No. 1 Mullen (10-0) at No. 17 Cherry Creek (7-3)
Stutler Bowl, Friday, 7 p.m.
Colorado’s best rivalry hasn’t been what it was since the two programs met in a tight 2008 championship game. Mullen has won the past two games by an aggregate 85-15, including 48-0 in Week 4. Mullen, the two-time defending champ, has won 29 games in a row. Last year, Creek suffered its first losing season since 1970 but is back on track, winning five of six games. Mullen has six shutouts, with Leilon Willingham, Brady Daigh and Connor and Patrick Healy among the state’s best linebacking corps.
No. 8 Chaparral (8-2) at No. 24 Palmer (7-3)
Garry Berry Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Wolverines’ two losses were to Mullen and Regis Jesuit, the top two seeds in the field. Chaparral has won six games in a row. Chaparral’s Jordan Serena is averaging 21 yards per reception and has 11 touchdowns. Palmer won its first playoff game in coach Rod Baker’s 17 years, 32-0 vs. Lakewood. The Terrors have one of 5A’s top athletes in Dominic Rufran, and Eddie Bacalane threw three TDs in the preliminaries.
No. 4 Rangeview (10-0) at No. 20 Arvada West (6-4)
NAAC, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Under coach Dave Gonzales, the Raiders had suffered five previous preliminary-round losses but broke through last week with a 34-14 win over Boulder. Jonathon Mathews ran for four TDs and recovered a fumble in the end zone for another. Rangeview, which opened in the early 1980s, is on its best-ever winning streak. Arvada West, a 2009 state semifinalist, hasn’t won more than two games in a row this season. In a 32-13 preliminary-round victory at Fountain-Fort Carson, quarterback Taylor Connors threw for 129 yards, ran for 139 yards and had a hand in three TDs.
No. 5 Columbine (9-1) at No. 21 Grandview (6-4)
Legacy Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Rebels will be making their first trip to Legacy Stadium as well as meeting the Wolves for the first time. Junior running back Cameron McDondle (back) was held out of last week’s 28-14 victory over Mountain Vista. His brother Bernard, a freshman, stepped in for 93 yards rushing. Jonathan Beverly added 134 and two touchdowns. Grandview outscored Pomona 21-0 in the fourth quarter in the first round last week in a 35-22 win. Jordan Schlehuber threw for three touchdowns, and Ryan Tasker ran for another TD as well as 108 yards.
No. 15 Arapahoe (7-3) at No. 2 Regis Jesuit (10-0)
Friday, 7 p.m.
With 107 points in its past eight quarters, Arapahoe has made the second round for the first time since 2006. The Warriors’ Alec Gieser threw for three touchdowns and ran for two TDs in a first-round victory against South. Six Raiders reached the end zone last week in a 49-35 win over Horizon. Jordan Jungers had two scoring runs, giving him 18 for the season. Wide receiver Casey Young is 2-for-2 passing, both for touchdowns. The Raiders have won four of their past five playoff games.
No. 10 Grand Junction (9-1) at No. 7 Highlands Ranch (8-2)
Shea Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.
With a 63-26 crushing of Northglenn, the Tigers became the first Western Slope team to win a 5A playoff game since the format was changed in 1994. Sean Rubalcaba passed for four touchdowns and ran for another. It’s a rematch — Grand Junction has won nine in a row since dropping its opener 17-10 at home against Highlands Ranch. Joe Hansley scored twice against Fairview — one on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, the other a 21-yard pass from Steve Donatell, the game-winner in the third quarter — as the Falcons won a one-touchdown, first-round matchup.
No. 14 Bear Creek (7-3) at No. 3 Ralston Valley (10-0)
NAAC, Friday, 7 p.m.
They’re both in the Jefferson County District, but this is their first matchup. The Bears’ Sean Flanagan threw three touchdown passes and Treamon Edwards ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 42-3 victory over Gateway. Bear Creek began 3-0, then had to work through the highs and lows of an underclassmen-dominated team. The Mustangs, in their first gig in 5A, have been thorough, tough and dependable. The firsts keep coming for Ralston Valley as Reilly Hauptman scored two touchdowns last week in a 54-6 whipping of Westminster, its first postseason victory in 5A.
No. 6 Cherokee Trail (9-1) at No. 22 ThunderRidge (6-4)
Shea Stadium, today, 7 p.m.
Another first-ever meeting. Cherokee Trail used a 10-0 fourth quarter to defeat Legacy 27-14 in the first round. Thomas Singleton, the Mustangs’ passing and rushing leader, began and ended the game with scoring runs, the second a 31-yarder. ThunderRidge knocked out the 11th-seeded Fort Collins Lambkins 26-23 in overtime. Travis Holder, after the Lambkins had taken a lead in overtime on a field goal, ran 12 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Grizzlies, whose four losses have been against teams a combined 36-4, have been beaten up with injuries yet keep coming, a usual trait of Joe Johnson-coached teams.
Neil H. Devlin, The Denver Post
