Following a week filled with big wins, George Washington boys basketball has moved up to No. 3 in the Class 5A rankings.
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.
The first boys basketball rankings after the break brought a host of changes, including a new No. 1 team — Creede — in Class 1A.
Joining the polls this week:
Highlands Ranch, No. 10, in 5A.
Ponderosa, No. 8, and Valor Christian, No. 9, in 4A.
Manual, No. 9, in 3A.
Limon, No. 6, and Vail Christian, No. 8, in 2A.
Sangre de Cristo, No. 8, and De Beque, No. 10, in 1A.
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.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rock Canyon (8)
11-0
105
1
2-0
2
Grandview (3)
10-1
98
6
6-1
3
ThunderRidge
12-1
82
5
3-0
4
Chaparral
10-2
67
3
4-2
5
Denver East
9-2
62
4
3-2
6
Regis Jesuit
10-1
52
8
4-0
7
Doherty
9-2
33
10
4-0
8
Smoky Hill
7-4
32
2
3-2
9
George Washington
7-5
24
7
2-3
10
Highlands Ranch
8-2
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Rampart 8, Liberty 5, Broomfield 4, Mountain Vista 4, Castle View 2, Cherokee Trail 2, Overland 2, Cherry Creek 1, Eaglecrest 1, Rangeview 1.
Dropped out
Eaglecrest (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (14)
8-0
157
1
2-0
2
Silver Creek (1)
8-0
125
4
4-0
3
Pueblo South
9-2
124
3
2-0
4
Golden
9-2
107
2
2-0
5
Pueblo West (1)
9-2
100
9
6-0
6
Longmont
5-1
61
6
1-0
7
Holy Family
6-4
31
5
2-2
8
Ponderosa
10-1
25
–
3-0
9
Valor Christian
5-6
24
–
4-3
10
Falcon
5-3
21
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Evergreen 19, Widefield 18, Elizabeth 15, Windsor 15, Roosevelt 12, Air Academy 5, Mountain View 5, Palmer Ridge 4, D’Evelyn 3, Mesa Ridge 2, Steamboat Springs 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Montrose 1, Pueblo East 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
Windsor (7), Widefield (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (15)
7-0
159
1
0-0
2
Alamosa (1)
6-1
117
4
1-0
3
Faith Christian
6-2
113
3
1-0
4
Kent Denver
7-2
89
2
1-1
5
Grand Valley
6-0
76
6
0-0
6
DSST-Stapleton
4-4
62
7
0-1
7
Platte Valley
7-1
55
5
2-0
8
La Junta
7-2
34
8
0-2
9
Manual
4-3
32
–
0-0
10
The Vanguard
5-1
29
9
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Arrupe Jesuit 15, Resurrection Christian 14, Colorado Springs Christian 12, Strasburg 12, Colorado Academy 11, Bayfield 9, Centauri 9, Coal Ridge 9, Lutheran 8, Roaring Fork 5, Pagosa Springs 3, Delta 2, Jefferson 2, The Pinnacle 2, Manitou Springs 1.
Dropped out
Resurrection Christian (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (5)
7-0
105
1
2-0
2
Crowley County (4)
8-0
98
2
1-0
3
Del Norte
6-2
74
4
0-0
4
Yuma (1)
5-2
65
3
0-0
5
Meeker
4-2
48
8
1-1
6
Limon (1)
6-1
45
–
2-0
7
Simla
6-0
38
7
1-0
8
Vail Christian (1)
6-1
36
–
2-0
9
Ignacio
4-3
31
5
1-2
10
Sanford
3-3
30
6
0-1
Others receiving votes:
Byers 16, Hoehne 14, Custer County 9, Twin Peaks 9, Highland 8, Merino 5, Plateau Valley 5, Clear Creek 4, Evangelical Christian 4, Dolores Huerta 3, Haxtun 3, Hotchkiss 2, Paonia 2, Sargent 2, Calhan 1, Dawson 1, Fowler 1, Front Range Christian 1.
Dropped out
Byers (9), Hoehne (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Creede (5)
8-0
91
3
1-0
2
Holly (4)
8-0
81
1
0-0
3
Peetz (1)
8-0
74
2
2-0
4
Heritage Christian
5-1
44
9
0-0
5
South Baca
4-2
42
4
1-1
6
Longmont Christian
6-1
39
5
1-0
7
Cheyenne Wells
5-1
32
6
1-0
8
Sangre de Cristo
6-1
24
–
2-0
9
Primero
5-1
23
10
1-0
10
De Beque
7-0
21
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Front Range Baptist 19, Kit Carson 14, Moffat 9, Aguilar 7, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 5, Sierra Grande 5, Mile High Academy 3, Caliche 1, Shining Mountain 1.
The 2017 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 head coaches across the state.
Players were placed onto the first-team, second-team and honorable mention based upon the number of votes they received. In 5A-1A, spots were reserved for linemen and one kicker/punter, while 8-man reserved spots for linemen.
CHSAA does not determine who makes or doesn’t make the team; they are created entirely from the results of the coaches’ vote.
It was a head-to-head scoring battle that by all accounts was a fun one to watch.
Jaedon Bowles and Luis Barron went back-and-forth during Manual’s 87-80 win over The Pinnacle on Monday.
Bowles, a Manual junior, finished with 50 points on 15-of-21 shooting. He was also 18-of-19 at the line.
“I haven’t seen him play like that before,” said Manual coach Omar Henry. “Last night was the first time I’d seen him play like that.”
“They just kept fouling him, so the last six points were all free-throws,” Henry added.
Barron, a Pinnacle senior, had 38 on 14-of-22 shooting, and made 8 of 9 free throws.
“He was unstoppable in that first 10 minutes of the game,” Henry said. “I haven’t seen anybody ever be able to get to the basket like that. He was phenomenal.”
Both players made two 3-pointers.
The point totals were career highs for both players, but not exactly out of the ordinary.
Barron is averaging 30.7 points per game through three games this season, good enough for fourth-best in the state.
Bowles, meanwhile, is averaging 24.8 points. Last season, he had 42 points in a game against Far Northeast, and went over 30 points five times. He had 30 points against Falcon on Dec. 8.
Senior quarterback Zach Cozzolino had a monster game on Saturday as Pueblo South continued its great season.
Cozzolino threw for 297 yards and six touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing as the Colts, No. 9 in Class 4A, beat Liberty 48-16. Pueblo South is now 6-1.
This is the Colts’ best start since going 10-2 in 2014. That year, Pueblo South went 9-1 in the regular season and advanced to the 4A quarterfinals.
Steve Brock rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown for Pueblo South, while Marcell Barbee, Thomas Pannunzio and Jesse Anzar each had two receiving scores. Barbee (115 yards) and Anzar (109) each had more than 100 yards receiving.
Pueblo South plays at Cheyenne Mountain next week. Liberty (0-7) is at Sand Creek.
[divider]
Notables:
6-man No. 2 Prairie beat No. 6 North Park 52-12.
4A No. 8 Fruita Monument stayed unbeaten at 7-0 with a 48-6 win over Thornton.
5A No. 3 Pomona rolled to a 42-7 win over Hinkley. The Panthers are 5-2.
3A No. 7 Faith Christian beat D’Evelyn 14-7 and is now 6-1.
1A No. 7 Platte Canyon is still unbeaten at 6-0 after topping Manual 37-22.
Gilpin County, No. 8 in 8-man, shutout Hayden 38-0 and moved to 6-1. Manny Gomez had 15 tackles.
Poudre improved to 5-2 with a 29-19 win over Legend in 5A.
In 8-man, Rocky Mountain Lutheran beat Belleview Christian 58-0 and is now 5-2.
Ralston Valley football picked up a huge win on Friday night, knocking off top-ranked Pine Creek and ending the Eagles’ state-best 15-game winning streak.
The Mustangs grabbed a 17-7 lead at halftime thanks to a field goal as time expired. They then held on in the second half, including one last stop with a minute left to seal the win.
Ralston Valley, a Class 5A program, is now 2-3 this season following an 0-3 start. Pine Creek, which plays in 4A, drops to 4-1.
Blake Stenstrom threw two touchdown passes, Joshia Davis rushed for 118 and a score and caught a TD pass, and the Eagles got yet another big win in their non-conference slate.
Valor Christian is now 5-0.
“We feel like playing great teams helps us refine what we need to do,” Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We’re not scared to lose. This is the first time in five, six, seven years that we’ve actually been undefeated out of our non-conference. If you’re not scared to lose, then these games are really good, because it helps you grow.”
Sherman pointed to his team’s ability to run the football, and stop Cherry Creek from doing the same, as one of the differences in the game.
“With a team like Creek, they’re so talented and they do such a great job coaching, if you let them be balanced, you’re in trouble,” he said. “And ultimately we ran the ball really well and we stopped the run.”
[divider]
1A: Aspen 34, Coal Ridge 28
Aspen entered 4-0, and Coal Ridge was 3-1, so their matchup on Friday was a good one. Ultimately, the Skiers won 34-28 to improved to 5-0.
Aspen won just two games last season, and hadn’t won five games in a season since 2013. It’s Aspen’s best start since opening 7-0 in 2010.
“We challenged (the kids) to understand what it takes to be successful,” Aspen coach Karson Pike told the Scoreboard Show about the team’s turnaround. “They did a good job this summer and this spring. … That’s really where we grew up.”
[divider]
2A: (5) La Junta 21, (3) The Classical Academy 11
The Tigers picked up a big top-five win a week after dropping another top-five matchup.
“It was a big win for us to get back on the winning track,” La Junta coach Clint Buderus told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids played good. It was huge for us.”
La Junta, the defending 2A champion, had its 16-game winning streak snapped last Saturday in a loss to now No. 1 Kent Denver. So this win was a big bounce-back following that game.
“We played better tonight,” Buderus said.
[divider]
1A: (1) Bennett 76, (10) Clear Creek 36
The top-ranked Tigers handed Clear Creek its first loss this season.
Bennett rushed for more than 600 yards in the game, including 515 in the first half.
Bennett, which reached the semifinals last season, is now 5-0 this season. Clear Creek is 4-1.
[divider]
8-man (3) Haxtun 29, (8) Dayspring Christian 21
A fourth-quarter touchdown lifted Haxtun to the win and a 5-0 start this season.
The team teams were knotted at 21 going into the final frame, and at 6-6 at halftime, before Haxtun pulled away.
Dayspring Christian is now 3-2.
[divider]
Notables:
More photos. (Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)
With Pine Creek losing, the longest winning streak in the state now belongs to Valor and Sedgwick County. Both have won 15 games in a row.
Sedgwick County, ranked No. 1 in 8-man, beat Akron 48-24 in a matchup of the past two state title games in that classification. “I thought our offensive line did a great job digging in in the second half and getting us some big yards,” coach Chris Michel told the Scoreboard Show.
4A No. 9 Pueblo South beat 3A Pueblo East 34-19 in the annual Cannon game. East, the three-time defending 3A champs, has opened the year 0-5. “There is just so much that goes into this, I don’t think people truly understand how things are in Pueblo, especially the rivalries, but I’m just proud of our kids tonight,” South coach Ryan Goddard told the Scoreboard Show. South is 4-1.
In 3A, No. 3 Palmer Ridge cruised to a 43-0 win over No. 10 Canon City. Quarterback Ty Evans threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another. “When we give Ty time, he does a really good job going through his progression, and he’s a competitor,” coach Tom Pulford told the Scoreboard Show.
2A No. 1 Kent Denver shut out Elizabeth 35-0, giving coach Scott Yates his 320th career win. 8-man No. 4 West Grand shut out Hayden 50-0, giving coach Chris Brown his 320th win. Both men lead the state in career wins.
Brighton came back from down 21 to beat Fort Collins 28-21.
Skyview is 5-0 for the first time in program history following its 48-21 win over Lincoln.
La Veta upset 6-man No. 8 Cotopaxi 71-38.
Mountain Valley got three touchdowns each from Salvador Vigil and Drew Martinez in a 60-13 win over Aguilar.
Ta’yon Burton returned a kickoff for a score as Manual beat Front Range Christian 27-0.
Pretty big win for Fountain-Fort Carson in 5A: 35-26 over Doherty.
Mead looks ready for the No. 1 spot in 3A. The Longhorns, currently No. 2 handled Fort Morgan 51-14. Current No. 1 Holy Family lost on Thursday.
Ikaika Gonzalez-Bentosino rushed for 266 yards and two scores as Englewood beat Sheridan 58-0 in 2A.
Vista Ridge beat Discovery Canyon 35-21 in a 4A/3A matchup behind big rushing days from Jeffrey Crittendon (218 yards, two TDs) and Jaylen Thomas (183, 1). Thomas also had two passing TDs.
Travis Cunningham rushed for two scores and Austin Coalson passed for two as Eaton beat University 33-6 in a 2A game.
Valor Christian boys basketball is the new No. 1 in Class 4A. The Eagles escaped Evergreen in a 54-53 win last week.
The previous top team in the CHSAANow.com 4A rankings, Pueblo West, wasn’t so lucky. The Cyclones lost to Pueblo South 67-64 after being down 34-19 at halftime. Pueblo West didn’t fall too far however, sliding to the No. 2 spot.
That Pueblo South team got some recognition for the upset as they joined the 4A poll at No. 8.
3A also added a new team to the rankings. Manual came in at No. 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings.
In 5A, Doherty and Grandview swapped places, with the Spartans rising from No. 7 to No. 5. Doherty won its second-straight league title after beating Rampart. Grandview dropped after its loss to No. 4 Eaglecrest.
Dawson received one first place vote as they rose from No. 9 to No. 6 in the 2A poll. The top three teams remained the same in 2A.
Crowley County entered the 2A rankings at No. 8.
In 1A, Longmont Christian moved from No. 6 to No. 4, swapping with Flagler.
Weldon Valley dropped out, making room for Primero to jump into the rankings at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These are the final rankings of the regular season.
