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.
Aspen and Middle Park combined to score 130 points when the two teams opened the year on Friday night. That total sits just outside the CHSAA record book.
“Words can’t explain it,” Peshek told CHSAANow after the game. “Everyone just played out of their mind. The O-line, it wouldn’t have worked without them. It finally clicked for us.”
The two teams were tied at 20 after the first quarter, and knotted at 34 at halftime. Midway through the third quarter, it was 50-50.
But Middle Park didn’t score again in the Class 2A contest, and Aspen sure did.
“That is probably maxes out the highest score that I’ve ever been a part of,” said Peshek, who is now in his third season as Aspen’s starting quarterback. “We run a tempo-style offense, it’s all about tempo, and it gets to the point where it just wears the defense down, to the point where they’re not ready when we’re snapping the ball.”
[divider]
4A: (7) Fruita Monument 36, Montrose 35
(Tom Hoganson)
The Wildcats and coach Todd Casebier avenged this loss from a season ago. Casebier spent 10 seasons as the coach at Montrose.
This game was a back-and-forth affair. It featured six lead changes, and saw Fruita Monument rally from down 27-14 at the half, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
With 2:15 to play, the Wildcats’ Braeden Graham, a senior, scored a touchdown, and Treyton Queen converted the two-point attempt.
[divider]
Notables
In another crazy game, 3A No. 3 Holy Family rallied to beat 4A Mountain View 33-27. The Tigers scored the winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining, capping a 92-yard drive, according to BoCoPreps.com. “Zero Week is like the Twilight Zone,” Holy Family coach Mike Gabriel told the paper afterward.
Alamosa beat Florence 43-0, and Katy Gallegos was 5-for-6 on her extra points. The senior also plays for the school’s girls soccer team. “We were really happy for Katy, she did an awesome job,” Alamosa coach Dillon McNamee told KSPK afterward. “I think every kick was a little more powerful, and little straighter. We love having a sister on our team, and it’s girl power, absolutely.”
5A No. 1 Valor Christian rallied to beat out-of-state foe Faith Lutheran from Nevada 30-21. The turning point was a crazy option pitch from Luke McCaffrey to Joshia Davis which tied the game at 21. The Eagles added a safety shortly thereafter.
1A No. 2 Meeker rolled to a 40-0 win over Highland. The Cowboys used 26 second-quarter points to grab a 34-0 lead at halftime.
In 8-man, No. 2 Akron beat Granada for the second-straight season. This one came by a 46-14 score.
3A No. 8 Palisade beat Grand Junction Central 20-14 in overtime. It marked the first time the two teams had battled for their new rivalry hardware: The WarDog Trophy.
Kent Denver is No. 1 in 2A. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Six of the seven defending champions lead CHSAANow.com’s preseason football rankings.
The lone non-champion to head a classification’s poll is Kent Denver, which is No. 1 in Class 2A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
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 2017 all-state baseball teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a vote of head coaches.
Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.
[divider]
Class 5A
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Player of the year: John Sorensen, Rocky Mountain
Coach of the year: Scott Bullock, Rocky Mountain
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Liam Eddy
Brighton
P/RF/3B
Senior
Matt Givin
Rock Canyon
RHP/SS/2B
Senior
Tyler Hyland
Rocky Mountain
OF/P
Senior
James Notary
Broomfield
P/INF
Senior
Casey Opitz
Heritage
C/INF
Senior
Tanner O’Tremba
Cherry Creek
OF
Junior
Caleb Sloan
Regis Jesuit
RHP
Senior
John Sorensen
Rocky Mountain
SS/P
Senior
Jordan Stubbings
Legend
3B/1B/C
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Carter Akerfelds
Dakota Ridge
RHP
Senior
Jacob Arellano
Mountain Range
Senior
Tyler Carpenter
Fairview
1B/P
Senior
Drake Davis
Ralston Valley
RHP/OF
Senior
Kalen Hammer
Rocky Mountain
INF
Senior
Jacob Hilton
Heritage
RHP/INF
Senior
Jack Liffrig
Mountain Vista
LHP
Junior
Garrett Tisdall
Eaglecrest
RHP/C/3B
Senior
Jack Winkler
Chatfield
INF/P
Senior
Honorable mention:
Sean Arnold, Highlands Ranch, 1B/OF, Junior
Michael Baer, Regis Jesuit, 1B, Senior
Alex Bumpus, Coronado, CF/P, Senior
Kyle Cardona, Legend, SS/RHP, Senior
Joshua Chamberlain, Legacy, RHP/2B, Senior
Andrew Chavez, Cherry Creek, C, Senior
Riley Cornelio, Pine Creek, SS/RHP, Sophomore
Jeff Cyr, Ralston Valley, SS/RHP, Senior
Andrew Danko, Eaglecrest, SS/RHP, Junior
Colby Deaville, Legacy, SS, Senior
Moses Dokes, Denver East, Freshman
Spencer Gendreau, Rocky Mountain, 1B/OF, Senior
Mikey Griebel, Columbine, CF, Senior
Colton Hill, Rock Canyon, OF, Senior
Sam Ireland, Mountain Vista, 1B/RHP, Sophomore
Patrick Kauffmann, Denver East, Senior
Hunter Kelchner, Grand Junction Central, RHP/1B, Senior
Ryan Kirby, Grand Junction Central, INF, Sophomore
Cooper Legault, Dakota Ridge, OF/RHP, Junior
Jordan Medina, Highlands Ranch, UTIL/P, Junior
Mitch Morales, Broomfield, P/OF, Sophomore
Trey Morrill, Fruita Monument, P/OF, Junior
Conner Nantkes, Cherokee Trail, P/UTIL, Senior
Jakob Pigati, Bear Creek, CF/LF/RF, Senior
Jack Radford, Bear Creek, P, Senior
Cody Schultz, Cherry Creek, INF, Senior
Mason Speirs, Broomfield, C/C, Senior
Jose Treto, Brighton, P/SS/OF, Senior
Matt Turner, Broomfield, 1B, Senior
Jadon Uhrich, Rocky Mountain, C/INF/OF, Senior
Quincey Ulrich, ThunderRidge,
Jake Willemsen, Fairview, OF, Senior
[divider]
Class 4A
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Player of the year: Luke Ziegler, Valor Christian
Coach of the year: Steve Jones, Evergreen
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Mike Berg
Thompson Valley
C/OF/3B
Senior
Micah Bregard
Air Academy
INF/P
Junior
RJ Dabovich
Pueblo West
Senior
Noah Kuzma
Valor Christian
C
Junior
Ben Muscatello
Evergreen
P/SS/INF
Junior
JD Wadleigh
Green Mountain
RHP/OF
Junior
Judah Wilbur
Denver North
SS/2B/RHP
Senior
Cole Winn
Silver Creek
INF/P
Junior
Luke Ziegler
Valor Christian
3B/RHP
Junior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Josh Danyliw
Valor Christian
P/RF
Junior
Alan Garcia
Pueblo West
Senior
Trystan Kimmel
Thomas Jefferson
INF/RHP
Senior
Skyler Messinger
Niwot
P/INF
Senior
Dylan Norsen
Mountain View
P/INF
Senior
Joel Pierce
Valor Christian
LF/RF
Senior
Jose Robles
Denver North
RHP/C
Senior
Andrew Shaw
Summit
LHP/OF/1B
Senior
Corte Tapia
Windsor
Senior
Honorable mention:
Mason Bennett, Ponderosa,
Matt Berg, Thompson Valley, SS/2B/OF, Senior
Aaron Berkhoff, Cheyenne Mountain, 3B, Sophomore
Brody Bettis, Green Mountain, 2B, Senior
Dalton Bishop, Mesa Ridge, C/INF/SS, Senior
Nick Bowermaster, Thomas Jefferson, SS/RHP, Sophomore
LOVELAND – For the first time in three seasons, there will be a new Class 2A boys basketball champion.
Sedgwick County knew seeding wouldn’t guarantee anything at the state tournament, especially considering its opening-round matchup on Thursday afternoon at the Budweiser Events Center.
Across the court from the top-seeded Cougars, who have only lost one game this season, still stood a tall order in having to get past back-to-back-to-back reigning champion Sanford. The clash between the two was intense as expected, and in the end Sedgwick County (23-1) did just enough to edge the Indians 40-38 in the final minute.
“It was wild, especially in that atmosphere,” coach Stacy Woodhams said. “They have good fans, we have good fans – it was pretty loud in there.”
After giving up the first two baskets, the Cougars got things going with an early scoring run that provided them a slight lead for the majority of the game. Senior Michael Nein, who finished leading all scorers, was explosive in the first quarter and put up all 14 of his total points before halftime.
The Indians (16-8), however, remained within striking distance the entire time. After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, Sanford began to put together its comeback bid.
Aided by Sedgwick County’s late offensive struggles that included 18 total turnovers, eight of which were in the fourth quarter, Sanford started to chip away at its deficit. The Indians finally tied the game at 36-36 with 2:30 left to play and defensively held the Cougars to just four points in the final quarter.
Sanford then took its first lead since the early moments of the game in the ensuing minute thanks to the late performance of senior Casey McDaniel, who finished with a team-high 10 points. Also helping the Indians offensively was senior Derick Faucette’s nine points.
Sedgwick County was able to regain its lead with less than a minute to play to punch its ticket to the Final Four. The No. 1 Cougars will face Highland at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
“They had a little mojo,” Woodhams said of Sanford. “We’re young and we showed it a little bit. … But I was happy. Whenever you get a win this time of year, it’s a good thing.”
Sanford moves to the semifinals of the consolation bracket, where it will play Akron at 1:15 p.m. Friday.
[divider]
(2) Holyoke 43, (7) Fowler 38
Thursday’s first boys game remained close all the way up until the final minute, when the Dragons prevailed to avoid an opening-round upset.
Holyoke (20-4) came out hot, shooting well from behind the arc to take early control. But Fowler (20-4) was quick to respond in the second and third quarters to remain in contention.
The Dragons were led by MJ Taylor and Austin Herman, who scored 16 and 13 points, respectively. The Grizzlies’ Alex Proctor led all scorers with 17 points.
Friday will mark back-to-back semifinal appearances for Holyoke, which will face No. 6 Paonia at 5:30 p.m. Fowler moves to the consolation semis against No. 3 Del Norte at 10:15 a.m.
[divider]
(6) Paonia 45, (3) Del Norte 37
A scoreless second quarter put the third-seeded Tigers in a hole they were unable to climb out of, falling victim of an upset by the sixth-seeded Eagles.
Carlos Parra was the leading scorer for Del Norte (20-5), which led 12-4 after the first quarter. His late-game effort included hitting three 3-pointers in the final quarter in attempt to close the Tigers’ gap that fell short. Parra finished with 12 points and teammate Charlie Hayes contributed nine.
Paonia (22-2) was led by an impressive offensive performance from Dagan Rienks, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Triston Mautz also reached double figures with 10 points.
The Eagles move on to the semifinals, where they will face No. Holyoke at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Tigers will play No. 7 Fowler at 10:15 a.m. Friday in the consolation bracket.
[divider]
(5) Highland 69, (4) Akron 57
Koby Anderson’s banked-in 3-pointer from just past mid-court to beat the buzzer before halftime was a prime example of the way things would go for the Huskies. Simply, in their favor
Highland (24-0) continued its undefeated roll using a fast-paced offense and stingy defense on the other end of the court. Akron (19-5), after trailing by 11 at halftime, closed the gap in the fourth quarter, getting to within one with six minutes left to play before Highland took back control.
Anderson led the Huskies with 20 points, while Cole Rouse and Reese Anderson added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
The Rams’ late-game push was led by Levi Basler, who scored 13 of his 20 total points in the final quarter. Brock Benson scored 14 points and Jordan Herder had 10.
Highland advances to the semifinals to face top-seeded Sedgwick County at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Akron will play Sanford at 1:15 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
Three defending state baseball champions are starting the season right where they left off. In the initial CHSAANow.com baseball rankings, Cherokee Trail, Valor Christian and Holly come in at No. 1 in their respective classes.
The Cougars claim the top spot of the 5A rankings with six first-place votes. Centennial League foe, Cherry Creek, sits right behind them at No. 2. The Bruins are looking to end a four-year championship drought in 2017.
Last year’s runner-up, Rocky Mountain, starts the season at No. 3.
Outside of the top three teams, only Rock Canyon (No. 7) and Pine Creek (No. 10) received first-place votes to start the season.
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
In 4A, Valor Christian, led by new coach Brian Bonn, claimed nine first-place votes to start the season with No. 3 Pueblo West being the only other ranked team to receive one.
Mountain View will start the year at No. 2 with Windsor and Longmont rounding out the top five.
Erie takes the No. 8 spot, meaning that the final four teams that remained in the 4A state tournament on the final weekend will come into the season ranked and carrying high expectations.
University will start the season as the No. 1 team in 3A. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals last year before losing 3-2 to Manitou Springs, who finished as the state runner-up.
The Mustangs enter the season at No. 7.
Delta, a 4A team a year ago, sits right behind Manitou at No. 8. Defending champion, Fatih Christian sits high in the rankings at No. 2 as they hope to defend their title.
Paonia enters the season as the No. 1 team in 2A. It’s the same seed the Eagles took into last year’s state tournament where they were upset by Limon in the semifinals.
Heritage 21, Broomfield 14, Mountain Vista 14, Dakota Ridge 12, Legend 11, Grand Junction Central 9, Chaparral 4, Legacy 4, Castle View 3, Chatfield 2, Douglas County 2, Denver East 1, Fairview 1, Grand Junction 1, Monarch 1, Prairie View 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Valor Christian (9)
0-0
99
2
Mountain View
0-0
78
3
Pueblo West (1)
0-0
67
4
Windsor
0-0
57
5
Longmont
0-0
42
6
Silver Creek
0-0
35
7
Canon City
0-0
32
8
Erie
0-0
28
9
Air Academy
0-0
24
10
Denver North
0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Northridge 18, Evergreen 8, D’Evelyn 6, Lewis-Palmer 6, Wheat Ridge 6, Green Mountain 5, Pueblo South 4, The Classical Academy 4, Palmer Ridge 3, Discovery Canyon 2, Fort Morgan 2, Roosevelt 2, Thompson Valley 2, Pueblo Centennial 1, Pueblo County 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (6)
0-0
101
2
Faith Christian (2)
0-0
91
3
Lamar (1)
0-0
90
4
La Junta (1)
0-0
61
5
Valley
0-0
54
6
Eaton
0-0
51
7
Manitou Springs
0-0
49
8
Delta (1)
0-0
33
9
St. Mary’s
0-0
31
10
Bayfield
0-0
27
Others receiving votes:
Kent Denver 25, Colorado Springs Christian 16, Peak to Peak 10, Brush 6, Gunnison 6, Colorado Academy 5, Buena Vista 2, Lutheran 1, Resurrection Christian 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Paonia (5)
0-0
81
2
Dawson (2)
0-0
65
3
Dayspring Christian
0-0
49
4
Sedgwick County
0-0
46
5
Hotchkiss
0-0
37
6
Limon
0-0
35
7
Rocky Ford
0-0
31
8
Akron (2)
0-0
30
9
County Line
0-0
29
10
Sargent
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Crowley County 15, Swink 12, Peyton 10, Front Range Christian 9, Haxtun 9, Del Norte 5, Center 4, Denver Christian 3, Yuma 3, Clear Creek 2, Burlington 1, Gilpin County 1.
