Regis Jesuit is among 10 Colorado schools playing in the Nike Tournament of Champions. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Ten Colorado schools will play in the 17th-annual Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona this weekend. The girls basketball tournament, which features 83 total schools competing in 11 separate divisions, begins on Thursday.
Games are played at five local high schools in Chandler, Ariz. Colorado schools competing in the tournament include Castle View, Cherry Creek, Grandview, Highlands Ranch, Horizon, Pueblo County, Pueblo West, Regis Jesuit, Rock Canyon and ThunderRidge.
Seven of the schools are ranked in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A poll. Regis Jesuit, Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge and Grandview go Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Rock Canyon is No. 6, Castle View is No. 8 and Cherry Creek is No. 9. Pueblo West is ranked No. 4 in the 4A poll.
Each division has its own bracket and championship games. Horizon and Cherry Creek are the only Colorado schools that will play in the same division.
Regis Jesuit, ranked No. 6 in the most recent MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national rankings, has perhaps the most challenging division of all local schools. The Raiders will play in the Joe Smith Division, which features six other schools ranked in the top 15 nationally. Those teams are No. 2 Mater Dei (Calif.), No. 7 Riverdale Baptist (Md.), No. 8 Long Beach Poly (Calif.), No. 11 Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.), No. 12 Christ the King (N.Y.) and No. 15 Stockton St. Mary’s (Calif.).
Lakewood is No. 7 in this week’s 5A poll. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Lakewood, coming off a 4-0 week, has jumped into the 5A CHSAANow.com girls basketball ranking.
The Tigers (6-0) are No. 7 this week, and are joined by fellow newcomer Cherry Creek (3-1), which is No. 9 this week.
Regis Jesuit remained as the unanimous No. 1 pick in 5A. In fact, the Nos. 1-4 teams stayed the same this week. The Raiders continued to be followed by No. 2 Highlands Ranch, No. 3 ThunderRidge and No. 4 Grandview.
Fossil Ridge jumped up from ninth to fifth, and Rock Canyon from eighth to sixth. Castle View is eighth, and Monarch is tenth.
Broomfield (4A), Holy Family (3A), Yuma (2A) and Caliche (1A) all remained atop their respective rankings this week.
Regis Jesuit continues to be atop the 5A girls basketball ranking. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Fossil Ridge and Ralston Valley have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A girls basketball poll.
Fossil Ridge is off to a 4-0 start, including in-state wins over Chaparral and Fruita Monument, as well as a 2-0 showing in Wyoming. The SaberCats are No. 9 this week.
Ralston Valley is No. 10 in the poll. The Mustangs went 2-1 last week with a loss to Rock Canyon, but beat Cherry Creek and then-No. 3 Arapahoe. Arapahoe dropped out this week.
The No. 1 teams from last week all stayed put. So Regis Jesuit (5A), Broomfield (4A), Holy Family (3A), Yuma (2A) and Caliche (1A) all continue to lead their respective polls.
Horizon 28, Lakewood 18, Cherry Creek 15, Arapahoe 14, Rampart 9, Chaparral 6, Bear Creek 4, Pine Creek 4, Denver East 3, Grand Junction 1, Palmer 1.
Dropped out
Arapahoe (3), Cherry Creek (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Broomfield (10)
2-0
125
1
2-0
2
Pueblo South (3)
1-0
118
2
1-0
3
Mesa Ridge
2-0
106
4
2-0
4
Pueblo West
3-0
63
6
3-0
5
Palmer Ridge
3-0
50
8
3-0
6
Sand Creek
1-1
48
5
1-1
7
Valor Christian
3-0
45
–
3-0
8
D’Evelyn
2-2
44
3
2-2
9
Silver Creek
3-0
41
–
3-0
10
Elizabeth
1-0
36
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Montrose 21, Conifer 4, Longmont 4, Pueblo County 4, Delta 2, Canon City 1, Mullen 1, Thompson Valley 1, Windsor 1.
Dropped out
Montrose (7), Canon City (9), Air Academy (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (13)
2-0
130
1
2-0
2
Pagosa Springs
1-0
100
2
1-0
3
Centauri
3-0
86
5
3-0
4
Lamar
1-0
74
4
1-0
5
Eaton
3-0
64
7
3-0
6
St. Mary’s
0-0
56
6
0-0
7
Peak to Peak
1-0
35
9
1-0
8
Valley
0-0
34
8
0-0
9
Kent Denver
3-0
33
–
3-0
10
Sterling
2-1
24
10
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Bishop Machebeuf 23, Olathe 16, Faith Christian 7, Clear Creek 6, Grand Valley 5, Jefferson Academy 4, Manitou Springs 4, Estes Park 3, Coal Ridge 2, Denver Science & Tech 2, Platte Valley 2, Salida 2, Brush 1, Classical Academy 1, Trinidad 1.
Dropped out
Denver Science & Tech (3).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (7)
2-0
88
1
2-0
2
Akron (1)
1-0
76
2
1-0
3
Peyton
1-0
63
4
1-0
4
Lutheran (1)
1-0
57
3
1-0
5
Holyoke
1-0
45
6
1-0
6
Sangre de Cristo
3-0
37
5
3-0
7
Meeker
1-0
25
10
1-0
8
Paonia
1-1
20
7
1-1
9
Simla
1-0
18
–
1-0
10
Liberty Common
4-0
16
–
4-0
Others receiving votes:
The Vanguard 15, Wray 9, Highland 6, Hoehne 5, Del Norte 4, Limon 4, Rye 3, Heritage Christian 2, Kiowa 1, Springfield 1.
Dropped out
Rye (8), The Vanguard (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Caliche (5)
2-0
67
1
2-0
2
Eads
1-0
57
2
1-0
3
Norwood (2)
2-0
55
5
2-0
4
Idalia
2-0
43
4
2-0
5
Stratton
0-0
41
3
0-0
6
Kit Carson
0-0
34
6
0-0
7
Dove Creek
2-0
23
–
2-0
8
Hi-Plains
0-0
15
7
0-0
9
Belleview Christian
3-0
14
–
3-0
10
Holly
2-0
9
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Wiley 6, Briggsdale 5, Prairie 5, Walsh 4, McClave 3, Centennial 2, Jim Elliot Christian 1, South Baca 1.
DENVER — The first day of the state spirit championships is in the books, and five champions were crowned on Friday night.
Grandview captured the 5A pom competition; Rock Canyon won 5A cheer; Dakota Ridge won 4A/5A co-ed cheer; Mountain Vista won hip hop; and Heritage won jazz.
Below are the complete results, including the finalists and their order of finish.
[divider]
Class 5A poms
Grandview won the 5A poms competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Grandview
94.83
471.00
2
Thunderridge
94.50
470.50
3
Cherry Creek
93.33
466.50
4
Ralston Valley
92.67
461.50
5
Legacy
92.50
461.50
6
Arapahoe
92.00
462.00
7
Chatfield
90.17
450.00
8
Regis
89.33
445.50
9
Fairview
89.17
440.00
10
Fruita Monument
87.33
437.50
11
Horizon
86.50
431.50
12
Prairie View
84.50
422.00
13
Eaglecrest
83.33
419.00
14
Rocky Mountain
83.17
417.50
14
Doherty
83.17
414.00
16
Boulder
83.00
417.00
17
Arvada West
82.00
408.50
18
Dakota Ridge
81.17
404.50
19
Littleton
80.33
400.00
20
Brighton
79.50
399.50
21
Grand Junction
79.17
394.00
22
Fossil Ridge
79.00
399.00
23
Denver East
78.67
393.00
24
Central (Gj)
76.33
380.00
25
Mountain Range
76.17
384.50
26
Bear Creek
70.67
357.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Grandview
95.00
473.00
2
Thunderridge
94.67
472.50
2
Legacy
94.67
468.00
4
Arapahoe
93.83
468.50
5
Cherry Creek
93.33
468.00
6
Ralston Valley
92.50
462.00
[divider]
Class 5A cheer
Rock Canyon won the 5A cheer competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Rock Canyon
91.47
457.00
2
Grandview
88.63
445.00
3
Douglas County
88.53
441.10
4
Eaglecrest
87.70
435.70
5
Chaparral
85.83
428.20
6
Rocky Mountain
83.67
419.10
7
Arapahoe
83.17
411.20
8
Pine Creek
81.70
407.20
9
Fossil Ridge
79.10
397.70
10
Regis
76.63
388.60
11
Prairie View
73.93
366.80
12
Horizon
73.83
369.50
13
Legacy
71.37
354.60
14
Monarch
71.27
356.80
15
Standley Lake
70.83
348.10
16
Highlands Ranch
70.83
355.30
17
Loveland
69.93
347.90
18
Cherry Creek
69.63
349.70
19
Bear Creek
68.87
335.20
20
Poudre
68.67
342.00
21
Heritage
68.40
339.90
22
Denver East
68.07
343.30
23
Smoky Hill
67.93
340.60
24
Grand Junction
66.87
331.60
25
Rangeview
65.73
331.60
26
Brighton
62.90
317.50
27
Columbine
62.73
312.20
28
Rampart
59.47
293.20
29
Littleton
58.87
288.70
30
Greeley West
57.90
291.50
31
Thornton
54.40
269.70
32
Boulder
53.97
275.70
33
Northglenn
52.33
274.40
34
George Washington
48.07
249.90
35
Overland
45.77
231.80
36
Chatfield
44.73
230.30
37
Hinkley
35.00
182.40
38
Gateway
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Rock Canyon
93.23
466.80
2
Eaglecrest
91.10
456.50
3
Grandview
89.70
447.30
4
Pine Creek
87.53
431.80
5
Rocky Mountain
83.40
417.80
6
Douglas County
83.23
418.50
7
Arapahoe
83.13
421.80
8
Chaparral
80.87
404.50
[divider]
Class 4A/5A co-ed cheer
Dakota Ridge won the co-ed cheer competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Dakota Ridge
88.53
440.60
2
Mountain Vista
84.23
421.80
3
Thunderridge
76.63
385.30
4
Castle View
76.40
379.10
5
Cherokee Trail
74.93
372.40
6
Palisade
72.80
366.00
7
Air Academy
71.47
357.00
8
Falcon
70.50
355.50
9
Legend
70.37
353.30
10
Ralston Valley
69.67
342.30
11
Fruita Monument
68.30
339.50
12
Fountain-Ft. Carson
66.80
332.10
13
Centaurus
65.27
326.60
14
Liberty
63.90
317.30
15
Greeley Central
60.90
311.10
16
Doherty
59.07
297.00
17
Arvada West
58.13
296.80
18
Westminster
56.27
285.20
19
Montrose
55.43
282.10
20
Steamboat Springs
53.17
276.50
21
Abraham Lincoln
52.33
261.70
22
Central (Gj)
51.47
261.50
23
Pomona
50.30
252.40
24
Pueblo County
48.97
247.40
25
Denver West
48.10
239.50
26
John F. Kennedy
47.73
243.30
27
Arvada
44.43
228.00
28
Aurora Central
44.37
215.00
29
Adams City
43.93
224.80
30
Denver South
41.90
214.30
31
Skyview
0.00
0.00
31
Sierra
0.00
0.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Dakota Ridge
93.80
465.60
2
Mountain Vista
83.17
414.20
3
Castleview
78.20
391.50
4
Thunderridge
74.30
375.00
5
Cherokee Trail
72.43
358.00
6
Palisade
57.77
288.30
[divider]
Hip hop
Mountain Vista won the hip hop competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Prelims
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Mountain Vista
94.67
472.00
2
Overland
91.33
457.00
3
Monarch
90.33
452.00
4
Greeley West
87.67
435.00
5
Smoky Hill
86.00
431.00
6
Thornton
84.67
425.00
7
Northglenn
84.17
423.50
8
Sand Creek
83.67
417.50
9
Northridge
82.67
414.00
10
Montezuma-Cortez
82.00
408.00
11
Weld Central
80.33
399.00
12
Pueblo Central
78.83
389.50
13
Skyline
72.00
359.00
14
Pomona
70.67
353.00
15
Greeley Central
62.33
312.00
16
Rampart
58.00
292.00
Finals
Rank
Team
Score
Tie break
1
Mountain Vista
96.00
476.00
2
Overland
93.33
466.50
3
Greeley West
92.00
457.50
4
Monarch
91.50
458.50
[divider]
Jazz
Heritage won the jazz competition at state spirit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Regis Jesuit begins 2013-14 atop the 5A girls basketball poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Regis Jesuit is the unanimous No. 1 selection in CHSAANow.com’s preseason girls basketball ranking in 5A.
The poll, released on Monday, featured 18 first-place votes. The Raiders received each one. And it makes sense: Regis Jesuit did not graduate any players from last year’s team which won the title. The squad also has six seniors committed to Division I schools, including Diani Akigbogun (Texas) and Justine Hall (Purdue).
Highlands Ranch, last season’s 5A runner-up, is No. 2 in the preseason ranking. Arapahoe is third, Grandview is fourth and Rock Canyon rounds out the top-5.
Monarch, with coach Gail Hook returning from a one-year hiatus, is sixth. Castle View is seventh, ThunderRidge is eighth, Cherry Creek is ninth and Poudre is tenth.
Holy Family is ranked No. 1 in 3A girls basketball. Broomfield is No. 1 in 4A. (Pam Wagner)
In 4A, Broomfield heads the preseason poll. The Eagles reached last year’s semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Pueblo South by three points. Pueblo South begins the season ranked No. 2.
Holy Family is on top of the 3A ranking. The Tigers won last year’s championship.
The 2A poll is headed by Yuma, even though the Indians received three first-place votes to Akron’s four. Akron beat Yuma in last season’s title game, and is ranked second.
Caliche is the preseason No. 1 team in 1A. The Buffaloes lost in last season’s quarterfinals. Defending champion Wiley is unranked to begin the season.
Silver Creek 16, Windsor 15, Mullen 14, Valor Christian 14, Elizabeth 12, Pueblo County 9, Centaurus 8, Golden 5, Rifle 5, Evergreen 4, Greeley Central 4, Glenwood Springs 3, Thompson Valley 2, Berthoud 1, Conifer 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Holy Family (14)
0-0
140
2
Pagosa Springs
0-0
107
3
Denver Science & Tech
0-0
101
4
Lamar
0-0
70
5
Centauri
0-0
68
6
St. Mary’s
0-0
63
7
Eaton
0-0
42
8
Valley
0-0
35
9
Peak to Peak
0-0
30
10
Sterling
0-0
26
Others receiving votes:
Bishop Machebeuf 21, Kent Denver 15, Manitou Springs 11, Olathe 8, Coal Ridge 7, Grand Valley 7, Clear Creek 6, Platte Valley 4, Salida 3, Trinidad 3, Moffat County 2, Buena Vista 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Yuma (3)
0-0
82
2
Akron (4)
0-0
74
3
Lutheran (2)
0-0
67
4
Peyton
0-0
66
5
Sangre de Cristo
0-0
33
6
Holyoke
0-0
27
7
Paonia
0-0
26
8
Rye
0-0
18
9
The Vanguard
0-0
17
10
Meeker
0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
Ignacio 11, Del Norte 9, Hoehne 9, Simla 8, Las Animas 5, Liberty Common 5, Swink 5, Limon 4, Sanford 4, Burlington 3, Calhan 3, Heritage Christian 2, Springfield 2, Center 1, Highland 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Caliche (4)
0-0
57
2
Eads
0-0
56
3
Stratton
0-0
40
4
Idalia
0-0
39
5
Norwood (2)
0-0
35
6
Kit Carson
0-0
31
7
Hi-Plains
0-0
30
8
Kim
0-0
23
9
Pawnee
0-0
19
10
Walsh (1)
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Dove Creek 13, Wiley 9, Belleview Christian 4, Prairie 4, Cheraw 3, Otis 3, McClave 2, Jim Elliot Christian 1.
COMMERCE CITY — Pine Creek Senior Jayvier Morales scored his first goal of the season during the second overtime in the state title game.
“I was just crossing it in to whoever was in the box, and the keeper tipped it in,” Morales said. “It was complete luck, but I’ll take it.”
In Pine Creek’s first state championship appearance, the Eagles earned title honors after outlasting No. 1 Rock Canyon 1-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday.
Stellar defense from both teams characterized the first half of play. However, Rock Canyon did get more chances offensively. At the beginning of the game, Rock Canyon had two separate free kicks from either corner of the 18 yard box. The teams went battle back-and-forth in the midfield, but Rock Canyon had far greater offensive possession.
Senior Pine Creek keeper David Meyer played an enormous role in keeping the game scoreless.
“Our team can play with a lot of confidence when we’re not giving up many goals,” coach Ben Corley said. “Five total goals (Meyer let in) for the whole season — that’s pretty darn good.”
Meyer had seven saves for Pine Creek in the championship game.
“(Meyer) means the world to us,” Morales said. “He’s kept us in games so many times. We wouldn’t have made it here without him. He’s the best keeper in Pine Creek’s history.”
The second half of the game was much of the same — a defensive gridlock. Both teams couldn’t capitalize on scoring chances. It took two overtimes until a goal found the back of the net.
“These guys (Pine Creek) have shown the maturity to battle through it until the goal comes,” Corey said. “It’s a tough to lose on a ball like that, but it was one of those defensive battles where something was going to give.”
Pine Creek had to win its last two games in extra minutes. In the semis, Alex Cullen punched Pine Creek’s ticket to its first championship game with a golden goal in 7:29 of overtime.
“Our team can play with a lot of confidence when we’re not giving up many goals,” Corey said. “Dave had to come up huge in the Boulder game, but tonight Zach Peterschmidt and Matt Ernst had dominant performances, tonight (Meyer) didn’t have to make as dramatic saves. He’s been that rock player back there that gives the field players confidence.”
This Pine Creek squad has grown immensely throughout the season in part to the veteran’s on the team.
“We have a lot of seniors on this team. at the beginning of the season our theme was ‘kaisen,’ (meaning) one step at a time. We talk about the little inches, and for a lot of these guys it started years ago.”
AURORA — Alex Cullen sent Pine Creek to its first boys soccer state championship game in school history with a golden goal 7:29 into overtime.
The senior corralled a loose ball after a Pine Creek free kick attempt and fired a shot from 20 yards out. It was deflected multiple times on the way to the net, and when it hit the twine, it meant No. 4 Pine Creek had knocked out No. 9 Boulder, the defending Class 5A champion, with a 1-0 victory.
It was Cullen’s sixth goal this season, and the first goal Boulder had surrendered in 11 games. The last also came in overtime, in a 1-0 loss to Fairview on Sept. 26.
Pine Creek (16-1-2) spent a good portion of the game on the shoulders of keeper David Meyer, who made five saves, a number of them brilliant. Included was an early one-on-one stop against Boulder star Mason Douillard, and an acrobatic, diving defense of the net later off a corner kick.
The Jaguars, making their third appearance in a state title game in school history, got a goal from Andrew Greiner with 30:44 remaining in the game. Greiner made a great transfer on a free kick attempt and beat the keeper to his left.
Rock Canyon also advanced to the championship games in 2009 (a loss in 4A) and 2008 (winning 4A).
[divider]
Class 4A
(Bud Ozzello/CHSAANow.com)
Top-seeded Air Academy held a slim 1-0 lead at halftime before exploding for three goals in the second frame to claim a 4-0 win over No. 5 Ponderosa in the first 4A semifinal.
Air Academy got two goals from Gabriel Stuger, Alex Granados and Austin Dewing.
The win means the Kadets will play in a championship game for the sixth time in school history. Air Academy won championships in 2010 (4A) and 1990 (5A).
Air Academy will face third-seeded Cheyenne Mountain, a Pikes Peak league rival, following the Indians’ 1-0 win over No. 7 Evergreen. (See the full 4A bracket.)
Cheyenne Mountain scored with nine minutes to play and will play in the title game for the third time in school history. The Indians won championship in 1995 (3A) and 1994 (4A/1A).
Air Academy beat Cheyenne Mountain 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 1.
[divider]
Class 3A
(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)
No. 1 Colorado Academy scored late in the second half to beat No. 5 Kent Denver and move on in the 3A semifinal with a 1-0 win.
The Mustangs will make their fifth appearance in a title game. They won championships in 2012, 1999 and 1998.
On the opposing side will be No. 3 The Classical Academy. The Titans beat No. 2 Salida 1-0 after a first-half goal held up. (See the full 3A bracket.)
Monarch made a statement to rest of 4A football on Friday night: Yep, they’re still a force in the classification.
The third-ranked Coyotes handled hard-charging and eighth-ranked Broomfield, 48-12, behind an onslaught of points in the first half.
“We feel pretty good about beating those guys,” Monarch coach Phil Bravo told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show. “They have such a good team and a good program with a rich tradition. When you get a chance to beat ’em, it feels real good.”
Senior running back Ethan Marks had well over 200 rushing yards, while quarterback Jay MacIntyre and Kidd Soole also got heavily involved in the offense.
“We were getting them from all different vantage points and executed real well offensively,” Bravo said.
Four weeks ago, Monarch also had a big halftime lead against Montrose, but surrendered 33 second-half points in a 39-34 loss.
This time around, at halftime, “I wrote on the board, ’33 second-half points.’ That’s what we gave up to Montrose,” Bravo said. “I said, ‘I don’t want that in the second half.’ Our kids played really, really well in the second half defensively. We got ’em three-and-out, we got the ball and went up and scored and then held ’em again. We got that clock running early in the fourth quarter, and it felt really good to play well in that second half with a big lead at halftime.”
Elsewhere, No. 5 Pueblo South beat Pueblo West 31-21.
“They’re a good football program and they’re well-coached,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told the Scoreboard Show. “They play a brand of football that’s physical and they like to get after you. Our kids, they wanted that challenge and they stepped up to it.
“They had an opportunity to get back to where we want to be — and that’s well known around Pueblo as far as the football program is concerned. Hopefully, now, we’ll get a little recognition around the state level, too.”
4A’s top-ranked team, Montrose, rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 6 Durango 14-10.
In 5A, No. 1 Valor Christian rolled Rock Canyon 56-6. Quarterback A.J. Cecil threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. Five different Eagles scored on the ground, including Christian McCaffrey, who carried just three times for 76 yards. He was also on the receiving end of two of Cecil’s scoring passes.
Quarterback Anders Hill threw for five touchdowns — all in the first half — as No. 2 Fairview handled rival Boulder 69-3.
No. 4 Cherry Creek had to stave off a late rally from Eaglecrest to seal a 41-34 win.
In 3A, No. 8 Silver Creek took care of No. 5 Mead 45-13 in a highly-anticipated game. Mead had been unbeaten going into the contest, but Ben Sjobakken threw two touchdown passes to pace the Silver Creek offense.
Tenth-ranked Rifle beat No. 7 Delta, 52-27.
1A’s No. 2 team, Limon, finished the regular season a perfect 9-0 with a 42-13 win over Crowley County. Kerigan Kappel had more than 200 yards, and Gavin Liggett added 115.
“I was really pleased with the balance we had with different guys carrying the ball,” Limon coach Mike O’Dwyer told the Scoreboard Show.
Winners in 8-man’s crossover games included No. 4 Simla, No. 5 Caliche and No. 8 Sargent.
Peetz upset No. 2 Arickaree in a 6-man crossover, while No. 5 Otis beat Briggsdale.
Playoffs begin next week for 5A, 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man teams. Brackets come out Sunday.
Aurora Sports Park sits quiet prior to Saturday’s action. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) A roundup of Saturday’s action at the state softball tournaments at Aurora Sports Park.
AURORA — Fossil Ridge won its first two games at Saturday’s opening rounds of the 5A state softball tournament by a combined score of 29-7. It now finds itself in the semifinals for the first time in school history.
In fact, Fossil Ridge had never even won a game at the state tournament before Saturday.
The third-seeded SaberCats beat No. 14 Pine Creek in the opening round, 10-3, then followed with a 19-4 mercy-rule-shortened win over No. 6 Eaglecrest which ended on Haley Donaldson’s walk-off three-run home run.
Legacy softball coach Dawn Gaffin goes over instructions between innings Saturday afternoon during the Lightning’s 8-1 quarterfinal victory against Dakota Ridge. Legacy, 5-time Class 5A state champion, will face Brighton in the 5A state semifinals 10 a.m. Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Fossil Ridge is 22-1 in 2013. The SaberCats’ lone loss this season came to Legacy on Sept. 16. They could get a rematch on Saturday — but first they’ll need to get past No. 7 Legend, another first-timer in the semis.
Legend (19-5) dispatched No. 10 Grandview 13-8 to open the tournament, then beat No. 2 Rock Canyon 6-1 in the quartefinals.
No. 9 Brighton was the lone team to knock off a No. 1 seed on Saturday. The Bulldogs, now 22-2, beat No. 1 Douglas County 8-4 in the quarterfinals. That followed an 11-1 win over No. 8 Loveland, the defending champion.
In the semis, Brighton will get No. 5 Legacy, which beat a pair of Jeffco squads (Chatfield and Dakota Ridge) to earn its seventh consecutive berth into the state tournament semifinals.
No. 12 Chatfield gave Legacy a tough test before the Lightning pulled away in the late innings for a 6-2 win.
“I think we kind of learned from it,” Legacy senior pitcher Haley Smith said. “Our bats were kind of cold at first, but we had everybody set up.”
Legacy used some “small ball” tactics in the third inning against No. 4 Dakota Ridge to score four runs on the way to an 8-1 victory.
Despite the rich tradition of winning five straight 5A state crowns from 2007 to 2011, Smith doesn’t believe Legacy will be nervous going into the semifinals.
“If anything I think there is less pressure because everyone thinks we can’t do it,” Smith said. “We are the underdogs.”
Semifinal games:
(9) Brighton vs. (5) Legacy, 10 a.m.
(3) Fossil Ridge vs. (7) Legend, 10 a.m.
[divider] Broomfield is headed to the semifinals. More photos. (Pam Wagner)
Fifth-seeded Broomfield narrowly survived being No. 13 D’Evelyn’s second upset victim of the day. But the Eagles did survive, and advance, to the 4A semifinals on Sunday.
Broomfield rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 holes to hold on and beat D’Evelyn 7-6 on Saturday. The Eagles had a four-run fifth-inning which led to the win. They will face top-seeded Wheat Ridge in the semifinals.
Wheat Ridge junior Erin Dalton connects with a pitch during the Farmers’ 5-0 win against Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Wheat Ridge didn’t have much problem advancing.
The Farmers shut out No. 16 Roosevelt by a 5-0 score in the opening round and cranked out 11 hits in a 9-4 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 Mountain View. Still, Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said there is “some improving to do” going into the final day of the season.
The Farmers edged Broomfield 2-0 earlier this season. Sophomore Christina Nelson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and senior pitcher Jessica Salbato pitched a shutout against Broomfield back on Aug. 30.
A 1-0 loss to Niwot in the 4A semifinals last year still motivates the Farmers heading into their eighth straight trip to the state semifinals.
“Tomorrow we are still going off what happened last year,” Stricklett said. “We’ve got to show up and play our game. The name of our game is hitting. We’ve got to hit the ball.”
On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Erie beat No. 11 Silver Creek 11-1 and No. 3 Pueblo East 7-1 to advance to Sunday. The Tigers will face No. 2 Ponderosa, which escaped No. 15 Palmer Ridge’s upset bid, 5-4, to open the tournament, then beat No. 7 Berthoud 6-0 in the quarters.
The four semifinalists at the 3A level each only played one game on Saturday. That’s because Strasburg, Sterling, Holy Family and Valley all had opening-round byes as seeds Nos. 1-4.
Top-seeded Strasburg beat No. 9 Basalt 11-0, and will meet No. 4 Valley, which eeked past No. 5 Eaton 1-0.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Sterling will meet No. 3 Holy Family. Sterling beat No. 7 Lamar 5-0 and Holy Family beat No. 11 Dolores Huerta 3-0.
