Here’s how the quarterfinals played out in the Colorado high school football Class 5A and Class 4A state tournament.
Class 5A
No. 1 Valor Christian (12-0) beat No. 9 Columbine (9-4), 17-7 at Valor Stadium: The Eagles, in pursuit of a ninth title, played their closest game all season as the Rebels (who lost 35-21 to Valor in Week 5) gave the 5A favorite a stiff test. Columbine recovered a fumble then scored on a long TD pass to go ahead 7-0 early, but Valor responded with 17 unanswered points, including Gavin Sawchuk’s 27-yard TD catch and Jordan Norwood’s short TD run. Sawchuk passed Christian McCaffrey for the most rushing yards in school history.
No. 4 Grandview (10-2) beat No. 5 Ralston Valley (9-3), 20-16 at Legacy Stadium: The Mustangs, who beat the Wolves 24-13 in Week 4 in Aurora, got off to another good start with a 10-0 first-half lead. But sophomore Liam Szarka’s TD pass put the Wolves ahead 13-10 in the third. The momentum shifts continued as senior Marquel Collins’ TD run put Ralston Valley back ahead early in the fourth. Then Szarka had the decisive play when he tossed a late TD pass to senior Charlie Dick. Grandview’s won one 5A state title, in 2007.
No. 2 Cherry Creek (10-2) beat No. 7 Regis Jesuit (8-4), 28-14 at Stutler Bowl: The two-time defending champions scored on their opening possession and then scored again to take a 14-0 lead into the half. Then Cherry Creek, which defeated Regis Jesuit 34-14 in Week 5, pulled away. Juniors Carlson Tann and Arion Boyd both had TDs, extending the home team lead to 28-0 before the Raiders finally scored with about six minutes left. Cherry Creek’s in pursuit of its 12th title and can become the first 5A program to three-peat twice.
No. 3 Legend (11-1) beat No. 6 Arapahoe (9-3), 35-14 on Saturday at EchoPark Stadium: It was all Titans as Legend advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year. The Titans were up 28-7 at halftime, a first-half rout that included a touchdown on a trick play (senior wideout Jackson Brush threw a touchdown to senior quarterback Colton Warner off a pass on a reverse) and a score on a kickoff return. Arapahoe senior quarterback Cole Hansen threw a late touchdown pass, but it was too much deficit to overcome.
Next week: Grandview vs Valor Christian, Legend vs Cherry Creek
Class 4A
No. 1 Montrose (12-0) beat No. 8 Fountain-Fort Carson (10-2), 48-14 at Montrose Stadium: Five rushing touchdowns put the Indians ahead 35-0 before the end of the first half, and Montrose added another passing TD from sophomore quarterback Gage Wareham with under a minute left in the second quarter to ice the rout. The Indians had a running clock the whole second half and played all of their backups. Montrose’s lone state title came in Class A in 1950, and the Indians last made the title game in 2013 (lost 49-14 to Pine Creek).
No. 5 Erie (12-0) beat No. 4 Palmer Ridge (10-2), 28-18 on Saturday at Don Breese Stadium: Erie jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead, and the Tigers defense turned in a strong performance against the run. Freshman kicker Rhett Armstrong got the Bears on the board with a field goal in the third quarter, but Erie senior running back Caleb Theisen responded with a 49-yard touchdown run, and he also had an interception later in the game. Tigers sophomore quarterback Blake Barnett had three rushing touchdowns in the win.
No. 7 Chatfield (9-3) beat No. 2 Dakota Ridge (11-1), 42-31, at Jeffco Stadium: Dakota Ridge led 17-7 at the half, but the shootout was just getting going. A time-consuming drive to open the third, capped by junior Noah Triplett’s TD run, gave the Eagles a 24-7 lead. But the Chargers stormed back with TDs on consecutive possessions to make it 24-21 entering the fourth, and from there, freshman Brock Narva’s 28-yard TD catch gave Chatfield the lead. Narva added a 53-yard TD with under five minutes left to seal the Chargers’ comeback.
No. 3 Pine Creek (10-2) beat No. 6 Loveland (10-2), 10-7 at District 20 Stadium: The Eagles took down the defending state champions despite losing their starting QB, and despite Loveland leading 7-3 after three quarters. After Pine Creek’s defense rose up with a big stop on an attempted fourth-down conversion, senior running back Zion Hill’s one-yard touchdown run provided the game-winning score for the Eagles. Their defense then sealed the trip to the semis with a late stuff of Loveland on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line.
Next week: Erie vs Montrose, Chatfield vs Pine Creek
