A total of ten teams jumped into this week’s football rankings. They are: Montrose and Monarch (4A); Fort Morgan (3A); Eaton and D’Evelyn (2A); Holyoke and Cornerstone Christian (1A); Rangely and Soroco (8-man); and Briggsdale (6-man).
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.
Longmont 16, Vista Ridge 15, Ponderosa 11, Standley Lake 10, Brighton 9, Pueblo West 8, Grand Junction Central 3, Mesa Ridge 2, Greeley West 1, Heritage 1, Hinkley 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Vista Ridge (8), Longmont (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (6)
2-0
104
1
W
2
Palmer Ridge (3)
1-1
90
2
W
3
Pueblo East (1)
2-0
77
3
W
4
Palisade
1-0
71
4
W
5
Holy Family
2-0
56
6
W
6
Discovery Canyon
2-0
54
9
W
7
Thomas Jefferson (1)
2-0
45
8
W
8
Durango
1-1
31
7
L
9
Mead
1-1
27
5
L
10
Fort Morgan
1-0
14
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Frederick 12, Harrison 12, Roosevelt 4, Canon City 2, George Washington 2, Lewis-Palmer 2, Pueblo Centennial 1, Skyview 1.
Dropped out
Pueblo South (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Bayfield (12)
2-0
128
1
W
2
La Junta (1)
2-0
104
2
W
3
Platte Valley
2-0
84
3
W
4
Resurrection Christian
2-0
83
6
W
5
Rifle
1-0
73
7
W
6
Kent Denver
1-0
66
4
W
7
Basalt
1-0
31
8
W
8
Bennett
1-0
29
10
W
9
Eaton
1-0
26
–
W
10
D’Evelyn
1-0
22
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 18, Salida 13, Alamosa 12, The Classical Academy 7, Delta 6, Englewood 5, Berthoud 3, Aspen 2, Bishop Machebeuf 1, Pagosa Springs 1, University 1.
Dropped out
Faith Christian (5), The Classical Academy (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Strasburg (8)
2-0
114
1
W
2
Limon (4)
1-0
108
2
W
3
Centauri
1-0
91
4
W
4
Burlington
0-1
90
3
L
5
Peyton
1-0
62
6
W
6
Wray
0-1
55
5
–
7
Crowley County
2-0
48
8
W
8
Meeker
1-1
27
9
W
9
Holyoke
2-0
17
–
W
10
Cornerstone Christian
1-0
11
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Monte Vista 10, Colorado Springs Christian 7, Buena Vista 6, Yuma 6, Paonia 5, Hotchkiss 2, Cedaredge 1.
Dropped out
Paonia (7), Monte Vista (10).
8-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (10)
1-0
100
1
W
2
West Grand
2-0
89
2
W
3
Merino
2-0
72
7
W
4
Akron
2-0
62
8
W
5
Sargent
1-0
46
9
W
6
Holly
1-1
39
3
L
7
Caliche
1-1
35
5
L
8
Hoehne
0-1
29
4
L
9
Rangely
2-0
23
–
W
10
Soroco
2-0
12
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Fowler 9, Sanford 9, Haxtun 6, Norwood 5, Simla 3, Byers 2, Hayden 2, Mancos 2, Pikes Peak Christian 2, Custer County 1, Dayspring Christian 1, Vail Christian 1.
Dropped out
Fowler (6), Sanford (10).
6-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Stratton/Liberty (8)
1-0
89
1
W
2
Otis (2)
1-0
78
2
Bye
3
Kit Carson
1-0
75
3
W
4
Prairie
0-1
47
4
L
5
Arickaree/Woodlin
1-0
46
8
W
6
Peetz
0-1
44
5
Bye
7
Cheyenne Wells
1-0
43
7
W
8
Flagler/Hi-Plains
1-0
23
9
W
9
Fleming
0-1
17
6
L
10
Briggsdale
1-0
15
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Cotopaxi 8, La Veta 5, Idalia 3, Weldon Valley 2, Genoa-Hugo 1.
Almost 250 mile separate West Grand High School and Caliche. For the West Grand Mustangs, it was 250 miles well traveled.
The No. 2 team in the 8-man polls hit the road Friday and came away with a 38-20 win over No. 5 Caliche in a game that could prove to be West Grand’s best win of the year.
“We had great senior leadership and a great week of practice,” coach Chris Brown told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We played well and were without one of our better linebackers and receivers, but they rose to the occasion.”
Brown noted that the Mustangs (2-0 overall) had been bit by the injury bug, but had overcome some depleted players to come away with a win over a very tough Caliche team.
The offense was powered by quarterback Luis Dominguez. The senior did enough for his coach to sing his praises to anyone within earshot.
“He played fantastic,” Brown said. “They did everything they could to take him out of the game and it didn’t work.”
The Mustangs return home next week for a showdown against South Park. The Burros will come into the game at 1-1 after grabbing a 30-15 win over Del Norte.
Radio highlights from the game:
[divider]
1A: (4) Centauri 38, (6) Paonia 0
(Paul Angelico/CHSAANow.com)
No. 4 Centauri took to the road and pitched a shutout over Paonia.
Chris Quintana got the scoring effort started with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. But the strength behind the Falcons’ win was the swarming defense.
“They did a great job,” coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “A few weeks ago I said the defense was going to be our key this year.”
Centauri is in for a battle next week when it heads to Pagosa Springs.
[divider]
3A: (1) Erie 35, (10) Pueblo South 14
(Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos)
Noah Roper was briefly knocked out of the game from an injury, but responded by coming back and running for over 100 yards in the first half.
A stretch of losses dating back to Oct. 13, 2016 came to an end for the Palmer Terrors. And in turn, it was the first win in 12 tries for coach Tom Reber.
The Terrors were down 12-0 at the half and rallied in the final two quarters to come away with an emotional win at Gerry Barry Stadium.
[divider]
5A: (10) Mullen 35, Doherty 28 (3 OT)
It took three overtimes, but No. 10 Mullen defended its home field in a thrilling win over Doherty.
The Spartans had a chance to tie the game in the second overtime, but a fumble at the goal line ended any chance for Doherty to walk away with its first win of the year.
[divider]
6-man: (8) Arickaree/Woodlin 26, (7) Fleming 20
In a low-scoring matchup between two top-10 6-man teams, it was Arickaree/Woodlin who started the season off with a win.
The Broncos host Kit Carson next week.
[divider]
Notables
2A No. 2 La Junta battled from behind to beat Pagosa Springs 24-14.
5A No. 6 Grandview edged Highlands Ranch 28-21 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Clint Buderus got his first win as the coach at Pueblo West as the Cyclones beat Pueblo County in the Pigskin Classic 20-0.
Pine Creek endured eight lightning delays and came away with a 45-23 win over Rio Rancho (N.M.).
In 4A, No. 4 Windsor beat No. 8 Vista Ridge 21-0.
4A No. 10 Skyline handled 3A No. 5 Mead 41-21.
In 1A, No. 6 Resurrection Christian beat No. 5 Faith Christian 28-7.
Sedgwick County pushed its winning streak to a state-best 24-games by beating No. 4 Hoehne in 8-man.
Another top-10 matchup in 8-man: No. 8 Akron beat No. 3 Holly 8-6.
And another one in 8-man: No. 9 Sargent beat No. 6 Fowler 46-28.
This week’s radio lineup included coverage of Loveland’s win over Broomfield, Rifle getting a big win over Eagle Valley and Eaton’s 37-25 win over Sterling. Audio courtesy of The Team 1340 and KFKA 1310.
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.
They went through a variety of different experiences: a crash course in dealing with the media and best practices in social media from the Broncos PR staff; a photo shoot; a tour of the Broncos’ training facility, where the event was held; and a Q&A session with statewide media.
“Being out here, you can feel the atmosphere,” said Eaglecrest linebacker Elijah Anderson-Taylor. “When you come here, you can feel the culture.”
On hand were players and coaches from La Junta, Chatfield, Sedgwick County, Peeetz, Eaton, Broomfield, The Classical Academy, Palmer Ridge, Columbine, Mead, Erie, Stratton/Liberty, Pomona, Eaglecrest, Grandview, West Grand, Pine Creek, Pueblo South, Strasburg and Centauri. The Broncos hope to expand the event next season.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Each team brought between three and six players, along with a head coach or an assistant coach.
All seven classifications were represented. There were six returning champions in attendance, and seven runners-up.
One major topic of the day was starting anew, and not looking back.
“It’s a brand new start for us this year,” said Erie’s Nathan Hackney. The Tigers were runner-up in 3A. “Last year was a great memory. But this year is a whole different story. We’re going to try to make the same run, go for the same goals, but it’s a whole new game for us this year.”
Added Palmer Ridge’s Aidan Cullen, whose team won 3A last season: “I feel like the class this year understands that what we did last year is now the new standard.”
That’s not to say last year isn’t serving as motivation for some.
“We’ve been preparing since November,” said Centauri’s Bennie Chacon, whose team lost the 1A championship game in double overtime to Strasburg. “It’s been on our mind a whole lot.”
Added teammate Deontay Martinez: “It’s like eating and not getting full.”
There was talk of loaded schedules.
“You don’t get better playing weak teams,” said Grandview coach John Schultz.
“We wanted it that way,” said Stratton/Liberty coach Toby Kechter. “We want a chance to get better every week.”
Among the 5A teams, a common theme was the league realignment that returned to a more regional format.
“Those are the teams we want to play,” said Columbine’s Corbin Curry.
“It makes it more heartfelt, playing against those guys you grew up playing against,” said Grandview’s Mason Schultz.
For many players, it was their first time in such a setting — facing the media in a press conference.
Ty Evans. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Even Ty Evans, the Palmer Ridge quarterback and CU commit whose national profile has grown in recent months, admitted that he had “never been in this atmosphere.”
“This is an awesome experience for us,” Sedgwick County coach Chris Michel said. “We know it’s a long ways out there, but stuff like this is awesome for us.”
“We’re really enjoying it and taking it all in,” said Mead’s Marcel MacPhail. “We’re here to learn and we’re here to grow and just spread the word about Mead.”
Many of the players remarked on the impact of the social media training they went through. Elijah Anderson-Taylor remarked that it was the “most in-depth thing that we possibly could have done as kids.”
Ultimately, the smiles were big on Friday. It was a day the players won’t soon forget.
“I don’t know about these guys,” Bryson Long of Peetz said as he gestured to his teammates, “but I’m having a great time.”
ENGLEWOOD — The Denver Broncos and the Colorado High School Activities Association will host their first-ever High School Football Media Day at UCHealth Training Center’s Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
The event will feature players and coaches from more than 20 of Colorado’s top high school football teams in press conference and one-on-one formats for media availability. The attendees will also participate in a media relations training led by Broncos Public Relations staff and enjoy a facility tour.
The participating teams are all 2017 playoff teams with representation from all seven state classifications and include six state champions. CHSAA Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green and Assistant Commissioner Bud Ozzello will also be available for interviews.
Media interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP via the links in their email.
A one-hour window for each team is listed below. Please note the schedule is subject to change.
Time Slot:
Schools:
1 – 2 p.m.
Chatfield, La Junta, Sedgwick County, Peetz
1:15 – 2:15 p.m.
Broomfield, Palmer Ridge, Eaton, Classical Academy
The preseason football rankings are out ahead of the 2018 season. No. 1 teams include Cherry Creek (5A), Pine Creek (4A), Palmer Ridge (3A), Bayfield (2A), Strasburg (1A), Sedgwick County (8-man) and Stratton/Liberty (6-man).
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.
