Neil Devlin takes a look at this week’s high school football playoffs:
CLASS 5A
Quarterfinals. (Seeds and records in parentheses, in bracket order)
(9) Highlands Ranch (9-2) vs. (1) Columbine (11-0)
Saturday, noon, Jefferson County Stadium.
• The last time the two programs met was in 1998.
• Joe Hansley leads Highlands Ranch in rushing (1,845 yards), receiving (518 yards), touchdowns (32) and interceptions (seven). Other than that, he hasn’t done much.
• Cameron and Bernard McDondle combined for 317 yards rushing in Round 2 against Fairview. Bernard (157 yards) ran for five touchdowns, including an 80-yarder.
• The Rebels hope to welcome back injured starting quarterback Justin Brown, out with a leg problem since late in the regular-season finale against Mullen.
(4) Ralston Valley (10-1) vs. (5) Grandview (10-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., Legacy Stadium.
• It’s the first matchup between the two, and Ralston Valley’s second consecutive quarterfinals appearance since moving to 5A in 2010. The Mustangs are 21-2 since leaving 4A, 4-1 in the postseason.
• Twenty Mustangs have attempted a rush. Reilly Hauptman leads with more than 900 yards and 10 TDs.
• The Wolves, waxed in Zero Week by defending 4A champion Valor Christian, began their turnaround by ending Mullen’s 34-game winning streak.
• Grandview’s defense has been a 5A constant for years, but its offense has gradually come on in 2011 — the Wolves haven’t scored fewer than 21 points over the past 10 weeks. Isaiah Jackson has emerged as their top ground threat, including 159 yards and four TDs last week against Cherry Creek.
(10) Lakewood (10-1) vs. (2) Grand Junction (11-0)
Friday, 7 p.m., Stocker Stadium.
• In a battle of teams with the same nickname, the visiting Tigers have survived two struggles in the postseason, earning a turnaround victory over Gateway in the preliminaries, then outlasting Horizon 10-0 last week.
• Big plays for Lakewood have been critical, notably last week’s 97-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Nelson to Robert Condon on third-and-38.
• The host Tigers have been as good as advertised in their second consecutive quarterfinals showing.
• Grand Junction’s lines have been stout, much to the liking of quarterback Sean Rubalcaba and running back Jerreon Dennis. They have rushed and thrown for 4,485 yards and 55 TDs.
(6) Mullen (9-2) vs. (3) Pomona (10-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., North Area Athletic Complex.
• You last saw them match up in the 2009 title game.
• Three-time defending state champion Mullen, which has won 17 consecutive playoff games, hasn’t played at the NAAC since 2005, when it downed Arvada West in the semifinals.
• The Mustangs’ Addie Brown has gotten big of late — he has eight touchdowns over the past three games and been rock-solid on defense.
• From Pomona coach Jay Madden: “(The Mustangs) will be the best team we’ve faced.”
• Since bouncing Ralston Valley 28-0 in Week 8 to clinch a league title, the Panthers haven’t been challenged, winning three times by an aggregate 128-14.
• Quarterback play? Pomona’s Alec Feland threw six TD passes last week, three to Dominic Martinez, against Northglenn … in the first half.
CLASS 4A
(1) Valor Christian (11-0) vs. (9) Wheat Ridge (8-3)
Friday, 7 p.m., Jeffco Stadium.
• The Valor Christian winning streak stands at 21.
• The Eagles have five shutouts, and no opponent has scored more than 17 points; only four have reached double figures.
• Super sophomore Christian McCaffrey ran for a TD and caught a pass for another in last week’s 56-0 drubbing of Pueblo West.
• They met last year in the 4A final: Eagles 38, Farmers 8.
• Wheat Ridge is fresh from two close ones — a 21-14 setback to undefeated Monarch in the regular-season finale, then survival in a 19-13 road victory at frisky Widefield.
(5) Longmont (11-0) vs. (4) Castle View (10-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., Douglas County Stadium.
• The Trojans stand third in 4A season scoring (436 points), mainly thanks to junior quarterback Forrest Wetterstrom. In last week’s preliminaries, he rushed and passed for 306 yards and three TDs.
• Castle View, which has lost only to Valor Christian, beat Green Mountain last week 35-27 — and was outscored 10-0 in the fourth quarter — behind Bryce Lich’s 216 yards rushing and three TDs.
• Efficiency — Wetterstrom has 25 TD tosses, five interceptions; for the Sabercats’ Austin Smith, it’s 16 and three, respectively.
(3) Pine Creek (11-0) at (11) Greeley West (8-3)
Saturday, 1 p.m., District 6 Stadium.
• The Eagles have been convincing, leading 4A in scoring (499 points) and standing second in points allowed (74).
• Only 5A Fountain-Fort Carson, which fell 14-6, has come within a single digit. Every other foe has fallen by at least 27 points.
• Since losing by a point to rival Longmont, Greeley West has won its past four games by a combined 165-21, including by a shutout.
• David Eddy (195 yards rushing) and Tre Howard (146) fueled a convincing 38-7 road victory over Montrose in the preliminaries.
(7) Broomfield (9-2) vs. (2) Monarch (11-0)
Friday, 7 p.m., Warrior Stadium.
• Even beyond Boulder County, everyone knows that somehow, some way, the road to the 4A title almost always involves these two neighboring programs.
• Monarch won a nonleaguer, 42-14 in Week 3.
• The Eagles’ Jose Fraire ran for three TDs, the longest a 65-yarder, last week in a 44-10 whipping of Cheyenne Mountain in the preliminaries.
• The Coyotes are coming off a laugher, 53-3 over Durango. Jared Meschke ran for two TDs. Trevor Carver added a 73-yard interception return.
Neil H. Devlin, The Denver Post
