GREELEY — Finn Leggitt only scored six points in the second half of No. 1 Creede’s 55-46 win over No. 8 Cornerstone Christian, but they were easily the most timely six points of the game.
The Miners held a slim 27-25 lead at halftime, and missed key opportunities to make the game a little more comfortable at the break. That was the emphasis of the talk at halftime.
“A lot of backdoors and start making layups,” Leggitt said. “We didn’t do so well and had to work on that.”
Burying a couple of long shots helps too. Leggitt connected on two 3-pointers to highlight a 12-1 run that Creede opened the second half with. What was a back and forth battle for the better part of 16 minutes had turned into a game where the top seed in the Class 1A state tournament had control.
“We knew they were going to play rough and come out here and player their game,” Leggitt said.
The Bulldogs attacked the basket often, drawing fouls and making their way to the free throw line. Seven of their 25 first-half points came from the charity stripe.
And where Leggitt warmed up at just the right time for the Miners, Cornerstone Christian went cold. Christian Lambertson’s 3-pointer in the third was the only field goal the Bulldogs made in the quarter.
Ethan Carlson scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the fourth. The man-to-man pressure from Cornerstone Christian threw Creede off for a bit, but they were able to adjust enough to come away with the win.
“In our district, we see a lot of zone presses and not a lot of man,” Leggitt said. “We had a hard time adjusting, but we’ll go over it and we’ll fix it.”
The Miners will face Peetz in the 1A Final 4 on Friday.
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(6) South Baca 75, (3) Heritage Christian 59
Micah Crane scored 25 and Thomas Manuel added 21 as South Baca grabbed the 1A tournament’s early upset.
Levi Kilian scored 16 for the Eagles, half of which came in the fourth quarter. But the Patriots outscored Heritage Christian 23-17 in the final eight minutes to move on to Friday’s Final 4.
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(2) Front Range Baptist 65, Genoa-Hugo/Karval 31
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Deric Woods scored 22 and Adam Poole added 16 as Front Range Baptist rolled into the 1A semifinals.
Ben Miller led Genoa-Hugo/Karval with 11 points.
The Pirates had their best offensive output in the third quarter, but the deficit to the Falcons proved to be too much ground to make up.
With the win, Front Range Baptist will face No. 6 South Baca, who beat No. 3 Heritage Christian Thursday morning.
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(5) Peetz 64, (4) Sangre de Cristo 29
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Peetz is headed to the Final 4 after an impressive win over Sangre de Cristo. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 18-10 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 29-15 at the half.
Logan Sircy led Peetz with 19 points while Jake Slane was scoring leader for the Thunderbirds, totaling 11.
The Bulldogs will face top-seeded Creede in the semifinals on Friday.
It appears that defending girls basketball state champions are going to have their work cut out for them in 2016-17.
Only Valor Christian comes in as a No. 1 team in the CHSAANow.com preseason girls basketball rankings as a team who also finished the season hoisting a state championship trophy.
Led by Michaela Onyenwere, Grandview comes in as the top team in 5A. The Wolves advanced to the Final 4 last season, but lost a heartbreaker to eventual state champion ThunderRidge.
The Grizzlies did not break into the top 10 to start the season.
In 3A, it’s the 2016 state runner-up Manitou Springs who comes in as the No.1 team to start the year.
The Mustangs return senior Shelby Megyeri, who is regarded as one of the top guards in the state.
Like the 3A poll, it’s the runner-up that will start the season at No. 1 in 2A. After falling to Yuma 55-46 in the 2A title game, Paonia will start the 2016-17 season as the top team in the class.
Yuma isn’t far behind though as the defending champ sit at No. 2.
A stunning upset in the first round of the 1A state tournament ended Kit Carson’s bid at a state title, but the Wildcats find themselves as the team to beat to start this season.
They take the No. 1 spot in the preseason 1A rankings.
The girls basketball regular season will begin Nov. 30.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Longmont 33, Windsor 32, Durango 17, Falcon 16, Air Academy 12, Green Mountain 8, Pueblo East 8, Palisade 6, Berthoud 5, Montrose 5, Discovery Canyon 3, Thomas Jefferson 3, Rifle 2, Centaurus 1, Elizabeth 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Manitou Springs (5)
0-0
87
2
Sterling (2)
0-0
84
3
Pagosa Springs
0-0
76
4
Lutheran (1)
0-0
62
5
Centauri
0-0
58
6
St. Mary’s (1)
0-0
52
7
Eaton (1)
0-0
38
8
Faith Christian
0-0
27
9
Lamar
0-0
19
10
Liberty Common
0-0
11
Others receiving votes:
Moffat County 7, Coal Ridge 5, Grand Valley 5, Bennett 4, Olathe 3, Resurrection Christian 3, Alamosa 2, Cedaredge 2, Colorado Springs Christian 2, Kent Denver 1, Strasburg 1, Trinidad 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Paonia (9)
0-0
99
2
Yuma (1)
0-0
70
3
Swink
0-0
67
4
Wray
0-0
64
5
Akron
0-0
28
6
Soroco
0-0
26
7
Haxtun
0-0
20
8
Del Norte
0-0
19
9
Lyons
0-0
17
10
Highland
0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
Ignacio 15, Clear Creek 14, Evangelical Christian 14, Sanford 13, West Grand 12, Hoehne 10, Sargent 7, Simla 7, Ellicott 6, Limon 5, Meeker 5, Calhan 4, Ridgway 4, Burlington 2, Fowler 2, Center 1, Custer County 1, Denver Christian 1, Norwood 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Kit Carson (7)
0-0
88
2
Fleming (1)
0-0
55
3
Heritage Christian
0-0
53
4
Idalia (1)
0-0
49
5
Briggsdale
0-0
47
6
South Baca
0-0
35
7
Genoa-Hugo/Karval
0-0
25
8
Antonito
0-0
23
9
Kiowa
0-0
21
10
Branson/Kim
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Cheyenne Wells 15, McClave 13, Jim Elliot 11, La Veta 10, Sangre de Cristo 10, Hi-Plains 5, Springfield 5, Eads 4, Holly 4, Otis 3, Stratton/Liberty 1.
The 2015 football players of the year. From left: Dylan Dixon of Eads; Keegan Wentz of Buena Vista; JoJo Domann of Pine Creek; Dylan McCaffrey of Valor Christian; Daniel Martin of Pueblo East; Kelton McCoy of Bayfield; Trey Walter of Sedgwick County. (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActoinShots.com; Bill Cronin; Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Jeff Tucker; and Sedgwick County HS)
The 2015 all-state football teams 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 coaches.
Resurrection Christian volleyball is the No. 1 team in the preseason 2A volleyball poll. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Last fall, for the first time in state history, every single volleyball champion successfully defended its title. Three of them are favored to win a third consecutive championship heading into the 2015 season.
Defending champions Lewis-Palmer (Class 4A), Eaton (3A) and Resurrection Christian (2A) are among top-ranked teams in the CHSAANow.com Volleyball Polls, which were released Monday. Also heading their respective classifications are Cherokee Trail (5A) and Idalia (1A).
The last team to win more than two straight titles was Cheyenne Mountain, which won five from 2008-12.
Lewis-Palmer is actually coming off a mythical national championship in addition to its two 4A titles. The Rangers got eight of the 11 first-place votes in 4A’s preseason poll. Ponderosa, the team they beat for the 2014 title, is No. 2.
Eaton, the defending 3A champion, holds the top spot in that poll after getting eight of the 10 first-place votes in that class. Colorado Springs Christian opens at No. 2.
In 2A, Resurrection Christian — yes, another defending champion — got six of the seven first-place votes to top the preseason poll. The Cougars have actually won 58-straight matches, which ranks fifth-best all-time. Yuma is No. 2.
Cherokee Trail opens as the favorite in 5A. The Cougars got six of the 11 first-place votes. Grandview, last season’s champion, is No. 2 and got one first-place vote.
Cherry Creek is No. 3, and Regis Jesuit is No. 4. Chatfield, the 2014 runner-up, is No. 5. The Charges received two first-place votes.
Two teams — Fossil Ridge and Brighton — received first-place votes, but did not make the 5A ranking.
The 1A poll is led by Idalia, which got all six first-place votes. Flagler is No. 2.
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.
Fossil Ridge 18, Arapahoe 14, Brighton 10, Denver East 9, Pine Creek 9, Fort Collins 8, Ralston Valley 8, Rampart 7, Columbine 6, Loveland 6, Rocky Mountain 6, Lakewood 5, Rock Canyon 3, Rangeview 2, Douglas County 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Lewis-Palmer (8)
0-0
106
2
Ponderosa (1)
0-0
89
3
Cheyenne Mountain (2)
0-0
76
4
Pueblo West
0-0
50
5
Valor Christian
0-0
48
6
Mullen
0-0
30
7
Montrose
0-0
28
8
Battle Mountain
0-0
26
9
Air Academy
0-0
19
10
Niwot
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 13, Holy Family 12, Longmont 12, Roosevelt 12, Thompson Valley 12, Berthoud 11, The Classical Academy 9, Mead 8, Windsor 8, Woodland Park 5, Eagle Valley 3, Mesa Ridge 3, Canon City 2, Silver Creek 2, Durango 1, Green Mountain 1, Sierra 1, Steamboat Springs 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Eaton (8)
0-0
98
2
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
0-0
70
3
Manitou Springs (1)
0-0
67
4
Valley
0-0
66
5
University
0-0
59
6
Platte Valley
0-0
56
7
Bayfield
0-0
32
8
Lutheran
0-0
25
9
Sterling
0-0
23
10
Pagosa Springs
0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 14, Coal Ridge 10, Middle Park 3, St. Mary’s 3, Buena Vista 2, Eagle Ridge 1, Olathe 1, Peak to Peak 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Resurrection Christian (6)
0-0
62
2
Yuma
0-0
55
3
Caliche
0-0
42
4
Akron
0-0
39
5
Paonia
0-0
37
6
Lyons (1)
0-0
30
7
Dayspring Christian
0-0
22
8
Colorado Springs School
0-0
19
9
Ridgway
0-0
18
10
Sargent
0-0
14
Others receiving votes:
Rye 12, Swink 11, Simla 8, Byers 7, Vail Christian 5, Cedaredge 2, Ignacio 1, South Park 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Idalia (6)
0-0
60
2
Flagler
0-0
49
3
Otis
0-0
43
4
Weldon Valley
0-0
35
5
Prairie
0-0
30
6
Genoa-Hugo/Karval
0-0
21
7
Kit Carson
0-0
19
8
Nucla
0-0
16
9
Fleming
0-0
13
10
Community Christian
0-0
10
Others receiving votes:
La Veta 8, Cheraw 6, North Park 6, McClave 5, Springfield 4, Eads 3, Hi-Plains 2.
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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
