No. 17 Fairview 28, No. 16 Regis Jesuit 24
AURORA — Michael McVenes hurdled a defender at the goal line to complete No. 17 Fairview’s game-winning drive with seconds to play as the Knights upset No. 16 Regis Jesuit 28-24 in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
McVenes, Fairview’s senior quarterback, engineered the drive after Regis Jesuit had taken the lead on Jordan Jungers’ second touchdown of the night with two minutes remaining.
“We practiced our two-minute drill, and we do a lot of planning in practice and said, ‘Hey, let’s just go catch and take care of the ball, get out of bounds every chance we get to save the clock, and go down and win this,'” said Fairview coach Tom McCartney.
Twice on the final drive, it looked as if Regis would escape with the win. On second down from inside the Raiders’ 30-yard-line, McVenes was sacked back at the 44. But, facing third-and-18, the senior scrambled to his left and picked up the first down with room to spare along the sideline.
“Mike felt like he could find a little window to run in and made a really nice move to buy a little extra time to get outside,” McCartney said.
A few plays later, McVenes nearly had a slant route intercepted inside the 5-yard line – but it fell incomplete. The next play, on a designed quarterback draw from the 6, he darted up the middle and leaped over a lone defender at the goal line for the winning score.
“It’s pretty gritty right there for us,” McCartney said.
Jungers finished with 183 yards rushing for Regis Jesuit.
— Ryan Casey, The Post
No. 2 Grand Junction 51, No. 31 Chatfield 17
GRAND JUNCTION —Grand Junction got an early scare in the form of a 10-0 deficit facing 31st-seed Chatfield on Friday night. Fortunately, the second-seeded Tigers had Jerreon Dennis.
Dennis exploded for 256 yards and four scores as part of a furious rally that ended in a 51-17 Grand Junction win.
“Once he gets rolling,” Grand Junction coach Robbie Owens said, “it’s kind of hard to get him stopped.”
Quarterback Sean Rubalcaba had two touchdowns for the Tigers, who will travel to face No. 18 Chaparral next week.
“It’s unfortunate, being a high seed, we have to go travel down there,” Owens said. “They’re a good football team, and well-coached. We’ll have our work cutout.”
— R.C.
No. 13 Fountain-Fort Carson 31, No. 20 Cherokee Trail 21
FOUNTAIN – An early track meet – 21-21 in the third quarter – turned into a defensive struggle in the final frame before Fountain-Fort Carson pulled out a 31-21 win over Cherokee Trail.
“It was a game of speed,” Fountain-Fort Carson coach Mitch Johnson said.
And that speed ultimately favored Johnson’s Trojans.
Anthony Davis rushed for 167 yards and two scores, and Joe Jones added two “key” – Johnson’s word – interceptions to seal the win.
“This is our second year in 5A,” Johnson said, “and we had three goals: we want to have a winning season, we want to win the league title, and the most important thing is that we’ve got to get to the playoffs and when we get there, we’ve got to win. It was a big night.”
— R.C.
No. 10 Lakewood 39, No. 23 Gateway 20
LAKEWOOD – Cassius Simpson had a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown to spark Lakewood’s 39-20 win over Gateway. John Greer finished with more than 200 yards rushing for the Tigers.
— Jerel Sangster, Special to The Post
No. 9 Highlands Ranch 57, No. 24 Mountain Range 21
HIGHLANDS RANCH – Joe Hansley rushed for 180 yards as Highlands Ranch routed Mountain Range. Steve Donatell completed 7-of-11 passes for three touchdowns. Troy Josey added a fumble return for a touchdown.
— J.S.
No. 7 Horizon 49, No. 26
Rampart 0
Thornton – Andrew Patrick rushed for two touchdowns and caught another score in Horizon’s first playoff win since 1999.
— J.S.
No. 18 Chaparral 49, No. 15 Westminster 8
WESTMINSTER –
It was an upset in seed only. The visiting Wolverines, behind 178 yards and four touchdowns from Zachary Guy, dismantled the Wolves at District 50 Stadium.
— Jon E. Yunt, The Post
No. 14 Northglenn 45, No. 19 Denver East 7
WESTMINSTER –
The Norse led 18-0 at halftime and then buried the Angels with 20 more points in the third quarter to move onto the second round.
— J.Y.
No. 6 Mullen 42, No. 27 Mountain Vista 0
DENVER –
In the shutout, the stout Mullen defense held the Golden Eagles to just 136 yards of offense.
— J.Y.
Top performers from Friday night
Dennis is dandy. Jerreon Dennis, Grand Junction running back, powered his team with 256 yards and four scores in a victory over Chatfield.
Jungers leads Regis. Regis Jesuit’s Jordan Jungers rushed for two TDs and 183 yards in a 28-24 loss to Fairview.
Jones has “key” picks. Joe Jones, Fountain-Fort Carson, had two “key” interceptions, coach Mitch Johnson said, that led to a 31-21 win over Cherokee Trail.
Hansley rushes for 180. Highlands Ranch’s Joe Hansley rushed for 180 yards in a win over Mountain Range.
— Ryan Casey, The Post
Friday night number
166. Consecutive points scored by Chaparral, over a span of four games, before Westminster scored late in the Wolverines’ 49-8 win. Previously, the wins were 46-0 over Douglas County, 31-0 over Highlands Ranch and 40-0 over Mountain Vista.
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Top 10: How they fared
Class 5A
1. Grand Junction beat Durango 41-6
2. Columbine beat (4) Mullen 24-21
3. Grandview beat Overland 41-12
4. Mullen lost to (2) Columbine 24-21
5. Pomona beat Legacy 40-7 (Thursday)
6. Horizon beat Mountain Range 30-0
7. Ralston Valley beat Fairview 14-6 (Thursday)
8. ThunderRidge beat Douglas Co. 42-21 (Thursday)
9. Lakewood vs. Central (G.J.), today, 1 p.m.
10. Fountain-Fort Carson beat Pueblo South 36-6
Class 4A
1. Valor Christian beat Ponderosa 50-0 (Thursday)
2. Monarch beat Green Mountain 42-0 (Thursday)
3. Pine Creek beat Sand Creek 35-8
4. Longmont beat Loveland 32-6 (Thursday)
5. Montrose beat Fruita Monument 27-21
6. Castle View beat Littleton 52-13
7. Wheat Ridge beat Prairie View 42-20
8. Broomfield beat Greeley Central 48-7
9. Widefield beat Pueblo West 35-33
10. Cheyenne Mountain beat Mesa Ridge 49-28
Class 3A
1. Cañon City beat Palmer Ridge 19-14
2. John F. Kennedy at Skyview, today, noon
3. Silver Creek beat Skyline 54-7
4. Vista Ridge at Mitchell, today, 1 p.m.
5. Rifle beat (7) Palisade 36-33
6. Windsor beat Fort Lupton 47-3
7. Palisade lost to (5) Rifle 36-33
8. Battle Mountain beat Steamboat Springs 61-22
9. Holy Family lost to D’Evelyn 17-14
10. Roosevelt beat Erie 41-12
Class 2A
1. Brush beat Weld Central 51-7
2. Bayfield beat Alamosa 35-14
3. Kent Denver beat (8) Bennett 28-14
4. Florence beat La Junta 31-14
5. Eaton beat Valley 35-7
6. Faith Christian at B. Machebeuf, today, 7 p.m.
7. Trinidad beat (10) Lamar 34-20
8. Bennett lost to (3) Kent Denver 28-14
9. Pagosa Springs at Centauri, today, 1 p.m.
10. Lamar lost to (7) Trinidad 34-20
Class 1A
1. Burlington beat Ellicott 47-0
2. Hotchkiss beat Meeker 47-0
3. Lutheran vs. Denver Christian, today, 6 p.m.
4. Lyons beat Clear Creek 29-7
5. Limon beat Peyton 45-14
6. Akron beat Yuma 42-12
7. Resur. Chr. at Cornerstone Chr., today, 7 p.m.
8. Wray beat Holyoke 54-27
9. Byers, bye
10. Wiggins beat Highland 58-0
Class A 8-man
1. Hoehne beat Holly 65-0
2. Dayspring Christian vs. North Park, today, 1 p.m.
3. Norwood vs. Sierra Grande, today, 1 p.m.
4. Simla beat Miami-Yoder 53-0
5. Fowler beat Granada 24-22
Class A 6-man
1. Fleming beat Idalia 56-0
2. Deer Trail beat Weldon Valley 50-20
3. Cotopaxi vs. South Baca, today, 1 p.m.
4. Otis beat Pawnee 52-24
5. Hi-Plains beat Arickaree 54-12
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Three games for next week
The best of 5A’s second round. Times and dates are to be determined.
• Bear Creek at Mullen. In a rematch of a 34-18 Mustangs win in Week 5, Bear Creek’s offense will look to build off its 35-point first-round output.
• Lakewood at Horizon. Neither squad was looked upon as a potential quarterfinal participant before the season. After next week, one of them will be.
• Grand Junction at Chaparral. This will be Grand Junction’s first major test of the season – a team that’s won four in a row by a combined 166-8.
— Ryan Casey, The Denver Post
