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.
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.
MONTROSE — Grand Junction’s Gracie Olkowski won the Montrose Invitational at Black Canyon on Tuesday, helping the Tigers win the team title, as well.
Olkowski shot ever par to win. Rifle’s Elly Walters was second at 6-over, and Grand Junction’s Brittlyn Odell (9-over) finished third. Rifle’s Masi Smith was fourth at +10, and Taylor Kettrell of Montrose (+12) was fifth.
Grand Junction shot 26-over as a team to win. Rifle placed second at +42, with Montrose (+48) finishing third, Battle Mountain (+84) placing fourth, and Coal Ridge (+104) coming in fifth.
Jenna Greenlee (+17) also had a scoring round for Grand Junction.
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY — There’s a saying that those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it.
Air Academy girls basketball coach Phil Roiko is a fan of learning. Last year, when the Kadets hosted Rifle in the Sweet 16 of the Class 4A girls basketball tournament, they couldn’t hit shots, they looked gassed on defense and they couldn’t contain Elly Walters.
In 2018, they were able to do all those things. The result was a 42-25 win for Air Academy and a date in the Great 8 with defending state champion Evergreen.
“I thought our defense would keep us in the game,” Roiko said. “Last year, we couldn’t hit and this year we have better shooters and the girls worked really hard.”
It did take the Kadets some time to get rolling, though.
Karly Manuppella knocked down two early 3-pointers and Katy Manuppella added a free throw to help the Bears (22-3 overall) jump out to an early 7-3 lead.
The Kadets (24-1) couldn’t connect on any early shots and the three points came when Zoe Sims attacked the basket, made her shot and got a free throw off a foul.
“That settled us a little bit more,” Roiko said.
Through just a quarter, it was only a two-possession game, but the fast start was definitely able to creep into the minds of the players, coaches and spectators at Air Academy High School. Rifle had pulled off an improbable win a year again, and with the way the game was started there was some brief concern that it might happen again.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“I think it’s one of those things that always crosses our minds,” senior Mary Parchinski said. “We’ve been in this situation before so we knew we had to remain composed.”
And they needed an offensive spark. They got that in the form of Kayla Nocon who came off the bench and scored on two quick layups and then knocked down a 3-ball.
“Everyone coming off the bench needs to be ready, and we are,” Nocon said. “We really step up to meet the same level as the girls on the floor and that’s what the coaches want.”
The Kadets also amped up their pressure defensively, deciding that the best way to put the Bears back on their heels was make them work on the offensive side of the ball.
The 2-3 zone that Roiko had his girls running really took a toll on what the Bears were trying to do to remain in the game.
“It really threw us for a loop,” Rifle coach Kristy Wallner said. “They did a good job taking us out of stuff that we wanted to do.”
In the second half, the Kadets looked very much like the team that was ranked No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com poll. Parchinksi scored nine of her game-high 12 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Walters scored a team-high nine for the Bears, but had to grind for each and every point that she got.
“She’s tough,” Roiko said of Walters. “The idea was to constantly stay on her and I think that worked. She scored nine and that doesn’t happen very often.”
With one mental hurdle out of the way, the Kadets now have one more to deal with. The road to the Denver Coliseum still runs through Air Academy, but it’s the defending state champs who will be traveling it.
Evergreen and Air Academy will tip on Friday night, with the winner advancing to the 4A Final 4.
“They’re fun to watch,” Roiko said. “But I’m happy that game is here and not there.”
The 2017 all-state football teams 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 across the state.
Players were placed onto the first-team, second-team and honorable mention based upon the number of votes they received. In 5A-1A, spots were reserved for linemen and one kicker/punter, while 8-man reserved spots for linemen.
CHSAA does not determine who makes or doesn’t make the team; they are created entirely from the results of the coaches’ vote.
