Skyline 22, Silver Creek 18, Longmont 16, Vista Peak Prep 16, Fruita Monument 13, Brighton 10, Denver South 9, Greeley West 9, Rampart 7, Bear Creek 5, Grand Junction 4, Monarch 3, Greeley Central 2, Fort Collins 1, Golden 1.
Dropped out
Skyline (7).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Palmer Ridge (19)
1-0
197
1
W
2
Palisade
1-0
164
2
W
3
Mead (1)
2-0
157
3
W
4
Green Mountain
1-0
116
6
W
5
Discovery Canyon
2-0
114
7
W
6
Pueblo South (1)
2-0
100
8
W
7
Erie
1-1
68
4
L
8
Pueblo East
1-1
59
9
W
9
Roosevelt
1-1
45
5
L
10
Durango
1-1
35
10
L
Others receiving votes:
Frederick 23, Holy Family 20, Fort Morgan 13, Pueblo Central 10, Northridge 8, Battle Mountain 6, Thomas Jefferson 6, Lutheran 5, Denver North 4, Evergreen 3, Harrison 2.
This week’s softball rankings feature six new teams: Lakewood, Rocky Mountain, Pueblo Central, Pueblo County, Limon and Platte Valley.
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
Chatfield (6)
12-0-0
112
1
2-0-0
2
Rock Canyon (3)
8-1-0
91
3
3-0-0
3
Broomfield (1)
9-1-0
79
2
1-0-0
4
Loveland (1)
10-1-0
64
4
2-0-0
5
Legacy
7-1-0
55
6
2-0-0
6
Columbine (1)
9-0-0
50
8
3-0-0
7
Prairie View
9-0-0
49
7
1-0-0
8
Lakewood
9-0-0
27
–
2-0-0
9
Rocky Mountain
9-1-0
26
–
2-0-0
10
Arapahoe
8-2-0
20
5
0-2-0
Others receiving votes:
Cherokee Trail 15, Smoky Hill 15, Fossil Ridge 11, Castle View 10, Hinkley 8, Monarch 8, Brighton 7, Grand Junction Central 3, Rampart 3, Fountain-Fort Carson 2, Douglas County 1, Legend 1, Liberty 1, Mountain Vista 1, Regis Jesuit 1.
Dropped out
Cherokee Trail (9), Fossil Ridge (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (8)
4-0-0
107
1
0-0-0
2
Golden (1)
11-0-0
83
3
5-0-0
3
Erie (1)
9-0-0
79
2
1-0-0
4
Wheat Ridge
9-1-0
59
4
2-0-0
5
Pueblo South
7-0-0
57
5
1-0-0
6
Silver Creek
8-4-0
49
6
4-1-0
7
Pueblo Central (1)
4-0-0
43
–
3-0-0
8
Pueblo West
5-1-0
37
8
0-0-0
9
Pueblo Centennial
8-0-0
20
9
2-0-0
10
Pueblo County
3-1-0
16
–
0-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Rifle 14, Niwot 8, Mead 7, Coronado 5, Mountain View 5, Berthoud 4, Roosevelt 4, Mullen 2, Pueblo East 2, Frederick 1, Green Mountain 1, Longmont 1, Ponderosa 1.
Dropped out
Berthoud (7), Green Mountain (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (12)
11-0-0
138
1
2-0-0
2
Sterling
6-1-0
95
5
1-0-0
3
Eaton
7-2-0
94
3
0-1-0
4
Lyons
6-3-0
71
10
4-1-0
5
Basalt (2)
6-0-0
70
6
2-0-0
6
Strasburg
5-4-0
60
2
2-3-0
7
Riverdale Ridge
6-1-0
58
9
4-0-0
8
Brush
5-2-0
50
4
0-1-0
9
Limon
4-3-0
28
–
3-1-0
10
Platte Valley
7-2-0
27
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Rocky Ford 18, Fort Lupton 17, Montezuma-Cortez 13, Lamar 10, Peak to Peak 6, La Junta 5, The Academy 3, Cedaredge 2, Delta 2, Valley 1.
“It was a tough battle,” Palisade coach Joe Ramunno told the Scoreboard Show.
Palisade had a few long drives in the second half which helped them keep Durango’s offense off the field.
“We were able to put some long drives together,” Ramunno said. “Early in the game, we turned the ball over and it cost us a couple of scoring opportunities. But that’s all part of it. We really rallied in the second half, and held on to the ball, and had some long drives that ate a lot of clock — we were having a really hard time stopping them, because they’re very explosive.”
Harrison was in the game because Tucker injured his ankle, Ramunno said, adding that he wasn’t yet sure how serious it was.
“It was a tough deal, but our team rallied to finish it off,” Ramunno said.
The Eagles ended Loveland’s 14-game losing streak, knocking off the defending champions.
“We really got off to a fast start in the first half,” Broomfield coach Blair Hubbard told the Scoreboard Show. “We returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and our defense really played well in the first half, as well.”
“Defensively, it’s just a total team effort,” Hubbard said. “Tonight, against an offense like Loveland, it has to be a total team effort. And the guys really worked hard through the week. … It’s very difficult to stop their offense
The four-time defending champions made quite a statement as they pushed their early-season record to 2-0.
Despite leading just 6-0 at halftime, the Cougars scored 22 points in the third quarter to go ahead 28-0.
Sedgwick County had three rushing touchdowns, and two passing touchdowns in the win.
[divider]
3A/4A: (3A 3) Mead 42, (4A 7) Skyline 14
Mead raced out to a big lead in the first half and never looked back in a big win.
The Mavericks led 27-0 at the half thanks to a 20-0 second-quarter advantage, and extended that lead to 42-0 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.
“It was a fun night,” Mead coach Jason Klatt told the Scoreboard Show. “I’m proud of our guys.”
Skyline’s potent offense didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter.
“It really shows the effort that our defense gave tonight,” Klatt said. “They’re not going to get the credit they deserve, but, man, it was one heck of an effort.”
Discovery Canyon built a 21-7 halftime lead, and then went on to secure the top-10 victory.
Marshall Pike rushed for three touchdowns, and Jonah Isakson hit Ethan Hall for a passing score.
“The guys stayed calmed and focused, and we were able to move the ball pretty well,” Discovery Canyon coach Shawn Mitchell said. “The offense did a really nice job putting together some good touchdowns.”
“Just overall really happy with the way we played tonight. It wasn’t perfect, but we did a lot of things right.”
[divider]
1A: (5) Holyoke 21, (2) Colorado Springs Christian 6
Holyoke built a 14-0 lead at halftime, and then added a fourth-quarter touchdown after CSCS cut the lead to 14-6 in the third.
“We played a great team defense, and played together,” Holyoke coach Dusty Sprague told the Scoreboard Show. “That’s what it takes. CSCS is a great team, and those backs are great backs.”
Holyoke is now 2-0 this season.
[divider]
2A: (8) Sterling 7, (10) Eaton 0
(Adam Bright/CHSAANow.com)
Scoreless through three quarters, and much of the fourth, Sterling scored the game’s lone touchdown with 2:34 to play in the final quarter.
Quarterback Brock Shalla scored on a 6-yard touchdown as the Tigers captured the top-10 victory, and improved to 2-0 this season.
With losses by Loveland and Valor Christian on Friday, the longest winning streak in the state now belongs to La Junta and Limon, who have each won 14 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Don’t look now, but Pueblo South is now 2-0 after two top-ten wins in 3A. The No. 8 Colts beat No. 4 Erie on the road Friday, 28-10.
A top-10 matchup in 1A: Strasburg 19, Burlington 6.
In 2A, No. 9 Resurrection Christian knocked off No. 3 Faith Christian 27-19.
Silver Creek, 2-8 a season ago, is now 2-0 following a 49-0 win over Centaurus on Friday.
Riverdale Ridge has won the first varsity game in program history. The Ravens, who went 0-8 in their inaugural season last year, beat Jefferson 23-6.
Lutheran, a 3A program, beat 2A No. 1 Platte Valley 26-7.
In 8-man, No. 4 Fowler beat No. 10 Sargent 50-27. The Grizzlies are now 2-0. “If the boys keep working, I think we’ll be a pretty good football team towards the end,” coach Mark Van Sickle told the Scoreboard Show.
In 6-man, No. 3 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 4 Prairie 60-34. “It was better, but still a long way to go,” said Stratton/Liberty coach Toby Kechter, whose team dropped an opening game to Kit Carson last week.
A cross-town rivalry matchup between Fossil Ridge and Fort Collins went to overtime, and Fossil won, 28-21.
Alamosa beat rival Monte Vista. “It’s huge. It gets the boys believing, and gets the town behind me a little bit,” first-year coach Drew Sandlin told the Scoreboard Show.
Longmont 17, Windsor 15, Grand Junction 14, Denver South 11, Grand Junction Central 11, Greeley West 10, Rampart 10, Brighton 8, Monarch 7, Thornton 7, Wheat Ridge 5, Mesa Ridge 4, Vista Peak Prep 4, Fruita Monument 3, Air Academy 1, Golden 1, Silver Creek 1.
Dropped out
Rampart (9), Fruita Monument (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Palmer Ridge (16)
0-0
173
1
Bye
2
Palisade (1)
0-0
150
3
Bye
3
Mead (1)
1-0
117
5
W
4
Erie
1-0
105
4
W
5
Roosevelt
1-0
77
–
W
6
Green Mountain
0-0
70
6
Bye
7
Discovery Canyon
1-0
64
7
W
7
Pueblo South
1-0
64
8
W
9
Pueblo East
0-1
48
2
L
10
Durango
1-0
42
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Frederick 28, Harrison 12, Fort Morgan 9, Holy Family 8, Pueblo Central 8, Evergreen 5, Denver North 4, Glenwood Springs 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Kennedy 1, Lutheran 1.
Chatfield softball went from unranked to No. 1 in this week’s 5A softball rankings, and University (in 3A) also moved up to No. 1.
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
Chatfield (2)
10-0-0
80
–
10-0-0
2
Broomfield (2)
8-1-0
76
9
8-1-0
3
Rock Canyon (3)
5-1-0
70
3
5-1-0
4
Loveland (1)
8-1-0
57
4
8-1-0
5
Arapahoe (1)
8-0-0
52
–
8-0-0
6
Legacy
5-1-0
51
6
5-1-0
7
Prairie View (1)
8-0-0
42
–
8-0-0
8
Columbine
6-0-0
40
10
6-0-0
9
Cherokee Trail
3-2-0
26
1
3-2-0
10
Fossil Ridge
5-1-0
24
5
5-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Legend 16, Brighton 13, Eaglecrest 10, Lakewood 9, Hinkley 8, Rocky Mountain 8, Grand Junction Central 7, Regis Jesuit 6, Cherry Creek 5, Smoky Hill 2, Douglas County 1, Mountain Vista 1, ThunderRidge 1.
Dropped out
Legend (2), Eaglecrest (7), Cherry Creek (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (11)
4-0-0
124
1
4-0-0
2
Erie (1)
8-0-0
92
3
8-0-0
3
Golden
6-0-0
91
5
6-0-0
4
Wheat Ridge
7-1-0
65
7
7-1-0
5
Pueblo South
6-0-0
60
9
6-0-0
6
Silver Creek
4-3-0
53
2
4-3-0
7
Berthoud
3-1-0
35
6
3-1-0
8
Pueblo West
5-1-0
28
8
5-1-0
9
Pueblo Centennial
6-0-0
23
–
6-0-0
10
Green Mountain
6-0-0
22
–
6-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo Central 18, Pueblo County 18, Rifle 16, Mountain View 14, Ponderosa 11, Mullen 10, Mead 8, Niwot 8, Discovery Canyon 7, Air Academy 4, George Washington 3, Evergreen 2, Pueblo East 2, Elizabeth 1.
Dropped out
Mountain View (4), Pueblo County (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (7)
9-0-0
93
2
9-0-0
2
Strasburg (1)
3-1-0
82
1
3-1-0
3
Eaton
7-1-0
70
3
7-1-0
4
Brush (1)
5-1-0
58
7
5-1-0
5
Sterling
5-1-0
50
5
5-1-0
6
Basalt
4-0-0
28
–
4-0-0
7
Peak to Peak
4-3-0
26
–
4-3-0
8
Montezuma-Cortez (1)
3-0-0
22
–
3-0-0
9
Riverdale Ridge
2-1-0
21
–
2-1-0
10
Lyons
2-2-0
15
–
2-2-0
Others receiving votes:
Rocky Ford 14, Delta 13, Limon 12, Fort Lupton 9, Platte Valley 8, Valley 8, Lamar 6, La Junta 5, Gunnison 3, Meeker 2, The Academy 1.
Dropped out
Delta (4), Rocky Ford (6), Meeker (8), Lamar (9), Faith Christian (10).
Stratton/Liberty was clinging to a 14-12 lead over Kit Carson in the waning moments of the first half.
Then Kit Carson scored just as the second quarter ended to take a 18-14 lead at the break. And they kept scoring, going up 40-14 after three quarters, and eventually securing a 48-14 win.
The Wildcats scored 38 unanswered points, including a 30-0 margin in the second half.
“The first half, we had a lot of mental lapses,” Kit Carson coach Curt Connelley told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We had, it seemed like, about 10 penalties. The second half we put things together and had a great run.”
Jayden McCombs-Farmer helped lead the way for Kit Carson with 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and a defensive effort that had him all over the field. Sullivan Farmer also threw three touchdown passes, and Peter Hornung had a receiving score.
It means the second-ranked Wildcats will likely take over atop the polls for preseason No. 1 Stratton/Liberty. It also means Kit Carson got some measure of revenge for last year’s 6-man championship game, which Stratton/Liberty won by defeating the Wildcats.
“It was one of the main things we kept talking about: Last time were were at Stratton, we got our butts whipped a little bit,” Connelley said.
Jarret Lichty, Stratton/Liberty’s top offensive weapon and the returning player of the year in 6-man, missed the game with an MCL sprain.
In the loss, Trevor Frank had a rushing score and a receiving touchdown for Stratton/Liberty.
[divider]
4A: (8) Pueblo South 49, (9) Holy Family 25
Pueblo South has grown into a more experienced team this season, and it showed in their opener.
The Colts, who started the 2018 campaign 0-4 with a young roster, began 2019 with a huge top-10 win. Jackson Dickerson had two receiving scores, and returned a punt for a touchdown, and Logan Petit threw three touchdown passes for the Colts.
“Just really proud of the way our kids played, such good effort,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told the Scoreboard Show. “We turned them over a few times, which was key for us defensively. Our kids on the defensive side played really well.”
Of his offense, Goddard said, “We played pretty efficiently on offense. We had a little trouble getting going on the ground game, but having an experienced quarterback was helpful for us. … We spread the ball around and had some success through the air, then got the running game going.”
Pueblo West got a huge statement win to open the season, on the road, no less — and they started early.
The Cyclones scored on their first two plays from scrimmage, built a 35-0 lead, and then rolled to a top-10 win.
“We really challenged our kids to start fast, and they did that,” Pueblo West coach Clint Buderus told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a good way to start. The kids have put in a lot of work in the offseason, and they were ready to go.”
Chandler Mason had four total touchdowns for Pueblo West, including a 65-yard rushing touchdown on the team’s opening play from scrimmage, and a 93-yard passing touchdown on their second.
Dawson Menegatti had two scores, one receiving and another on a fumble recovery.
It was a great debut for new coach Shawn Marsh and his son, Max, Eaglecrest’s starting quarterback.
Max Marsh, who transferred over from Grand Junction Central when his dad was hired in the offseason, accounted for three touchdowns — two rushing and one passing — as Eaglecrest broke open a 13-13 tie in the second half and start off its season 1-0.
“He had a couple of big runs, and made some plays,” Shawn Marsh said on the Scoreboard Show. “It ended up being a good night.”
Eaglecrest built a 13-7 lead at halftime, and then Highlands Ranch tied it at 13-13 following their opening drive of the second half when Jake Rubley threw his second touchdown of the day. Both went to Konor Lathrop.
Madj Barakat gave Eaglecrest the lead, this time for good, later in the third quarter when he stripped Rubley of the ball at the 30-yard-line and returned the fumble for a score.
Eaglecrest sealed the game with a screen play on 4th-and-5 from the Highlands Ranch 28 that brought the ball inside the 10 with two minutes to play.
[divider]
Notables
A number of games in the Denver metro area endured multiple lightning delays, causing some games to not finish up until after 11 p.m.
Adams City snapped a 17-game losing streak on Friday with a 17-9 win over Skyview. The Eagles hadn’t won since Sept. 2017.
In 2A, Sterling knocked off No. 4 Resurrection Christian 13-7 in overtime. The game was scoreless through three quarters, before Sterling grabbed a 7-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Resurrection Christian tied the game with 1:55 to play, and then Sterling won in OT after recovering a fumble on their defensive possession. “It was a lot of fun tonight,” Sterling coach Rob Busmente told the Scoreboard Show. “Both teams were in it and had there moments. It was kinda going back and forth … and we battled to the end.”
Roosevelt knocked off No. 2 Pueblo East in 3A, 38-21.
In 6-man, No. 3 Fleming topped No. 7 Idalia 65-12.
Another top-10 matchup in 6-man, where No. 5 Flagler/Hi-Plains held off No. 9 Briggsdale 40-39.
Sedgwick County is seeking a fifth-straight 8-man championship, and the Cougars beat Simla 46-0 to being their 2019 campaign.
Defending 5A champion Valor Christian opened its season with a 56-6 win over Charlotte (N.C.) Christian. Gavin Sawchuk rushed for two touchdowns, and Cole Bott found Kaiden Keefe for two passing scores. And the Eagles got a visit from alum Christian McCaffrey:
In 2019, No. 8-ranked Pueblo South is bringing more experience and it showed in a 49-25 victory over No. 9 Holy Family at Dutch Clark Stadium on Friday.
