The live event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
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| Live games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Game | Time | Notes |
| 5A | Fairview vs. Valor Christian | 2:30 p.m. | Championship |
| 4A | Montrose vs. Pine Creek | 11 a.m. | Championship |
| 4A | Coronado at Silver Creek | 1 p.m. | Championship |
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s championship games this week.
| Class 5A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (1) Fairview | 16 | (2) Valor Christian | 56 |
| Class 4A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (1) Montrose | 14 | (3) Pine Creek | 49 |
| Class 3A (Playoffs: Final) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | |||
| (6) Coronado | 28 | (9) Silver Creek | 24 |
DENVER — Tom McCartney has long been a double wing guy. He borrowed concepts from Phil Bravo, who mastered the rush-heavy offense at Centaurus and now Monarch. It’s only recently that McCartney has become this spread guru whose teams throw it all over the place.
McCartney’s experience with the double wing is paying off. And now, the Fairview coach has his Knights switching between the two vastly different offensive schemes at a moment’s notice throughout games.
Saturday, in the Class 5A football championship against Valor Christian, Fairview hopes that provides an edge of sorts.
“It’s a different personality that you have to prepare for,” said Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman.
Fairview has thrown for 3,786 yards this season, the most in the state among all classes. Dakota Ridge is second — more than 1,000 yards behind — with 2,729. The Knights can sling it.
Yet, when Fairview needs short-yardage — be that on a third-and-1 or deep inside the red zone — it overhauls its offense. Record-setting receiver Sam Martin and super wideout Cam Frazier turn into running backs. Owen Harris, normally a slot guy, also moves to the backfield. At times, the Knights even bring in 6-foot, 233-pound linebacker Daniel Hoskins.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s a little more smash-mouth football,” said Frazier, who had a rushing touchdown out of the formation in Fairview’s semifinal win over ThunderRidge. “It’s pretty much just trying to get that extra yard when it’s fourth-and-1, or third-and-1. It’s a lot of fun, and I think we’re pretty good at it.
“Most teams like to sub in their big guys for it, but if we go fast enough, we can catch them off-guard which is pretty effective. It’s just another thing defenses have to worry about.”
If Fairview can run the play before the defense can substitute, “that’s maybe one of the only times we have a size advantage,” quarterback Anders Hill said.
Ten different Fairview players have scored rushing touchdowns this season. Running back Jason Harvey has five, Martin and Hill each have four, while Frazier and Harris each have three. It’s Hoskins, though, who leads the way with seven scores.
“He’s one of the strongest kids to ever come to Fairview,” Hill said of Hoskins. “We know that if we give him the ball down on the goal line, or if we just need 1 yard to get the first down, that he and the whole O-line is going to do that.”
McCartney picked up the offense in the late 1990s because “we weren’t very good at short yardage,” he said.
“We wanted a better plan to move the ball when it was short-yardage when the field was shrunk, to have a plan to get in the end zone,” McCartney said. “Or at the end of the game, if we needed to run the clock out. Or if we get pinned inside the 10. So it meets a lot of different needs for us.”
So why isn’t Fairview exclusively a double wing team?
“It’s all about what you can execute,” McCartney said. “There are some years that we can execute the double-wing better. So maybe we spend more time in that. But when we’re able to execute some of the things in the spread at a high level, there are some times we don’t even take a snap in the double wing.”
Clearly, this year’s bunch is suited for both.
“They’re up for it,” McCartney said. “They just want to be on the field.”
Fairview was last at this point during the 2002 season. The Knights also to the 2001 championship game, but lost both times. Fairview hasn’t won a championship since 1987.
“We all really want to do it for coach Mac,” Hill said. “He’s been here for 21 years. He’s a great coach; he’s left a long legacy. Not only for just our high school, but the whole city.”
Add Frazier: “It’s been 11 years since we’ve been to a title game, and we’ve never played at a title game at Sports Authority. So it’s a big step. I remember watching the ’09 team go to the semifinals and looking up to them. It’s just big for the whole town.”
The championship football games in 5A, 4A and 3A are Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:
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The NFL bag policy will be in effect:
Seating chart for the 5A and 4A games:
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(1) Fairview vs. (2) Valor Christian
Game time: 2:30 p.m.
Site: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Parking: Free
Tickets: Information ($10 for students K-12 and seniors, 60+; $15 for adults)
TV: Root Sports (tape-delayed, 8:30 p.m.)
Radio: AM 1600 (live)
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(1) Montrose vs. (3) Pine Creek
Game time: 11 a.m.
Site: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Parking: Free
Tickets: Information ($10 for students K-12 and seniors, 60+; $15 for adults)
TV: Root Sports (tape-delayed, 6 p.m.)
Radio: AM 1600 (live); KUCB in Montrose (live)
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(6) Coronado at (9) Silver Creek
Game time: 1 p.m.
Site: Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont
Parking: Free
Tickets: At the gate ($6 for students, $8 for adults)
TV: NFHS Network
Radio: None
DENVER — Saturday looks to be an offensive showdown for the Class 5A football championship.
Both coaches of the finalists, from Fairview and Valor Christian, praised their opponent’s offense on Tuesday morning at the annual press conference held in advance of the Class 4A and 5A championship football games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
It makes sense: Valor Christian (602 total points, 46.3 per game) and Fairview (540 points, 45.0 per game) are the two highest-scoring offenses in Colorado, regardless of class.
“Much is known about their prolific passing offense, but also being able to run the ball when they need to do that, “Valor Christian coach Rod Sherman said of Fairview. “Exceptional quarterback, receivers all over the field that can make plays — I think it’s going to be quite a track meet on Saturday.”
Fairview wide receiver Sam Martin has already set the single season record for receiving yardage — he’s up to 1,719 — and the Knights also have weapons like Cam Frazier (20 total touchdowns), Daniel Hoskins (seven scores), Jason Harvey (six) and Owen Harris (three).
Of course, there’s also quarterback Anders Hill, who has thrown for a state-best 3,659 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“I feel like their quarterback is the best quarterback in the state,” Sherman said. “He doesn’t miss open guys and can thread the needle.”
Valor Christian, meanwhile, has scored 86 total touchdowns, a figure that tops the state. (Fairview is second with 72.) The Eagles are led by senior do-everything back Christian McCaffrey, whose 42 total touchdowns lead Colorado.
“Valor scores a lot of points, and they don’t give up much,” Fairview coach Tom McCartney said. “They have great size, they have great speed. They love to give the ball to No. 5 (McCaffrey), and that’s pretty smart. That’s probably what we would do, too.
“Offensively, you’ve got to be prepared for so many different things. Sometimes, we’ll see (McCaffrey) to the right, sometimes we’ll see him to the left, sometimes we’ll see him in the backfield. Sometimes, the quarterback will take off and (McCaffrey is) now the quarterback. So there’s a lot going on with him, and we have tremendous respect for him.”
Valor quarterback A.J. Cecil has thrown for 1,974 yards this season and 29 touchdowns. He also has 406 rushing yards and eight scores.
“Their quarterback, he can hurt you with his arm, he can hurt with with his feet,” McCartney said. “So they have so many different things they can do.”
Valor Christian has won four consecutive state championship over three classifications.
“We don’t talk a lot about the tradition, the past. Every year’s different, every team’s different,” Sherman said. “We’re certainly thankful to be able to be playing here again, and we’re excited.”
Fairview last won a championship in 1987, when it took 4A.
Kickoff in the 5A game is set for 2:30 p.m. Here is more information.
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Todd Casebier took a plane to Mile High. Well, not directly to the stadium, but from Montrose to Denver. It made for a shorter trip.
And, the Montrose coach joked, he needed all the time he could get. Because, “After seeing Pine Creek here, I’ve got to get home in a hurry to practice.”
The drive from Montrose to Denver is roughly five hours. So, to ensure he made it home for practice, Casebier took a trip on his brother’s plane in order to speak at Tuesday’s press conference
“We got up early and our principal and our AD are both here,” Casebier said. “We’ll get back for practice.”
The 4A matchup features Casebier’s top-seeded Indians and No. 3 Pine Creek (11-2).
“I know everyone says they have respect for their opponent, but it’s pretty simple for us: Montrose is trying to get to where Pine Creek is,” Casebier said. “We played Monarch earlier in the year, and the two best programs in 4A are Monarch and Pine Creek. It turns out we’re going to play them both in the same season.
“They set the bar high, the way they do things, the way their kids play, the way they prepare. … In order to be a champion, you have to beat the best teams. I think it’s a perfect situation in that we have to beat the best.”
Montrose will face a Pine Creek team that really like to spread the ball around among its players. Nine different Eagles have scored rushing touchdowns this season.
“It’s just a selfless group. No one really cares about who gets their carries,” Pine Creek coach Todd Miller said. “We wear ‘One Team’ on the back of our jerseys for a reason. In a society that’s very selfish, we’ve got a bunch of selfless guys.”
Montrose is in search of its first football championship since winning Class A in 1950. Pine Creek has never won a championship, but appeared in the 2011 4A title game.
Kickoff for the 4A game is at 11 a.m. Here is more information.
DENVER — The annual press conference held in advance of the Class 4A and 5A championship football games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High was Tuesday. Below are photos.
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Fairview, you might have heard, has a high-powered offense. Record-setting, in fact. But these Knights make some plays on defense, too, and it was a game-changing interception which propelled Fairview to its first championship football game since 2002.
With his team clinging to a 24-21 lead in the third quarter and ThunderRidge on the 6-yard-line, Fairview junior Johnny Feauto jumped an out-route in the end zone and picked off a pass from ThunderRidge quarterback Brody Westmoreland. He returned it to the 24-yard-line. The Knights would march down and turn the turnover into a 31-21 lead on Owen Harris’ second 1-yard touchdown run of the game.
ThunderRidge never recovered, and top-seeded Fairview went on to win 38-28 in the Class 5A semifinals.
“Whenever (ThunderRidge is) down there, they just run so much,” Feauto said after the game. “We knew that they were going to try to come out with something different. I saw him doing an out, I broke right on him, and the quarterback threw it right to me.”
After the interception, “I knew we were going to score,” Feauto said. “Our offense is just that good. If we give them any extra opportunities, they’re going to take it to the house.”
Feauto added another pick on a botched field-goal attempt midway through the fourth quarter. He has six this season.
Said Fairview coach Tom McCartney: “If you look at us versus Lakewood, Johnny Feauto had the big interception. If you look at Overland, Johnny Featuro had the big interception. Johnny’s been a big-time playmaker for us on D.”
Fairview will play No. 2 Valor Christian in the 5A championship next Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Valor Christian beat Cherokee Trail in Saturday’s other semifinal.
And, despite the fact that Fairview is unbeaten (12-0) and the No. 1 seed in these playoffs, the Knights will likely again be seen as underdogs in that game. It makes sense: Valor Christian is a four-time defending champion, and has never lost in the playoffs in school history. The Eagles are also 47-1 against Colorado teams since Oct. 2010.
Still, Fairview is more than familiar with that position. Many around the state doubted the Knights would even reach the final.
“We felt like a lot of people didn’t think we were very good,” Fairview senior Cameron Frazier said on Saturday. “They still picked us to lose every game in the playoffs. So we used that as fuel. We just like to prove people wrong.”
Added quarterback Anders Hill: “We try not to pay attention to that, but it definitely gets under our skin sometimes. We’re the No. 1 seed and people are continuously picking us to lose. It’s motivation. I mean, we know what we’re capable of, so we just go out and play our game.”
“Every week,” Feauto said, “there were some doubters and they don’t think we’re going to win the next one. But we just have to keep proving them wrong, proving them wrong, proving them wrong. We think we’re the best and we’re going to go out and prove it next week.”
To reach that game next week, Fairview got an impressive performance from its offense against ThunderRidge on Saturday.
The Knights scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions as Frazier went wild — he had 143 total yards and two total touchdowns in the first half — with the Grizzlies double-teaming senior wide receiver Sam Martin, who has set the state’s single-season record for receiving yards.
“Every week, teams try and double Sam. He’s the best receiver in the state. That opens up grass for other people,” Hill said. “Today, that just happened to be Cam. We have playmakers at pretty much every position on our offense, so I think it’s just a matter of who steps up for what game. And Cam did a great job today.”
Frazier finished with 152 yards receiving and two scores, and also had a rushing touchdown. This was all despite playing with a sprained thumb and microfractures in his right hand — an injury suffered last week.
“We can throw to pretty much anyone, and we have a lot of weapons besides Sam. And then we still have Sam. So that’s just a lot to deal with in the passing game,” Frazier said. “Then (Jason) Harvey running; Anders can run, too. It’s just too much for teams to take away.”
Fairview had 459 yards of total offense. Hill finished with 315 through the air on 21-of-33 passing, and the two scores to Frazier. Martin had 72 yards receiving.
For ThunderRidge, Westmoreland finished with 306 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in his final game. Mark Hopper, a senior wide receiver, had 181 yards.
Fairview’s defense gave up 565 yards of total offense, but made plays when it needed to. That included Feauto’s two interceptions, as well as a fumble recovery by senior Connor Spencer with 9:49 to go in the game. Spencer also had a key one-on-one tackle of Westmoreland on third down which ended ThunderRidge’s next drive and led to the botched field goal attempt.
“They’re going to have a ton of yards throwing, running, whatever, but the turnovers were the difference,” McCartney said. “They’ve done it in every game this year that’s been a big game: games that we’ve trailed in, games that we’ve come back in. Every game, (the defense finds) a way to just basically get turnovers and turn things around.”
Fairview went to back-to-back 5A championship games in 2001 and 2002, but lost both times. Next Saturday will mark the program’s eighth trip to a title game. The Knights have won three championships, including a share of one with Westminster by tying in 1978. Their last championship was in 1987 (4A).
“We made this a goal since the summer,” Hill said. “It’s just a great experience, and I couldn’t be happier right now. Our whole team is just on top of the world right now.”
In fact, this title game has been on Fairview’s mind since this point last season. McCartney took a group of his kids to the 2012 5A title game to watch Valor and Cherokee Trail.
“We basically started dreaming there,” McCartney said. “And said, ‘Hey, we think we can get here, but it’s going to take some work and it’s going to take some seniors that believe.’ We’re very, very excited.”
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Top-seeded Fairview beat ThunderRidge 38-28 on Saturday to advance to the Class 5A football championship.
The live event will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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| Live games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Game | Time | Notes |
| 5A | Cherokee Trail at Valor Christian | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 5A | Fairview at ThunderRidge | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 4A | Pine Creek at Monarch | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 4A | Montrose at Pueblo South | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 3A | The Classical Academy at Coronado | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 3A | Silver Creek at Delta | 1 p.m. | Semifinals |
| 2A | Faith Christian at Platte Valley | 1 p.m. | Championship |
| 1A | Centauri at Paonia | 1 p.m. | Championship |
| 8-man | Dayspring Christian at Caliche | 1 p.m. | Championship |
View the 5A football playoff bracket.
No. 2 Valor Christian (11-1) at No. 6 Cherokee Trail (10-2)
1 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Stadium
Cherokee Trail has been chomping at the bit for this one. By the time Saturday’s semifinal tilt with Valor Christian comes around, it will have been 357 days since the two teams met at Mile High in the 2012 Class 5A championship game.
That game, a 9-0 Valor Christian win, was actually a coming out party of sorts for Cherokee Trail. Most everyone expected the Eagles to roll the Cougars in the title game, seeing as how it was Cherokee Trail’s first appearance on the big stage. Instead, it was scoreless until 6:01 remained in the fourth quarter, and wasn’t over until Valor added a field goal with two minutes to go.
So when the 2013 season started, the prevailing thought was that Cherokee Trail was poised to join the state’s elite. Well, here’s the Cougars’ chance — facing Valor, a four-time defending champion across three classifications which has never lost in the postseason (20-0) in the short, but illustrious, history of the school. The Eagles have actually not lost (22-0) to an in-state team since their 2012 opener, and are 46-1 against Colorado teams since Oct. 2010.
So it will be a tall task when sixth-seeded Cherokee Trail hosts No. 2 Valor at 1 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Stadium.
“We’ve been waiting all year,” Cherokee Trail defensive back Izaiah Lottie said after his team’s win over Cherry Creek in the quarterfinals. “Almost 365 days, we’ve been waiting.”
“We really felt was that we were going to have to beat Creek and Valor to win it,” Cherokee Trail coach Monte Thelen said.
As usual, things will hinge on how Cherokee Trail’s defense handles Valor’s Christian McCaffrey. The senior is coming off a season-best 272 rushing yards in a quarterfinal win over Columbine. Despite being pulled in the third quarter of most games, he has 38 total touchdowns this season — a figure that is second in the state. Most telling, though, is that McCaffrey is averaging 12.82 yards per carry this season, which would be a big-school record.
Cherokee Trail will counter with junior Cameron Smith, who had 172 yards rushing and a score against Cherry Creek. He has 1,554 yards this season, and has scored 18 touchdowns in his team’s past eight games.
Its biggest asset on Saturday, though, will be its defense. That side of the ball forced six turnovers in the quarterfinals, and has the speed to contend with Valor Christian.
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No. 1 Fairview (11-0) at No. 5 ThunderRidge (11-1)
1 p.m. Saturday at Shea Stadium
Early this week, the focus of the other 5A semifinal matchup rested on the health of ThunderRidge quarterback Brody Westmoreland. The senior was hurt on the third play of his team’s quarterfinal win against Grandview — a blindside sack he didn’t see coming — and never returned.
Afterward, Westmoreland revealed it was a back injury which kept him from the field. At that time, it looked questionable that he would play against Fairview on Saturday.
However, X-rays and an MRI both came back clear, and he also passed concussion testing. So while Westmoreland does have a deep back bruise, he will play against the Knights.
That’s hugely important for the Grizzlies, as Westmoreland is the key cog in their offense. He has 16 passing and 12 rushing touchdowns this season. Perhaps more importantly, his presence forces defenses to account for both players on ThunderRidge’s read-option plays.
Fairview, meanwhile, has been 5A’s lone unbeaten team for a while now, and the Knights have amassed an impressive set of victories this season. Included: Overland, Ralston Valley, Douglas County and Pomona (twice).
Their strength rests in a senior class that includes quarterback Anders Hill and wide receivers Sam Martin and Cameron Frazier.
Prior to the playoffs, Fairview coach Tom McCartney said of his seniors, “We’ve seen this coming from this particular group. We knew this was a talented group.”
Hill has thrown for 3,321 yards this season. It’s the most in the state across any classification — and nearly 700 yards more than the next best. Martin recently set the state record for receiving yards in a season. He now has 1,604. Frazier, meanwhile, is a threat from everywhere. He has 11 receiving touchdowns, two rushing, and four more in the return game.
Making those statistics all the more impressive: Fairview had to cancel a game in the regular season during the flood week.
Fairview is in search of its first championship appearance since 2002. It also made the game in 2001, but lost in back-to-back years.
ThunderRidge last appeared in a title game in 2005, when it won 4A for the second year in a row and third time in five seasons. The Grizzlies have never been to the 5A game.