The state tournaments begin play at 10 a.m. on Friday. The second set of first-round games will be played at 12:15 p.m., with quarterfinals set for 2:30 p.m.
On Saturday, play begins with semifinals at 10 a.m., and championship games at 1:15 p.m. (3A) and 1:30 p.m. (4A and 5A).
CHSAANow will have complete coverage of each tournament.
No. 1 seeds include Cherokee Trail (5A), Pueblo County (4A) and Strasburg (3A). Each were also seeded No. 1 during regional play last weekend.
It’s not just about the Canon Game and the Bell Game anymore.
With the start of a new two-year cycle, football teams were reclassified and leagues were realigned to provide a new landscape for Colorado high school football.
One of the most significant impacts came in southern Colorado. The city of Pueblo to be exact.
The steel city is no stranger to intense rivalries, especially on the football field. On at least two occasions, Dutch Clark Stadium would fill to the brim as rivals battled for pride and hardware. Not state championship hardware, but rather a bell and a canon.
But that was it.
Now, playoff implications enter the mix and with Central, Centennial, South, East and County all in the same league — the Class 3A South Central League — Pueblo rivalries have more fuel and have become slightly more personal.
“It’s a lot more personal,” Central coach Kris Cotterman said. “All these kids know each other and played football against each other. The thing about Pueblo is you go to high school in the same area you grew in from fourth grade on. It’s definitely more personal and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The coaches from every school feel the same way. Regardless of how long they’ve been in their positions, they all understand the weight that each game carries when it’s Pueblo school against Pueblo school.
With all of them — the lone exception of being Class 4A’s — back in the same conference, there is new a new fire burning on the weekends. It’s a feeling that, while new for many, is a relic to those growing up and understanding how important all five teams are to each other.
“No matter the classification, the Bell Game and the Canon Game will always draw big crowds,” East coach Andy Watts said. “Now the loyal fans who know the implications of it being a league game anticipate new rivalries, rivalries that I grew up watching with Centennial and East and Central and South. It’s definitely big for the city of Pueblo.”
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“I wouldn’t say they’re equally important.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
There’s always that one game that a team circles on the calendar. For Pueblo East, there is always that buildup to take on South.
Last year it was the Colts who came out on the winning end of the Canon Game. It was perhaps the second-biggest game of the year for South, which went on to claim the 4A state championship.
The Colts dropped to 3A this year and with East and South being in the same league, the stakes for the Canon Game have certainly been raised.
“Absolutely it’s done that,” South coach Ryan Goddard said. “We talk about the Canon Game and the Canon Game is important in the community and to our schools respectively but tie it to a league game; obviously we have goals and one of those goals is to compete for a league championship, now you’re putting that on the Canon game as well.”
Neither team has to wait long in the league schedule to play for the canon. East and South face off on Friday to start the league schedule.
The Colts are coming off their first win of the season, a 20-12 win over Lewis-Palmer while the Eagles had a bye week following a tough loss to Discovery Canyon. Each side has been more than anxious for Oct. 5 to arrive.
“It’s a big game for us every year,” South junior receiver Jackson Dickerson said. “It’s the start of league now, too. It’s big for us knowing we have to go into league and try to win all those games this year.”
And surely with the rest of the games against Pueblo teams counting in the league standings, aside from getting to take the canon home, this game counts just as much as each one after it, right?
“They’re all important,” East quarterback Luc Andrada said. “I would’t say they’re equally important because this is a big one for us.”
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“It’s going to draw more attention and a bigger crowd this year.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Standing room only. That’s typically the atmosphere each year when Central and Centennial meet in the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi: The Bell Game.
If there’s one thing that the city schools in Pueblo can do, it’s relate to each other when it comes to their big rivalry games. Regardless of the year, regardless of the records, these games will always be big for the respective schools.
But in 2018, there is much more on the line than just whether or not the bell will painted a different color.
“I know for sure it’s going to draw more attention and a bigger crowd this year,” Central offensive lineman Samu Bojorquez said. “The Bell Game has been big region-wise, but that it affects league and has playoff implications, it’s going to be bigger.”
For the last two years the bell has rang red with Centennial coming away with the win. The Bulldogs have won three of their first five games of the year. With a few weeks to go, they’ll open the league slate against Durango this week before taking on their primary goal of the year, winning the city of Pueblo.
“That’s our motto going into league: Control the city,” Centennial coach Jeff Wilkerson said. “The idea is to control the city and have (the other teams) beat up on each other a little bit. We’re all excited.”
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Extended rivalries
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
The reality is that the league goes well beyond two rivalry games, regardless of their notoriety.
For the most part, the kids competing against each other in the South Central League have grown up with each other. Played with each other. And now they’ll face off against each other in the hunt for what they feel is a city championship as well as a league championship.
“For most of us in our senior year, and guys that I grew up with that went to East and South and everywhere else, it’s definitely going to be emotional,” Bojorquez said.
Going down this road of emotion will eventually lead to something more being on the line: pride.
At the core of athletic competition, the one thing that is always on the line is pride. The pride that comes with trying to be the best team in Pueblo resonates through the hallways of each schools. It another reminder, that although each team is different, they’re more alike than they’d ever want to admit.
“Anytime you get the Pueblo schools to play against each other there is a lot of pride at stake,” Cotterman said. “The kids all play each other from third grade on, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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Don’t forget about…
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The South Central League is certainly not confined to Pueblo. The six-team league also includes Durango, a team that has been a mainstay in the CHSAANow.com football poll for most of the season. The Demons are anything but an afterthought as each team looks to claim a league title.
And there is always the possibility that they play spoiler for any Pueblo team thinking that a league crown would be included with winning a city championship.
“They could,” Watts said. “They’re a talented team that’s well coached. They’re part of the reason why the league is going to be tough from top to bottom.”
Cotterman shares Watts’ view on the Demons. Out-of-sight does certainly not mean out-of-mind.
“Durango’s pretty good,” he said. “I don’t think you can be considered an outlier when you play football like they do.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s East playing Centennial, or County playing Durango, the South Central League is going to provide quality football and intense rivalries through the remainder of the 2018.
This cycle has provided a perfect storm for one of the best high school sports towns in the state and when things kick off with the Canon Game on Friday, the Pueblo schools will be primed that the implications that the next five weeks will have.
“They’re excited about the opportunity to play at Dutch Clark more often and to play against the guys they grew up playing against,” Goddard said. “We’ll see how it works out for us, but I think our kids are ready to step into this league and hopefully compete at a high level.”
Class 1A’s North Central league features four teams ranked in this week’s top-10. So Friday’s league matchup between No. 5 Wray and No. 6 Burlington was of a little extra importance.
Burlington came away with an important 19-8 win over Wray, thanks in part to two touchdown passes from Braden Witzel, and some stout defense.
“It is a big win for us,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I was really proud of our defense. Two or three times, they were down inside the 20. And we were able to keep them from putting points on the board. I was just really proud of the kids.”
Taylor Scott opened the scoring for Burlington with a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. After a Wray safety, Witzel threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Burton with 4:42 left in the second.
The score remained that way until late in the fourth quarter. That’s when Wray cut it to 12-8 with 5:33 following an interception return for a touchdown.
Witzel and Burton then hooked up again for a second time, this one from 30 yards with 35 seconds left, to account for the final margin.
With the win, Burlington is now 1-0 in conference play — along with No. 1 Limon and No. 7 Holyoke, who also won on Friday night.
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Colorado PrepsCast recap
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3A: Niwot 20, Eagle Valley 14
(@niwotathletics/Twitter)
Niwot football is now 3-2 after a 20-14 win over Eagle Valley. The Cougars ended a 19-game losing streak earlier in the year.
“Our kids have worked really, really hard, and it’s almost overwhelming at times for what they’ve sacrificed to try to get to this point,” coach Jeremy Lanter told the Scoreboard Show. “The rotating coaches they’ve had in that program, it’s nice to have some consistency and have some kids buy into that consistency.”
On Friday, Julian Molina rushed for two touchdowns for the Cougars, and Eric Ruiz also scored on the ground.
This is just the second time since 2008 that the team has won three games in a season.
“It is so important,” Lanter said of winning games. “Especially when you’re trying everything you can to keep kids motivated and inspired when they know that they’re looking at a 19-game losing streak. Especially for them to be chipping away at that, and they continue to pick up the hammer and pound the stone, and try to give themselves the best opportunity. But winning helps. Winning doesn’t fix everything, but it certainly does help.”
In 8-man, No. 2 West Grandvew beat No. 7 Rangely 20-6 to stay unbeaten at 6-0.
Another top-10 battle in 8-man: No. 5 Hoehne shut out No. 9 Fowler.
In 3A, Pueblo Central is now 4-1 after going 2-18 over the past two seasons. “It’s been great, the kids have been a pleasure to coach so far,” coach Kris Cotterman told the Scoreboard Show. The Wildcats beat Sand Creek 47-6.
It was an offensive affair as No. 3 Otis outlasted No. 4 Prairie 64-59 in 6-man.
Roosevelt beat Glenwood Springs 16-10 in overtime.
4A Bear Creek got its first win of the season against a solid Windsor squad, 30-26.
The Academy quarterback Brandon Boston completed 12-of-15 passes for four touchdowns in a 40-0 win over Prospect Ridge. The Wildcats are now 3-2 in 2A.
Longmont’s Drake Engelking rushed for four touchdowns in his team’s 43-8 win over Silver Creek in 4A. The Trojans are 4-1.
1A No. 3 Peyton improved to 5-0 with a 42-0 win over Ellicott. JD Hart rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and also had a receiving score.
Luke McCaffrey threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another as 5A No. 2 Valor Christian shut out Castle View 35-0.
Denver East is now 5-0 in Metro 10 play, and 5-1 overall, after beating Westminster 13-7. The Angels host Smoky Hill next Friday in what could be a matchup of unbeatens in conference play, should Smoky win on Saturday.
COLORADO SPRINGS — In the first half, Aumiere Shedrick looked like he could barely stand up. The 200-plus-pound running back for Harrison was nursing what turned out to be a hyper-extended knee and without him, it was difficult for the Panthers to find the end zone.
That wasn’t the case in the second half. In the final 24 minutes of the game, Shedrick ran for 190 yards and three touchdowns to power Class 3A No. 7 Harrison to a 20-7 win over Pueblo Central on Friday night.
When Shedrick limped over to the sideline in the first quarter, he wouldn’t have dreamed of putting together such a gutty performance where he finished with 253 total rushing yards.
“Not possible,” he said. “I was going to do what I do best and get a few yards here and there, but I didn’t expect to come away with 250.”
The Panthers (4-0 overall) were getting okay offensive production in the first half, but couldn’t find a way to get the ball into the end zone.
It was the Wildcats (3-1) who struck first, mostly in part to a 24-yard pass from Ryley Roth to Nicholas Krasovic that set up a Nico Martin touchdown run.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Central held the 7-0 into halftime, but momentum quickly shifted to Harrison. Shedrick and quarterback Orlando Westbrook marched the Panthers down the field on the first drive of the half where Shedrick got into the end zone from two yards out.
That score opened the flood gates for the ground game.
“There are nights where we’ve come out and thrown for 350 yards,” Harrison coach Al Melo said. “The way we established our tempo in the first half, I think it wore them down a bit. We were able to establish the running game and when we got that going, they were on their heels.”
An interception from Sergio Alvarado gave the Panthers the ball back and Shedrick, with his one and a half legs, found the end zone again, this time from 20 yards to give Harrison its first lead of the game about halfway through the third quarter.
“He’s a good size kid, man,” Central coach Kris Cotterman said. “He runs hard and did a great job.”
A sliver of hope remained for the Wildcats after Al Ashford muffed a punt to give them the ball back in Harrison territory. But the defense held up and Ashford later made a key interception with 7:47 left in the game to all but ice it.
“He’s a sophomore and he’s a heck of a DB,” Melo said. “We’ve told him all year don’t let the ball bounce because then we give up yards, but that was a long way to run to make a fair catch. Our defense stood up and made some great plays so it didn’t hurt us.”
The Panthers will head south next week to face Pueblo County in their final non-league game. The Wildcats will return home to face Sand Creek in a game where Cotterman looks forward to correcting the mistakes made on Friday.
“We lost the game, but we played with effort,” he said. “That’s how we’re building our program is by fixing mistakes and we’ll just keep playing with effort.”
Strasburg (3A), Mountain View (4A) and Legend (5A) are on top of the 2018 preseason softball rankings.
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 select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Legend (8)
0-0-0
93
2
Fossil Ridge
0-0-0
68
3
Eaglecrest
0-0-0
62
4
Legacy
0-0-0
60
5
Brighton (1)
0-0-0
40
6
Loveland
0-0-0
36
7
Columbine
0-0-0
33
8
Arvada West
0-0-0
26
9
Valor Christian (1)
0-0-0
25
10
Douglas County
0-0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Cherry Creek 12, Cherokee Trail 11, Mountain Vista 11, ThunderRidge 11, Broomfield 10, Ralston Valley 7, Rock Canyon 6, Grandview 5, Prairie View 4, Pomona 3, Vista Ridge 3, Chatfield 2, Hinkley 2.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Mountain View (6)
0-0-0
90
2
Golden (1)
0-0-0
73
3
Erie (1)
0-0-0
68
4
Silver Creek (1)
0-0-0
63
5
Mullen
0-0-0
51
6
Holy Family
0-0-0
47
7
Conifer
0-0-0
38
8
Pueblo Central
0-0-0
36
9
Pueblo South (1)
0-0-0
17
10
Thomas Jefferson
0-0-0
15
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo County 14, Frederick 11, Discovery Canyon 10, D’Evelyn 4, Elizabeth 4, Ponderosa 3, Pueblo West 2, Windsor 2, Mesa Ridge 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Strasburg (7)
0-0-0
97
2
Eaton (3)
0-0-0
92
3
Faith Christian
0-0-0
66
4
La Junta
0-0-0
47
5
Brush
0-0-0
44
6
University
0-0-0
43
7
Lamar
0-0-0
40
8
Meeker
0-0-0
34
9
Rocky Ford
0-0-0
32
10
Limon
0-0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Delta 9, Sterling 9, St. Mary’s 7, Burlington 3, Cedaredge 3, Fort Lupton 3, The Academy 1.
The 2018 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.
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Class 5A
Mountain Vista’s Sam Ireland. (Tim Bourke/MaxPreps)
Player of the year: Sam Ireland, Mountain Vista
Coach of the year: Ron Quintana, Mountain Vista
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Brayden Brooks
Mountain Range
Senior
Garrett Declue
Arapahoe
LHP/CF
Senior
Riley Egloff
Heritage
RHP/3B
Senior
Sam Ireland
Mountain Vista
RHP/3B/1B
Junior
Niklavs Levensteins
Ralston Valley
3B/2B
Senior
Jack Liffrig
Mountain Vista
LHP
Senior
Justin Olson
Pine Creek
1B/LHP
Senior
Tanner O’Tremba
Cherry Creek
Zach Paschke
Mountain Vista
INF
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Justin Boyd
Legend
SS/CF
Junior
Matthew Boyd
Regis Jesuit
Senior
Riley Cornelio
Pine Creek
SS/RHP
Junior
Brandon Dryer
Arapahoe
LF/RHP/2B
Senior
Hayden Heinze
Rocky Mountain
OF
Senior
AJ Jergensen
Ralston Valley
OF
Junior
Arian Jimenez-Quezada
Heritage
SS/3B/RHP
Senior
Kasey Koppelmaa
Chatfield
LHP/OF
Senior
Andrew Morris
Monarch
2B/P
Senior
Josh Thompson
Highlands Ranch
P
Senior
Honorable mention:
Luke Bailey, Chaparral, OF, Senior
Jake Barber, Cherokee Trail, Senior
Simon Baumgardt, Lakewood, P/SS, Junior
Tyler Boggs, Fruita Monument, C, Senior
Alex Champagne, Heritage, SS/2B, Freshman
Colten Chase, Cherokee Trail, Senior
Dorsey Chatham, Boulder,
Pete Chronowski, Heritage, LHP/1B, Junior
Benjamin Derosiers, Castle View, LHP/1B/CF, Senior
Ozzie Dominguez, Aurora Central, P/1B, Senior
John Emerson, Denver East, Junior
Tanner Garner, Broomfield, Senior
Zach Goodman, Arapahoe, C/OF/UTIL, Senior
Jake Greiving, Legend, C/OF/3B, Junior
Zach Harstad, Loveland, 1B/LHP/OF, Junior
Calvin Hunt, Ralston Valley, RHP, Junior
Jenner Kehe, Lakewood, P/OF/SS, Sophomore
Cam Kennedy, Smoky Hill, CF/3B/2B, Junior
Reese Lansville, ThunderRidge, RHP/INF, Senior
Cale Lansville, ThunderRidge, RHP/INF, Freshman
Grant Magill, Mountain Vista, C, Junior
Jayden Martinez, Grandview, OF/DH, Junior
Nick Merone, Rock Canyon,
Trey Morrill, Fruita Monument, P/OF, Senior
Cade Nelson, Rocky Mountain, INF/P, Junior
Drew Norsen, Fort Collins, OF/LHP, Sophomore
Jay Onken, Pine Creek, OF/RHP, Senior
Ryan Overboe, Legacy, LHP/1B/RF, Senior
Quentin Parr, Cherry Creek,
Mike Polson, Mountain Range, Senior
Henry Rock, Fairview, Junior
Tyler Schultz, Cherry Creek,
Frankie Shearn, Columbine, OF, Senior
Ross Smith, Legacy, RHP/RF, Senior
Drew Stahl, Mountain Vista, INF, Junior
Ryan Stohr, Dakota Ridge, RHP/1B, Junior
Zach Sulyma, Eaglecrest, 3B/C, Senior
David Velasquez, Brighton, SS/P/3B, Senior
Wyatt Wendell, Rock Canyon,
Reggie Williams, Douglas County, Senior
Kevin Zapanta, Overland, 2B/1B/RHP, Senior
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Class 4A
Valor Christian’s Josh Danyliw. (Paul DiSalvo/MaxPreps)
DENVER — A little bit of wrestling history could be made Saturday night at Pepsi Center.
On a night where Poudre senior Jacob Greenwood makes his bid to become the 21st individual to claim four state championships, he has plenty of company looking to add their names to the record book as well during the state wrestling tournament. Seven wrestlers across Class 5A and 4A will pursue their third state title, joining a bigger — but still exclusive — club.
Three seniors and four juniors get their opportunity Saturday night after the Parade of Champions, which gets going at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s really fun graduating with all these guys,” Lakewood’s Gabe Dinette said of his fellow seniors. “(Josiah) Rider, (Jacob) Greenwood, and (Pomona junior) Theorius (Robison) is going for his third. I grew up with all of them so we’re all good buddies, and it should be fun for all of us to represent our schools and go for that third title.”
Dinette, Grand Junction’s Josiah Rider and Castle View’s Malik Heinselman are appearing in the 5A championship finals for the last time.
Dinette posted a 14-2 major decision at 160 pounds and draws Rocky Mountain’s Josh Betts in the title match.
“I’m feeling good,” Dinette said. “Don’t take anything for granted — always got to get better and keep pushing it, and put on a show (Saturday).”
Heinselman scored a 17-2 technical fall at 120 pounds and will meet Pomona’s Justin Pacheco. Rider’s 11-2 major decision victory at 152 sends him up against Adams City’s Gavin Deaguero.
For the four juniors, there could be even more history to be made. The previous time multiple wrestlers captured a fourth consecutive title was in 2002. There has never been three four-time champions in the same year, let alone four.
Pueblo County’s Brendon Garcia has had a front row seat each of his first two years to watching someone win four in a row. Last year it was his teammate, Hunter Willits, who accomplished the feat.
“I just kind of wanted to be in the same spot,” Garcia said. “Seeing that was pretty cool, how he went for four. I want to be there.”
Garcia defeated Discovery Canyon’s Jett Strickenberger by a 4-1 decision at 106 pounds in a match that he admits wasn’t that great on his part. But it still sends him into Saturday’s title match against Pueblo Central’s Jacob Gonazales.
“Now I’ve just got to make weight (Saturday) morning,” Garcia said. “It’s just a long wait tomorrow until the finals.”
Theorius Robison. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Robison scored an 18-9 major decision at 132 pounds in 5A and will go up against Poudre’s Job Greenwood for the title. Ponderosa’s Cohlton Schultz has been dominant in his first year at heavyweight, pinning his way into the title match against Poudre’s Weston Mayer.
In 4A, Greeley Central’s Andrew Alirez is also pursuing his third championship. The junior won by a 21-5 technical fall at 145 pounds and matches up with Canon City’s Zac Hanenberg on Saturday night.
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The 5A team race is tight:
Grand Junction holds a narrow lead over Pomona as the two teams fight for the 5A team championship.
The Tigers ended Friday with 128.5 points. Pomona, the two-time defending champion, has 125 points. The Panthers lost a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct during the semifinals.
Poudre is currently third with 106.5 points, Adams City (84) is fourth, and Castle View (82.5) is fifth.
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Pueblo East on top in 4A:
Pueblo East has a pretty sizable lead for the 4A team title heading into the final day of competition.
The Eagles ended Friday with 150 points. Pueblo County, their rival and two-time defending champions, sit in second with 127. Windsor (118 points) is third.
Mesa Ridge is currently fourth with 62.5 points. Greeley Central (56.5) is fifth.
Windsor freshman Vance VomBaur beat 2016 champ Jace Trujillo of Pueblo East with a 5-4 decision in the 4A 120 semifinals.
Poudre junior Job Greenwood beat 2015 champion Dayton Marvel from Arvada West to move to the final in 5A 132.
Zion Freeman, a junior at Pueblo East, upset top-seeded and returning champion Garrett Niel of Pine Creek in 4A 182 with a 3-2 decision. Niel won the weight class in 2016.
Mesa Ridge senior Michael True gave Silver Creek senior Jacob Williams (40-1) his first loss of the season to reach the final in 4A 285. That final should be a great one, as defending champion Andy Garcia of Pueblo East is on the other side of the mat.
