Pine Creek is the No. 1 seed in Class 4A. Falcon also made the field. (Photo: District 49)
AURORA — Pine Creek and Discovery Canyon were selected as the top seeds when the Class 4A and 3A playoff football brackets were announced on Sunday morning.
Both teams went unbeaten at 10-0 during the regular season, and were atop the final Wild Card points standings for their respective classifications.
Pine Creek is the defending 4A champion. The Eagles are riding a 21-game winning streak, the largest of any 11-man team. Their last loss came to 5A Columbine on Sept. 12 of last season. Pine Creek hasn’t lost to a 4A team since dropping a game to Ponderosa in Oct. 2012 — a span of 23 games.
The Eagles went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in CHSAANow.com’s rankings during the regular season. They own wins over five teams which made the playoff field.
Other top seeds, and those hosting first-round games, include: No. 2 Fort Collins, No. 3 Montrose, No. 4 Denver South, No. 5 Pueblo South, No. 6 Dakota Ridge, No. 7 Longmont and No. 8 Windsor.
Montrose was the runner-up in last year’s 4A title game. The Indians (9-1) have yet to lose to a 4A team this season, with the lone loss coming to 5A Lakewood.
Discovery Canyon, meanwhile, has been No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com poll and the Wild Card points for a few weeks now. The Thunder have a number of key wins, including on the road at Holy Family and over Pueblo East. They also beat Rampart, a 4A playoff team.
On Friday, Discovery Canyon held off an upset attempt by beating Canon City in overtime.
Other first-round hosts in 3A are No. 2 Evergreen, No. 3 Roosevelt, No. 4 Pueblo East, No. 5 Lutheran, No. 6 Rifle, No. 7 Holy Family and No. 8 Conifer.
One thing’s for sure: There will be a new champion in 3A. Coronado, which won last year’s title, moved up to 4A (and made the playoffs). Likewise, last year’s runner-up Silver Creek also moved up.
Eaglecrest is the No. 1 seed in 5A. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
AURORA — Eaglecrest, Lewis-Palmer and Eaton nabbed the top seeds when volleyball’s regional tournament brackets were released on Monday morning.
Eaglecrest is the top seed in the Class 5A field and is set to host No. 24 ThunderRidge and No. 36 Liberty in its regional.
Grandview, Regis Jesuit, Rampart, Chaparral, Pine Creek, Cherokee Trail, Douglas County, Cherry Creek, Fairview, Ralston Valley and Legend will also host regionals. See the full 5A bracket here.
The top 12 teams (and regional hosts) were all seeded strictly based upon the MaxPreps computer rankings at the regular season’s end. All league champions earned automatic bids to regionals, and the remaining teams were selected based on the same MaxPreps rankings.
Lewis-Palmer volleyball is 4A’s No. 1 seed. (Matt Daniels)
Lewis-Palmer heads the 4A field, and will host No. 24 The Classical Academy and No. 36 Weld Central. Ponderosa, Cheyenne Mountain, Montrose, Valor Christian, Mullen, Mead, Berthoud, Pueblo West, Niwot and Air Academy are also regional hosts.
The 3A regional tournament field is led by No. 1 Eaton, which will host No. 24 Middle Park and No. 36 Denver Science & Tech – Green Valley Ranch. This is the first postseason appearance for a GVR team in the school’s short history.
Other 3A regional hosts are Valley, Bayfield, University, Colorado Springs Christian, Manitou Springs, Platte Valley, Sterling, Faith Christian, Pagosa Springs, Coal Ridge and Olathe.
The 1A and 2A regional brackets were also released after those two classifications completed district play this past weekend. Those fields were not seeded by a committee, but instead the districts determined regional placement.
Fort Collins trailed Broomfield 21-10 at halftime, but rallied for a 30-21 win on Friday night.
“At halftime … it wasn’t really a matter of X’s and O’s and we kind of knew that from a coaching standpoint,” Fort Collins coach Eric Rice told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “It was just more a matter of not finishing plays that we had the opportunity to.
“And so our very spirited message at halftime to the guys was, ‘Sometimes winning a football game is about playing with heart and just playing with a lot of courage.’ I really think that’s all it really took for us to get better in the second half.”
The third-ranked Lambkins actually led 10-7 with five minutes to play in the second quarter, but Broomfield struck for two quick touchdowns in a span of two-and-a-half minutes to take a 21-10 advantage into halftime.
Fort Collins responded with a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half — a 5-yard run from Kyler Sigsbee capped it.
William Bridges then gave the Lambkins a 24-21 lead later in the third quarter, and Sigsbee added another touchdown, his third of the game, with 7:16 remaining in the game to seal things.
“Really, really proud of our kids for showing their true character that they’re bunch of fighters and they got a lot of heart and they got a lot of courage and found a way to get a win tonight,” Rice said. “I actually look at tonight, and being down at halftime, as a very positive thing for us in the long run, because we might find ourselves in the playoffs here in a couple of weeks down at halftime, and we’re going to be able to draw back on this experience and say, ‘We’ve been there before.’”
The win sealed the Class 4A Northern League title for the Lambkins.
[divider]
5A: Overland 50, Cherokee Trail 48 (OT)
A back-and-forth game all night long, it was fitting that this one ended up in overtime.
The game featured seven ties or lead changes, but it was Ahjon White’s score on fourth-and-goal from the 2 and Austin Conway’s subsequent two-point conversion that proved to be the difference.
Overland had leads of 14-0, 22-14, 28-20 and 36-28. Each time, Cherokee Trail battled back. The Cougars actually took at 42-36 lead in the fourth quarter, but it was Overland’s turn to respond. Josh Wright’s 20-yard touchdown with 5:26 to play tied the game.
Overland had a chance to win it with 2.8 seconds to play, but missed a field goal and the teams went to overtime.
In OT, the Trailblazers got the ball first and White scored his fourth total touchdown of the night on the fourth-down try. Conway then got the conversion on a run. It was Overland’s fifth two-point attempt of the night; they ended up converting three of them.
Cherokee Trail also scored on a fourth-and-goal from the two, but couldn’t convert for two.
Cherokee Trail’s Izaiah Lottie had a big night with three touchdowns.
[divider]
1A: (8) Centauri 42, (6) Monte Vista 6
The Falcons cruised to an easy win over the Pirates.
“We played well and we played together and we were able to get a big victory against a league rival and a good team,” coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show after the game. “Our first four games were against four quality teams. Three of them are in the top-4. We learned a lot early, and we were able to put it together tonight.”
Centauri closed the regular season with five-straight wins.
[divider]
Short stuff
The playoff brackets for classes 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man are due out Sunday. There’s no exact time set for a release, but brackets will publish on CHSAANow.com as they are finalized. Expect late morning, mid-afternoon.
The latest Wild Card point standings won’t publish until either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Speaking of Wild Card points: Manual was the beneficiary of a forfeit from Ridge View Academy earlier this week. It moved them all the way up to No. 9 in the 2A Wild Card points. But following a loss to previously winless Machebeuf on Friday night, Manual dropped to No. 15. It must hold on tight in hopes it makes the 2A playoff field.
Lyons wideout Austin Myers had 314 yards receiving in a win over Clear Creek on Friday night, according to BoCoPreps.com. That’s the fourth-highest single-game mark in state history.
Northridge upset 3A No. 9 Berthoud, 32-20.
Also in 3A, No. 6 Rifle held off Glenwood Springs 20-13. “As usual, we traveled well,” Rifle coach Damon Wells told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a full house. It was pretty loud. I think sometimes in the mountains in Colorado on Friday nights in the fall, it’s a pretty special environment.”
2A’s top-ranked team, Brush, rolled to a 43-29 win over No. 10 Eaton.
St. Mary’s, No. 9 in 2A, won a rivalry game with Manitou Springs, 28-18. St. Mary’s went 1-8 last season; they’re now 7-2 in 2014. “These kids are riding high right now, playing well,” coach Nic Olney told the Scoreboard Show.
Here’s another good turnaround: Littleton is 5-4 after beating Ponderosa 21-19. The Lions started 1-4. They won the 4A Plains League as a result. “This is our second fall being together,” coach Kurt Krantz told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids are believing in what we’re doing. They’re starting to understand what this is about.”
Rangeview won the 5A South Metro League with a 29-7 win over Heritage. “I really like where our team’s at,” coach Dave Gonzales told the Scoreboard Show. “We kind of found our identity tonight. That’s kind of the team we’ve been waiting on to show up for a few weeks. Finally, everybody’s healthy and we’re kind of in a good little run.”
A few top-10 matchups in 8-man: No. 2 Caliche beat No. 5 Merino 37-14; No. 4 Akron beat No. 10 Sedgwick County 60-21; and No. 7 Granada beat No. 6 Springfield 28-12.
6-man’s crossover games began play. Among the winners were Arickaree/Woodlin (66-0 over Miami-Yoder), Walsh (83-32 over Flagler), Fleming (48-6 over Otis) and Peetz (79-32 over Stratton/Liberty). Peetz’s win assures the classification of a new champion this year. Stratton/Liberty won the 2013 crown.
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.
Castle View took a 11-1 victory over Pine Creek in five innings against Pine Creek to open its Class 5A state tournament run Friday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
AURORA — One thing is for sure when the winning team hoists the Class 5A state softball trophy Saturday at Aurora Sports Park.
It will be a first for somebody.
None of the four teams remaining have ever won a state softball champions in the program’s history. Top-seed Fossil Ridge and No. 4 Castle View square off in one semifinal. No. 6 Grandview and No. 7 Broomfield face each other in the other semifinal at 10 a.m. Saturday at Aurora Sports Park.
The winners are schedule to play in the title game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. See the full bracket here.
“That No. 1 seed doesn’t scare me,” Castle View coach Caley Mitchell said after her squad advanced into the semifinals with a 1-0 victory against Eaglecrest late Friday afternoon. “It’s going to be Sabercat versus Sabercat.”
Castle View moved on thanks largely because of its senior Savannah Heebner. The 6-foot pitcher allowed just two hits in the Sabercats’ 11-1 victory in the opening round Friday morning against Pine Creek.
Heebner then won a pitching duel a few hours later with Eaglecrest’s ace Alexa Romero. Heebner threw a complete-game shutout allowing just three hits and striking out 10 batters in a 1-0 victory. Castle View’s lone run came in the first inning when junior Kayla Gau’s double drove in sophomore Lexi Kagan.
“She (Heebner) was fired up to play this game,” Mitchell said. “Last year we lost in the first round so our goal this year to make it here and we did. She gets better as she throws longer.”
Castle View had high hopes last year going into the state tournament, but Eaglecrest bounced the Sabercats out in the first round with a 5-4 victory.
“It is our time. Our school motto this year is ‘Our Time’. I believe in that 100 percent,” said Heebner, who has committed to play at the University of Houston next year. “I believe we are going to go all the way.”
Fossil Ridge shut out Arvada West 2-0 in the opening round and then got hot with the bats against Douglas County in the quarterfinals. Fossil Ridge took a 9-5 win to advance to Saturday.
Grandview cruised through into the semifinals with dominating wins against Chaparral and Columbine. While, Broomfield had the most interesting two games having to score double-digit runs against Central of Grand Junction and Horizon to survive.
“That is our thing. Our girls can hit the ball,” Broomfield coach Paula Seifried said after a wild 11-9 victory against Horizon in the quarterfinals.
The Eagles took a 6-0 lead, but gave up eight runs to Horizon in the top of the fourth inning to fall behind 8-6. Broomfield rallied to regain the lead, but the Hawks wouldn’t go do without a fight.
Horizon tied the game at 9-9 going to the bottom of the sixth inning. Broomfield senior Kenzie Brock drove in the eventual-game winning run.
[divider]
Class 4A tournament
D’Evelyn senior pitcher Megan McGinley throws to the plate during the Jaguars’ first-round game against Class 4A’s top-seed Frederick on Friday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
A lot of familiar faces and usual suspects advanced into the 4A semifinals.
Defending state champion and No. 4 Wheat Ridge squeezed out a pair of one-run victories against Air Academy and Discovery Canyon to keep the Farmers’ hopes for a repeat alive.
Wheat Ridge faces top-seeded Frederick in one semifinal Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The Warriors got victories over D’Evelyn and Ponderosa on Friday.
No. 2 Valor Christian got back Niwot and Mullen to advance into the state semifinal for the first time in the program’s history. The Eagles get 11-time state champion Erie in the other 4A softball at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The top four seeds advanced to Saturday. No. 1 Strasburg, No. 2 Valley, No. 3 La Junta and No. 4 Sterling will battle it out Saturday.
Defending state champion Strasburg has to beat league rival Sterling for the third time this season to advance to the state championship game. The previous two meeting were one-run victories.
Valley, who also has two losses to Strasburg this season, squares off against La Junta in the other semifinal.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
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.
