Denver Post staff writer Neil H. Devlin and Brian Forbes look at the action ahead in high school sports:
VOLLEYBALL
State tournament. The season’s final digs, blocks, dinks and, oh, yes, kills, are set for Friday and Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. Volleyball, the big girls game of the fall, will have its final pool play, semifinals and championships of 2007. Eight teams in each of the five classifications, including the defending champions of Class 5A Eaglecrest, 4A Battle Mountain, 3A Colorado Springs Christian and 2A Hoehne – 1A Kit Carson didn’t make it – will begin with as many as 13 hours of play Friday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The lineups:
Saturday’s first matches will begin at 8 a.m., to be followed by the semifinals between the top top in each pool under a cross-bracket format.
All five finales will be at 7 p.m.
And here are a few tidbits to know and tell:
The most experienced group will be in 5A, where five of the teams have combined for a total of 11 state titles (4A has 10).
Which surviving teams have the most hardware? Cherry Creek and Flagler have four titles apiece.
The group with the fewest titles to brag about is in 2A, where Simla and Hoehne account for three titles and the remaining six teams have never won the competition.
Some are making their first appearance, others, such as the Columbine Rebels, are in the tournament for the first time since 1975.
Look for a preview in Friday’s sports section.
FOOTBALL
Playoffs. One-loss-and-done football is underway throughout the seven classifications. Take your pick of the 38 games Friday and Saturday. All the top seeds remain. Classes 5A-3A are down to 16 teams; there are eight in 2A through 8-man; and 6-man is in semifinals.
On the recruiting trail, Douglas County’s Ryan Misare, a two-way back, announced he will attend the Air Force Academy.
Along with Misare’s character and grades, Huskies coach Jeff Ketron said, “It’s a great place for him.”
