Palisade is now the No. 1 team in Class 3A. (Betsy McLaughlin/Palisade Tribune)

Palisade edged then-No. 1 Rifle last Friday after rallying from a 27-14 halftime deficit. Tuesday, Palisade is on top of CHSAANow.com’s Class 3A football poll.

The Bulldogs received all 13 first-place votes in moving up from No. 2 taking over at No. 1. Rifle dropped to third. Unbeaten Coronado, which has the most wins in the state at 7-0, is second.

The 3A ranking added Roosevelt (No. 10) this week.

In the 5A poll, Fairview has moved up to No. 2 from No. 3.

The Knights (5-0) are 5A’s lone remaining unbeaten team, and got one first-place vote. Valor Christian got the other 23 and remained atop the ranking.

Regis Jesuit is third this week, and is followed by No. 4 ThunderRidge and No. 5 Cherry Creek.

Columbine rejoined the 5A ranking at sixth after its wild win over then-No. 2 Chatfield. Chatfield dropped to seventh this week.

Arapahoe is eighth, Pomona is ninth and Cherokee Trail fell to tenth after its loss to Cherry Creek last week.

Montrose, idle last week, remained in 4A’s No. 1 spot. Monarch moved up to No. 2, and Standley Lake is No. 3 this week. That ranking added Pueblo South at No. 8 and Durango at No. 10.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man

George Washington and Standley Lake have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys soccer poll.

The two teams were the lone new additions in 5A. GW is No. 9, Standley Lake No. 10.

Complete polls for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Soccer Polls

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.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A

Standley Lake football coach Don Morse, far right, talks to his offense during a timeout in the fourth quarter Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. The Gators beat Montbello 31-21 in the Class 4A Mountain League opener for both squads. Standley Lake moved to 6-0 for the first time since 2007 with the win. (Dennis Pleuss)

ARVADA — Standley Lake football is only concerned about the immediate present and future.

The Gators, ranked No. 6 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 4A football poll, hadn’t been 6-0 to start a season since 2007. Until Thursday night.

A 31-21 victory over No. 5 Montbello at the North Area Athletic Complex kept Standley Lake (6-0, 1-0 in 4A Mountain League) perfect this season, while the resurgent Warriors (5-1, 0-1) suffered their first setback.

“It has been awhile, but we could care less,” Standley Lake junior defensive end Grant Gladstone said of the Gators’ 6-0 record. “We are just looking to the next game.”

Gladstone played a big part in the Gators sewing up their win against the visiting Warriors. Montbello rallied with 14-unanswered points after trailing 31-7 midway through the third quarter. Warriors’ quarterback A.J. Thompson had a 41-yard touchdown run and 4-yard touchdown pass to senior Marquille Jones, trimming Standley Lake’s lead to 31-21.

However, Gladstone and defensive line teammate Trey Jarvis combined for a pair of sacks of Thompson late in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.

Montbello senior quarterback A.J. Thompson breaks away from Standley Lake defenders Matt Fujinami (15) and Connor Durant (81) on a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter Thursday. Thompson also threw for a pair of touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as Standley Lake handed Montbello its first loss of the season, 31-21. (Dennis Pleuss)

“(Thompson) was running all over me a couple of times today,” Gladstone said. “Trey Jarvis was doing a good job squeezing him toward me. I got my chances.”

Jarvis entered the game with eight sacks this year. The attention given to Jarvis allowed Gladstone to make some plays.

Another defensive standout for Standley Lake was junior Connor Durant. After his three-touchdown performance last week in a 28-0 victory against Green Mountain, Durant made a leaping interception with 4:28 left in the fourth quarter deep in Gators’ territory.

The Gators’ running game by committee was effective with juniors Anthony Moore and John Perez each scoring two touchdowns on Thursday. Seven different players have scored rushing touchdowns for Standley Lake through six games.

“We don’t have that star running back,” Standley Lake coach Don Morse said. “We have a bunch of kids who are average or above average. They all have different abilities, so we like to shuffle them in and out. It’s worked out pretty well for us so far.”

Standley Lake hopes the remainder of the season works out better for the 2007 squad. The Gators lost four straight games to Wheat Ridge, Ralston Valley, Dakota Ridge and ThunderRidge to miss the postseason six years ago.

The conference road includes Broomfield next Friday at NAAC, followed up by Golden and George Washington before finishing up the regular season against the defending 4A state championship — Monarch.

Morse believes four Mountain League squads could make the playoff field this season.

Montbello has a tough task next week when it hosts Monarch (5-1) next Saturday afternoon at Evie Dennis Sports Complex.

The weekend’s turmoil has bled over into CHSAANow.com’s football polls.

Though, when a total of 17 ranked teams lose in a week — including the No. 1s in classes 5A, 4A and 3A — it’s not hard to see change coming. So, yes, there are new teams atop 5A (Valor Christian), 4A (Montrose) and 3A (Rifle).

But the change didn’t only affect the top. In 5A, where three of the top four teams lost last week, that meant Chatfield, Fairview, Cherokee Trail and Regis Jesuit all made big jumps.

Valor Christian leads the 5A poll for the second time this season. The Eagles are 4-1, but unbeaten against Colorado competition this season, and received 21 of the 24 first-place votes.

Chatfield moved up to No. 2 from No. 5, Fairview went from No. 7 to No. 3 and Cherokee Trail moved into fourth from sixth. Regis Jesuit, which last week knocked off then-No. 1 ThunderRidge, went from No. 9 to No. 5.

ThunderRidge dropped to sixth, and is followed by Grandview and Cherry Creek.

The 5A poll added two new teams this week: No. 9 Pomona and No. 10 Arapahoe.

In 4A, Montrose takes over following its come-from-behind win over then-No. 1 Monarch. The Indians were a unanimous No. 1 pick, getting all 21 first-place votes.

Falcon is No. 2 this week, and Monarch dropped to No. 3. Loveland stayed at No. 4, Montbello moved up one place to round out the top-5.

Pueblo Centennial (No. 9) and Longmont (No. 10) are 4A’s newcomers this week.

Rifle takes over atop the 3A ranking following Silver Creek’s loss to Frederick. New to 3A this week are Mead (No. 7) and D’Evelyn (No. 10).

Brush continued to lead 2A’s poll, which added Bennett at No. 10.

Likewise, Buena Vista remained atop in 1A. That poll added Paonia (No. 8) and Jefferson (No. 9). Jefferson’s addition is especially noteworthy because the Saints were a combined 3-85 from 2004-12.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man

Fairview is back in the boys soccer rankings, checking in at No. 7 in 5A. (Pam Wagner)

Rangeview is Class 5A soccer’s lone remaining unbeaten and untied team. And the Raiders (9-0-0) are now No. 1 in this week’s CHSAANow.com boys soccer poll.

Rangeview moved up from No. 4 to claim the top spot. Grandview is second this week, moving up from fifth following a 3-0-0 week which included a 4-1 win over the-No. 1 Cherry Creek.

The 5A poll added three new teams this week: No. 7 Fairview, No. 9 Aurora Central and No. 10 Highlands Ranch.

No. 7 Poudre, No. 9 Pine Creek and No. 10 Montbello all cracked the ranking this week.

"This," said one 5A voter, "is getting messy."

There’s also a new No. 1 team in 4A, where Air Academy takes over. That ranking added Valor Christian (No. 7) and Denver North (No. 10).

Likewise, Colorado Academy takes over atop the 3A poll this week.

Complete polls for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Soccer Polls

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.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A

Ninth-ranked Regis Jesuit beat No. 1 ThunderRidge in 5A on Friday night. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

It was not a good night to play at the top.

The No. 1 teams in CHSAANow.com’s football polls for classes 5A, 4A and 3A all lost on Friday night. ThunderRidge, top-ranked in 5A, lost to No. 9 Regis Jesuit 35-12. Monarch, atop 4A, lost to No. 2 Montrose in a wild game, 39-34. And 3A Silver Creek was taken down 31-28 on a last-second field goal from Frederick.

“They believed in themselves and were able to play as one unit and we were able to come up with a big win,” Frederick coach Thad Lear told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show on Friday night.

Frederick trailed 14-0 in its game but was able to cut things to 14-7 before the half. Then, the Warriors scored on their first possession in the second half to make it 14-13.

“We missed the PAT, but the kids were excited, they believed in one another and they never let up,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “They never stopped.”

Frederick would eventually take a 28-21 lead before Silver Creek tied things at 28-all with 1:28 remaining. That set the stage for one more drive — and the game-winning 30-yard field goal from sophomore Dalton Nelson.

“They tried a pooch kick and we were able to get the ball on the 30, and we decided to run the ball a few times to see where we could get it to,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “We got a first down and completed a couple of short passes, and we had a couple of timeouts. … I think it ended up being a 30-yard field goal and we were excited to have the opportunity.

“I can’t say enough about our kids, and our kicker, he stepped in. He’s a sophomore, first year playing football, and he kicked the game-winner.”

Likewise, Montrose had to dig its way out of a hole, this one 21-0 to top-ranked Monarch midway through the second quarter.

The Indians clawed their way back to 21-18 with 2:16 to play in the third, but Monarch responded with a quick touchdown which made it 28-18.

Montrose had an answer of its own, and cut things to 28-25 before recovering an onside kick and scoring again. At that point, it was 32-28 Indians and 8:30 remained in the game.

Monarch marched down and regained the lead at 34-32 with 3:47 to go, but it was short-lived. Montrose countered with a scoring drive, and took the lead at 39-34. Monarch had one final drive, but fell just short deep in Montrose territory. Read a full recap of the game here.

Regis Jesuit’s upset of ThunderRidge in 5A was a different story. The Raiders led from the outset and were up 28-0 at the half.

ThunderRidge got within 28-6 in the third, but Regis put things out of reach on Jalen Williams’ five-yard run with 11 minutes remaining. Find photos from the game here.

It wasn’t all bad for No. 1 teams on Friday night. Top-ranked Brush beat University in 2A, 56-13; 8-man’s Hoehne handled Manzanola 55-8; and 6-man’s Liberty/Stratton beat Cheraw 74-6. Buena Vista, No. 1 in 1A, plays Salida on Saturday.

In other top-10 action, 5A No. 7 Fairview beat No. 4 Ralston Valley 43-18; 4A No. 6 Montbello beat No. 5 Wheat Ridge 20-0; 2A No. 5 Manitou Springs beat No. 4 Florence 26-14; and 1A No. 4 Hotchkiss beat No. 3 Cedaredge. Find a complete top-10 scoreboard here.

Three new teams joined this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys soccer poll.

No. 7 Poudre, No. 9 Pine Creek and No. 10 Montbello all cracked the ranking this week.

Complete polls for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Soccer Polls

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.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A

(David Samples/lastingimagesbydave.com)

Brush took down former No. 1 Platte Valley on Friday. Monday, the Beetdiggers took its spot atop CHSAANow.com’s Class 2A football poll.

Brush, which won the game 28-10, was ranked second last week. It received all 10 first-place votes in the poll. Platte Valley dropped to third, behind Kent Denver.

The 2A poll added Faith Christian (No. 8) and Aspen (No. 10) this week.

In 5A, ThunderRide continued to lead the way and received 13 first-place votes to No. 2 Valor Christian’s 11. Columbine remained in third, and Ralston Valley stayed at No. 4.

Chatfield moved up from seventh to fifth, and is followed by No. 6 Cherokee Trail and No. 7 Fairview. Grandview is eighth, Regis Jesuit is ninth, and Cherry Creek rejoined the ranking at No. 10.

Monarch stayed atop 4A’s ranking, but there’s a new No. 2 team in that poll: Montrose, which moved up from third. It’s excellent timing, considering the two teams play Friday.

Falcon is third this week, followed by Loveland, Wheat Ridge and Montbello, which beat former No. 2 Denver South on Saturday. South dropped to No. 8.

Montbello and Wheat Ridge play Friday.

Pine Creek was the lone new team to the 4A poll.

The 3A ranking added No. 9 Delta and No. 10 Evergreen. Silver Creek remained at No. 1.

In 1A, Meeker (No. 10) was the lone newcomer.

There were no new teams to the 8-man poll, but 6-man added Briggsdale (No. 4).

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER — Facing third-and-forever, A.J. Thompson heard a voice in his head. It belonged to his coach.

Stay calm, it said. Stay poised.

Thompson dropped back on third down and 43 from his own 48-yard-line. His No. 9 Montbello Warriors were tied at 24 with No. 2 Denver South, and less than three minutes remained in regulation time.

He scanned his receivers, and saw no opening. So Thompson pulled the ball down, cut through the mass of bodies at the line, and took off. He dodged a defender at South’s 30, then cut to the sideline to his right. He was gone.

Fifty-two yards later: Touchdown, Montbello. Game, Montbello.

“Forcing the pass wasn’t going to help anything,” Thompson said afterward. “I just watch quarterbacks, and the great ones make plays, no matter what. You can’t settle for one style.”

The 31-24 victory on Saturday at Evie Dennis Sports Complex was Montbello’s first over South since 2005. The Rebels had won the three previous meetings by a combined score of 135-9.

“They beat us two years in a row — embarrassed us, not just beat us, but embarrassed us,” said Thompson, a senior who finished with three total touchdowns. “We came in here, and we told ourselves it wasn’t going to happen again, especially on our own turf.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Montbello (4-0) jumped all over South (3-1) in the first half and opened a 17-0 lead with touchdowns separated by 21 seconds in the second quarter. Thompson scored on a 10-yard run with 8:59 remaining in the half, and Montbello recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Two plays later, Thompson eluded the rush in the pocket and found Jante Gadson for a 20-yard passing score.

South was stunned, but battled back to cut things to 17-9 on a field goal and Zach Lindsay’s 18-yard run with 3:49 remaining before the half.

Montbello answered. The Warriors marched right down and Jarrell Nettles had a 1-yard plunge that made it 24-9 at the break.

During that break, the Rebels corrected some mistakes — namely nine penalties for 85 yards — and started to claw its way back. In the third quarter, a long drive was capped by a 1-yard sneak from quarterback Tyson Purifoy. That made it 24-16.

Following a Montbello punt, another long drive from South was finished off by a second Purifoy sneak. A nice play-call, which sent Shun Johnson on a flat route to the right side of the end zone for a two-point conversion, tied the game at 24. At that point, 7:12 remained, and South was in complete command.

Montbello’s final drive started from its 23-yard-line. Nettles’ steady running helped reverse the momentum, and then Thompson found Giovanni Torres for a big 32-yard reception. A personal foul on the Rebels moved the ball deep into South territory.

However, two sacks and two delay-of-game flags quickly brought up third-and-43 from Montbello’s 48. Things were dire.

“We were breaking apart, to be honest,” Thompson said. “But, as a quarterback, my coach (assistant Stanley Richardson) just tells me all the time just to be a leader.”

Thompson’s scramble gave his team the 31-24 lead.

“We’ve been trying to tell everybody for the last two years: we think we have the best quarterback around, and nobody’s giving him offers or anything,” said Montbello coach John Trahan. “Hopefully today, they see what type of talent he has, not only with his arm, but with his legs, and he thinks the game through.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Denver South did drive down to Montbello’s 16, and had two shots at the end zone, but turned the ball over on downs.

“They know how to play tight games, they’ve been there, they have big linemen, all the things, and they know how to win a close game,” Trahan said of South. “Our kids grew up a lot today, and they hung in there.”

Montbello has now matched its win total from all of last season, when the Warriors were 4-6. The program, which was 3-26 from 2009-11, is in search of its first playoff appearance since 2008.

Saturday, the Warriors got their first real test of the 2013 season. Even with the 3-0 start, Montbello’s opponents were a combined 1-10 and the Warriors had outscored those foes 140-33. Montbello’s next three games are against Wheat Ridge, Standley Lake and Monarch — three teams all ranked in CHSAANow.com’s 4A top-10.

“One thing we said even before we left our school today: I said, ‘I hope that we’re in a tight game, because we need to build some character with the rest of the schedule we have the rest of the year,’ ” Trahan said.

“We’ve been blowing teams out and winning by big margins, but you learn how to win in a dogfight game. We knew South was going to come out extremely hard in the third quarter and we talked about that. We had the character to endure that, and then bounce back. Great thing we had A.J. Thompson to make that play.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Douglas County is ranked sixth in this week’s 5A poll. (Kay Livingstone)

Douglas County took down then-No. 3 Cherry Creek on Monday night. Tuesday afternoon, the Huskies find themselves ranked.

Douglas County jumped into this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A at No. 6. It is the first time this season the Huskies have been ranked.

Cherry Creek, meanwhile, dropped all the way out in something of a surprise.

Cherokee Trail returned to the 5A ranking following a week on the outside looking in. The Cougars are eighth.

ThunderRidge held on to 5A’s top spot — but only narrowly. The Grizzles edged No. 2 Valor Christian by two overall points, despite beating then-No. 4 Grandview last week.

Columbine bumped up to third from fifth, and Ralston Valley went from sixth to fourth. Regis Jesuit rounds out the top five.

Chatfield is No. 7, Fairview is No. 9, and Grandview dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 following its loss to ThunderRidge.

Monarch continued to lead the 4A poll, which added Montbello for the first time this season, at ninth. Along with Denver South (No. 2 in 4A) and Denver West (No. 9 in 2A), it means Denver Public Schools has three ranked schools.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man