Belleview Christian won its first football game since 2012 on Saturday.
The Bruins beat Miami-Yoder 18-14 during their homecoming contest. It was their first victory since Oct. 6, 2012 against Justice — five years and one day ago.
The 8-man football program started in the fall of 2012, and went 2-6. Belleview Christian was then 0-7 in 2013, and didn’t field a team in 2014 nor 2015. The Bruins returned to the field last season, and went 0-6.
It means Saturday’s win, which was the first varsity win for second-year coach Darius Oller, also snapped a 17-game losing streak.
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Notables:
Coaches Scott Yates (Kent Denver) and Chris Brown (West Grand) remained tied atop Colorado’s all-times wins list this week as both of their teams won. Kent Denver beat Ridge View Academy on Friday, and West Grand beat Plateau Valley 46-0 on Saturday.
In a 6-man game that was delayed from Friday night because of a faulty light, No. 2 Stratton/Liberty cruised to a 53-6 win over No. 3 Cheyenne Wells.
5A No. 10 Highlands Ranch (5-1) handed Lakewood (5-1) its first loss this season with a 35-28 victory.
4A No. 9 Pueblo South is now 5-1 following a 42-14 win over Grand Junction Central.
2A No. 2 Bayfield rolled to a 56-12 win over Montezuma-Cortez.
1A No. 1 Bennett continued its roll, beating Vail Christian 52-8. Bennett is averaging 54.5 points per game.
1A No. 3 Strasburg is 5-1 after a 57-20 win over Byers.
1A No. 2 Meeker is 6-0 after beating Grand Valley 34-7.
6-man No. 6 Kit Carson rolled to a 77-0 win over Branson/Kim. Kit Carson is now 5-1.
6-man No. 10 Genoa-Hugo is 4-2 after beating Edison 73-25.
Far Northeast edged out a win over city foe Denver East in 5A, 28-27.
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.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (12)
5-0
120
1
W
2
Eaglecrest
5-0
104
2
W
3
Pomona
3-2
83
3
L
4
Regis Jesuit
4-1
79
4
W
5
Fairview
5-0
55
7
W
6
Cherry Creek
3-2
51
5
L
7
Mullen
2-3
43
6
Bye
8
Grandview
3-2
41
9
W
9
Columbine
4-1
35
8
W
10
Highlands Ranch
4-1
20
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Lakewood 17, Arvada West 8, Doherty 3, ThunderRidge 1.
Dropped out
Lakewood (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Ponderosa (11)
5-0
166
2
W
2
Chatfield (4)
4-1
142
3
W
3
Pine Creek (3)
4-1
139
1
L
4
Windsor
4-1
106
4
W
5
Loveland
5-0
104
5
W
6
Pueblo West
5-0
89
6
W
7
Monarch
5-0
81
8
W
8
Fruita Monument
5-0
76
7
Bye
9
Pueblo South
4-1
45
9
W
10
Skyline
5-0
18
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Fort Collins 6, Vista Ridge 5, Widefield 4, Broomfield 2, Greeley West 2, Montrose 2, Rampart 2, Standley Lake 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (10)
5-0
120
2
W
2
Palmer Ridge (2)
5-0
111
3
W
3
Erie
5-0
87
5
W
4
Berthoud
5-0
77
4
W
5
Roosevelt
4-1
69
7
W
6
Skyview
5-0
55
8
W
7
Holy Family
4-1
45
1
L
8
Harrison
5-0
44
9
W
9
Silver Creek
3-2
32
6
L
10
Longmont
2-3
27
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Evergreen 14, Thomas Jefferson 10, Denver North 6, Canon City 5, Frederick 5, Rifle 5, Palisade 3.
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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
There was all kinds of shakeup in this week’s football rankings.
The Class 3A poll added five new teams: No. 4 Berthoud, No. 7 Roosevelt, No. 8 Skyview, No. 9 Harrison and No. 10 Canon City.
Lakewood (5A), Skyline (4A), Crowley County (1A), Clear Creek (1A), Sargent (8-man) and Sierra Grande (6-man) are also new this week in their respective classifications.
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.
Widefield 9, Broomfield 7, Vista Ridge 6, Standley Lake 5, Cheyenne Mountain 4, Rampart 4, Montrose 3, Greeley West 1.
Dropped out
Broomfield (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (5)
4-0
104
1
W
2
Mead (5)
4-0
97
2
W
3
Palmer Ridge (1)
4-0
78
4
W
4
Berthoud
4-0
57
–
W
5
Erie
4-0
50
6
W
6
Silver Creek
3-1
48
3
L
7
Roosevelt
3-1
45
–
W
8
Skyview
4-0
38
–
W
9
Harrison
4-0
33
–
W
10
Canon City
4-0
19
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Palisade 9, Evergreen 8, Fort Morgan 6, Frederick 5, Discovery Canyon 4, Durango 2, Denver North 1, Thomas Jefferson 1.
Dropped out
Fort Morgan (5), Discovery Canyon (7), Durango (8), Longmont (9), Thomas Jefferson (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kent Denver (10)
4-0
142
1
W
2
Bayfield (5)
4-0
132
2
W
3
The Classical Academy
4-0
115
3
W
4
Platte Valley
4-0
101
5
W
5
La Junta
3-1
98
4
L
6
Sterling
3-1
63
6
W
7
Faith Christian
3-1
48
7
W
8
Alamosa
3-1
30
8
Bye
9
Salida
4-0
24
9
Bye
10
Basalt
3-1
21
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Aspen 11, Bishop Machbeuf 9, Valley 9, Coal Ridge 7, Eaton 6, D’Evelyn 4, Elizabeth 3, Delta 2.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Bennett (10)
4-0
118
1
W
2
Meeker (2)
4-0
108
2
W
3
Strasburg
3-1
93
3
W
4
Centauri
5-0
69
5
W
5
Limon
3-1
65
4
L
6
Paonia
3-1
54
6
W
7
Platte Canyon
3-0
52
7
Bye
8
Peyton
3-1
19
10
W
9
Crowley County
4-1
17
–
W
10
Clear Creek
4-0
16
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Burlington 15, Cornerstone Christian Academy 8, Buena Vista 7, Cedaredge 7, Rocky Ford 4, Grand Valley 3, Colorado Springs Christian 2, Monte Vista 2, Hotchkiss 1.
Wiggins (in Class 2A), Dolores (2A), Bennett (3A), Evergreen (4A) and Rocky Mountain (5A) have each joined their respective volleyball rankings this week.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Castle View (9)
10-1
99
1
2-0
2
Mountain Vista
8-2
85
3
0-1
3
Rock Canyon
8-3
59
4
1-1
4
Chatfield
9-2
49
6
5-0
5
Fossil Ridge (1)
7-3
48
2
1-1
6
Highlands Ranch
10-1
47
5
2-0
7
Rocky Mountain (1)
10-1
45
–
1-1
8
Fort Collins
7-1
42
7
2-0
9
Fruita Monument
10-1
36
9
2-0
10
Cherry Creek
9-2
31
8
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Chaparral 21, Coronado 13, Denver East 11, Eaglecrest 6, Legacy 5, Dakota Ridge 3, Legend 2, Regis Jesuit 2, Pine Creek 1.
Dropped out
Chaparral (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (10)
11-0
109
1
3-0
2
Niwot
9-1
83
4
2-0
3
Valor Christian
6-3
78
5
2-1
4
Pueblo West (1)
7-1
71
3
2-0
5
Holy Family
11-2
60
2
2-0
6
Palmer Ridge
10-1
48
9
1-0
7
Longmont
9-2
33
8
1-1
8
Thomas Jefferson
8-3
30
7
0-1
9
D’Evelyn
9-0
19
10
5-0
10
Evergreen
7-3
18
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Durango 14, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Silver Creek 6, Eagle Valley 4, Cheyenne Mountain 3, Mountain View 3, Glenwood Springs 2, Mullen 2, Palisade 2, Pueblo County 2.
Dropped out
Cheyenne Mountain (6).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Eaton (13)
10-1
130
1
2-1
2
University
9-2
103
2
2-0
3
Resurrection Christian
10-2
96
3
2-0
4
Lutheran (1)
10-2
60
7
1-0
5
Faith Christian
7-3
58
4
1-1
6
Lamar
11-1
56
8
2-0
7
Bayfield
7-3
54
6
1-1
8
Valley
8-4
40
5
1-1
9
Bishop Machebeuf
10-2
35
10
2-1
10
Bennett
9-1
27
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Middle Park 21, Coal Ridge 18, Centauri 11, Platte Valley 9, The Academy 8, Sterling 7, Colorado Springs Christian 6, Frontier Academy 6, Aspen 5, Colorado Academy 5, Pagosa Springs 5, Weld Central 5, Jefferson Academy 4, The Vanguard 4, Manitou Springs 1.
Dropped out
Middle Park (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (7)
8-1
88
1
2-0
2
Lyons
9-4
55
2
1-2
3
Dayspring Christian
9-1
53
3
4-0
4
Simla
10-2
47
5
4-0
5
Swink
7-1
45
6
1-0
6
Paonia (2)
8-1
42
4
1-0
7
Denver Christian
9-1
37
7
2-0
8
Dolores
8-1
30
–
2-0
9
Hoehne
8-3
28
8
4-1
10
Wiggins
12-1
21
–
5-0
Others receiving votes:
Meeker 10, Dawson School 7, Fowler 6, Ignacio 6, John Mall 6, Union Colony 6, Rocky Ford 5, Wray 2, Telluride 1.
Dropped out
Meeker (9), Fowler (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (7)
11-0
95
1
3-0
2
Fleming (1)
10-1
78
2
1-0
3
Holly (2)
9-1
76
4
0-0
4
McClave
8-1
65
5
4-1
5
La Veta
9-0
61
3
1-0
6
Otis
8-3
48
6
0-2
7
Flagler/Hi-Plains
6-2
38
9
4-0
8
Briggsdale
10-2
30
8
3-0
9
Wiley
7-2
22
7
0-1
10
Belleview Christian
9-0
10
10
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Eads 8, Cheyenne Wells 6, Kim/Branson 4, Pikes Peak Christian 4, Weldon Valley 4, Dove Creek 1.
Bennett volleyball’s Larry Deffenbaugh recorded his 500th career win with a sweep against The Academy on Thursday.
“I just feel so privileged to have been able to coach this long in a game that I dearly love,” Deffenbaugh said. “And to be able to work with so many wonderful athletes and coaches along the way.”
Deffenbaugh holds a 500-214 career record.
“It’s been a wonderful road. I love what I do,” Deffenbaugh, in his 40th year in education, said. “There’s good days and bad days, we’re not going to kid ourselves here. I just have always enjoyed going to work in the morning.”
In his 31st year coaching volleyball, but Deffenbaugh has had many titles in his career. He’s been a middle school and high school teacher, an assistant principal, a middle school principal, a coach and athletic director.
“I’ve coached everything from six-man football in Kit Carson, Colorado in 1978 to volleyball,” Deffenbaugh said. “I’ve worked with a lot of different boys and girls along the way, young men and women. A lot of wonderful teachers, administrators and coaches. Parents, they’ve been a big help, they’ve been great. And, you know, the communities.
“The fan support and how they rally around their athletics and their activites in small schools is really special to watch.”
Deffenbaugh’s previous stops include one season at Rangeview, two at Castle View and 13 at Strasburg.
His overall record at Strasburg was 275-72.
(Courtesy of Bennett HS)
Deffenbaugh’s bio states that, “He understands that success comes from everyone pulling together as one.”
Bennett is 9-1 this season and has rattled off eight wins in a row. Deffenbaugh’s team has lost just four sets this year.
“I have a very supportive family, especially my wife,” Deffenbaugh said. “When you’re a coaches’ wife, you go through all the trials and tribulations. All of my kids were there last night, except for my oldest daughter who is in Malaysia with her family. That was really special.”
