Could a city title be decided this soon? Possibly.
On Saturday, Montbello and George Washington, the fifth- and sixth-ranked Class 5A teams in The Denver Post/9News polls, respectively, are going to find out.
The two face each other in the second league game for both squads. A Denver Prep League stuffed full of other rugged competition — Denver East, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson — will ultimately decide, but the winner figures to have a significant leg up.
“It’s definitely a big game,” Montbello coach David Carey said. “Right now we’re the top two ranked teams in the league and the only two DPS teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. So, there’s a lot of chips on the table right now.
“Just because it’s the first game doesn’t mean it’s not the city championship. The first game can be considered the city championship. With us being the top two teams, we could be playing for the city championship.”
The game should be a contrast in styles — the bigger Patriots (11-4, 1-0) led by center Tyrone Marshall against the speedier Warriors (11-4, 1-0) led by guard Isiah Cooper.
“They know us well and we know them well as usual at this time of year,” GW coach Michael Rogers said. “Hopefully, we come out to play. Play at our tempo. They’re not as big as we are, but they are just as quick if not quicker than we are. They have a few shooters out there that can shoot the ball and make a difference with 3’s. So we don’t want to get in that transition of trading them twos for 3’s.”
Carey said Montbello’s keys to victory start with stopping Marshall.
“Tyrone Marshall’s a big boy who is a handful. Odessa Lear can shoot it,” Carey said. “They are probably the most experienced team, definitely in the city, if not in the state.”
The Thunderdome provides the backdrop to one of the DPL’s biggest rivalries.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of the Mullen-Creek rivalry, Mullen- Regis, the Highlands Ranch-Heritage-ThunderRidge,” Rogers said.
“Those are great rivalries, but there’s nothing like that city rivalry in the dome at a neutral site. All of the alumni from both teams, plus the other schools — all of the DPL comes out to watch. It’s just fun. You’re the only show in town that day and everyone is there to see you.”
The big game
No. 5 Montbello vs. No. 6 George Washington
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. at Manual High’s Thunderdome, 1700 East 28th Ave., Denver
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
AROUND TOWN
A woman’s place is on the track.
A boundary will break in professional motorcycle racing this weekend in Denver, when Vicki Golden becomes the first woman to race in the AMA Arenacross series.
A pro rider for two years, Golden will jump to the top men’s series when it stops at the Denver Coliseum tonight and Saturday. The 18-year-old finished fourth in women’s motocross last season and will race in the AMA Lites Western Championship, a 10-race tour.
“The women’s class has a really long offseason, so this is a great chance to keep me racing all year,” Golden told Speed TV this week. “Really, it’s just something I love doing, so I figured I might as well go for it.”
In the top AMA division, Jeff Gibson of Blacklick, Ohio, who rides a Honda, is already pulling away in the season standings.
He won the first three series stops and is going for a fourth this weekend. Chad Johnson of Rhinelander, Wis., is second, riding a Kawasaki.
STAY ON THE COUCH
NHL puts its stars on ice.
Who would have guessed just six short years ago, when the NHL was locked down and barely alive, that the league most likely to play the next two seasons would be pro hockey.
But here we are, staring at potential NFL and NBA lockouts, and the NHL is cruising. The league said it probably will break revenue records this season for a fifth consecutive year, taking in nearly $2.9 billion, according to an Associated Press report — that’s an 85 percent spike since 2007.
The NHL takes its All-Star Game to Raleigh, N.C., this weekend for the first time. The puck drops at 2 p.m. for Sunday’s game, with the Avs’ Matt Duchene, below, and Paul Stastny in all-star jerseys.
The game airs on Versus, a network that casual sports fans pooh-poohed when it earned rights to the NHL after the lockout. But the Versus coverage has been excellent, with Mike Emrick on play-by-play and Eddie Olczyk on color commentary.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Fun at the Frost Giant.
Over the span of nearly 100 years, New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Mount Cook, took the lives of some 200 hikers and climbers. One of them was Chip Salaun, who went missing from the icy mountain with a companion in 1985.
But not before Salaun created the Frost Giant. Now in its 32nd year, the Frost Giant 5K and 10K races run through Estes Park this weekend.
The races, though, will run in fun, combining road and cross country trails. When the course goes off-road, it runs through the historic MacGregor Ranch near Lumpy Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The snow-or-shine races go Sunday, starting with the 5K at 11 a.m. and the 10K at noon.
See or for information.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Some high-flying hoops.
Already in full swing, the college basketball season gets jam-packed this weekend with Front Range teams. Every big-school team in the area will play Saturday.
For the men, Colorado State remains the best team in the state, according to early RPI ratings. The No. 52 Rams travel to face Utah at 4 p.m. The game airs on The Mountain.
On the women’s court, Wyoming is tops in the RPI at No. 79. The Cowgirls host San Diego State in Laramie at 1:30 p.m.
Nick Groke, The Denver Post
