AURORA — Football’s three remaining playoff brackets — Classes 3A, 4A and 5A — were unveiled on Sunday, and Mead, Pine Creek and Valor Christian are respective top seeds.
Teams qualified for the playoff fields as either an automatic league champion, or via an at-large berth through the final RPI standings of the regular season.
Each state playoff bracket begins this coming weekend, with quarterfinals following the weekend after. Semifinals are set for Nov. 24-25, with the championship games to be played on Dec. 2. The 5A and 4A games will be held at Mile High Stadium, and the 3A title game will be played at a home site.
Mead, the No. 1 seed in 3A, finished the year 10-0, the program’s first unbeaten regular season since the program was restarted in 2010. The Mavericks, who reached the semifinals last season, will host No. 16 Harrison in the first round.
Three-time defending 3A champion Pueblo East, which finished the regular season 5-5 and was an automatic qualifier as a league champion, is seeded No. 12 and plays at No. 5 Erie.
In 4A, Pine Creek (9-1) is the No. 1 seed. The Eagles are defending champions of the classification and have actually won three of the past four 4A titles. They open their postseason by hosting No. 16 Golden.
Valor Christian (10-0), top-seeded in 5A, also finished its regular season unbeaten, the first time the Eagles have done that since 2011. Valor is a two-time defending champion, has won four of the past five 5A championships, and seven in eight years across three classes.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Anyone who thought a 0-5 start was going Pueblo East’s year was sadly mistaken. The Eagles are getting hot at the right time as evidenced by the impressive 46-14 win over Harrison on Friday night.
In fact, the defending Class 3A state champions dominated the CHSAANow.com No. 5-ranked Panthers (8-1 overall, 3-1 South Central) from start to finish. In perhaps the most important game of its season, Pueblo East (4-5, 4-0) demonstrated that it cannot be ignored as a state championship contender.
“We’re going to be a tough team to beat come playoff time,” quarterback Luc Andrada said. “This is where we start playing the football that we’ve been showing glimpses of in the first five weeks. Now this is where it comes into fruition.”
Before it even seemed like East had a chance to get in a groove, it was able to take a 14-0 lead. Luis Martinez broke off a 19-yard touchdown run and on the next drive, Luc Andrada found Kain Medrano for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
On that ensuing kick-off, Darius Cheatom fielded the ball out the end zone, but was chased in where he took a knee, resulting in a safety for the Eagles and a 16-0 lead. After getting off to a slow start on the field, mental mistakes weren’t a welcome sight for Harrison coach Al Melo.
The Panthers defense dug in as time in the first quarter ticked away and held Pueblo East to a 37-yard field goal attempt. The kick from Efran Perez was good, putting the Eagles up 19-0.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The Harrison defense again stood tall, getting a strip-sack on Andrada to give the offense a chance to score and make it a two-possession game. But East responded in kind as a hard hit on quarterback Orlando Westbrook knocked the ball loose and it was Medrano who scooped it up and took it to the end zone.
After just one quarter of play, the Eagles had built a 25-0 lead and it was a lead they knew they needed to have in this one.
“We had to jump on a quick lead because games like this, they come out strong in the second half,” Medrano said. “We needed to get that important lead at halftime so we could come out and try and build on it.”
In the second quarter, the Panthers got a much-needed offensive spark as Aumiere Shedrick broke free for a 49-yard touchdown. It was the only score of the second quarter as the Harrison defense finally found a way to slow down the high-flying Eagles offense. Shedrick would later add a 69-yard touchdown run and led all rushers with 145 yards on the night.
That trend continued into the second half as the Eagles were unable to score in their first two possessions. But a bad snap for the Panthers gave them a third chance in the third quarter and East took advantage.
An 18-yard completion to Medrano set up a 14-yard touchdown run for Andrada to push the lead to 32-6, giving the Eagles a feeling that they are hitting their stride and playing their best football of the year.
“We had to bounce back from the way the season unfolded in the first five week,” coach Andy Watts said. “They’ve done nothing but respond in an awesome way.”
And with a fourth-straight win now in the books, the Eagles have to once again be a part of the state championship conversation.
Andrada is in command of the offense, as he showed by throwing two touchdown passes and running in two. The offense is dynamic, and the defense is good enough to shut down opposing offenses, even if a big play is given up here and there.
Simply put, the Eagles refuse to let anyone else have that title until it is pried out of their hands.
“At this point in time, it’s all us beating ourselves right now,” Andrada said.
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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (10)
8-0
100
1
W
2
Eaglecrest
8-0
84
2
W
3
Pomona
6-2
69
3
W
4
Columbine
7-1
67
5
W
5
Regis Jesuit
7-1
62
4
W
6
Cherry Creek
6-2
49
6
W
7
Grandview
6-2
44
7
W
8
Fairview
7-1
34
9
W
9
Highlands Ranch
6-2
24
8
L
10
Chaparral
6-2
7
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Mullen 4, Ralston Valley 4, Lakewood 2.
Dropped out
Mullen (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Ponderosa (12)
8-0
166
1
W
2
Pine Creek (4)
7-1
157
2
W
3
Chatfield (3)
7-1
151
3
W
4
Fruita Monument
8-0
119
6
W
5
Windsor
7-1
110
4
W
6
Loveland
8-0
104
5
W
7
Pueblo West
7-1
82
7
W
8
Monarch
7-1
61
8
W
9
Pueblo South
7-1
55
9
W
10
Skyline
7-1
16
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo Centennial 7, Rampart 7, Vista Ridge 3, Widefield 3, Montrose 2, Brighton 1, Broomfield 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (12)
8-0
129
1
W
2
Palmer Ridge (1)
8-0
115
2
W
3
Roosevelt
6-2
86
5
W
4
Erie
7-1
67
3
L
5
Harrison
8-0
62
4
W
6
Evergreen
7-1
48
6
W
7
Canon City
7-1
47
9
W
8
Skyview
7-1
46
10
W
9
Longmont
5-3
35
7
W
10
Rifle
7-1
27
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Palisade 16, Frederick 12, Silver Creek 8, Berthoud 7, Fort Morgan 7, Glenwood Springs 2, Discovery Canyon 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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (10)
7-0
100
1
W
2
Eaglecrest
7-0
87
2
W
3
Pomona
5-2
74
3
W
4
Regis Jesuit
6-1
68
4
W
5
Columbine
6-1
60
6
W
6
Cherry Creek
5-2
46
5
W
7
Grandview
5-2
37
8
W
8
Highlands Ranch
6-1
36
9
W
9
Fairview
6-1
19
10
W
10
Mullen
3-4
11
7
L
Others receiving votes:
Chaparral 5, Doherty 5, Lakewood 2.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Ponderosa (9)
7-0
134
1
W
2
Pine Creek (4)
6-1
126
3
W
3
Chatfield (2)
6-1
123
2
W
4
Windsor
6-1
97
5
W
5
Loveland
7-0
85
4
W
6
Fruita Monument
7-0
77
8
W
7
Pueblo West
6-1
68
7
L
8
Monarch
6-1
54
6
L
9
Pueblo South
6-1
36
9
W
10
Skyline
6-1
16
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Rampart 4, Vista Ridge 3, Greeley West 1, Montrose 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (9)
7-0
123
1
W
2
Palmer Ridge (3)
7-0
119
2
W
3
Erie
7-0
104
3
W
4
Harrison
7-0
65
4
W
5
Roosevelt
5-2
59
5
W
6
Evergreen
6-1
42
9
W
7
Longmont
4-3
35
7
W
8
Silver Creek
4-3
33
6
L
9
Canon City
6-1
24
–
W
10
Skyview
6-1
20
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Rifle 19, Berthoud 18, Palisade 16, Thomas Jefferson 10, Fort Morgan 9, Frederick 9, Alameda 4, Holy Family 3, Glenwood Springs 2, Discovery Canyon 1.
Dropped out
Berthoud (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kent Denver (8)
7-0
115
1
W
2
Bayfield (4)
7-0
108
2
W
3
Platte Valley
7-0
94
3
W
4
La Junta
6-1
88
4
W
5
The Classical Academy
6-1
71
5
W
6
Sterling
5-2
47
6
W
7
Faith Christian
6-1
38
7
W
8
Basalt
6-1
35
8
W
9
Salida
6-1
27
9
W
10
Bishop Machebeuf
7-0
14
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Alamosa 10, Eaton 7, Aspen 5, Delta 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Bennett (9)
7-0
99
1
W
2
Meeker (1)
7-0
87
2
W
3
Centauri
7-0
78
3
W
4
Strasburg
6-1
74
4
W
5
Limon
6-1
53
5
W
6
Paonia
6-1
50
6
W
7
Crowley County
6-1
29
8
W
8
Platte Canyon
6-0
26
7
W
9
Burlington
5-2
22
9
W
10
Peyton
6-1
16
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Clear Creek 8, Monte Vista 4, Cornerstone Christian Academy 3, Colorado Springs Christian 1.
Dropped out
Clear Creek (10).
8-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (10)
7-0
100
1
W
2
West Grand
7-0
83
2
W
3
Hoehne
6-1
69
4
W
4
Merino
6-1
62
3
L
5
Haxtun
6-1
59
5
W
6
Holly
5-1
43
6
W
7
Fowler
6-1
41
7
W
8
Gilpin County
6-1
40
8
W
9
Mancos
6-1
12
–
W
10
Sargent
4-3
10
9
W
Others receiving votes:
Dayspring Christian Academy 9, McClave 8, Caliche 4, Hayden 3, Soroco 3, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 2, Springfield 2.
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.
A week after beating sixth-ranked Silver Creek, Erie football has another top-10 feather in its cap.
On Friday night, the Tigers, now ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, beat No. 4 Berthoud 33-7.
“Playing in the Tri-Valley (League), it doesn’t get any easier,” coach Chad Cooper told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show after the game. “I told our kids to enjoy this one tonight, but tomorrow morning we’re back to work and getting ready for Holy Family.
“It’s kind of similar to a playoff run where you can’t let down,” Cooper continued. “It’ll be good to kind of prepare us for the playoffs. You can’t have any let downs in the playoffs. It’ll be a great test for us.”
Erie’s Jacob Mansdorfer hit Alex Mathis with a touchdown pass just before the end of the first half to push the Tigers’ lead to 20-7.
Noah Roper rushed for two second-half touchdowns, and also recovered two fumbles on defense. He returned one of those for a touchdown. Roper had 165 yards rushing.
“Noah, obviously, is a talented kid. He kind of does it all for us,” Cooper said. “He runs extremely hard and is able to grind on people, too, with the style that we have on offense.”
[divider]
6-man: (5) Prairie 44, (1) Peetz 41
Prairie got the go-ahead score with 11.8 seconds remaining to secure the upset of previously unbeaten Peetz.
“It was just a dive to the right to Trenton Holzworth, one of our seniors, and he was able to power through a couple of kids and was able to get the ball in,” coach Justin Kerns told the Scoreboard Show of the winning score.
Prairie is now 6-0 this season.
“The players here are excited, the kids are excited,” Kerns said.
[divider]
2A: (3) Platte Valley 42, (6) Sterling 21
Tied at 21 at halftime, Platte Valley reeled of 21 unanswered points in the second half to secure a big win and move to 6-0 this season.
“It was one heck of a game up here for homecoming week, that’s for sure,” coach Troy Hoffman told the Scoreboard Show.
Hoffman praised his team’s effort on defense, which forced four turnovers.
“The kids created some opportunities and some turnovers,” Hoffman said. “We just needed to do that, play a little more aggressive in the second half, and when you get four turnovers, a lot of times good things happen for you, and it sure did for us tonight.
Senior Zach Waite had four touchdowns, including runs of 55 and 50 yards, and Ernseto Rios and Trevon Wehrman also score the the Mustangs.
Platte Valley had more than 400 yards of total offense.
[divider]
2A: (5) The Classical Academy 27, (8) Salida 19
TCA rallied from down 13-7 late in the second quarter to get an important top-10 win.
Jenson Hall had two rushing touchdowns for the Titans, and Cade Bethany accounted for two total touchdowns.
Brayden Luft added a receiving touchdowns.
[divider]
Notables
(Sedgwick County/NFHS Network)
8-man No. 1 Sedgwick County cruised to an easy win over No. 3 Haxtun, 44-0.
Centauri is 6-0 in 1A after beating Monte Vista 27-2. The Falcons, No. 4, got another big night out of their defense. “That’s been our strength this year,” coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “Our defense has done a great job when we needed them to.”
In 2A, Basalt got a big rivalry win over No. 10 Aspen, 48-22. Noah Williams had six touchdowns for the Longhorns. “Just a big, strong, very, very gifted athlete,” coach Carl Frerichs told the Scoreboard Show of Williams.
5A No. 4 Regis Jesuit beat Legacy 32-7. “I think this puts us in the driver’s seat” for the conference title, Raiders coach Danny Filleman told the Scoreboard Show.
Caliche snapped a two-game losing streak and knocked off No. 8 Dayspring Christian in 8-man, 18-13.
8-man No. 10 Gilpin County is 5-1 following a 48-0 win over Soroco.
6-man No. 8 La Veta cruised to a 52-19 win over Sierra Grande in an afternoon contest.
Platte Canyon moved to 5-0 this season following a forfeit by Front Range Christian. The Huskies are ranked No. 7 in 1A.
No. 6 Merino got a narrow win over Akron in 8-man, 28-26.
Paonia, No. 6 in 1A, is 5-1 after beating Hotchkiss 28-21.
Deer Trail picked up its first win of the season when Cheraw forfeit Friday’s 6-man game due to lack of players. It snaps a 13-game losing streak for Deer Trail.
Denver North beat Vista PEAK 15-13 in 3A, and is now 6-0 this season.
Wray is now 3-3 following a 40-8 win over Wiggins in 1A. Cade Hillman had 227 yards and two touchdowns, while Manny Heurta added three scores.
3A No. 9 Harrison is 6-0 after a 46-0 win over Sierra.
Springfield upset No. 2 Holly in overtime, 32-26, in 8-man.
An impressive win for Northglenn over ThunderRidge in 5A. Northglenn is now 5-1.
