(NFHS Network)

Palisade’s rushing attack held off a monster game from Allen Ortiz, and the Bulldogs beat Green Mountain in a 3A top-10 battle.

Gabe Harrison had two scores to lead Palisade’s offense, while Franklin Barks and Julio Rodriguez also scored on the ground as the eighth-ranked Bulldogs beat seventh-ranked Green Mountain 31-24.

“We knew we had to win to stay in the hunt,” Palisade coach Joe Ramunno told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.

The Bulldogs are now 3-1 this season, with tough games against Conifer and Eagle Valley remaining.

“It’s tough, you’ve got to win to stay in, I know that,” Rammuno said.

Green Mountain’s Ortiz had four receiving touchdowns, twice scoring from 80 yards out. He also had touchdown catches of 56 and 22 yards.

“Boy, there’s a lot of talent on the field,” Rammuno said. “Green Mountain’s got a fine football team.”

The coach added that his team’s own passing attack helped to open the ground game.

“We were able to have some balance offensively,” Rammuno said. “We were able to get the ball in the air a little bit, which really opened up our option game. Tremendous effort by our guys.”

Down 6-0 after the first quarter, Palisade scored twice in the second to go up 14-6 at halftime. The second score came via a 28-yard score by Harrison.

In the third quarter, Rodriguez pushed the lead to 21-12 with his touchdown.

Later in that same frame, the third of Ortiz’s scores cut it to 21-18, but Palisade, and Harrison, responded. His second TD made it 28-18 late in the third.

The score stayed that way until Rudolfo Dexter made a 40-yard field goal with four minutes to play, pushing the lead to 31-18.

Ortiz’s final score made it 31-24 with two minutes to play, but Palisade recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.

Palisade’s defense had two interceptions in the win.

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4A: (9) Fountain-Fort Carson 35, (8) Pueblo West 21

A close game throughout, the Trojans get a key touchdown from Q Jones with 5:54 to play that made it 35-21.

Fountain-Fort Carson led 20-7 after the first quarter, but Pueblo West slowly chipped away that that lead. It was 20-14 midway through the third quarter, and later 27-21 early in the fourth.

But Jones’ 15-yard score seemed to put the game away:

4Q: ⁦@7Jonesjr⁩ with a 15 yard run to make it 35-21 Trojans with 5:55 remaining! ⁦@CHSAA⁩ ⁦@DanMohrmann⁩ ⁦@RobNamnoum⁩ ⁦@LindseySquints⁩ ⁦@gazettepreps⁩ ⁦@JakeGadon_TV⁩ pic.twitter.com/CuhngLJmPH

— TROJAN ATHLETICS ⚔️ (@FFCHSAthletics) October 31, 2020

Fountain-Fort Carson is now 4-0 this season.

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8-man: (3) Sanford 36, (6) Dove Creek 12

Sanford turned an 18-6 first-half lead into a big top-10 win.

After the half, Sanford’s defense made a stop and the offense responded.

“We came out and had a really good stop on their first possession,” Sanford coach Joe Cary told the Scoreboard Show. “Our offense started clicking a little bit better. We started figuring out some different things on how to go at them. The had two great, big linebackers that were really tough in the middle, so we had to figure out how to go around them. We had a few things that we did, and it seemed to work.”

Sanford is now 4-0 this season, but Cary thinks they haven’t yet reached their potential.

“I still don’t think we’ve seen our team play at the level that we want them to,” the coach said. “We’re not content with where we’re at. We’re going to keep pushing to try to get to that level.”

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6-man: (4) Granada 67, (7) Cheraw 60

It was a shootout in a big top-10 matchup.

Cheraw led 60-45 in the fourth quarter, but Granada was able to rally for the win.

“It was a very, very wild football,” coach Traegon Marquez told the Scoreboard Show. “A fun one to be a part of. But ‘wild,’ I think, is a mild way to put it.”

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Notables

More photos from the game. (Lance Wendt/wendt5280.com)

• Brighton is now 3-1 in 4A this season after it’s 30-14 win over Erie. A photo gallery from the game is available here.
• In a tight contest, 5A No. 6 Fairview beat previously unbeaten Legacy 43-32. Liam O’Brien threw for 267 yards and rushed for another 134. He had three total touchdowns.
• Gavin Sawchuk had six touchdowns as 5A No. 2 Valor Christian beat Castle View 63-21. Photos from the game are available here.
• 1A No. 2 Strasburg beat rival Bennett 42-0. “Bennett came to play, but we did some really good things,” coach Brian Brown told the Scoreboard Show. “They kind of stopped some of our big-play offense, but we really showed a very diverse offense tonight.”
• Moffat County had a big upset of 2A No. 9 Woodland Park, 27-23.
• Longmont QB Keegan Patterson had another big game. He was 29-of-41 with 316 yards and four touchdowns as his Trojans beat Greeley West 43-21. Photos from the game are available here.

More photos from the game. (Brad Cochi)

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More coverage:

• An updated top-10 scoreboard through Friday, and Saturday’s top-10 slate.
• All scores from Week 4 so far.
• Updated RPI standings through Friday’s games.
• In perhaps the game of the week, 4A No. 2 Palmer Ridge beat No. 7 Montrose.
• Photos from Regis Jesuit’s win over Douglas County.
• A new quarterback helped Chatfield beat Golden.
• Photos from Fossil Ridge’s win over Poudre.
• Photos from Broomfield’s win over Heritage.
• Photos from Cherry Creek’s win over Overland.
• Photos from Grandview’s win over Smoky Hill.

A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 4 of the 2020 season.

• Live scoreboard
• Complete CHSAANow.com rankings
• Full schedule and scoreboard of this week’s games
• RPI standings
• Individual statistical leaders

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The 2020 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.

These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Players who were named first-team all-league are eligible for the all-state ballot.

Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.

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Class 5A

(Tim Bourke/TimBourke.com)

Player of the year: Nikki McGaffin, Fossil Ridge

Coach of the year: Dave Philop, Fossil Ridge

Honorable mention:

• Naiah Ackerman, Chaparral, Junior
• Jenny Allen, Grandview, Senior
• Alexis Alvarado, Fountain-Fort Carson, Junior
• Emilie Angel, Grand Junction, Senior
• Tatum Aragon, Fort Collins, Junior
• Amrajie Bass, Smoky Hill, Junior
• Emma Bracken, Castle View, Junior
• Audrey Burt, Rock Canyon, Senior
• Brooke Carey, Regis Jesuit, Sophomore
• Savannah Clausen, Arvada West, Senior
• Rylee Crouch, Horizon, Senior
• Ryleigh Cruz, Cherokee Trail, Junior
• Katie Cummings, Denver East, Senior
• Caitlin Cushenbery, Cherokee Trail, Junior
• Kaylyn English, Legend, Sophomore
• Zoey Gallegos, Prairie View, Junior
• Jaiden Geist, Ralston Valley, Senior
• Gabi Giroux, Smoky Hill, Sophomore
• Alesia Grimaldo, Westminster, Senior
• Alex Gruitch, Cherry Creek, Senior
• Kylie Harpman, Rocky Mountain, Senior
• Alex Hendrian, Eaglecrest, Senior
• Brianna Jennings, Rampart, Senior
• Bryna Kapelke, Broomfield, Senior
• Aragon Kendall, Legacy, Junior
• Darby Kramp, Heritage, Junior
• Abby Larson, Poudre, Senior
• RyAnn LeBlanc, Adams City, Senior
• Jenna Madison, Douglas County, Freshman
• Katie Maney, Arapahoe, Senior
• Alexia Martinez, Dakota Ridge, Senior
• Reagan Medina, Lakewood, Junior
• Alexis Mohr, Horizon, Junior
• Nevaeh Ogden, Columbine, Senior
• Ivy Robinson, Rangeview, Senior
• Sydney Rodriguez, Brighton, Junior
• Lindsey Sais, Northglenn, Junior
• Peyton Shepard, Chatfield, Junior
• Jaidyn Studebaker, Monarch, Junior
• Kennedy Vis, Grand Junction Central, Junior
• Valerie Warszawski, Mountain Vista, Junior
• Kaylie Whidden, Valor Christian, Freshman
• Demi Woolsey, Prairie View, Senior
• Desi Woolsey, Prairie View, Senior

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Class 4A

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

Player of the year: Cassidy Chvatal, Holy Family

Coach of the year: Moriah Nguyen, Holy Family

Honorable mention:

• Emily Abraham, Pueblo South, Sophomore
• Claire Adams, Mead, Junior
• Brina Baysinger, Air Academy, Junior
• Kieya Belmont, Pueblo Centennial, Senior
• Abigail Bonuales, Rifle, Senior
• Bailey Carlson, Mountain View, Senior
• Malaya Coleman, Roosevelt, Junior
• Aiyana Cordero, Northfield, Sophomore
• Juliana Dickson, Denver South, Senior
• Kaleigh Duran, Pueblo East, Senior
• Hanna Espinoza, Elizabeth, Sophomore
• Gracie Flores, Berthoud, Sophomore
• Kambry Fraser, Erie, Senior
• Brynna Frey, Evergreen, Junior
• Rissy Garcia, Thornton, Junior
• Destiny Hackney, Riverdale Ridge, Senior
• Hannah Hall, Widefield, Senior
• Abby Hayes, Elizabeth, Junior
• Halle Herrera, Pueblo South, Senior
• Hayle Herrera, Pueblo County, Senior
• Sierra Hilgner, Woodland Park, Junior
• Brooklyn Horn, Kennedy, Senior
• Alina Jones, Pueblo West, Senior
• Kaleena Jones, Cheyenne Mountain, Sophomore
• Ava Kuszak, Holy Family, Junior
• Megan Leick, Longmont, Junior
• Ariadna Martinez, Mesa Ridge, Senior
• Isabella Martinez, Wheat Ridge, Junior
• Isabelle Martinez, Silver Creek, Sophomore
• Bella Marusich, George Washington, Junior
• Peyton Marvel, D’Evelyn, Freshman
• Ayva McComas, Niwot, Junior
• Jaycee Montes-Duran, Pueblo West, Senior
• Isabelle Murphy, Discovery Canyon, Senior
• Tatum Neppl, Ponderosa, Senior
• Avery Panozzo, Mullen, Senior
• Caroline Pigati, Bear Creek, Junior
• Natalia Puchino, Severance, Junior
• Lawrencia Randle, Aurora Central, Sophomore
• Niviya Rivera, Palisade, Senior
• Brooklyn Ruiz, Pueblo Central, Senior
• Julia Shiesley, Boulder, Senior
• Ashley Silvernale, Conifer, Junior
• Cheyenne Simpson, Falcon, Senior
• Angela Smith, Air Academy, Senior
• Savannah Starr, Coronado, Junior
• Ava Symanski, Eagle Valley, Junior
• Jayah Tellez, Northridge, Sophomore
• Devyn Thornton, Windsor, Senior
• Elizabeth Uhl, Wheat Ridge, Sophomore
• Gianna Uyemura, Greeley Central, Senior
• Ellie Yuska, Berthoud, Senior

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Class 3A

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

Player of the year: Sadie Ross, Eaton

Coach of the year: Dale Hughes, Eaton

Honorable mention:

• Jadyn Baggett, The Academy, Senior
• Kiersten Bohler, Sterling, Senior
• Brooklyn Enny, Lyons, Sophomore
• Taylor Fells, Fort Lupton, Junior
• Sierra Finn, James Irwin, Junior
• Stephanie Framel, Burlington, Junior
• Azalea Gamez, La Junta, Senior
• Jayda Hernandez, Lamar, Senior
• Alisha Jaramillo, Rocky Ford, Junior
• Taby Jones, Wray, Senior
• Kayla Kingsley, University, Junior
• Alexis Knapp, Resurrection Christian, Sophomore
• Shantel Koester, Lyons, Senior
• Maya Lindgren, Basalt, Senior
• Trista Marx, Limon, Junior
• Cassidy McQuiston, Weld Central, Senior
• Stephanie Medrano, Strive Prep – Smart Academy, Senior
• Rozzie Mendoza, Fort Lupton, Sophomore
• Jamie Meyer, Cedaredge, Senior
• McKayla Meyer, Cedaredge, Senior
• Lexi Nunez-Rebel, La Junta, Junior
• Brynlyn Owens, Limon, Sophomore
• Carina Paul, Sand Creek, Senior
• Heidi Price, Strasburg, Sophomore
• Britt Propernick, Gunnison, Senior
• Jamie Rader, Peak to Peak, Senior
• Macy Rowan, Wiley, Senior
• Keslie Sandoval, Delta, Senior
• Abbey Smith, Alamosa, Sophomore
• Zoe Stanzyk, Lutheran, Freshman
• Bethany Summers, Wiley, Freshman
• Haley VanOverbeke, Holyoke, Senior
• Zoe Wadman, The Classical Academy, Senior
• Madison Wiley, La Junta, Sophomore
• Kaden Wyatt, University, Sophomore
• Joy Ziegler, Faith Christian, Junior

(@BeetdiggersAD/Twitter)

Three teams joined this week’s football rankings: Holly (8-man), Highland (1A), and Brush (2A).

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings will factor into postseason seeding. More information is available here.

(Curt Wilson/North Conejos SD)

It looks like whenever the Centauri Falcons need a touchdown, it’s as easy as handing the ball off to Mason Claunch.

The junior running back has been more than impressive this season, scoring nine touchdowns on just 11 carries. He has also totaled 268 rushing yards, giving him an average of 24.4 yards per carry.

He also has two receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown. He’s touched the ball a total of 13 times and has 10 touchdowns to his name.

Of all the players in Colorado that are off to a hot start, Claunch could be off the the best. The Falcons are 2-0 on the year and head to Del Norte on Friday, hoping to remain unbeaten after three weeks.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Among other significant running backs this year is Fountain-Fort Carson senior Q. Jones (476 yards, nine touchdowns) and Erie’s Mason VeVe (460 yards, six touchdowns).

From a passing standpoint, Smoky Hill’s Leslie Richardson III is also adding to already impressive career numbers. Richardson has thrown the ball 66 times for 610 yards and nine touchdowns. Perhaps the most impressive part of his season is the fact that he has kept the ball out of opposing hands. He has yet to throw an interception and that includes in a loss to defending Class 5A state champion Cherry Creek.

Richardson is just one of two quarterbacks in the state to throw at least 60 passes and not be intercepted. Fairview’s Liam O’Brien is the other.

Summit’s Aidan Collins would be anyone’s favorite receiving target with the numbers he’s putting up this season. He’s hauled in 16 receptions for 445 yards and eight touchdowns in the two games the Tigers have played this season.

Fossil Ridge sophomore Mac Busteed is the only other player in the state with at least 300 receiving yards. He has 310 yards on 14 catches, five of which have gone for touchdowns.

A lot of players are finding ways to get to opposing quarterbacks, but Holoyoke’s Joey Beckner and Cheyenne Mountain’s Jake Boley are the only two in the state to have recorded four sacks.

Banning Lewis junior Nate Early is quickly helping the Stallions become a defensive powerhouse as he leads the state with six interceptions. Five players behind him have picked off three passes, including Lamar’s Damian Ramos.

With Week 3 games slated to start on Thursday night, more players will try to put together notable performances to help their lead their teams to a win.

(Theodore Stark/tstark.com)

(Lance Wendt/wendt5280.com)

There were quite a few changes to this week’s football rankings, with Dakota Ridge (4A), Roosevelt (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A), and Fleming (6-man) taking over atop their respective classifications.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings will factor into postseason seeding. More information is available here.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — Finally healthy and feeling at home in Class 4A, Fountain-Fort Carson football looks like the real deal.

From the time Q. Jones took his first touch 50 yards for a touchdown to fending off an attempted Vista Ridge comeback late in the first half to beat the Wolves 61-28, the Trojans look the best they have in years.

This is something head coach Jake Novotny can get used to.

“Our ceiling is as high as we want it to be,” Novotny said. “If we continue to practice like we’ve been practicing and believing like we’ve been believing, anything’s possible. Our culture has turned a corner from these last five years and I’m proud of these kids.”

Speaking of turning corners, Jones turned plenty of them as he got around defenders and ended with a monster day. He carried the ball 29 times for 309 yards and five touchdowns.

He missed most of last season with lingering issues from a leg injury suffered during his sophomore year, but he plans on taking advantage of every second he’s able to get on the field and show why he’s one of the elite running backs in the entire state.

“Every game is the game I’ve been waiting for,” Jones said. “It’s just a blessing to be out here and playing again. It feels good.”

He carried the ball just eight times a week ago and through eight carries on Friday he had totaled 111 yards and two scores that had the Class 4A No. 9 Trojans (2-0 overall, 1-0 4A Southern League) up 14-0.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The challenge with Vista Ridge (1-1, 0-1) was sophomore quarterback Brayden Dorman. With an arm like his, the Wolves can explode at any moment meaning no lead in the game was safe. Dorman showed that when he found Keyon Burris for a 33-yard touchdown pass then Kyshawn Bridges for a 20-yard touchdown pass to cut the FFC lead to 27-14 before halftime.

“Sixteen is a good player,” Novotny said. “We knew (the Vista Ridge offense) would go through him and our kids rose to the challenge.”

The key for the Trojans was making Dorman uncomfortable early. Curtis Jackson and TaShon Smith picked Dorman off well before he threw his first touchdown pass. Jackson got a second pick in the second half and Tai Faavae added one as well to go with a touchdown run of his own in the third quarter.

“We knew that Brayden was going to be one of the top guys we play this year,” Faavae said. “Especially since he’s real well-known in Colorado. The whole week we were just focusing on getting pressure on him. We know they’re a passing school and all their receivers are solid.”

As much hype that can be made over Jones’ 300-plus yard performance, perhaps equally impressive was the Trojans holding a Dorman-led offense to just 28 points.

“We’re well-rounded,” Novotny pointed out.

And for the first time as head coach of the program, his team is 2-0 to start the season. And the boys on the roster have to intention of letting up.

“We’re going to keep striving for greatness,” Jones said. “We want to win week by week and just keep going. We’re chasing a state title just like everyone else is.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 2 of the 2020 season.

• Live scoreboard
• Complete CHSAANow.com rankings
• Full schedule and scoreboard of this week’s games
• RPI standings

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A file photo of Mead from the 2019 season. (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

This week’s football rankings are out, and Mead has moved up to No. 1 in Class 3A.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings will factor into postseason seeding. More information is available here.

(Brent Murphy/brentmurphyphoto.com)

The 2020 cross country regional fields will be determined, in part, by a coaches poll within each region.

The official vote will be held this coming weekend. The coaches held a trial vote last weekend, and the results of that vote is below.

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[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 3A”]

[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 4A”]

[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 5A”]

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