The 2017-18 preseason boys basketball rankings are here. No. 1 teams to start the season include: Rock Canyon (5A), Golden (4A), Sterling (3A), Sedgwick County (2A) and Holly (1A).
Sterling and Holly are defending champions, while Sedgwick County finished runner-up last season.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Evergreen 19, Mead 16, Mesa Ridge 16, D’Evelyn 13, Thompson Valley 12, Sierra 7, Air Academy 4, Northridge 3, Sand Creek 3, Windsor 3, Mountain View 2, Palmer Ridge 2, Ponderosa 2, Fort Morgan 1, Vista PEAK 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Sterling (10)
0-0
109
2
Faith Christian
0-0
92
3
Kent Denver (1)
0-0
58
4
Resurrection Christian
0-0
48
5
DSST-Stapleton
0-0
35
6
Colorado Springs Christian
0-0
34
7
Alamosa
0-0
31
8
Lutheran
0-0
27
9
Bayfield
0-0
25
10
Strasburg
0-0
22
Others receiving votes:
Coal Ridge 20, Manitou Springs 20, Manual 15, DSST-Green Valley Ranch 13, Basalt 7, Buena Vista 7, Grand Valley 7, La Junta 7, The Academy 6, Colorado Academy 6, Platte Valley 5, The Vanguard 5, Roaring Fork 4, Arrupe Jesuit 1, Machebeuf 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Sedgwick County (5)
0-0
94
2
Holyoke (4)
0-0
84
3
Del Norte (1)
0-0
61
4
Highland
0-0
46
5
Paonia
0-0
43
6
Fowler
0-0
33
7
Sanford
0-0
31
8
Akron
0-0
30
9
Crowley County
0-0
27
10
Ignacio
0-0
24
Others receiving votes:
Yuma 20, Peyton 10, Burlington 6, Meeker 6, Merino 6, Vail Christian 6, Byers 5, Dawson 5, Limon 4, Haxtun 3, Hotchkiss 3, Evangelical Christian 2, Calhan 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Holly (5)
0-0
69
2
Cheyenne Wells
0-0
61
3
Fleming (1)
0-0
51
4
Creede
0-0
46
5
Front Range Baptist (1)
0-0
40
6
Peetz (1)
0-0
36
7
Kit Carson
0-0
31
8
Longmont Christian
0-0
29
9
Sierra Grande
0-0
18
10
South Baca
0-0
15
Others receiving votes:
Heritage Christian 8, Ouray 8, Cheraw 7, Stratton/Liberty 4, Sangre de Cristo 4, Flagler 3, Shining Mountain 3, Walsh 3, DeBeque 2, Cornerstone Christian 1, Weldon Valley 1.
Also hosting first-round games are No. 2 Prairie, No. 3 Peetz, No. 4 Cheyenne Wells, No. 5 North Park, No. 6 La Veta, No. 7 Kit Carson and No. 8 Genoa-Hugo.
Defending champion Flagler, which played as Hi-Plains last season, did not make the field. Cheyenne Wells was runner-up in 2016.
All first round games will be played this Friday and Saturday. Quarterfinals will be completed by Nov. 4, and the semifinals are set to be played on Nov. 11.
The 6-man championship game is scheduled for Nov. 18 at a home site.
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.
Belleview Christian won its first football game since 2012 on Saturday.
The Bruins beat Miami-Yoder 18-14 during their homecoming contest. It was their first victory since Oct. 6, 2012 against Justice — five years and one day ago.
The 8-man football program started in the fall of 2012, and went 2-6. Belleview Christian was then 0-7 in 2013, and didn’t field a team in 2014 nor 2015. The Bruins returned to the field last season, and went 0-6.
It means Saturday’s win, which was the first varsity win for second-year coach Darius Oller, also snapped a 17-game losing streak.
[divider]
Notables:
Coaches Scott Yates (Kent Denver) and Chris Brown (West Grand) remained tied atop Colorado’s all-times wins list this week as both of their teams won. Kent Denver beat Ridge View Academy on Friday, and West Grand beat Plateau Valley 46-0 on Saturday.
In a 6-man game that was delayed from Friday night because of a faulty light, No. 2 Stratton/Liberty cruised to a 53-6 win over No. 3 Cheyenne Wells.
5A No. 10 Highlands Ranch (5-1) handed Lakewood (5-1) its first loss this season with a 35-28 victory.
4A No. 9 Pueblo South is now 5-1 following a 42-14 win over Grand Junction Central.
2A No. 2 Bayfield rolled to a 56-12 win over Montezuma-Cortez.
1A No. 1 Bennett continued its roll, beating Vail Christian 52-8. Bennett is averaging 54.5 points per game.
1A No. 3 Strasburg is 5-1 after a 57-20 win over Byers.
1A No. 2 Meeker is 6-0 after beating Grand Valley 34-7.
6-man No. 6 Kit Carson rolled to a 77-0 win over Branson/Kim. Kit Carson is now 5-1.
6-man No. 10 Genoa-Hugo is 4-2 after beating Edison 73-25.
Far Northeast edged out a win over city foe Denver East in 5A, 28-27.
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.
