The 2013 all-state boys soccer teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Mountain Vista is a No. 1 seed in the Ray Ball Region. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Ball Fever is a regular installment written by Thomas Trotman which rounds up boys basketball action in Class 5A and 4A.
Colorado prep hoop fans! What an exciting time in Colorado as our big school divisions have produced one memorable regular season with some excellent team play and amazing individual performances, as well.
The buzz about Colorado hoops is legit and we can thank a growing basketball community for that from our peewee rec leagues to competitive club ball, increasing individual personal training opportunities and truly dedicated high school staffs. The basketball product hitting the Colorado hardwood is improving and colleges of all levels are taking notice! Great time to be a part of Colorado hoops and now lets get to the madness!
Now, on to the tournament previews:
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Class 5A
Ray Ball Region
The top seed coming out of this region is an extremely hot Mountain Vista (22-1) squad which is riding a 14-game winning streak. That includes their Continental League-clinching overtime thriller vs. Highlands Ranch to cap the regular season. The confident, Denver-bound Jake Pemberton leads Vista’s fast-paced attack which keeps opponents gasping for air.
Our Fever Crew discussed Chatfield playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder in this region after going 14-2 in league and winning the Jeffco but earning a No. 3 seed.
Eaglecrest celebrates winning the last year’s 5A basketball championship. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The defending champs? Oh yes, the Eaglecrest Raptors again have a balanced attack with numerous athletes who are likely very hungry to taste the title again. Junior Blend Advili continues to be a jack of all trades for the Raptors, while LaDerian King and Jaisean Jackson’s senior leadership will make the defending champ a scary matchup.
Favorites: Mountain Vista and Eaglecrest. In our opinion, both are Boulder-capable teams but only one will get there.
Watch out for: Fort Collins can be a sneaky No. 4 seed here in our opinion. Colorado State commit Toby Van Ry and his running mate Will Duggan (Black Hills State commit) will not go down without a fight. Possible Sweet 16 match-up with Mountain Vista for Fort Collins.
Chatfield was discussed above and they may have to face a tough, well-coached ThunderRidge squad right away. Coach Joe Ortiz and crew will use the lessons learned in the tough Continental League and be prepared should that game become reality.
Chauncey Billups Region:
Fossil Ridge is No. 1 seed in the Chauncey Billups Region. (Pam Wagner)
One year ago, we sat in the Fossil Ridge gym and watched that 2013 team battle Arapahoe to exciting last-second finish. While looking at their roster all one could think was, “This squad is going to be tough next year!”
That turned out to be a huge understatement as the SaberCats have posted a perfect 23-0 season with their first league title and many voting them as our state’s No. 1 team. The SaberCats’ lead man is Alex Semadeni, who leads their balanced attack with 14 points per game. Our Fever Crew got to see many of these young men playing club ball together as well in tough venues such as Indianapolis and Las Vegas.
Regardless of how things end up for the SaberCats, congrats are in order for coach Matt Johannsen and the entire Fossil Ridge hoops family.
With all the attention Mountain Vista and Highlands Ranch got towards the end of the season, it may have been easy to overlook Regis Jesuit but don’t make that mistake as coach Ken Shaw will have his crew prepped for postseason action. The Raiders have a No. 2 seed but some tough potential opponents in Smoky Hill, Standley Lake and possibly an Arapahoe if both can advance to Sweet 16.
Favorites: Fossil Ridge and Regis. After a tough two-point loss to Mountain Vista, Regis has quietly ran off seven in a row. Many feel Fossil Ridge/Regis have similar rosters and would love to see the two great coaches match wits as well.
Watch out for:
A fun first-round match up in Rock Canyon and Lincoln. If you like guard play check out Lincoln’s leader Michael Sparks vs. the Jaguars tandem of Tyler Garcia and Mitch Lombard.
Arapahoe and Smoky Hill have impressive “Centennial-tough” league wins and wouldn’t mind playing for a rubber match after splitting their season matchups.
Jim Baggot Region:
Denver East’s Dom Collier. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The season had to have a bit of a “rock star” feel for this region’s top seed Denver East Angels while they had the opportunity to play top national competition in Utah, Florida and Nebraska.
The Angels finished the season with a 19-4 mark with each loss coming out of state. CU-bound Dominique Collier and Creighton commit Ronnie Harrell lead a very celebrated starting five who all have NCAA Division I college interest and potential.
East tasted great success last year but as we all know they came up short in the title game. They haven’t lost in Colorado this year and we’re sure coach Rudy Carey’s Angels don’t plan on it.
Highlands Ranch suffered a 20-point post-winter break loss to Denver East in January and they would love a rematch now that the Falcons are healthy and at full strength. The No. 2 seed is led by big Zach Braxton (Weber State commit) and he has serious perimeter help with a healthy Evan Motlong along with Riley Stewart playing well.
Favorites: Clearly Denver East and Highlands Ranch in this region. Lots of work to be done but the city vs. suburbs fanatics would love to see this possible Sweet 16 matchup happen.
Watch out for:
Horizon will have its hands full with No. 10 seed George Washington.
Thomas (20 points per game) and Luke Neff over at Arvada West can heat up and cause lots of trouble in the bottom half of this region.
Twitter-verse seemed to show a lot of surprise at Grandview earning a No. 3 seed and they will be tested right away if the Arvada West match up plays out.
Heard a lot of good things about Broderick Robinson, senior averaging 20 points per for Grand Junction, and a possible match-up vs. Cherokee Trail young guns could be intriguing.
Bill Weimar Region:
Rangeview is on a 10-game winning streak. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The Danny Fisher-coached Overland Trailblazers (17-6) suffered a tough one-point home loss to Eaglecrest in January, but have since run off seven straight, including avenging that loss to the Raptors to lock up the Centennial League title in OT last Friday.
The young Blazers talent is well documented with two-sport stud Austin Conway running the show, big De’Ron Davis on the inside, and guards Reggie Gibson, Jervae Robinson making more consistent impact. Don’t be surprised if you hear that senior T’Aren Williams steps up for Overland somewhere during this playoff journey.
The EMAC conference hasn’t gotten a lot of respect lately but one player who could make us all take notice on any given night is future CSU Ram Jeremiah Paige. The Rangeview Raiders look good as a No. 2 seed on a 10-game win streak which includes a road victory over 4A’s No. 1 ranked squad Valor Christian to finish the season.
The Raiders could be in for a real battle if Montbello can get the win over visiting Liberty. Montbello is playing much improved ball lately and have a starting five that can compete with any in the state. The question with the Warriors will be their depth.
Favorites: Going with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds as the favorites here as well. Giving a slight edge to Rangeview over No. 3 seed Chaparral here as they beat them head-to-head, but that was a very different Chap team early in the season. Overland carrying some serious momentum into tourney.
Watch out for:
Speaking of young talent, Overland may just see some if Aurora Central and their young guard Ladarius Thomas can lead the Trojans to a win over Boulder.
More strong guard play with Dakota Ridge potentially facing Monarch.
As mentioned above, Chaparral could easily be a favorite in this region. Jake Holtzman, who reportedly just picked up an offer from Denver University, leads a Chap squad who won seven of their last eight. Only recent loss coming to Continental champ Vista.
Senior DJ Miles is a player to watch as Bear Creek visits Cherry Creek to see who gets Chap. The Creek Bruins had a fast start and proved they can play with the best (senior Griffin Parr at 12 points per game, Ceasar Jones and Will Bower lead the strong junior class). Lets see if they can regain the steam at the right time.
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Class 4A
All season, Valor Christian has been looked at as the favorite in 4A. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Richard Tate Region:
The consistent No. 1-ranked team most of the season in 4A has been Valor Christian and that’s hard to argue with. The Eagles have a senior-heavy roster that has gotten close to that “gold ball” and seem primed to make another Boulder run this year.
Senior Chase Foster (San Francisco commit; 20 points per game) is Mr. Versatility for the Eagles and he has a strong cast of sweet-shooting Garrett Baggett along with the toughness football studs Christian McCaffrey and Marcus Wilson bring.
Valor hoops is 19-4 and their only Colorado loss comes to 5A Rangeview.
Pueblo East got the No. 2 seed in this region. Dylan Gavin is averaging 20 points per game for East and had the team on a five-game winning streak before a season-ending loss to league champ Pueblo South.
A player who can spark his team to a run in this region is Vista PEAK’s Romello Washington. Washington can light it up, has recent games of 25, 31, 27, with a season average of 18 per game for Vista, who are undefeated league champs.
Favorites: Valor Christian and Pueblo East.
Watch out for: Ponderosa played in the brutal 5A Continental League but now look to make some noise in the 4A tourney. Will be interesting to see how Valor handles one of our states best “bigs” in 6-foot-10 Wyoming commit Jonathon Barnes should Pondo get by Mountain View.
Guy Gibbs Region:
D’Evelyn is the No. 1 seed in the Guy Gibbs Region. (Dennis Pleuss)
The D’Evelyn Jaguars have a strong duo who have both averaged close to 20 points per game the entire season in Ty McGee and Grant Witherspoon. The 18-5 Jags had two late season losses to Thomas Jefferson and Wheat Ridge but their 13-1 Jeffco 4A league record won the league title and got them the No. 1 seed.
The No. 2 seed Sand Creek in this region has a real play maker of their own in Air Force commit Dylan Clark (averaging 20 points per game, as well).
Favorites: Have to add Denver West as a serious problem for folks in this region along with the two top seeds. Coach Ray Valdez has the Cowboys playing fundamentally sound and with a lot of fight. Sophomore Alpha Diallo is an up and coming play maker with nice court vision, scoring ability for West.
Watch out for: Would love to have a front row seat for a potential Sweet 16 match up of Denver West vs. Sand Creek.
Mark Randall Region:
Thompson Valley’s Collin Smith. (Brock Laue)
Two more deserving, tough Nos. 1 and 2 seeds here as well.
Thompson Valley, 22-1 with only loss coming to 5A’s Fossil Ridge, haven’t tasted defeat since mid-December. 6-foot-5 senior Collin Smith paces the Eagles with 19 points and six rebounds per game.
Got to take a look at Thompson Valley’s balanced play when they visited a squad with a strong senior leader of their own in Cheyenne Mountain’s Ghassan Nehme (Montana State commit). Nehme, who averages almost 27 points per game, has the Indians on a five-game streak headed into tourney play.
Favorites: Top two seeds look good here but Longmont and Mesa Ridge very capable of mixing things up. Senior Austin Kemp will attempt to get Longmont back on track after two late-season losses.
Watch out for: Ghassan Nehme is an electric scorer who can put his squad on his shoulders if needed.
Maceo Broadnax Jr. Region:
Denver South is the No. 2 seed in the Maceo Broadnax Jr. Region. (Mark Adams)
Pueblo South lost their first two games of the season and have impressively ran off 21 wins in a row. Now that’s momentum headed into the tourney.
Another impressive stat is that the Colts have four players averaging double figure scoring, led by Brian Pratt and Jared Baros right at 13 each per game.
Denver South holds this region’s No. 2 seed and their big man in the middle, Ibrahim Sylla (Northern Colorado commit), is a double-double highlight machine above the rim. Sylla averages 14 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Favorites: Hard to call in this extremely tough region. Stacked with competitive teams like Golden (won 10 of their last 11 games with sophomore Ryan Blodgett at 12-point and eight-rebound average) at the No. 3 seed and a No. 4 seed in Thomas Jefferson who could beat any of the top 3 if they bring their “A” game as they did in a late season win over No. 1 seed D’Evelyn.
Watch out for: “Watch your head” as the players would say when South’s Sylla or Thomas Jefferson’s Trey Andres take flight. Two of our state’s “freakish” athletes. Denver South played a strong season finale vs. 5A No. 1 Denver East. They could carry that momentum into a tourney run. Guards Lorenzo Snoddy and Tyson Purifoy capable of big games as well. This region is tough!
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Whew! Get ready for some fun tourney action folks.
Denver East/Fossil Ridge in 5A? Valor/Thompson Valley in 4A? Many have said it could play out just that way. Those have been your top big school squads all season, but we happen to remember a young man by the name of TreShawn Wilford who led the Eaglecrest Raptors on a special tournament run in 2013.
Who could be the Wilford of this years playoffs? We’ll be watching to find out! Enjoy …
Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo tries to keep his dribble after stumbling during the first half Friday night at Chatfield High School. Antrillo had 12 points in the Eagles’ 74-66 victory against the rival Chargers. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTELTON — Dakota Ridge has rival Chatfield’s number on the boys basketball court so far this season.
On Friday night Dakota Ridge (15-6, 10-4 in Class 5A Jeffco League) repeated the feat it pulled back on Jan. 17. The Eagles knocked off the No. 8-ranked Chargers by a score of 74-66 on Chatfield’s home court.
“I’m proud of the way the guys have responded all year,” said Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy, a 2000 graduate of Chatfield. “We struggled against A-West (Wednesday). Tonight they responded. They did a heck of a job. They made some plays.”
The loss to Arvada West two days early made it tough for the Eagles to catch Chatfield (17-4, 12-2) in the conference standings. However, Dakota Ridge was up to the task to hand the Chargers their second league loss, along with ending Chatfield’s seven-game winning streak.
Chatfield senior Darius Reiter (25) gets off a shot with the hand of Dakota Ridge junior Mason Grothuesmann in his face during the final minutes of the fourth quarter Friday. (Dennis Pleuss)
“You have to give (Dakota Ridge) credit. They wanted it more then we did,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “We didn’t play with any desperation. When we did play with desperation we were pretty good, but you have to play desperate from the very beginning.”
Senior Andrew St. Germain helped keep the Chargers within striking distance with 23 points. Senior Darius Reiter scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and sophomore Riley Welch hit a couple of 3-pointers on his way to a 10-point night.
In the end, Chatfield had to swallow the bitter pill of losing again to one of its closest rivals.
“It’s definitely extremely frustrating,” St. Germain said. “You never want to lose at home and you never want to lose to a rival like Dakota Ridge twice.”
Big second and third quarters by the Eagles put Dakota Ridge up 55-41 going into the final quarter. The Eagles’ 74 points was the second most Chatfield has given up this season.
“Our guards really picked it up,” Yutzy said. “We did a good job, especially in the second quarter of attacking their pressure and getting easy buckets rather Chatfield getting easy buckets off steals and turnovers.”
Dakota Ridge senior Devante Williams, who missed the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury suffered during football, had a monster second quarter with eight points off the bench. Williams finished with 10 points.
Junior Cody Pittman had another big game off the bench with 10 points, including a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the fourth quarter for the Eagles. Senior Cambrian Antrillo and junior Mason Grothuesmann both poured in a dozen points for Dakota Ridge.
“We felt a lot more confident,” Antrillo said of having already beat Chatfield. “We practiced hard yesterday and wanted to get the ‘W’.”
Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain (5) looks for an open teammates while getting pressure from Dakota Ridge senior Jake Flores in the second half Friday. St. Germain had a game-high 23 points in the loss to Dakota Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss)
Seniors Jake Flores (eight points), Jake Jones (seven points), Ian MacDonald (seven points) and junior Alden Erickson (eight points) also had their moments in the Eagles’ victory.
Dakota Ridge has relied on a balanced scoring attack this season and that was no different against Chatfield. Eight Eagles had at least seven points.
“It definitely gives us confidence,” Flores said. “We do it as a team. When we do it like that it makes it a lot more fun to play the game.”
Chatfield got within 69-64 with two minutes to play after a 3-pointer by senior Austin Rice, but Pittman and Grothuesmann sealed the Dakota Ridge victory with free throws in the final minute.
“Chatfield is a heck of a team,” Yutzy said. “Their threes didn’t fall in the end. That is kind of the way the ball bounced for them. Coach Schimpeler does an unbelievable job with his kids. They are a scary team to play.”
Chatfield closes the regular season with a pair of conference road games next week. The Chargers face Arvada West at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 and rival Columbine at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
“We are still playing for a league championship, a high seed and a home game for the playoffs,” St. Germain said.
Dakota Ridge hosts Ralston Valley at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 before wrapping up its regular season on the road against Lakewood at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
CHSAA’s Selection Show will be held Sunday, Feb. 23, to announce the 48 squads selected for the 5A boys basketball state tournament.
Dakota Ridge junior Cody Pittman (10) drives on Chatfield senior Thomas Welch (12) on Friday night in the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss)
Grand Junction started the 2013-14 campaign 7-0. The Tigers then lost two straight just prior to the winter break. However, since that break, GJ is 9-0.
This week, the Tigers cracked the top-10. They are ranked No. 9 in CHSAANow.com’s 5A poll.
Elsewhere in 5A, Denver East extended its stay at No. 1. Fossil Ridge remained at No. 2, and Mountain Vista at No. 3.
Regis Jesuit moved back up to the No. 4 spot after a 2-0 week. Eaglecrest dropped one place, and rounds out the top 5.
Arapahoe is sixth, Overland is seventh and Chatfield is eighth. Highlands Ranch rounds out the ranking at No. 10.
The 4A poll added Golden at No. 10. Other newcomers included No. 8 Centauri in 3A, No. 10 Denver Christian in 2A and No. 8 Shining Mountain in 1A.
Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A) held firm atop their respective polls.
Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain, left, keeps the ball out of reach of Arvada West senior Marcus Culhane during Tuesday night’s Class 5A Jeffco League game at Chatfield High School. The Chargers won their fifth straight conference game with a 65-57 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Arvada West’s boys basketball team had the opportunity Tuesday night to do a favor for the rest of the Class 5A Jeffco League.
The Wildcats’ mission: Reel in the Chatfield Chargers.
However, Chatfield didn’t want any part of giving up its two-game lead in the loss column to the rest of its pursuers in the balanced conference. The Chargers (14-3, 9-1 in league), ranked No. 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys hoops poll, came away with a 65-57 home victory over A-West.
Chatfield senior Thomas Walker, left, looks for a way around Arvada West senior Jacob Gillan on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“(A-West) was fighting for a league championship tonight, too,” said Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain, who led the Chargers in scoring with 17 points. “They are right there in the running. It was definitely a big game for both of us.”
The Wildcats (11-7, 7-4) were coming off a tough loss last Friday to Bear Creek. It didn’t look good early for A-West as the defending conference champions jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first few minutes.
Chatfield forced three early turnovers and senior Darius Reiter (14 points) scored the first six points of the game to get the Chargers going. It didn’t help matters that A-West was without guard Luke Neff. The sophomore suffered a hit to the head in the loss to Bear Creek and wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday.
“Our press is definitely our strength. Them not having one of their great players (Luke Neff) and top ball handlers was something we had to take advantage of,” St. Germain said.
Despite the early lead, Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler knew A-West’s shooting capabilities would keep the Wildcats a threat to bounce back.
“(A-West) is so dangerous. I think they are probably the best shooting team in the state,” said Schimpeler after Chatfield’s fifth-straight win. “I didn’t see the 8-0 run we had was a big deal.”
The Wildcats found their shooting touch from long range quickly. A-West poured in seven 3-pointers by halftime and finished with a cool dozen on the night. Junior’s Thomas Neff (21 points) and Jesse Porter (17 points) did most of the damage with five 3-pointers each.
A-West actually pulled even with Chatfield at 34-all early in the third quarter when Porter drained a 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the quarter.
Arvada West junior Thomas Neff, right, drives past Chatfield senior Darius Reiter on Tuesday night. Neff had a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, in the Wildcats’ second straight league loss. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I told our guys it’s hard to beat a team when they hit 12 3-pointers on you,” Schimpeler said. “It says a lot about our guys. I was proud of how we played defensively.”
Chatfield senior Alec Wray was key in the fourth quarter. Wray poured in nine of his 14 points in the final quarter. The Chargers were 13-for-15 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes to keep A-West at arm’s length.
“We just have to cut way back on turnovers. We had way too many,” Thomas Neff said. “We had 13 in the first half. That is really what hurt us the whole game.”
Ralston Valley (13-5, 8-3) and Dakota Ridge (12-5, 7-3) are the closest threat to catching Chatfield in the league standings with a handful of conference games remaining.
“Coach (Schimpeler) keeps saying we control our own fate,” St. Germain said. “That’s definitely a good position to be in, but we’ve got some big games coming up that we are all looking forward to.”
Chatfield will have a quick turnaround. The Chargers host Bear Creek at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A-West’s next conference game will also be at home. The Wildcats host Standley Lake at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Our league is about as good as it has been top to bottom in a long time, which is good,” Schimpeler said. “You’ve got to be ready to go every night.”
Denver East received 13 of the 20 first-place votes this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver East’s grip on the No. 1 spot in Class 5A boys basketball continues to grow tighter.
In this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings, the Angels received 13 of the 20 first-place votes. Last week, Denver East received 12 of 20.
The Angels are now 11-0 in Colorado, and have an average margin of victory of 19.8 points in those games. That includes a 3-point win over Cherry Creek on Dec. 13 and a one-point win over Eaglecrest on Dec. 16.
Since January, Denver East is winning in-state games by an average of 24.6 points.
Still, Fossil Ridge remains ever present. The second-ranked SaberCats are now 17-0, and received the other seven first-place votes this week. They are the only other team to be ranked No. 1 this season, holding that spot for one week in mid-January.
Ralston Valley senior Jonathon Gillespie, middle, attacks the basket while being contested by Chatfield seniors Darius Reiter, left, and Grant Haines, right, on Saturday night in the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Jumping out to an early lead Saturday night resulted in Chatfield’s boys basketball team gaining a slight cushion atop the Class 5A Jeffco League.
The Chargers took a double-digit lead on conference foe Ralston Valley early in the second quarter and kept a fairly comfortable advantage on the way to a 74-56 victory at Chatfield High School.
“Getting the lead was really important because with zone (defense) you never know what you will get,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said of the Chargers forcing the Mustangs to play from behind. “I felt man-to-man they weren’t as quick as us. That was a big advantage.”
Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain, left, drives the lane against Ralston Valley senior Zac Stevens on Saturday night at Chatfield High School. The Chargers took a 74-56 victory to take sole possession of first place in the 5A Jeffco League (Dennis Pleuss)
The win put Chatfield (12-3, 7-1 in league) one game ahead of Ralston Valley (12-4, 7-2) and Arvada West (10-5, 6-2) in the league standings midway through conference play.
“It feels good, but we’ve got so much left to play for,” Chatfield senior Alec Wray said. “We’ve just got to keep doing what we do and keep getting better.”
There was a logjam at the top of 5A Jeffco just a handful of days ago. Chatfield, A-West, Dakota Ridge and Ralston Valley each entered this week with one conference loss.
Ralston Valley went through the 5A Jeffco gauntlet this week. The Mustangs defeated Dakota Ridge in overtime on Tuesday and handled A-West on Thursday, setting up Saturday’s game against Chatfield with the winner taking sole possession of first in the league.
“We just didn’t play with much energy,” Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad said after the Mustangs’ seven-game winning streak was snapped. “I think our tank was running a little low on this third one.”
Ralston Valley couldn’t sit back in its normally effective zone defense after the Mustangs fell behind early Saturday night. Chatfield used its speed to slice to the basket and/or dish to an open teammate.
Wray had a frustrating second and third quarter where he picked up four fouls. However, the Chargers’ 6-foot-5 center put the game away in the fourth quarter scoring nine points in the final eight minutes.
“We’ve got some good guards that can share the ball well and they can score,” said Wray, who finished with 15 points. “I love it when they are driving because I’m going to be open because the bigs have to commit to stopping the drive. It gives me the chance to score easy buckets.”
Wray dropped in three consecutive layups in a span of a minute in the final quarter after Ralston Valley had closed the Chargers’ lead to 11 points.
Chatfield senior Darius Reiter torched Ralston Valley with 33 points, including seven 3-pointers the first time around. The Chargers erased a first-half deficit to take a 73-57 victory on the Mustangs’ home court in the conference opener for both teams back in mid-December.
Chatfield senior Alec Wray goes up for two points Saturday night against Ralston Valley. Wray finished with 15 points in the Chargers’ 74-56 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Reiter finished with 15 points, but even more impressive was Chatfield’s bench that contributed 27 points. Sophomore Riley Welch led the way with 10 points for the Chargers’ reserves.
“Your bench is always important,” Schimpeler said. “They don’t understand how important they are. You can only go as far as your bench will take you.”
Dallas Walton led Ralston Valley with a team-high 19 points. The 6-foot-9 sophomore had a strong fourth quarter with 10 points.
“We got it in to Dallas and they wouldn’t foul him,” Conrad said of Walton’s final quarter. “He went to work, but we just didn’t have a spark tonight. Defensively we were just slow on our rotations. Mentally I think we’re exhausted.”
After playing three big games in five days, Ralston Valley faces Columbine on the road at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, before hosting Lakewood at 7 p.m. Friday.
Chatfield has a pair of league road games next week. First, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lakewood followed by a 7 p.m. game Friday at Pomona. The Tigers (10-6, 5-4) have worked their way back into contention in the conference with a six-game winning streak, but that was snapped Saturday night with a 71-54 loss to A-West.
Conrad believes it would be difficult for any 5A Jeffco team to run the table for the remainder of the conference schedule.
“(Chatfield) is in the driver’s seat so everyone is going to be gunning for them,” Conrad said. “It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be a battle.”
Chatfield sophomore Riley Welch (15) puts defensive pressure on Ralston Valley senior Rane Hornecker during the second half Saturday night at Chatfield High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
CENTENNIAL — Andre Dugas and Connor Brennan each scored twice as No. 4 Regis Jesuit beat Chatfield 5-0 on Friday night. Sam Harden made 16 saves for his third shutout this season.
