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Tag: Westminster

  • Football roundup: Fruita Monument upsets Westminster in 5A’s first round

    Westminster Fruita Monument football
    Fruita Monument upset Westminster on Friday. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    Fruita Monument pulled off the biggest upset of Class 5A football’s first round when the Wildcats, a No. 7 seed, beat No. 2 Westminster 28-14 on Friday night.

    Braeden Graham had four rushing touchdowns for Fruita Monument, including a 50-yard score on 4th-and-1 with less than two minutes to play which sealed the game.

    “It’s a sign of our progress,” first-year Fruita Monument coach Todd Casebier told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids have done a good job of buying into what we’re trying to do as coaches, and our coaches have done a super job.

    “Two of the last three games we’ve played, we’ve come back in back-and-forth games to win, and those were games that earlier in the year, we couldn’t win,” Casebier said. “So I feel like we’re making progress and our kids are hanging in there and they’re learning how to play four quarters — and, of course, at this time of year, you have to do that or you’re not going to win.

    “It was a great win for us against a Westminster team that had a super year.”

    Graham opened the scoring for Fruita (5-5) on its first drive. Westminster (9-1) answered quickly, and then went for two to take an 8-7 lead.

    The game stayed the way until the third quarter, when Graham scored his second touchdown on a gutsy fourth-down run at the goal line in which he swept around left.

    Westminster tied the game on its next possession on Dillon Pace’s second rushing touchdown, but this time the two-point conversion failed.

    Graham’s third touchdown, a 27-yard run, gave Fruita Monument a 21-14 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. That set the stage for Graham’s game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

    “We had the ball at midfield, and it was one of those deals where you don’t want to punt it back to them,” Casebier said. “We’re a team that believes in going for it on fourth down, and we were able to get it. … We got a big play there and it kind of iced the win for us.”

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    5A: (3) Horizon 28, (6) Doherty 20

    Horizon scored with 4:23 left to seal this game and move on to 5A’s second round.

    “It was tough early. They came out and took it right down the field on us and ran it right down our throat,” coach Frank Ybarra told the Scoreboard Show. “It kind of caught us off guard.”

    Horizon rallied to tie the game at 7 after the first quarter, and they were tied at 14 just before the half. But Doherty marched down and responded with a TD to take a 20-14 lead into the break.

    “They marched right down the field in about 50 seconds,” Ybarra said. “Our backs were to the wall. We just went in and told our kids, ‘Don’t have any regrets.’ They came out in the second half and played very well.”

    Horizon scored to go up 21-20 on its first drive of the second half.

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    Arapahoe Bear Creek football
    More photos. (Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)

    5A: (2) Arapahoe 31, (7) Bear Creek 14

    Arapahoe scored the game’s final 31 points to advance to the second round.

    The Warriors fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter, but adjusted and eventually took the lead in the third quarter on Nick Thompson’s rushing score inside the red zone.

    Raymond Haas had two receiving touchdowns for the Warriors, both from quarterback Pete Mitchell, and Thompson finished with two rushing scores.

    The game was close into the fourth quarter, but kicker Nate Rapue gave his team some breathing room with a field goal with 9:11 to go in the game. That made it 24-14.

    The Warriors advance to play No. 3-seeded Ralston Valley, which beat No. 6 Fossil Ridge on Thursday.

    Arapahoe is now 10-0.

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    4A: (10) Wheat Ridge 35, (8) Denver South 34 (OT)

    The Farmers won the Mountain League championship in overtime thanks to a stopped two-point conversion attempt.

    “They ended up going for two and didn’t get it,” said first-year Wheat Ridge coach Stacy Coryell. “So we knew all we had to do was put one in the end zone and on third down I called a pass and Nicco Young just went up and wanted it more than the other guys and that was huge.

    “We had a penalty on the extra point,” Coryell continued, “so we made that interesting, too, and had to scoot it back, and had a new snapper in there. Matt Seal did a good job on the kick.”

    Wheat Ridge finished the regular season 8-2, and now head toward the postseason via an automatic berth.

    “We’re excited to be back in the playoffs,” Coryell said. “That was one of our goals all year, and they got it done.”

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    4A: Pueblo Centennial 27, Pueblo South 24

    Another league title — the Southern — came down to overtime as Centennial’s Jake Sanchez scored a four-yard touchdown to give his team the win.

    Pueblo Centennial trailed 21-7 at one point on Friday night.

    “We just made things happens. Kids made some great plays, and we got some turnovers here and there,” coach Mike Palumbo told the Scoreboard Show. “We just battled back, and had a great drive there at the end to tie it up. And then just had a great drive in overtime to score the touchdown when South kicked the field goal.”

    The Bulldogs, who started 0-5, clinched a playoff spot as a results. They are now 6-4.

    “We played a brutal schedule,” Palumbo said. “We just didn’t have all of our ducks in a row. We’re really young. We had a lot of inexperienced kids. We had two freshman that started out there tonight just because of a lack of bodies.

    “But we’ve finally got people in the right places and they just started buying in once we got that figured out. We’ve just got a bunch of guys that don’t quit.”

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    Notables

    • Hayden Blubaugh had four rushing touchdowns as No. 1 Grandview rolled to a 49-6 win over No. 8 Prairie View in 5A’s first round.
    • Defending 5A champion and No. 1 seed Cherry Creek opened its title defense with a 38-7 win over No. 8 Rock Canyon.
    • The other No. 1 seed in action on Friday night, Valor Christian, also rolled: 50-14 over Legend. Dylan McCaffrey threw for five touchdowns and 212 yards for the Eagles.
    • No. 4 seed Mullen led 14-0 late in the fourth quarter, then held on for a 21-7 win over No. 5 Rocky Mountain in 5A.
    • No. 2 Regis Jesuit cruised to a 33-7 win over No. 7 Rangeview in 5A.
    • There’s only one other 5A game to be played on Saturday, when No. 4 Heritage hosts No. 5 Cherokee Trail at 6 p.m. The postseason play really gets underway in 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man on Saturday.
    • In 3A, Evergreen upset No. 9 D’Evelyn 28-7 to win the Metro North title. “We’re playing quite well, especially the last few weeks and looking forward to getting into the playoffs and competing and playing some hard-nosed football,” coach Rob Molhom told the Scoreboard Show.
    • Windsor quarterback Brad Peeples had six touchdowns as the No. 4 Wizards rolled to a 47-6 win over Adams City to finish the regular season 9-1.
    • 4A No. 3 Vista Ridge held off Falcon 43-30 to win the Foothills League.

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    More coverage

  • Football preview: Colorado Preps on the postseason, Week 10

    Cherokee Trail football team
    Cherokee Trail faces Heritage in an important 5A football playoff game on Saturday. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

    Colorado Preps‘ Kevin Shaffer looks at the big football matchups around the state in the postseason and Week 10.

    This week, the show includes comments from Cherokee Trail vs. Heritage, Westminster vs. Fruita Monument, Pueblo South vs. Pueblo Centennial, and a breakdown of the postseason picture.

    We’ll be following playoff and Week 10 action on Friday night, including our live coverage.

  • 5A football state playoff bracket

    Football’s 2015 state playoff bracket for Class 5A.

    2015 CHSAA State Football Playoffs CHSAA 5A Football Playoffs

  • State football brackets released for five classes on Sunday

    Columbine football generic
    Columbine is one of four No. 1 seeds in the Class 5A football playoffs. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    AURORA — The state playoff brackets for five classifications — 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man — were released on Sunday. Postseason play in each class begins this week.

    The 5A bracket, a 32-team field, is the only playoff of the bunch that does not feature a No. 1 overall seed. Instead, it seeds teams Nos. 1-8 into one of four quadrants. The four No. 1 seeds are Columbine (9-0), Valor Christian (7-2), Grandview (7-2) and defending champion Cherry Creek (7-2).

    No. 2 seeds, who are also hosting first-round games, include Regis Jesuit (7-2), Arapahoe (9-0), Pomona (6-3), and Westminster (9-0).

    There were some questions as to why Arapahoe got a No. 2 seed behind Grandview, who the Warriors beat this season. Asked about that specific situation, the 5A committee said it “was due to the quality of (Grandview’s) wins late, how early Arapahoe and Grandview played, and overall strength of Arapahoe’s schedule.”

    Also hosting first round games in 5A are No. 3 seeds — Legacy, Ralston Valley, Horizon, and Fountain-Fort Carson — and No. 4 seeds — Heritage, Fairview, Mountain Vista and Mullen.

    The 32-team 5A field is set by the final Wild Card points, which were released on Saturday morning. From there, the committee has a number of criteria it can use to seed the teams, including the use of the CHSAA RPI formula.

    The 5A title game will be played on Dec. 5 at Mile High.

    Find the complete 5A bracket here.

    Kent Denver Gunnison football
    Kent Denver is seeded No. 2 in 2A. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    In 2A, Bayfield heads the field as the No. 1 overall seed. The Wolverines are 8-0.

    Other top seeds in the 2A field who will host games in the first round include No. 2 Kent Denver, No. 3 Platte Valley, No. 4 La Junta, No. 5 Sterling, No. 6 Alameda, No. 7 Bennett and No. 8 Moffat County.

    Brush, the defending champion, is seeded No. 9.

    The 2A championship game is set for Nov. 28 at a home site.

    The full 2A bracket is available here.

    Leading the 1A field is top overall seed Buena Vista. Also hosting games in the first round are No. 2 Resurrection Christian, No. 3 Paonia, No. 4 Monte Vista, No. 5 Crowley County, No. 6 Burlington, No. 7 Platte Canyon and No. 8 Wiggins.

    Paonia is the defending champion.

    The 1A title game will be played No. 28, also at a home site.

    The complete bracket for 1A is here.

    8-man’s playoff field is led by No. 1 Sedgwick County. Other first-round hosts include No. 2 Norwood, No. 3 Akron, No. 4 Sargent, No. 5 Springfield, No. 6 Dayspring Christian, No. 7 West Grand and No. 8 Hoehne.

    Defending champion Caliche did not make the field.

    The 8-man title game will be played No. 28 at a home site.

    Find the full 8-man bracket here.

    In 6-man, Kit Carson got the top seed. Those teams also hosting first-round games are No. 2 Fleming, No. 3 Eads and No. 4 Arickaree/Woodlin. Arickaree/Woodlin is the defending champion.

    The 6-man title tilt will kick off the championship slate with its game scheduled for Nov. 21. It will be played at a home site.

    Find the complete 6-man bracket here.

    The playoff brackets for 3A and 4A will release next Sunday on CHSAANow.com.

  • Photos: Westminster football finishes season 9-0

    WESTMISTER — Westminster football finished the regular season at 9-0 following a 56-16 win over Boulder on Friday night.

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  • Football roundup: Niwot ends 24-game losing streak

    (Photo courtesy of Walker Bounds)
    Niwot’s players celebrate Friday’s win. (Photo courtesy of Walker Bounds)

    Niwot put an end to a 24-game losing streak on Friday night with a 34-7 defeat of Frederick at home.

    The Cougars hadn’t won a game since Sept. 20, 2013. They lost their final six games that season, went 0-10 in 2014, and had started 0-8 this season.

    Niwot is in its first season under new coach Dylan Hollingsworth, who came over from Summit. The Cougars are showing signs of improvement aside from Friday’s win. They’ve lost three games by 14 points or less this season, something that only happened twice during the previous two seasons of the streak.

    To make Friday’s win even better, the game was being played on senior night for the Cougars.

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    8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 22, (2) Akron 3

    Sedgwick County returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown and never really looked back.

    The Cougars led 16-3 at halftime, then added a scored in the second half to secure the win.

    The kickoff return, though, proved to be the spark.

    “You know, that turned out to be a really big part of the game,” coach Chris Michel told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We went up 8-0 right off the bat. It turned into a defensive battle after that.”

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    5A: Westminster 56, Boulder 16

    Westminster football may have grabbed a little bit more of that respect it has been looking for. The Wolves beat Boulder to win the Flatirons championship.

    The Wolves are now 9-0.

    “It’s a fantastic feeling,” Westminster coach Kerry Denison told the Scoreboard Show. “The whole school was supporting us, out and about. We took it one game at a time, and the kids came through.”

    On the league title, Denison said, “It was an unbelievable celebration.”

    Looking ahead toward the postseason, “I believe we’ll probably get a 3-seed with the quadrants the way they are,” Denison said. “But you know, we’ll play anybody that they put us up against. That’s the reason we play this game.”

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    5A: (9) Ralston Valley 31, (8) Mullen 21

    Ralston Valley jumped out to a 17-0 lead at halftime before Mullen started to claw its way back it. By the end of the third quarter, it was 17-14.

    Then, as the fourth quarter opened, Ralston Valley quarterback Ethan Vowles threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to widen the lead, and RV added another score four minutes later.

    Mullen scored with three minutes to play but wasn’t able to get any closer.

    Shamond Hamilton had two touchdowns for Mullen.

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    3A: Discovery Canyon 40, (7) Lewis-Palmer 7

    The Thunder controlled the game from start to finish, and actually led 40-0 at one point in the third quarter.

    “It was a big win for us,” head coach Shawn Mitchell told the Scoreboard Show. “The defense was doing a great, great job … and containing what they wanted to do. Very impressed with the way those guys played tonight.”

    Discovery Canyon started 0-4, but has now won five consecutive games to put itself back into the playoff picture.

    “The beginning of the season was rough, absolutely. But we’ve always done that. We’ve always tried to schedule teams that we thought were going to be good football teams. … We lost late to Silver Creek, and late to Holy Family. We were in both of them. We could see flashes in there.”

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    Notables:

    • The brackets for 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man playoffs will come out on CHSAANow.com on Sunday morning.
    • Just three teams in 5A are unbeaten going into the postseason: Columbine, which wrapped up its season Thursday, Westminster — and Arapahoe, which beat Smoky Hill 42-0 on Friday night.
    • Pueblo County nearly pulled off the upset of the season, but 3A No. 1 Pueblo East held on for a 31-24 win.
    • Legacy knocked off 5A No. 10 Fairview, 36-29, in a game that came down to the final play inside the redzone.
    • In a top-10 3A game, No. 8 Holy Family beat No. 9 Mead 37-23. But the news of that game was a possible knee injury to star quarterback Chris Helbig, who was closing in on the state’s single-season passing record.
    • In a top-10 2A clash, No. 10 Brush beat No. 7 Eaton 18-13.
    • 1A No. 3 Paonia beat No. 9 Cedaredge 48-7.
    • Springfield knocked off No. 6 Granada in 8-man, 48-28. And Wiley took down No. 8 Holly, 40-20.
    • In a crossover 6-man game, No. 10 Cotopaxi beat No. 8 Pawnee 63-12. Cotopaxi moves on to the 6-man state playoffs.
    • Other 6-man crossover winners: Fleming (55-8 over Stratton/Liberty) and Arickaree/Woodlin (52-6 over Cheyenne Wells). Arickaree/Woodlin is the defending champion.

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    Other coverage

  • Westminster football, now 8-0, aiming for league title — and respect

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    Westminster football is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Class 5A. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    [dropcap]R[/dropcap]unning the table during the regular season is a feat that many teams strive for yet few actually accomplish.

    With one week remaining in the regular season for Class 5A football programs, three undefeated teams — Columbine, Arapahoe and Westminster — are on the precipice of doing just that.

    For the Rebels, this isn’t new territory: Columbine has won five state titles since 1999. Three seasons ago, Arapahoe won 10 games and reached the state quarterfinals.

    But for Westminster, these are uncharted waters. Before merging with Ranum High back in 2008 to form one program, and eventually one school, Westminster hadn’t reached the playoffs since 1991.

    The newly-formed Wolves won only one game over two seasons from 2008-09, but have made the playoffs in each of the previous five seasons since Kerry Denison took over the program.

    It may have been somewhat unexpected for the squad to be sitting at 8-0 with the opportunity to win a league championship outright this weekend, but it’s obvious that years of hard work and perseverance are finally paying off.

    20150918_westyvsdenvereast_46
    (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    “When I took over the program six years ago, I knew it was going to be a tough task. What I tried to tell the kids is that they had to learn how to win,” Denison said. “We slowly climbed up and climbed up. They’ve sacrificed and done a lot of things.

    “All summer long they were in the weight room working their tails off. The community has been unbelievable and the school has been unbelievable.”

    Denison has told his players that this is a special time and that no game is bigger than Friday’s clash with Boulder. A victory would give the Wolves the Flatirons League crown outright.

    “We’ve been on the doorstep a couple times in the last five years, and we don’t want this thing to slip away,” Denison said. “They understand what it’s about. The playoffs will come, that’s a given, but this game against Boulder is the most important one.”

    So how exactly has Westminster remained perfect on the season thus far? The answer lies on both sides of the ball. The offense has scored a 5A-best 335 points, and the defense has allowed only 11 points a game.

    Denison credits coordinators Greg Mattei and Tom Baum with helping to turn things around, saying it’s almost like the team has three head coaches.

    “When people say, ‘You’ve done a phenomenal job,’ I say, ‘No, we’ve all done a fantastic job,’” he said. “One person doesn’t change the program. I just steer the ship. It’s a family thing — the kids, the coaches and the administration.”

    In the month of October alone Westminster has outscored opponents 151-18 and posted a pair of shutouts.

    “I think it’s our speed and our communication,” said senior linebacker Jeff Kaczor, who leads the team with eight sacks. “Everyone knows their responsibilities and everyone does their job. We all just thrive off each other.”

    Running the Wing-T offense, Westminster has averaged 320 yards per game on the ground. Senior Dillon Pace, who played for Pomona last fall before joining the Wolves this season, has rushed for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Brandon Dickerson has 15 touchdowns in six games, and Denison hopes he’ll be back against Boulder after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury.

    Whereas Dickerson is the powerhouse in the backfield, Pace brings an element of speed and excitement. Pace said the offense took some getting used to, but now it’s a perfect fit for his style.

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    Westminster’s Dillon Pace. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    “I feel more comfortable with it,” said Pace, who also leads the team with five interceptions. “When you get the ball more, you’re in more of a groove.”

    The one thing Westminster has struggled to gain at times this fall is respect. Despite being undefeated, the team has yet to crack into the weekly rankings.

    Denison said while it doesn’t bother him — he prefers flying under the radar — he knows his players take it personally.

    “It’s more like fuel to the fire,” Kaczor said. “They’re underestimating us. That is pushing us because we’re waiting to prove them wrong.”

    Westminster will get its chance to do just that in the postseason, but for now that will have to wait. Boulder is the current task at hand, and the Wolves have some unfinished business to attend to first — namely, wrapping up a league title.

    “We’re just focusing on this last game,” Pace said. “Once the regular season is over, then we’ll focus on what’s ahead. We need to play hard and focus on Boulder.”

  • Photos: Westminster football moves to 8-0 after beating Northglenn

    WESTMINSTER — Westminster football beat Northglenn 50-12 on Friday night to improve to 8-0 for the first time in school history.

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  • Photos: Westminster football beats Prairie View, now 6-0

    HENDERSON — Dillon Pace and Noah Silva each had rushing touchdowns at Westminster football beat Prairie View 14-6 on Friday to improve to 6-0 in Class 5A this season.

    With the six wins, Westminster has now matched its win total from all of last season.

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  • Photos: Westminster football now 5-0 after beating Brighton

    WESTMINSTER — Westminster improved to 5-0 with a 42-0 win over Brighton on Friday night.

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