In addition to securing a roster for this weekend’s Class 5A quarterfinals matchup of your choosingbelieve it or not, no small task at various sites throughout the 2010 season — make sure that you also bring a bracket.
You’ll need it.
Who are these guys?
A grand total of two programs from the 2009 quarters have returned.
If you guessed Mullen and Regis Jesuit, you’re correct.
Of the other sparkling-clean half-dozen, it’s a collection of newbies, resurrections or teams set for their first real tastes of success on Colorado’s highest level, lineups full of players who ordinarily would have turned in their equipment by now and participated in winter preseason practice.
We’re not to the parity point of the NFL, but making space for first-time trophies isn’t a bad idea or out of the realm of possibility.
The thing is, it’s great for the big-school game.
Who wants to see the same schools over and over again?
Chaparral, Cherokee Trail, Grand Junction, Grandview, Ralston Valley and Rangeview certainly don’t, and each program brings its own offerings and traits to what historically has been 5A’s most challenging and difficult round to win.
Chaparral is here for the first time since 2006. The Wolverines, with size and talent, fell that season to Mullen, which they will face Saturday and lost 35-0 to in Week 1. They’re eager to see how much they’ve grown since surviving the first-half suspension of senior quarterback Andrew Loudenback, who, for some reason, was penalized retroactively for a transfer.
Up to 5A in 2008 after just missing the 2007 4A title game, Cherokee Trail seems to be enjoying a breakout season. The fact that the newer school next to Aurora Reservoir is emerging isn’t a shock — the bustling area seems to be in shape to keep the Cougars regularly stocked with talent.
An old, longtime friend of top- flight football, Grand Junction has made the Western Slope relevant again in 5A. With the left side’s first big-school playoff victories of the expanded-classification era, the Tigers are welcome threats.
The 2007 champion, Grandview, actually had a losing record with two weeks to play in this regular season and was seeded 21st in the 32-team bracket. But the Wolves have handled traditional Jefferson County powers Pomona and Columbine and have the defense to continue.
In case you were wondering, Cinderella lost a glass slipper, not shoulder pads or spikes. Ralston Valley has laughed at the physical difference between 5A and 4A. A decade-long challenger in 4A, the Mustangs have lined up and run the ball — successfully — on 11 consecutive foes.
On a glorious run, Rangeview is bidding to become the Aurora district’s first big-school champion. As it is, the speedy, versatile Raiders can win only the second football championship of four city schools — Hinkley won 4A (in a 5A system) in 1997.
Why be afraid of change?
Footnotes.
Thomas Jefferson finished 3-7 and missed the playoffs. It was the Spartans’ first losing season since its inaugural effort, in 1960, when they were 4-5. . . . More than a few of you out there question the state-sanctioned coin flips that predetermine which team will be home in all rounds of the playoffs other than the finale. Can’t state that I disagree. We already have a big-school format in which league titles have been relegated meaningless, so, hey, why worry about earning home-field advantage?
