Lewis-Palmer senior Paul Tillotson wants to help the Rangers win a state baseball championship before he heads to Nebraska. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
MONUMENT — It’s now or never for Lewis-Palmer senior Paul Tillotson.
The senior has been a staple to the Rangers’ baseball program for three seasons and entering his fourth and final year, he’s hoping that his experience and leadership can help him get his hands on that state championship trophy, even if the makeup of the team doesn’t have the same feel.
“It’s a little bit different,” Tillotson said. “We lost some guys from last year, we got a new coach but we’re looking on the up-and-up right now.”
Having Tillotson on the roster gives the team instant credibility. They came in as the No. 2 team in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com preseason baseball rankings. That’s the kind of reputation a team has when they have a University of Nebraska commit on its roster.
That’s right. Like several other Colorado athletes, Tillotson is bound for Lincoln. That is assuming that the lure of Major League Baseball doesn’t rear its head in June.
Paul Tillotson. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
But for now, Tillotson’s only focus is on helping the Rangers become a better baseball team and continuing the string of success it has seen in recent seasons.
First-year coach Brett Lester is fortunate enough to join a squad that rosters one of the best players in the state.
“It’s a luxury that not many coaches get the chance to enjoy,” Lester said. “He’s going to be competitive every time out and he’s going to do well on the mound, even at the plate in the games that he’s not pitching, he’s going to have a huge output.”
In 2015, Tillotson was such a devastating weapon for the Rangers. From the offensive side, he batted .446 with six home runs and 32 RBIs. In 95 plate appearances, he struck out only six times.
On the mound, he went 8-1 with a 1.62 ERA. He struck out 145 hitters and walked only 22.
So which skill set are the Huskers hoping to utilize?
“I’m definitely going as a pitcher, but they wanted to know if I still want to hit,” Tillotson said. “They hinting on the subject that I’m going to hit more (than they thought I would).”
And he’s up for it.
He remains in constant communication with the Huskers and they continue to track each other’s progress.
And while it’s easy to track numbers on a boxscore, the one thing that Tillotson is working harder at this year is helping out the younger players. He and teammate Billy Cook are doing everything they can to develop young players and ensure that Lewis-Palmer will be a winning program well beyond this year.
“As returning veterans it’s kind of on us to help those young guys out,” Tillotson said. “Just the little things that go into winning games through the season. It’s our job to help kids out when we see things they need help on.”
And in the process, they’ll be helping themselves out as well. At the end of last season Tillotson and the Rangers were on hand as the state championship trophy was handed to Green Mountain. That feeling, regardless of the changes the team has gone through, made him hungry and determined to bring a state championship back to Lewis-Palmer.
The Rangers have never won a baseball crown.
“I definitely have the hunger,” he said. “I want to push myself and my team to prove that we deserve that No. 2 ranking. I’m always going to be pushing my team to make sure that we’re doing the best that we can.”
Regis Jesuit is the preseason No. 1 team in 5A baseball. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The preseason CHSAANow.com baseball rankings show something very different from most other preseason rankings that are released through the year. They don’t have an abundance of defending state champions sitting at the top of the polls.
In Class 5A, the Regis Jesuit Raiders come into the season as the overwhelming No. 1 team in the state. They received eight of 12 first-place votes to earn that ranking.
Though the regular season is slated to start this week, the Raiders won’t play until Mar. 16.
Defending champion Rock Canyon comes in at No. 3 to start the season.
D’Evelyn comes in as the top team in 4A to start the season. The Jaguars fell just short of reaching the state championship series as they fell to eventual state champion Green Mountain in the semifinals.
The Rams lost a significant number of seniors from last year’s team and as a result, will start the season ranked No. 4.
In 3A, Eaton is one of two defending state champions to start the year with a No. 1 ranking. The Red received seven of nine first-place votes.
Eaton topped Brush in the 3A state championship and the Beetdiggers also came in high in the preseason polls at No. 3.
Resurrection Christian went from 2A state runner-up in the spring to preseason No. 1. The Cougars fell to Rye in an offensive battle in last year’s 2A state title game. The Thunderbolts came away with a 12-10 win and will start the season with a No. 6 ranking.
Dove Creek is the other defending champ to earn a No. 1 preseason ranking. The Bulldogs won the 1A title with an 8-5 win over Granada.
The 1A class may prove to be to the most wide-open as Dove Creek took only half of the first-place votes, the fewest of any preseason No. 1 this year.
The regular season for baseball is scheduled to begin Mar. 10.
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.
The 2015 football players of the year. From left: Dylan Dixon of Eads; Keegan Wentz of Buena Vista; JoJo Domann of Pine Creek; Dylan McCaffrey of Valor Christian; Daniel Martin of Pueblo East; Kelton McCoy of Bayfield; Trey Walter of Sedgwick County. (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActoinShots.com; Bill Cronin; Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Jeff Tucker; and Sedgwick County HS)
The 2015 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 coaches.
KREMMLING — No. 10 Dove Creek beat No. 7 West Grand in the first round of the 8-man football playoffs on Saturday.
West Grand was playing its first home game since quarterback JD Guess was killed in a car accident, and the community came out in full force wearing purple shirts that honored the junior. Last week, West Grand football coach Chris Brown tied the state record with 306 career wins in an emotional game for the team.
No. 3 Valor Christian beat No. 2 Grandview in a big 5A game at Valor on Friday. The Eagles won the Centennial League. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 9 of the 2015 season.
Bayfield is the No. 1 team in 2A this week. (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
There’s a new No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com Class 2A football rankings. After a convincing 41-7 win over Alamosa, Bayfield comes in at the top spot of this week’s poll.
The rest of the 2A rankings are relatively unchanged as no teams dropped out this week. Despite a 41-13 win over Brush, Sterling was unable to gain any spots, but look very dangerous as the No. 6 team in 2A.
Columbine held on to the top spot in the 5A rankings with an impressive 31-7 win over Chatfield Friday. The big surprise in 5A comes with Grandview’s jump from No. 4 to No. 2, overtaking Valor Christian, which won a physical 10-0 game against Cherry Creek on Friday night.
The Wolves and Eagles will play this coming Friday with the Centennial League title up for grabs. That game is scheduled for a 8 p.m. kick and Altitude will carry the broadcast.
Fresh off a 41-3 win over Durango, Pine Creek comes in as the unanimous No. 1 team in 4A. The top four teams from last week were able to hold their positions.
Denver South and Wheat Ridge both made their way into this week’s top 10 with the Rebels coming in at No. 9 and the Farmers taking the No. 10 spot. Wheat Ridge topped Aurora Central 37-14 Friday.
There were very few changes to the 3A poll this week. Pueblo East remains in the top spot after a 36-21 win over The Classical Academy.
TCA fell one spot as a result of the loss and Mean moved up to No. 9.
Buena Vista holds on to the No. 1 in 1A this week and the rankings overall went unchanged from a week ago.
In 8-man, Sedgwick County remains at No. 1 after a 44-18 win over No. 5 Dayspring Christian Academy. Vail Christian jumped two spots to No. 7 and Hohne is the lone newcomer to this week’s poll.
Fleming is still the No. 1 team in 6-man. No newcomers were added to this week’s rankings, but Peetz did fall two spots to No. 7 despite a 55-13 win over Weldon Valley.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Pomona’s defense had an outstanding night, limiting Ralston Valley to just two field goals in a 13-6 win on Friday night.
The Panthers, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, pulled the upset of the No. 5 Mustangs. The win continued a streak of equality in the rivalry: Since 2009, Pomona and Ralston Valley have traded wins every other year.
On Friday, Pomona grabbed a 7-0 lead after the first quarter on a punt return for a score. Ralston Valley got a field goal near the end of halftime, but Pomona answered with a touchdown early in the third quarter.
Ralston Valley did cut it to a one-score game with another field goal, but couldn’t get any closer.
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3A: (1) Pueblo East 36, (9) The Classical Academy 21
The Classical Academy led 7-0 early, but then Pueblo East took over. The Eagles scored 19 unanswered points to take a 19-7 lead at halftime, thanks to five Titan turnovers.
Austin Burkholder’s rushing score late in the third quarter gave Sterling the lead back and the Tigers never looked back. Freshman Isaac Harris made it 27-13 a short while later, Burkholder added another score — his fourth — and Sterling cruised.
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 44, (5) Dayspring Christian 18
Sedgwick County jumped out to a 30-3 lead at halftime, and kept the pressure on in an important win for the playoff picture.
The loss avenged a 53-21 defeat last season.
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2A: (10) Bennett 40, Strasburg 39
Bennett stopped a two-point conversion in the final minutes to hold off the upset bid.
“Big play from Jesse Rodriquez, our corner, (who) intercepted their two-point conversion try,” coach Rick Jacoby told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show.
Bennett recovered the ensuing onside kick and then ran out the clock.
Bennett had led with three minutes to play, but Strasburg responded with its own touchdown with under two minutes left prior to the two-point attempt.
“We were behind most of the game,” Jacoby said. “We didn’t take the lead until about the seven minute mark of the fourth. We were down, I think, 19 at one point in the third quarter. We ended up being able to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
With the win, Bennett clinched the Frontier League championship.
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Notables
West Grand beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran 80-28 on Friday, giving coach Chris Brown his 305th career win. He can tie the state record for victories at Vail Christian next week.
2A No. 4 La Junta beat Lamar 35-0 in Colorado’s second-oldest rivalry, a matchup known as the Whistle Game.
5A No. 5 Palisade had 689 total yards in a 62-18 win over Grand Junction Central.
In 8-man, No. 4 Sargent beat No. 6 Dove Creek 30-18. “It was a tough battle,” Sargent coach Trevan Pepper told the Scoreboard Show. “We were a little bit asleep getting off the bus on that first drive, they went down and scored, and then we kind of stepped it up on defense the rest of the first half.”
1A No. 6 Crowley County won a tough game against Limon, 21-14. The Chargers won the South Central League as a result. “We had a big, long drive in the third quarter and were able to put it in on a little option play,” coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show. “We just played really great team defense after that.”
No. 3 Valor Christian beat No. 2 Cherry Creek in a big 5A game on Friday. Complete recap. (Photos: Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com; JackEberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
A complete schedule and scoreboard for football’s top-10 teams during Week 8 in the 2015 season.
Columbine football is the new No. 1 in Class 5A football. (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Following a 42-35 win over Pomona Friday night, combined with Cherry Creek’s 28-20 loss to Grandview, Columbine takes over the top spot in this week’s Class 5A CHSAANow.com football rankings.
Cherry Creek falls to No. 2 as a result of their loss to the Wolves. This week, they square off against No. 3 Valor Christian in a rematch of last year’s 5A state championship game. The Bruins walked away with a 25-24 win. Cherry Creek also won last year’s regular season meeting 33-17, a game in which the Bruins didn’t allow a single point in the second half.
No new teams were added to the 5A poll this week, but with its upset win over Cherry Creek, Grandview jumped from No. 9 to No. 4.
Like they have all season long, the Pine Creek Eagles firmly held on to the No. 1 spot in 4A. Like the 5A poll, no new teams were added in 4A.
Durango was able to beat Palmer Ridge 48-35, helping them jump up to No. 5 in the rankings. The Demons travel to Colorado Springs this week for a league game against the No. 1 Eagles.
This will be the fourth time this season that Pine Creek will be facing a team also ranked in 4A’s top five. They won the three previous games by a combined score of 107-38.
Pueblo East remains a strong favorite in 3A and is still ranked as the top team in that class. Both Roosevelt and Rifle garnered first place votes thanks to weekend wins over other top 10 teams. Roosevelt topped Holy Family in a shootout, 64-63 and Rifle edged Palisade 13-7.
No new teams broke into the 3A poll this week.
Kent Denver remains No. 1 in 2A. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
A great week for Kent Denver continues in this week’s 2A poll. After Scott Yates recorded his 300th win, the Sun Devils held on to the No. 1 spot in 2A.
There were two new additions to this week’s 2A rankings as Moffat County comes in at No. 9 and Bennett breaks in at No. 10.
Buena Vista is still holding on to the top spot of the 1A rankings, but Resurrection Christian is nipping on their heels, trailing by only two points.
Meeker, who dropped out of the 1A poll last week, returns at No. 8.
Sedgwick County is still the top team in the 8-man rankings. There was little movement in that poll, but undefeated Vail Christian did make it’s way into the top 10, landing at No. 9.
Although Fleming is still the No. 1 team in 6-man, there was movement near the top of that poll. Kit Carson topped Eads 22-8 Friday night causing those two teams to swap places.
Kit Carson now sits at No. 2 while Eads fell only one spot to No. 3.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
