This week’s football rankings saw just two new teams hop into the polls across all classifications: Grand Junction Central (4A) and Briggsdale (6-man).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
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
Cherry Creek (8)
7-0
124
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
7-0
116
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
7-0
109
3
W
4
Eaglecrest
7-0
88
4
W
5
Pomona
5-2
74
5
W
6
Grandview
6-1
69
6
W
7
Ralston Valley
6-1
40
8
W
8
Fairview
6-1
31
9
W
9
ThunderRidge
6-1
29
10
W
10
Cherokee Trail
6-1
17
7
L
Others receiving votes:
Smoky Hill 13, Castle View 3, Arvada West 1, Doherty 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (15)
6-0
177
1
W
2
Pine Creek (2)
5-1
157
2
W
3
Montrose (1)
6-0
136
3
W
4
Broomfield
5-1
124
4
W
5
Greeley West
5-1
86
8
W
6
Ponderosa
4-2
67
7
W
7
Fruita Monument
4-2
59
9
W
8
Pueblo West
4-2
54
10
W
9
Heritage
5-1
35
5
L
10
Grand Junction Central
4-2
27
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Longmont 23, Air Academy 12, Skyline 10, Rampart 7, Vista Peak 6, Chatfield 4, Dakota Ridge 2, Windsor 2, Brighton 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Longmont (6).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (11)
6-0
142
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
6-0
135
2
W
3
Palisade (1)
5-1
102
4
W
4
Palmer Ridge (1)
4-2
97
3
W
5
Thomas Jefferson (1)
6-0
88
6
W
6
Harrison
6-0
86
5
W
7
Holy Family
5-1
73
7
W
8
Pueblo East
4-2
61
8
W
9
Durango
4-2
55
9
W
10
Fort Morgan
5-1
15
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Frederick 6, Green Mountain 5, Evergreen 4, Lewis-Palmer 4, George Washington 3, Mead 3, Glenwood Springs 1.
Hoehne took a big step toward securing a league championship in the Arkansas Valley with a win over Holly on Friday.
The third-ranked Farmers beat Holly 54-20.
Holly actually led the game 20-8 in the first quarter, meaning Hoehne ripped off 46 unanswered points.
“It was kind of scary at first,” coach Gabe Dasko told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We made some defensive adjustments, and our kids kind of wore them down physically. Our kids are pretty physical.
“I mean, we’d rather play football in a phone booth,” Dasko continued. “They kind of spread you out, and they put you in some tough situations.”
Hoehne is now 5-1, and 4-0 in the Arkansas Valley. Every other team in the league has at least one loss.
“It’s not over yet,” Dasko said. “We’ve still got Wiley and McClave. We’re not good enough right now to take anybody lightly. McClave looks like they’re playing pretty decent right now. And we’ve just got to keep sharpening the edge on the knife for our kids, and getting better every week.”
Salida is now 6-0 after beating Pagosa Springs 35-7.
“I think last year set the table for us,” first-year Spartans coach Matt Luttrell told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids have been well-coached up to this point. Eric Handke did a great job kind of passing the baton on to me. And I’ve been around these kids since they were freshmen, as well. It’s just fun to be a part of. Last year definitely set the tone for us.”
6-man No. 1 Stratton/Liberty continued to roll, this time beating No. 9 Granada 52-12. The Knighted Eagles are 6-0.
Also unbeaten in 6-man are No. 2 Kit Carson (6-0) and No. 10 Mountain Valley (5-0). Mountain Valley has only scheduled eight games.
There are six unbeaten teams in 2A: No. 6 Basalt, No. 1 La Junta, No. 5 Resurrection Christian, No. 7 Salida, No. 2 Platte Valley and No. 3 Rifle. All are 6-0.
In 3A, No. 1 Erie, No. 6 Thomas Jefferson and No. 2 Discovery Canyon are all 6-0. No. 5 Harrison (5-0) plays Falcon on Saturday.
Undefeated teams in 1A: No. 4 Peyton (6-0) and No. 1 Limon (5-0). The Badgers play Yuma on Saturday.
Only No. 1 Loveland and No. 3 Montrose remain unbeaten in 4A. Both are 6-0.
Four teams are 7-0 in 5A: Smoky Hill, No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 3 Columbine and No. 4 Eaglecrest. 6-0 Valor Christian plays Rock Canyon on Saturday.
There are four unbeaten teams in 8-man, and only No. 2 West Grand is 6-0 so far. No. 1 Sedgwick County, No. 5 Mancos and No. 6 Sanford all play Saturday. Sedgwick County, a three-time defending champion, has the longest winning streak in the state at 28 games.
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
Cherry Creek (8)
6-0
123
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
6-0
116
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
6-0
109
3
W
4
Eaglecrest
6-0
88
5
W
5
Pomona
4-2
72
6
W
6
Grandview
5-1
64
4
L
7
Cherokee Trail
6-0
45
8
W
8
Ralston Valley
5-1
35
7
W
9
Fairview
5-1
24
9
W
10
ThunderRidge
5-1
21
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Smoky Hill 10, Castle View 3, Denver East 2, Doherty 1, Highlands Ranch 1, Regis Jesuit 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (14)
5-0
176
1
W
2
Pine Creek (2)
4-1
161
2
Bye
3
Montrose (1)
5-0
131
3
W
4
Broomfield
4-1
118
4
W
5
Heritage (1)
5-0
75
7
W
6
Longmont
4-1
63
8
W
7
Ponderosa
3-2
60
10
W
8
Greeley West
4-1
58
–
W
9
Fruita Monument
3-2
47
5
L
10
Pueblo West
3-2
40
9
Bye
Others receiving votes:
Air Academy 11, Skyline 11, Grand Junction Central 10, Rampart 6, Vista Peak 6, Chatfield 3, Golden 3, Standley Lake 3, Brighton 2, Windsor 2, Hinkley 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Skyline (6).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (9)
5-0
131
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
5-0
119
2
Bye
3
Palmer Ridge (1)
3-2
86
6
Bye
4
Palisade (1)
4-1
81
3
W
5
Harrison
5-0
76
5
W
6
Thomas Jefferson (1)
5-0
75
4
W
7
Holy Family
4-1
58
8
W
8
Pueblo East
3-2
50
7
Bye
9
Durango
3-2
44
9
Bye
10
Fort Morgan
4-1
17
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Lewis-Palmer 8, George Washington 7, Mead 6, Green Mountain 5, Evergreen 3, Frederick 3, Pueblo Central 1.
Class 1A’s North Central league features four teams ranked in this week’s top-10. So Friday’s league matchup between No. 5 Wray and No. 6 Burlington was of a little extra importance.
Burlington came away with an important 19-8 win over Wray, thanks in part to two touchdown passes from Braden Witzel, and some stout defense.
“It is a big win for us,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I was really proud of our defense. Two or three times, they were down inside the 20. And we were able to keep them from putting points on the board. I was just really proud of the kids.”
Taylor Scott opened the scoring for Burlington with a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. After a Wray safety, Witzel threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Burton with 4:42 left in the second.
The score remained that way until late in the fourth quarter. That’s when Wray cut it to 12-8 with 5:33 following an interception return for a touchdown.
Witzel and Burton then hooked up again for a second time, this one from 30 yards with 35 seconds left, to account for the final margin.
With the win, Burlington is now 1-0 in conference play — along with No. 1 Limon and No. 7 Holyoke, who also won on Friday night.
[divider]
Colorado PrepsCast recap
[divider]
3A: Niwot 20, Eagle Valley 14
(@niwotathletics/Twitter)
Niwot football is now 3-2 after a 20-14 win over Eagle Valley. The Cougars ended a 19-game losing streak earlier in the year.
“Our kids have worked really, really hard, and it’s almost overwhelming at times for what they’ve sacrificed to try to get to this point,” coach Jeremy Lanter told the Scoreboard Show. “The rotating coaches they’ve had in that program, it’s nice to have some consistency and have some kids buy into that consistency.”
On Friday, Julian Molina rushed for two touchdowns for the Cougars, and Eric Ruiz also scored on the ground.
This is just the second time since 2008 that the team has won three games in a season.
“It is so important,” Lanter said of winning games. “Especially when you’re trying everything you can to keep kids motivated and inspired when they know that they’re looking at a 19-game losing streak. Especially for them to be chipping away at that, and they continue to pick up the hammer and pound the stone, and try to give themselves the best opportunity. But winning helps. Winning doesn’t fix everything, but it certainly does help.”
In 8-man, No. 2 West Grandvew beat No. 7 Rangely 20-6 to stay unbeaten at 6-0.
Another top-10 battle in 8-man: No. 5 Hoehne shut out No. 9 Fowler.
In 3A, Pueblo Central is now 4-1 after going 2-18 over the past two seasons. “It’s been great, the kids have been a pleasure to coach so far,” coach Kris Cotterman told the Scoreboard Show. The Wildcats beat Sand Creek 47-6.
It was an offensive affair as No. 3 Otis outlasted No. 4 Prairie 64-59 in 6-man.
Roosevelt beat Glenwood Springs 16-10 in overtime.
4A Bear Creek got its first win of the season against a solid Windsor squad, 30-26.
The Academy quarterback Brandon Boston completed 12-of-15 passes for four touchdowns in a 40-0 win over Prospect Ridge. The Wildcats are now 3-2 in 2A.
Longmont’s Drake Engelking rushed for four touchdowns in his team’s 43-8 win over Silver Creek in 4A. The Trojans are 4-1.
1A No. 3 Peyton improved to 5-0 with a 42-0 win over Ellicott. JD Hart rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and also had a receiving score.
Luke McCaffrey threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another as 5A No. 2 Valor Christian shut out Castle View 35-0.
Denver East is now 5-0 in Metro 10 play, and 5-1 overall, after beating Westminster 13-7. The Angels host Smoky Hill next Friday in what could be a matchup of unbeatens in conference play, should Smoky win on Saturday.
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
Cherry Creek (8)
5-0
123
1
W
2
Valor Christian (4)
5-0
113
2
W
3
Columbine (1)
5-0
102
3
W
4
Grandview
5-0
82
5
W
5
Eaglecrest
5-0
75
7
W
6
Pomona
3-2
73
4
W
7
Ralston Valley
4-1
33
10
W
8
Cherokee Trail
5-0
31
–
W
9
Fairview
4-1
30
9
W
10
ThunderRidge
4-1
16
6
L
Others receiving votes:
Arvada West 15, Castle View 11, Smoky Hill 6, Arapahoe 3, Doherty 1, Lakewood 1.
Dropped out
Arvada West (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Loveland (13)
4-0
148
1
W
2
Pine Creek (1)
4-1
128
2
W
3
Montrose (1)
4-0
100
4
W
4
Broomfield
3-1
79
5
W
5
Fruita Monument
3-1
72
6
W
6
Skyline
3-1
55
3
L
7
Heritage
4-0
40
9
W
8
Longmont
3-1
37
–
W
9
Pueblo West
3-2
35
–
L
10
Ponderosa
2-2
34
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Greeley West 26, Chatfield 21, Rampart 13, Windsor 12, Denver South 7, Vista Peak 6, Grand Junction Central 5, Vista Ridge 4, Air Academy 1, Hinkley 1, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Chatfield (7), Rampart (8), Windsor (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (10)
4-0
144
1
W
2
Discovery Canyon (2)
5-0
134
3
W
3
Palisade (2)
3-1
112
2
L
4
Thomas Jefferson (1)
4-0
99
5
W
5
Harrison (1)
4-0
84
7
W
6
Palmer Ridge
3-2
65
6
W
7
Pueblo East
3-2
52
4
L
8
Holy Family
3-1
48
8
W
9
Durango
3-2
47
9
W
10
Fort Morgan
3-1
30
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Battle Mountain 15, Lewis-Palmer 12, Mead 11, Frederick 9, Green Mountain 7, Evergreen 5, Canon City 2, Skyview 2, George Washington 1, Pueblo Central 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.
Ponderosa 34, Pueblo West 33, Longmont 22, Denver South 7, Vista Peak 6, Grand Junction Central 5, Air Academy 4, Greeley West 4, Hinkley 3, Wheat Ridge 1.
Dropped out
Ponderosa (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Erie (12)
3-0
144
1
Bye
2
Palisade
3-0
105
3
W
3
Discovery Canyon
4-0
101
4
W
4
Pueblo East
3-1
99
2
L
5
Thomas Jefferson (2)
3-0
82
7
W
6
Palmer Ridge (1)
2-2
80
5
W
7
Harrison
3-0
58
8
W
8
Holy Family
2-1
52
6
L
9
Durango
2-2
42
10
W
10
Fort Morgan
2-1
18
9
L
Others receiving votes:
Mead 7, Frederick 6, Lewis-Palmer 6, Pueblo Central 6, Battle Mountain 5, Canon City 2, George Washington 2, Pueblo Centennial 2, Evergreen 1, Glenwood Springs 1, Pueblo South 1, Skyview 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
La Junta (7)
4-0
112
2
W
2
Platte Valley (3)
4-0
110
3
W
3
Bayfield (1)
3-1
95
1
L
4
Rifle (2)
3-0
91
6
W
5
Basalt
3-0
75
8
W
6
Resurrection Christian
3-0
68
4
W
7
Salida
4-0
53
9
W
8
Berthoud
3-1
29
10
W
9
Eaton
2-1
26
7
L
10
Kent Denver
2-1
26
5
L
Others receiving votes:
Alameda 8, Alamosa 6, Delta 6, Aspen 3, Bennett 3, Pagosa Springs 2, Faith Christian 1, Middle Park 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Strasburg (8)
3-0
98
1
Bye
2
Limon (2)
3-0
89
2
W
3
Burlington
2-1
68
3
W
4
Peyton
3-0
65
4
W
5
Wray
2-1
56
6
W
6
Centauri
2-1
51
5
W
7
Crowley County
3-1
31
7
W
8
Holyoke
3-0
23
8
Bye
9
Meeker
1-2
21
9
L
10
Buena Vista
2-1
12
10
L
Others receiving votes:
Paonia 11, Jefferson 8, St. Mary’s 5, Colorado Springs Christian 4, Yuma 3, Clear Creek 2, Olathe 2, Estes Park 1.
Dropped out
None.
8-man
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (13)
3-0
137
1
W
2
West Grand
4-0
121
2
W
3
Mancos (1)
3-0
80
10
W
4
Caliche
2-1
64
7
W
5
Hoehne
2-1
63
5
W
6
Holly
3-1
60
6
W
7
Rangely
4-0
49
8
W
8
Fowler
2-1
48
4
W
9
Sargent
2-1
36
3
L
10
Sanford
3-0
30
–
W
Others receiving votes:
Simla 20, Akron 16, Merino 12, Norwood 10, Pikes Peak Christian 10, Soroco 9, Haxtun 4, Springfield 1.
