Elsewhere in 5A, Rampart continued to lead the way, and Grandview moved up three places from No. 5 to No. 2 after a week which included a win over then-No. 2 Eaglecrest.
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.
Fairview’s defense stuffed Fossil Ridge’s late two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 42-40 win in Fort Collins, and keep the No. 5 Knights (8-0) unbeaten this season.
Senior quarterback Johnny Feauto had another stellar night, including a few of his characteristic creative scores. Feauto finished with three touchdowns, including two passing scores, but did get a scare late when he took a hit and had to miss a few plays while having his knee attended to.
Feauto returned to finish out the win, and indicated afterward that he should be fine.
Fairview, meanwhile, had built a 42-28 lead after three quarters. But Fossil Ridge kept fighting. The SaberCats got a touchdown pass from Mitchell Salmela to Josh Visee, and eventually cut it to 42-40 with 41 seconds to play. Andrew Spraberry then took a handoff up the middle, but a number of Knights were there to meet him.
The ensuing onside kick failed, and Fairview ran out the clock to win.
Spraberry finished with three touchdowns, and 173 yards according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Feauto had 445 yards of total offense, according to the paper.
[divider]
5A: Eaglecrest 23, Cherokee Trail 17
This Centennial League is no joke.
Darian Turner scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with 6:12 to play as Eaglecrest topped Cherokee Trail 23-18 on Friday night in Class 5A.
Turner had set up the play with a 44-yard reception on a screen. He then recovered a game-sealing fumble deep in Eaglecrest’s territory with less than a minute to play.
Though it was back-and-forth for much of the early going, Eaglecrest was able to build a 17-9 lead at halftime. Cherokee Trail chipped away with a field goal in the third quarter, then took an 18-7 lead with 11:25 remaining in the game.
That set the stage for Turner’s score, and Eaglecrest’s answer.
Alex Barnes rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders cruised to a win in this top-10 showdown.
Regis quarterback Matt Houghtaling threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 33 yards.
The Raiders led 28-0 at halftime, and cruised to a win in this top-10 showdown.
[divider]
6-man: (6) Walsh 76, (5) Kit Carson 52
The two teams combined for 128 points, with Walsh coming out on top.
“It was kind of an introduction to 6-man football, wasn’t it?” coach Ronny Tate told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “They were pretty tough. That wide-open thing, that makes a coach pull his hair out.”
[divider]
5A: Prairie View 42, Denver East 38
Ben Meraz scored the winning touchdown with 39 seconds to play as the Thunderhawks moved to 7-1 this season.
“That last drive, our O-line came up big,” Prairie View coach Todd Riccio told the Scoreboard Show. “We had to drive 80 yards. There were two minutes left on the clock when we got the ball back.”
It was a back-and-forth game, with Denver East rallying from down 28-16 early in the third quarter to take a 30-28 lead in the fourth. The Angels were clinging to a 38-35 lead prior to Meraz’s score.
“I’m still catching my breath from it,” Riccio said. “It was a shootout, and it was fun to be a part of.”
[divider]
3A: Northridge 37, Mead 31
Mead led 33-24 late into the fourth quarter before Northridge scored 14 points within a span of 15 seconds to steal a win.
Northridge got a pick-six with 2:24 remaining. On the ensuring kickoff, Northridge recovered a fumble. The Grizzlies scored on the next play, with 2:09 remaining. They held on to win.
“We were lucky tonight. We didn’t deserve to win,” Northridge coach Jeff Fulton told the Scoreboard Show. “Mead dominated most facets of the game. … We snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.
“We’re going to wake up in the morning and feel pretty good,” he added later. “But we were very fortunate. Our kids just never died. They never gave up.”
[divider]
Notables
In 8-man, No. 2 Caliche beat No. 3 Akron 49-24.
No. 2 Buena Vista beat No. 8 Rye 40-14 in 1A. “We got a couple of turnovers and kind of changed the momentum,” Buena Vista coach Matt Flavin told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a dog-fight there in the beginning, and when that momentum changed over, it definitely helped us out.”
Pine Creek appears to be rolling. 4A’s No. 1 team (and defending champion) is now 8-0, with consecutive shutouts under its belt. Last week, it was a 47-0 decision over Liberty. This week, it was 56-0 at Durango.
Crowley County knocked off 1A No. 10 Limon, 25-0. “I thought our ‘D’ did a good job getting to the ball … and making big stops when they had to,” Crowley County coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show.
St. Mary’s upset 2A No. 7 Florence, 42-19.
Eagle Valley upset 3A No. 6 Delta, 18-7.
6-man’s Genoa-Hugo/Karval went winless last season (0-8), but is now 4-4 following a 49-13 win over South Park on Friday.
With Valor Christian’s in-state winning streak stopped at 28, we looked up the longest current streaks. In order: 8-man’s Dayspring Christian (20), Pine Creek (19) and 1A’s Paonia (18). All three won titles last season.
Regis Jesuit volleyball returned to the 5A poll this week. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
Regis Jesuit has returned to this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A volleyball rankings.
The Raiders went 3-0 last week and are now 11-6 this season. They returned to the poll at No. 10. Regis Jesuit was last ranked on Sept. 1.
Elsewhere in 5A, Grandview moved from No. 8 to No. 5.
Each of the five No. 1 teams stayed the same this week. Those are Rampart (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
The 4A poll added Air Academy (No. 10), 3A added Faith Christian (No. 10), Cedaredge (No. 10) joined 2A and Norwood (also No. 10) was new to 1A.
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.
Columbine’s players celebrate a home run on Saturday. More photos. (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
Jennifer Romero led Columbine to the biggest upset in the softball regionals on Saturday.
The sophomore pitched in all three games her No. 31-seeded Rebels played in the Class 5A bracket, and didn’t allow a run — including a complete-game performance against No. 2 Legacy, the defending 5A champion, which clinched a berth in next weekend’s state tournament.
“She really stepped it up a notch,” Columbine coach Brooks Roybal told CHSAANow.com on Saturday evening. “She pitched really, really well.”
Columbine actually dropped its opening game of the 5A Region 8 bracket at Broomfield Industrial Park. That was also against Legacy, and the Rebels fell 6-0.
But Romero entered in the final two innings of the opening game, and didn’t allow Legacy another run.
Columbine dropped to the loser’s bracket for the second game, and face Cherokee Trail — a team the Rebels had beaten 12-11 in the second game of the season. Like the first meeting, offense ruled. Cherokee Trail led 7-6 midway through before Romero again entered again — and again shut the opposing offense down.
Columbine went on to rally and win that game, 11-7, thanks in part to a home run from Carly Perry.
Meanwhile, Douglas County had topped Cherokee Trail 6-0, and then beat Legacy 7-0 to win the region. It set Columbine up with a rematch, with a berth to state on the line.
This time, Romero started. She pitched a complete-game shutout, and buoyed by a grand slam from Perry, Columbine pulled the upset, 8-0.
“I think playing against Cherokee Trail, our bats came alive a little bit and they had a little more confidence going against Legacy that second round,” Roybal said. “Especially after we shut them down. Legacy might have been down a little bit, too, because they just got beat by Douglas County. You catch them at the right time sometimes.”
The end result was this: Columbine, a No. 31 seed, moved on to the state tournament, while Legacy did not.
“We told them afterwards it was probably the biggest win Columbine has had in the last eight years,” Roybal said. “We haven’t been a qualifier for seven or eight years.”
Columbine already had a number of big wins this season, including topping Brighton and Ralston Valley.
“They’ve got a few good wins under their belts this year which have been huge,” Roybal said. “You know, we’ve never beat Brighton, we’ve never beaten Ralston Valley. And I’m sure we’ve never beaten Legacy. We’ve always thought we could beat anybody, if we played well.”
More 5A notables
No. 24-seeded Pine Creek upset No. 9 Mountain Range in the opening round in Region 2, then advanced to the state tournament with a 10-9 win over Fruita Monument in the final game.
Horizon, a No. 28 seed, rallied from being no-hit by Castle View in its first game to top No. 21 Greeley West (13-2), and then No. 12 Pomona (8-5) in reaching the state tournament.
No. 29 Arvada West dropped its first game, but then won two straight to earn a berth. Included was a 10-5 win over No. 13 Rock Canyon.
The complete 5A state field, with regional seeds noted: No. 1 Fossil Ridge, No. 3 Dakota Ridge, No. 4 Brighton, No. 5 Castle View, No. 6 Legend, No. 7 Grandview, No. 8 Broomfield, No. 10 Grand Junction Central, No. 11 Rocky Mountain, No. 14 Chaparral, No. 16 Eaglecrest, No. 18 Douglas County, No. 24 Pine Creek, No. 28 Horizon, No. 29 Arvada West, No. 31 Columbine.
The softball seeding committee will meet at the CHSAA office at 9 a.m. Monday to seed the state tournament.
Air Academy, a No. 24 seed, dropped its first game of the tournament, to Erie, 3-1. The Kadets then beat No. 25 Holy Family 1-0, and upset eighth-seeded Mountain View 7-5 to claim a state berth.
Region 4 had a length rain delay which disrupted play in its second round games. Prior to the delay, Wheat Ridge advanced. After the delay, No. 20 Thompson Valley went on to upset No. 13 Pueblo East for the other berth.
No. 26-seeded Mead rebounded from an opening-round loss to win its next two games and advance to the 4A tournament. The Mavericks beat No. 23 Thomas Jefferson and No. 10 Berthoud.
D’Evelyn, a No. 27 seed, actually upset No. 6 Vista Ridge in the first round but then dropped the winner’s-bracket game to No. 11 Ponderosa. D’Evelyn had to turn around and beat Vista Ridge again for the tournament berth.
The complete 4A state field, using regional seeds: No. 1 Frederick, No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 3 Pueblo West, No. 4 Wheat Ridge, No. 5 Silver Creek, No. 7 Discovery Canyon, No. 9 Erie, No. 11 Ponderosa, No. 12 Mullen, No. 14 Niwot, No. 16 Falcon, No. 18 Windsor, No. 20 Thompson Valley, No. 24 Air Academy, No. 26 Mead, No. 27 D’Evelyn.
Surprisingly, there was not a single upset during the entire 3A regional tournament. It meant the new format, which would have only played a third game if the top seed in a given region lost, was not used this season.
The complete 3A state field, using regional seeds: No. 1 Strasburg, No. 2 Valley, No. 3 La Junta, No. 4 Sterling, No. 5 Eaton, No. 6 Lamar, No. 7 Skyline, No. 8 Burlington, No. 9 Cedaredge, No. 10 Brush, No. 11 Rocky Ford, No. 12 Basalt.
Eaglecrest is No. 2 in this week’s 5A volleyball rankings. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
There was some upheaval in the Class 5A volleyball rankings this week as both Eaglecrest and Cherokee Trail moved into the top five.
The Raptors (10-2) jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 in CHSAANow.com’s poll, while Cherokee Trail went from No. 6 to No. 3.
Rampart received 11 first-place votes and remained atop the 5A poll. The ranking added Denver East at No. 10 this week.
Each of the other No. 1 teams remained the same this week, as well, including Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
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.
Grandview is No. 2 in this week’s 5A volleyball rankings. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Grandview, a winner last week over then-No. 2 Eaglecrest, has made a big jump in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A volleyball poll this week.
The Wolves moved from No. 5 to No. 2 following the sweep of Eaglecrest, and another of Arapahoe.
Meanwhile, Castle View joined the 5A ranking at No. 10 following a win over No. 3 Chaparral. Chaparral remained at No. 3, just behind consistent No. 1 Rampart and Grandview.
Rampart remained at No. 1 despite its loss to 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer, which owns the claim to the best team in the state at the moment.
Each of the three other No. 1 teams also stayed put. Those are Eaton, Resurrection Christian and Fleming.
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.
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.
The scoreboard late in Friday’s game between Sand Creek and Air Academy. (Via @AAHSAthletics on Twitter)
The two teams combined for 130 points. Sand Creek running back Daniel Quin rushed for nine touchdowns. But ultimately, it was a defensive stop on fourth-and-2 that sealed the win for Sand Creek.
Sand Creek stopped a screen pass on fourth down with less than a minute to play to seal a 68-62 win over Air Academy on Friday night.
When the dust settled on Friday night, the spotlight shone brightest on Quin, who rushed his way into CHSAA’s record book. He finished with 553 yards and the nine touchdowns on 64 carries.
“It was crazy,” Sand Creek coach Rod Baker told CHSAANow late Friday night.
The 64 carries are the most in a single game in state history, while the 553 yards are No. 3 all-time. In fact, it was just the fifth time in state history a back had gained more than 500 yards. (Colorado’s rushing record belongs to Montbello’s Leonard Jones, who went for 584 in 1999.)
Finally, Quin’s nine rushing touchdowns are now tied for the second-best performance in state history with Colorado Deaf & Blind’s Sam Harris. Harris rushed for his nine in 2004. The record, set in 1930, belongs to Hugo’s Ken Pearson, who had 12 rushing scores.
Oh, and Quin also had three two-point conversions.
“We ran the ball, and they threw it. And that’s the story,” Baker said. “Their quarterback threw it well, and we missed some open-field tackling opportunities. They executed really well with their passing game, and protected well, and we just ran. We had one pass, when we got ’em on a formation, but other than that it was a run against pass.”
The game’s 130 combined points fell just five points shy of cracking the top-10 in all-time combined points. Still, that scoring record is dotted with 8-man and 6-man point totals — which is apples and oranges when it comes to 11-man football.
Air Academy Mike Roof takes a break from all the scoring during his team’s game with Sand Creek on Friday night. (Courtesy @AAHSAthletics on Twitter)
As such, the 130 points are believed to be the third-highest total for an 11-man game in state history. The two teams combined to score 49 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“At the end of the game, the kids were so tired, they could barely shake hands,” Baker said. “It was like a brotherhood between them, what they’d been through. It was an amazing event. The high school spirit was amazing tonight for both teams. And they just battled.”
Air Academy scored with less than four minutes to play to take a 62-60 lead, but Sand Creek — well, Quin — quickly responded with a touchdown of their own. One minute and thirty seconds remained.
“We scored too fast,” Baker said. “Daniel was so wide open, and I just thought about, ‘Just fall down at the 1 so we can run some time off the clock.’”
Air Academy made two first downs, and drove down to about Sand Creek’s 40-yard-line before attempting a screen pass to their tailback.
“We tackled them for about a 5-yard loss, and that was the game,” Baker said. “It was a defensive stop that decided the game. That’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?”
Sand Creek improved to 2-2 this season with the win. Air Academy fell to 2-2.
Baker said he was planning on compiling full stats on Saturday morning.
“I may need an abacus, though,” he said.
[divider]
4A: (2) Pueblo South 24, Falcon 21
Falcon dug its way out of a 13-0 hole to lead 14-13 at halftime, but second-ranked Pueblo South got a 23-yard field goal from Nathan Spinuzzi to seal the win with 13 seconds to play.
Falcon had taken a 21-13 lead in the third, and that lead held until Spinuzzi, also South’s quarterback, hit Dennis Ramos on a 55-yard score with 8:37 to play. After a two-point conversion, the game was tied.
Falcon turned around and drove down to Pueblo South’s 11-yard-line, but fumbled. That set up the Colts’ final drive, and the game-winning field goal.
Matt Bastian had 147 yards rushing and a score in the loss for Falcon.
1A: (8) Burlington 20, (3) Limon 19
Burlington stopped a late two-point conversion attempt to seal the win. Limon had scored with 20 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one point.
“We were sure they were going to go for two and try to get that win on the road,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “We got some penetration and got to their sweep and shut it down, and that was the difference in the game, that one play.
“This is a real big win for us,” he added. “Really felt good about the way the kid’s played and the effort they game.”
3A: Mead 10, Erie 7 (OT)
Tyler Levine hit the game-winning field goal in overtime as the Mavericks improved to 2-2 this season.
“That feels great,” Levine told BoCoPreps afterward. “As soon as I kicked it, I knew it was going to go in.”
4A: (1) Pine Creek 21, Pueblo West 14
For the second time this season, the Eagles survived a nail-biter from an unranked foe.
Pine Creek never actually trailed this time around — in fact, it led 18-0 in the third quarter — but Pueblo West rallied late to make things close.
Pueblo West had one final chance to tie the game with three minutes to play, but turned the ball over on downs on its final drive.
4A: Durango 29, Farmington (NM) 22
Justin Marcum hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Terrence Trujillo with 28 seconds remaining to lift the Demons in an out-of-state contest.
They had trailed much of the game, but then tied it with 3:31 to go on a two-yard rushing score from Lawrence Mayberry.
After a punt, Durango got the ball back with 1:53 to play at its own 23-yard-line. That drive led to the winning score.
5A: Rocky Mountain 31, Fossil Ridge 6
Rocky Mountain is 4-0 for the first time since 2008, when the Lobos finished 11-1 and made a deep playoff run.
“We have a great group of character young men, and they’ve busted their tails for us all summer,” coach Mark Brook told the Scoreboard Show after the game. “We had a lot of kids coming back from last year. … It’s good. For me, I’m proud to see them translate all their work and effort into wins.”
4A: Coronado 43, Widefield 0
Coronado, the defending 3A champion, is now 4-1 in its move up to 4A this season.
“We had a lot of excitement going into this season,” coach Bobby Lizarraga told the Scoreboard Show. “Unfortunately for us, we had a lot of youth also. And it’s paid its dividends at this point, but we had a lot coaching to do, where our coaches stepped up and got our young folks up to par to make an impact for us. Right now, we’re seeing some of those assets.”
[divider]
Notables
8-man’s top-ranked Dayspring Christian ran its state-best winning streak to 17 game. The Eagles, now 4-0 this season, have yet to give up a point in 2014. They’ve outscored their opponents 206-0, including a 46-0 win over Las Animas on Friday night.
Adams City is now 3-1 following a 19-8 win over Lincoln on Friday. Those three wins match the program’s combined win total over the previous seven seasons.
Gunnison is unranked in Class 2A, but for how long? Since a 39-12 loss to Kent Denver to open the season, the Cowboys have outscored opponents 145-14, including consecutive shutouts. Gunnison beat Roaring Fork 48-0 this week.
Cherry Creek rebounded from its tough loss to Jordan (Utah) with a 41-0 shutout of Grand Terrace (Calif.). Photos from the game are here.
Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig threw for another 286 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 50-7 win over Frederick. He now has 1,450 yards through four games, and is on pace for more than 3,600 yards and nearly 38 touchdowns. The yardage would be top-5 all-time.
Broomfield beat Loveland in overtime, 20-17.
St. Mary’s topped University 27-7. It was University’s first-ever night home game.
Mullen trailed Arvada West 28-23, but 15 unanswered points amounted to a 38-28 win.
Chaparral beat Rock Canyon 36-26 for its first win this season.
In 8-man Hoehne beat Cripple Creek 60-0 tonight, but the game actually had to be halted in the second quarter as Cripple Creek was down to just seven players after injuries.
Don’t think there’s much doubt that Paonia is the No. 1 team in 1A at the moment. The Eagles, now 4-0, handled highly-ranked Centauri last week and topped 2A No. 10 Bayfield this week, 55-44.
Rifle had a good win over an unbeaten Eagle Valley squad, 35-12. 3A’s fourth-ranked Bears are now 4-0.
Another eye-popping point total: Roosevelt 62, Northridge 50 in 3A.
