherry Creek 31, Heritage 0
Cherry Creek, the defending 5A champion, shook off some Zero Week jitters to cruise to a season-opening win.
Pine Creek extended its state-best winning streak to 26 games by beating Pueblo Centennial 45-0. Paonia has the second-longest streak at 23 games.
Colorado teams were 4-0 on Friday against out-of-state opponents. Included: Valor Christian beating Bonneville (Idaho) 51-12; Bayfield topping Kirtland Central (N.M.) 43-0; Rifle over Grand County (Utah) 47-12; and Sedgwick County routing Creek Valley (Neb.) 94-8.
Durango pulled off a big upset in 3A, knocking off No. 10 Lutheran 33-7.
In 6-man, No. 8 North Park upset No. 5 Peetz, 60-26. Helmuth Wenneker had two rushing touchdowns, while Garrin Cox rushed for 170 yards and a score.
Tanner Patterson had six total touchdowns as 6-man No. 10 Otis beat Weldon Valley 50-7 — three passing and three rushing.
