Seven new teams have joined the football rankings this week: Cherokee Trail (5A), Conifer (3A), Valley (2A), Simla (8-man), Swink (8-man), North Park (6-man), and Mountain Valley (6-man).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
These are the final polls of the regular season. The next poll will come ahead of the seeding meeting.
Up 17-7 at halftime, Holy Family really used a big second half to expand the lead en route to a top-10 win over Lutheran on Friday.
The Tigers, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, beat No. 2 Lutheran 38-14.
“It was a great win for our kids,” Holy Family coach Michael Gabriel told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “Our kids have really looked forward to this opportunity, to play a big game, this year. And they did a great job tonight.
Holy Family’s Trevin Johnson scored twofirst-quarter touchdowns to put his team up 14-0 after the first quarter.
“A key for us was just trying to get them off the field. Our kids did that. … We got a quick couple of scores.
Defensively, he said, “We have great team speed on that side of the ball, and those kids really like to hit. I think we set the tone early, and kept it on for the whole game.
In the third quarter, Michael White threw two touchdowns for Holy Family, one to Oscar Sena, and another to Liam Gray, to make it 31-7.
Lutheran cut into the lead, making it 31-14 after three quarters, but White added a rushing score for Holy Family in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
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2A: (10) Moffat County 26, (2) Delta 20
Caleb Frink and Evan Atkin each had two rushing touchdowns as Moffat County pulled off the big upset at home.
“We feel like we’ve been getting better every week, and this win tonight definitely makes us feel like we’ve taken a step in the right direction,” Moffat County coach Lance Scranton told the Scoreboard Show.
Frink got his team started with a first-quarter rushing score that put the Bulldogs up 6-0.
Delta responded on its next drive, capped by a touchdown pass to Hunter Goff, as they went ahead 7-6.
Moffat County retook the lead at 13-7 just before the end of the first quarter when Frink scored his second, this from from 25 yards out.
After Delta tied the game at 13 in the second quarter, Moffat County’s Evan Atkin put his team ahead 19-13 just two seconds before halftime.
In the second half, Moffat County recovered a fumble in Delta territory, and then Atkin punched it in for his second score for a 26-13 lead.
“Then, we just had to play defense, and our defense really came through,” Scranton said.
Delta’s Colbi Braslin hauled in a touchdown pass with 5:53 left, and the Panthers then got the ball back with less than a minute to go, but Moffat County’s Logan Hafey got a sack with two seconds left to secure the upset.
“That sealed the game, and that was it,” Scranton said.
In a game that was scheduled mid-week due to quarantines of opponents, Valor Christian built at 24-0 lead at halftime, and kept things rolling in the second half en route to the win.
Star Eagles running back Gavin Sawchuk rushed for two touchdowns, including scores of 69 and 27 yards, as he amassed 230 yards on 33 carries.
Valor Christian quarterback Sean McNair threw two touchdown passes, both of which went to Landon Turnall. Zach Wiley also had a rushing score.
Zach Friedman had Ralston Valley’s lone touchdown, a 7-yard rush in the third quarter.
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2A: (5) Eaton 51, (8) Severance 6
Eaton turned a fast start into a big top-10 win.
The squad led 23-0 after the first quarter, and 44-0 at the half.
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 32, (3) Merino 0
Sedgwick County pushed an 8-0 lead to 24-0 in the span of a few minutes late in the second quarter to beat their rivals on Friday night.
“That was big for us, especially that last score, going down and getting in the end zone right before halftime,” Sedgwick County coach Chris Michel told the Scoreboard Show. “I think anytime you can do that, it takes the wind out of them a little bit, and gives us a little more cushion.”
Of the top-3 matchup, Michel said, “We had to put four quarters together. That’s exactly what we need this time of season, to get ready to go in the playoffs.”
It was the second shutout Sedgwick County’s defense threw this season.
“We did a good job of staying home, doing our job, and really tackling,” Michel said.
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8-man: (9) Dove Creek 18, (5) Mancos 14
Dove Creek’s Kade Hankins scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter to help Dove Creek rally and pull off the upset.
The Bulldogs also got a 1-yard touchdown from Chorbin Cressler and a 68-yard score from Gage Bailey as they went ahead 12-6 at halftime.
Dove Creek’s Chase Moore had two rushing touchdowns, including a score that made it 14-12 midway through the third quarter.
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6-man: (3) Cheyenne Wells 42, (6) Eads 18
Rogelio Rangel had a rushing score as well as a receiving score to help Cheyenne Wells build a 21-2 first-half lead that help up in the win.
Ty Wilson had a 77-yard kick return for a score for Eads.
It has been a wild week of cancellations and reschedules due to COVID-19. At least 37 games have been changed or cancelled just this week alone. There was also a forfeit, which was unrelated to COVID.
One of those rescheduled games saw coach Todd Casbier return to play his former school at Fruita Monument, with Casebier’s Castle View squad winning 28-15.
Cheraw quarterback Cade Phillips continued his tear in 6-man, throwing for seven touchdowns in the second consecutive game as the seventh-ranked Wolverines beat Manzanola 82-38. The 14 touchdowns over two games rank fourth-all time (and are a 6-man record). He has also thrown 18 touchdowns in the past three games, which is the seventh most (and another 6-man record).
No. 2 Fowler built a 20-8 lead in the second half, then held off a rally from No. 7 Crowley County in 8-man to win 32-22.
Cherokee Trail knocked off 5A No. 9 Grandview 28-23 to pick up its third-straight win. The Cougars’ Kyle Williams had a late INT to seal the win. Find photos from the game here.
In overtime, Cheyenne Mountain beat Widefield 13-12.
1A No. 6 Hotchkiss ended Gunnison’s two-game winning streak with a 49-7 win. Five different Bulldogs had a rushing touchdown, including quarterback Drayden Taylor, who also threw for two scores.
Quarterback Chase Silva threw two touchdown and ran for two more as 4A No. 8 Skyline improved to 5-0 with a 35-21 win over Monarch.
5A No. 6 Fairview is now 5-0 after its 42-10 win over Horizon. Liam O’Brien threw for 310 yards and three scores, and also had two rushing touchdowns to go along with 45 yards on the ground.
Quite the stat line from Bennett quarterback Mikey Babi: He was 6-of-8 with 154 yards and four scores in his team’s 44-0 win over Platte Canyon in 1A.
In 8-man, Simla got three rushing touchdowns from Coletin Mazerall as the Cubs beat Lyons 38-8.
The 2020 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Players who were named first-team all-league are eligible for the all-state ballot.
Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.
Roosevelt defense stepped up in a monster moment on Friday night.
The fifth-ranked Roughriders, who had battled with Mead all night, held firm on a two-point conversion attempt to knock off the No. 1 team in Class 3A, 21-20.
Roosevelt got the ball first in overtime, and took just one play to score: Quarterback Brig Hartson found Keaton Kaiser for the score. The extra point was good, and then Mead’s offense took the field.
Likewise, the Mavericks needed just one play to score, when Brayden Keys dashed in for six. Mead coach Jason Klatt opted to go for the two-point conversion.
That’s when Roosevelt’s defense stuffed a run up the middle, setting off a celebration in Johnstown.
Roosevelt opened the game with a touchdown on its first drive, finished off when Brig Hartson found Tucker Peterson for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
The game stayed 7-0 until the third quarter, when Evan Morris tied the game up for Mead with a 1-yard rushing score.
Hartson, who ended the game with three touchdown passes, put Roosevelt up 14-7 with a 4-yard touchdown to Jadyn Herrera early in the fourth. But Mead responded quickly with a 74-yard pass from Porter Eastin to Corby Tecu, and the game eventually found its way to overtime.
Roosevelt is now 2-0, while Mead moves to 1-1.
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2A: (3) Sterling 14, (5) Eaton 10
The defending champions built a 14-3 lead at the break, and went on to win.
The Tigers’ defense had an outstanding game, and even scored a touchdown.
“It was a tough game, a hard-fought contest,” Sterling coach Rob Busmente told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “It kind of went back and forth there for a while. Teams were battling and putting together some drives. It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth, and fortunately we were able to make a couple of stops and get a couple of takeaways.”
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8-man: Haxtun 38, (3) Dayspring Christian 36
Michael Gerk had four touchdowns, Owen Knode added three, according to KPMX Sports, and Haxtun came away with a monster win for its program.
The Fightin’ Bulldogs established themselves with a scoring drive right out of the gate.
“We jumped out pretty quick on a nice, long drive, and our offensive line kind of set the tone,” coach J.D. Stone told the Scoreboard Show.
Haxtun rebounded from an opening-week loss.
“We were really disappointed last week,” Stone said. “I think we grew a lot from that loss. The team really came together … and had a great week of practice.”
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3A: (10) Lutheran 57, (4) Discovery Canyon 17
The Lions jumped all over the Thunder early and often, leading 28-0 after the first quarter en route to the big win.
“Putting up the points early got us a lot of confidence,” Lutheran coach Stephen Robbins told the Scoreboard Show. “We just pounded it with tempo, and kept going at it. And our linemen up front. I’ll tell you: It’s one of the best O-line groups I’ve had in a decade. They got hungry and they kept going, and that just kind of propelled us.
“I think that was the difference-maker, was how we came out of the gate.”
Robbins said that the win could be “a program-changer.”
“We felt like last year, we left quite a bit on the field, especially against Discovery Canyon,” Robbins said. “So like I said, it’s a program-changer. Kids believe a little bit more, and it gets the community excited as well.”
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6-man: (1) Stratton/Liberty 66, (7) Eads 27
The Knighted Eagles came away with a big top-10 win, but coach Toby Kechter said they lost returning first-team all-state running back Jarret Lichty to an arm injury.
“We got up 16-0, and our best player, and in my opinion, the best player in the state, Jarret Lichty, he dislocated his elbow and broke his arm. Our young kids stepped up and played awesome the rest of the game. Eads is a high-quality team. Our kids, they played for him. They stepped up and played with all their hearts. It was great to see.”
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Notables:
In a top-10 5A matchup, No. 1 Cherry Creek cruised past No. 10 Cherokee Trail 49-7.
In 2A, No. 1 Delta beat No. University 31-21. The game was scheduled at the last minute following COVID-related cancellations.
A rare score here: In 4A, Standley Lake beat Golden 3-0.
In overtime, Riverdale Ridge beat Niwot 14-7 to pick up the program’s first 3A win.
Pueblo Central beat Pueblo Centennial 17-9 to win the 72nd Bell Game.
Montrose stopped a two-point conversion attempt in OT to beat Fruita Monument 28-27.
With smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire blowing in, the game between Erie and Silver Creek experienced a nearly 40-minute “smoke delay.” Erie went on to win 54-27.
In its first varsity season, Severance is now 2-0 following its 54-0 win over Alameda.
With its win over Otis on Friday, Weldon Valley put an end to a 15-game losing streak.
