(Brad Cochi)

The first team to emerge from the Class 4A semis was the No. 2 Far Northeast Warriors, who rode their stifling defense to win over No. 3 Vista PEAK. Then on Saturday night, No. 4 Boulder won a low-scoring slugfest against No. 8 Denver East.

Far Northeast and Boulder will go head-to-head for the trophy when the 5A state championship game begins on Saturday at 7 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo’s Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl Stadium

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(2) Far Northeast 23, (3) Vista PEAK 16

What started as an uncertain and confusing school year now has a chance to end in a special and potentially historic football season for the Far Northeast Warriors.

At Evie Dennis Stadium on Friday night, the second-seeded Warriors (5-2) won 23-16 over the No. 3 Vista PEAK Bison (5-3) in the Class 5A state semifinals for the spring Season C campaign. It took an outstanding defensive effort and a late stand against a dangerous Bison offense to get them there, and the Warriors earned a chance to compete for their program’s first state championship on Saturday night in Pueblo.

“I told my guys that this is a weird year,” FNE head coach Tony Lindsay Sr. said. “Montbello has been to the championship a couple times – like in ’81 – but we’ve never taken state. Aside from remembering the pandemic, you’ll remember what you did during the pandemic. So, to top it off with something like that would be special after all the months and months of everything we’ve had to do just to come out and play football.

“It’s just awesome.”

The Warriors’ defense paced their semifinal triumph from start to finish, forcing a sack fumble for a safety on the Bison’s opening drive of the evening and holding Vista PEAK well below its scoring average of 26.75 points per game. The Bison only led briefly in the first quarter when Jaylen Carrizales caught a touchdown pass.

Both teams were playing with significant injuries to key offensive players. But Far Northeast’s Gregory Anderson was able to overcome his bumps and bruises to run for a long touchdown in the second quarter. Later in the frame, the Warriors forced their second of three first-half turnovers, another sack fumble that Daeontez Thomas returned for a touchdown. Warriors senior Abdullahi Mberwa made a spectacular diving touchdown grab late in the second quarter to send Far Northeast into halftime with a 23-6 lead.

In the second half, the Warriors fumbled twice and a 28-yard field goal combined with Carrizales’ second touchdown of the game cut the lead to seven. With 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the game, Vista PEAK’s Nathan Hunholz blocked a punt at midfield to give his team a chance at a game-tying drive. But the Warriors defense held strong one more time to seal the victory and punch their ticket to the title game.

“We’ve worked for this all week and all season,” Warriors senior Emmanuel Nwaneto said. “Our defensive coach got us ready and we came out strong. We came out here with 14 dudes. Other teams have us outnumbered. But it’s just the heart and the coaching staff that we have. We just came out here and showed why we’re the best defense in the state.

“We’re a family and a strong group of individuals, and there’s nothing that can break us.”

In Saturday’s title game at CSU-Pueblo’s Thunderbowl Stadium, Far Northeast will face the winner of Saturday afternoon’s semifinal between No. 4 Boulder and No. 8 Denver East.

(Brad Cochi)

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(4) Boulder 6, (8) Denver East 3

It has been nearly three decades since the Boulder football team last played for a championship, but that opportunity has finally arrived once again at the end of the Season C campaign.

On Saturday night at Recht Field, the No. 4-seeded Panthers ground out a 6-3 win over No. 8 Denver East in the Class 5A state semifinals to punch their ticket to the spring title game. The Panthers last won the state championship in 1992, and will have a chance to win their program’s fourth when they take the field at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl next Saturday night.

“We’ve all had to overcome so much — the community, us personally, with COVID, with everything,” Boulder coach Ryan Bishop told BoCoPreps.com’s Brent New. “Words can’t describe it. I lost my mom in September and I know that she is just so proud, so proud. And that’s what this is about. Overcoming adversity, making this community proud, this school proud, the administration proud.”

Football’s 2021 state playoff bracket for Class 5A.

2021 CHSAA Football Championships Class 5A

In the final coaches poll of the Season C regular season, Denver South, Thomas Jefferson, Glenwood Springs, Buena Vista and Hoehne were voted No. 1 in their respective classifications.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing bcochi@chsaa.org. These rankings are part of the postseason seeding process.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In the latest poll, three new teams – Denver South, Glenwood Springs and Buena Vista – took over at No. 1.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing bcochi@chsaa.org. These rankings are part of the postseason seeding process.

Julian Buerk threw for two touchdowns to lead Class 5A No. 3 Denver South football to a 18-15 win over No. 1 Vista PEAK.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — Twice in the course of four quarters, Denver South quarterback Julian Buerk limped off the field in obvious pain. The first time, the Ravens were still losing so after taking a series off he went back out there.

The second time, the Ravens had just taken the lead in the fourth quarter and he turned the burden over to the defense. His two touchdown passes and the defense’s ability to shut down the run game was the perfect formula for Class 5A No. 3 Denver South to come away with an 18-15 win over No. 1 Vista PEAK Prep on Saturday.

Sacrificing body and all was worth it for the senior quarterback after he had commanded the team to two 4-6 seasons in the years prior.

“You have to do what you have to do to win,” Buerk said. “I came out to play and this was all for the team.”

The team had to battle from behind early. The Bison (4-1 overall, 3-1 5A South) got on the board early thanks to a long touchdown run from Ja’derris Carr. A swinging gate formation on the point after allowed for an easy 2-point conversion to give them an 8-0 lead.

The Ravens (5-0, 4-0) knew they had to adjust their defense to focus on the run game and Buerk knew he had to get his team down the field. He wasn’t afraid to air the ball out and chipped away yardage to get into the red zone in the second quarter.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Buerk found Jake Perruccio over the middle and the sophomore stretched his way into the end zone. Buerk was then stopped less than a yard shy of the goal line on the 2-point conversion, allowing the Bison to maintain a two-point lead at halftime.

The defenses clamped down and neither team scored in the third quarter. With time running out and his ankle obviously causing him discomfort, Buerk mustered up another drive into the Vista PEAK red zone. This time it was Rashad Caldwell on the catch and he kept his legs churning until he could reach the ball over the goal line to put the Ravens up 12-8.

“We know we have one of the best passing games in the state, fall or spring,” South coach Ryan Marini said. “If we can protect him, we know that Julian will take over a game the way he did. Our receivers know to get open because he’ll find them.”

A pick-six from Yohannes Antonio put the game out of reach, although the Bison did score a late touchdown to pull to within a field goal. An injury to Carr late in the game just added to Vista PEAK’s troubles throughout the day. Turnovers and costly penalties stalled drives at the most inopportune times. It’s a lesson the Bison are sure to hang on to moving forward.

“We’ve had similar penalties but those didn’t cost us a game,” Bison coach John Sullivan said. “It finally did. But Denver South played a great game today. They came in with a plan for stopping our run and we’ll get better. We’ll learn from it.”

For at least the weekend, Denver South with ride the wave of energy with the win. Marini was quick to point out that this senior class won a futures championship as eighth graders and a win over a team like Vista PEAK is something that players and coaches alike know can add energy to a program.

“It’s the biggest win we could’ve gotten,” Buerk said.

Now they want to aim for a bigger one as they look to make a championship run in the next month.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The Classical Academy and Flatirons Academy moved up to the No. 1 spots in 3A and 2A, respectively.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. These rankings are part of the postseason seeding process.

Hoehne took over as new No. 1 team in 8-man football.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Season C Football Polls

Voted upon by coaches around the state. These rankings are part of the postseason seeding process.

Class 5A No. 1 Vista Peak football jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat No. 3 Rangeview 32-14 on Friday.