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.
Roosevelt football beat Berthoud on Friday night in a key Class 3A matchup.
For starters, it was a top-10 win, with the No. 5 Roughriders topping the No. 8 Spartans. Second, it was a win in the Class 3A Tri-Valley League, which is probably the best league in the state regardless of classification. Third, Roosevelt is now 5-2.
But most importantly: It helped the Roughriders move up in the 3A RPI standings from No. 13 to No. 8.
Roosevelt rallied from down 12-7 to take a 15-12 lead at halftime, and led 22-12 after three quarters.
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2A: (6) Sterling 56, Fort Lupton 28
Sterling quarterback Bodie Hume threw six touchdowns in the first half of Sterling’s 56-28 win over Fort Lupton. That ties the state record.
Hume finished with seven touchdowns; he only played one series in the second half.
The six touchdowns in a half are now tied for the most in state history. Hume is the seventh player to do that. His seven touchdown passes are tied for the fifth-most in state history.
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4A: (10) Skyline 70, Greeley Central 44
Skyline junior Jeremy Hollingsworth rushed for six touchdowns and more than 350 yards in a wild win over Greeley Central. He now has scored 26 touchdowns this season.
The Falcons are 6-1 this season.
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3A: Fort Morgan 17, (6) Silver Creek 7
Fort Morgan not only pulled off the upset, but moved to 2-0 in the Northern League. Both conference wins followed a three-game losing streak.
“We changed it up this week,” Mustangs coach Harrison Chisum told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We had a lot of competitions and a lot more fun in practice, and it kind of helped with our energy level.”
Donovan Moya had an interception return for a score to help Fort Morgan win on Friday.
“He’s a competitor, and that was a huge pick-six to start the second half,” Chisum said.
Both teams are now 4-3 this season.
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6-man: (1) Stratton/Liberty 63, (3) Otis 6
The Knighted Eagles are 7-0 after this latest win.
“We’re really excited about the win, an really excited about the way we’ve been playing,” coach Toby Kechter told the Scoreboard Show.
Kechter praised his line.
“The kids just blocked their hearts out,” he said. “The effort’s just been great.”
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Notables:
Highlands Ranch, ranked No. 9 in 5A, is now 6-1 after beating Fountain-Fort Carson 38-24. “Our guys overcame some penalties and a couple of turnovers, and played really well tonight to overcome those things,” interim coach David May told the Scoreboard Show.
The Falcons will face No. 1 Valor Christian next week. The Eagles are now 7-0 after a 41-7 win over Lakewood. Luke McCaffrey had three total touchdowns, including a kickoff return for a score. Valor has won 17 games in a row.
Sedgwick County, top-ranked in 8-man, rolled to a 57-14 win over Merino. Sedgwick County is now 7-0 and has won 17-straight games.
8-man No. 5 Haxtun rebounded from a loss to beat No. 10 Caliche 38-20.
6-man No. 4 Peetz also rebounded from a loss by topping No. 10 Fleming 39-26. Tre Fehringer threw three touchdown passes for the Bulldogs.
2A No. 4 La Junta won its rivalry game with Lamar, winning 40-0 in the Whistle Game.
In 6-man, Sierra Grande is now 6-1 after shutting out Aguilar 60-0. Five different players had rushing touchdowns, including two each from Dakota Aragon and Dylan Milner.
South Park has matched its win total from last season after beating Pikes Peak Christian 30-6. The Burros are 4-3 in 6-man.
Wins No. 322 for coaches Scott Yates (Kent Denver) and Chris Brown (West Grand). Kent Denver, No. 1 in 2A, beat Englewood 38-0. West Grand, No. 2 in 8-man, beat Rangely 46-0.
In 4A, Rampart got an important 17-13 win over Montrose to move to 2-0 in the Pikes Peak League.
Jaylen Thomas rushed for 243 yards and three scores as Vista Ridge beat Coronado 35-14 in another 4A Pikes Peak matchup.
Austin Coalson helped Eaton improved to 5-2 this season with two touchdown passes in the team’s 46-6 win over The Academy.
Dakota Key rushed for three touchdowns and Alec Lewis threw for two as Legacy beat Aurora Central 44-0 in 5A. Legacy is 4-3.
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.
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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.
Austin Bertron threw three touchdown passes and Blayden Fletcher ran for another three as 6-man’s No. 6-ranked North Park hung on to get a 41-36 win over No. 10 La Veta on Saturday.
Bertron totaled 240 yards through the air with Bryce Carlstrom on the receiving end of all of them.
The Wildcats (2-1 overall) jumped out to a 28-12 lead in the first half, but the Redskins (2-1) battled back in the second half. They trailed 41-20 entering the fourth quarter and put 16 points in the board in that span.
But it wasn’t enough. The Wildcats didn’t even need to score as their 41 points were good enough to hold up for the win.
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(1) Pine Creek 21, Fountain-Fort Carson 7
Fountain-Fort Carson grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but David Moore III found the end zone three times to give the defending Class 4A state champions a 21-7 win on Saturday.
Dreden Bryant scored the first touchdown of the game, giving the Trojans the lead, but that the only time they would put points on the board.
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1A: (8) Platte Canyon 22, Buena Vista 20
Platte Canyon entered the fourth quarter down by six points, but were able to eight on the board to grab a win over Buena Vista.
The Huskies move to 3-0 and travel to Center next week.
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Notables:
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Trailing at halftime, 8-man No. 9 Merino’s defense held Rocky Mountain Lutheran scoreless in the second half to get a 26-20 win.
5A No. 10 Fairview jumped out to a 17-3 lead over Rocky Mountain halftime and went on to win 24-6.
Fountain-Fort Carson filled its boys swimming and diving coaching vacancy on Friday, officially naming Michael “Duffy” Dillon the new coach.
Dillon comes from Florida where he has 20 years experience as a swimming and water polo coach. He swam collegiately at Florida where he won two national championships. He was also an international medalist for USA swimming.
“I am so honored to be joining the staff at FFCHS,” Dillon said in a press release. “It will be a privilege to assume the reigns of this great program and do all we can to enhance the lives of our student-athletes and grow our winning tradition at the conference and state level and guide those athletes with the desire to national and collegiate competition. It’s great to be a Trojan!”
The boys swimming and diving season begins with the rest of spring sports on Mar. 8.
The Eaglecrest Raptors have taken over as the top team in this week’s Class 5A softball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Voted upon by coaches and select 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
Eaglecrest (7)
7-1-0
96
2
7-1-0
2
Legacy (3)
7-0-0
95
5
7-0-0
3
Fossil Ridge (1)
6-0-0
75
4
6-0-0
4
Mountain Vista
4-0-0
63
–
4-0-0
5
Brighton
3-1-0
57
–
3-1-0
6
Arvada West
5-3-0
49
–
5-3-0
7
ThunderRidge
6-2-0
33
–
6-2-0
8
Broomfield
4-3-0
22
1
4-3-0
9
Cherokee Trail
5-3-0
18
3
5-3-0
10
Fountain-Fort Carson
6-0-0
17
–
6-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Legend 14, Loveland 13, Columbine 11, Fort Collins 9, Horizon 7, Bear Creek 4, Castle View 4, Dakota Ridge 4, Rock Canyon 3, Smoky Hill 3, Hinkley 2, Mountain Range 2, Pomona 2, Prairie View 2, Douglas County 1, Northglenn 1.
Dropped out
Douglas County (6), Legend (7), Grand Junction Central (8), Ralston Valley (9), Rock Canyon (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (7)
6-0-0
78
1
6-0-0
2
Mullen
4-3-0
60
4
4-3-0
3
Silver Creek (1)
4-3-1
51
6
4-3-1
4
Erie
5-4-0
44
5
5-4-0
5
Pueblo West
4-2-0
39
7
4-2-0
6
Pueblo South
7-0-0
34
–
7-0-0
7
Mountain View
4-0-1
33
8
4-0-1
8
D’Evelyn
2-1-0
21
–
2-1-0
9
Frederick
5-3-0
16
9
5-3-0
10
Air Academy
3-4-0
13
2
3-4-0
Others receiving votes:
Thomas Jefferson 10, Pueblo Central 8, Wheat Ridge 8, Discovery Canyon 7, Golden 5, Pueblo East 4, Elizabeth 3, Pueblo County 3, Cheyenne Mountain 1, Durango 1, Holy Family 1.
Dropped out
Wheat Ridge (3), Pueblo Central (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Strasburg (7)
3-0-0
70
1
3-0-0
2
Eaton
7-0-0
59
4
7-0-0
3
Brush
3-0-0
51
3
3-0-0
4
University
4-1-0
38
–
4-1-0
5
Rocky Ford
5-1-0
35
2
5-1-0
6
Lamar
3-4-0
34
5
3-4-0
7
Weld Central
4-0-0
22
–
4-0-0
8
La Junta
5-3-0
21
6
5-3-0
9
Faith Christian
4-3-0
15
10
4-3-0
10
Limon
4-1-0
11
–
4-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Cedaredge 9, The Academy 5, Sterling 4, Valley 4, Fort Lupton 3, Meeker 2, Burlington 1, St. Mary’s 1.
ARVADA — After winning just three football games last year, Fountain-Fort Carson started its season right. The Trojans beat Ralston Valley 21-16 on Friday.
Eaglecrest’s Shayelyn Allen had four RBIs to spark her team’s offense as the Raptors beat Douglas County 14-4 in an early-season showdown in Class 5A softball.
Eaglecrest, ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll, also got six strong innings in the circle from senior Braelyne Crenshaw, who struck out five, and allowed just one earned run.
Brandee Morris also went 3-for-5 for the Raptors, who pounded out 21 hits as a team.
Douglas County, ranked No. 6, was led by Abbey Montoya, who went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
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Strasburg opens season in style
Top-ranked Strasburg opened its season with a statement, beating No. 9 Sterling 15-2.
Strasburg, which finished runner-up in 3A last season, jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings, and then really broke the game open with a seven-run seventh inning.
Sterling’s Brooke Polenz went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Tigers moved to 0-2 after losing to Scottsbluff, Neb., in extra innings on Monday.
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Notables
Weld Central’s Bella Dreher and Idania Jacobo combined to toss a perfect game during a 21-0 three-inning win over Jefferson. Dreher (six) and Jacobo (three) struck out every batter they faced.
Pine Creek’s offense got off to a roaring start: The Eagles beat Doherty 23-4 in five innings. Katie Spieth had eight RBIs as part of a 4-for-5 day, and she hit two home runs. Lourdes Martinez added five RBIs.
Valor Christian senior Ali Kilponen, a three-time player of the year, had 19 strikeouts as 4A No. 1 Valor Christian beat Cheyenne Mountain 4-1.
Legend’s Cailey Oldemeyer drove in seven runs as the Titans beat Dakota Ridge 21-4.
Rampart senior Shelby Shepherd had quite the game. She struck out 10 in the circle, allowing just one hit, and also had four RBIs at the plate as the Rams beat Palmer 19-1.
Sophomore Torie Bass helped Fountain-Fort Carson win a slugfest over Coronado. She homered and had four RBIs.
