Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 17 Grandview, 38-10: Junior quarterback Brady Vodicka hooked up with junior Maxwell Lovett for a pair of TD passes in the first half, junior RB Jayden Fox opened the third quarter with a 5-yard scoring run and the Bruins (10-1) slowly pulled away to eliminate Grandview. Senior receiver Xay Neto made a spectacular TD grab in the corner of the end zone from QB Blitz McCarty to bring the Wolves (6-6) to within seven of Creek 19 seconds before halftime. But Fox scored twice in the second half and Creek beat Grandview for the second time in three weeks. Next week: Cherry Creek vs. Erie, TBA
No. 9 Erie beat No. 8 Pine Creek, 28-23: Junior RB Braylon Tolliver busted loose for TD runs of 68 and 50 yards and secured a critical interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter to push Erie (10-2) into the quarterfinals in its first year in 5A. Junior Gabe Sema and senior QB Ronin Ward also scored for the reigning 4A champions, who trailed 17-7 after senior QB Cameron Cooper found senior Elijah Roy for a TD pass with 9:51 left in the second quarter but shut out Pine Creek (7-4) until senior Emmanuel Hill scored the second of his two TDs with 1:04 to go. Erie recovered the ensuing onside kick. Next week: Erie at Cherry Creek, TBA
No. 4 Columbine beat No. 20 Cherokee Trail, 42-21: Junior RB Mark Snyder ran in three TDs, sophomore Juice Mabini returned a kickoff for a score and grabbed an interception, and senior RB James Basinger added a scoring run as the defending 5A champions slowly pulled away for the win. Mabini’s kick return score came on the opening play of the second half, which was part of a run of three straight Rebels (10-1) TDs that gave them a 28-7 lead early in the fourth. Cherokee Trail (5-7) scored twice in the fourth quarter but never got closer than 14 the rest of the way. Next week: Columbine vs. Valor Christian, TBA
No. 5 Valor Christian beat No. 12 Regis Jesuit, 24-17: Junior WR Cash Spence punched in a pair of 1-yard TDs, the last capping an 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner, as Valor held on to return to the quarterfinals after a one-year absence. Junior RB Chase Hanosh added a 13-yard scoring run for Valor (10-1), which twice took 14-point leads only for the Raiders (6-6) to make it a one-possession game both times. The last time came on freshman QB Luke Rubley’s second TD pass of the day — a 22-yard strike to senior Jojo Hernandez that whittled Valor’s lead down to 24-17 with 1:36 to go. Valor recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock after that as Regis fell a win short of the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Next week: Valor Christian at Columbine, TBA
No. 2 Mountain Vista beat No. 15 Fossil Ridge, 49-14: The Golden Eagles’ shock-and-awe attack put Fossil Ridge on its heels from the start, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to a resounding win. Senior QB Austyn Modrzewski threw TD passes to Jakhai Mack and Sean Conway on the Golden Eagles’ first two drives, then Mack returned an interception for a touchdown. By the time Elam Parises punched in a TD, Mountain Vista (11-0) was ahead 28-0 in the first quarter and well on its way to its second straight trip to the 4A quarterfinals. Fossil Ridge QB Nick Kubat hooked up with Harley Schmidt on a scoring pass to temporarily stem the tide late in the first quarter, but that was as close as the SaberCats (7-5) would get. Next week: Mountain Vista vs. Fairview, TBA
No. 7 Fairview beat No. 10 Chatfield, 42-15: Sophomore QB Ki Ellison threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, and Fairview (11-0) claimed its first playoff victory in five years to stay unbeaten on the season. Ellison found junior Toray Davis for a pair of TDs and ran one in to give the Knights a 21-0 lead in the first half that proved too much for Chatfield (8-4) to overcome. Ellison’s last scoring pass went to senior Jordan Rechel, who also tacked on another rushing TD in the third quarter to put the game away for good. Next week: Fairview at Mountain Vista, TBA
: For the second time this season, Arvada West took an early lead on the Mustangs. Also for the second time this season, Ralston Valley (10-1) roared back to beat its rivals as junior QB Zeke Andrews ran in three touchdowns to secure the program’s third straight 10-win season and fourth consecutive quarterfinal bid. Junior QB Logan Duhachek found junior WR Noah Meurer for a 14-yard score and 6-0 lead with 11:55 left in the second quarter, then later hit junior Keegen Balistreri for another scoring strike to pull A-West (7-5) within five points with 9:14 to go. But the Mustangs responded with a scoring drive that ended with Andrews plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out with 3:39 left to put the game away for good. Next week: Ralston Valley vs. Legend, TBA
No. 6 Legend beat No. 11 Arapahoe, 24-20: Wyoming commit Jaden Lawrence scored from 21 yards out with 2:45 to go and the Titans (10-1) defense held on from there to claim a wild back-and-forth affair and advance to the 5A quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years. Arapahoe kicker Lincoln Peterson drilled a pair of field goals and senior quarterback Mitchell Price threw two TD passes, the last a 25-yard strike to senior Tyson Watson that gave the Warriors (8-4) a 20-17 lead in the final frame. But the Titans marched back the other way for the go-ahead score and Arapahoe was eliminated in the Round of 16 for the second straight year. Next week: Legend at Ralston Valley, TBA
Class 4A
No. 1 Dakota Ridge beat No. 17 Loveland, 49-21: Dakota Ridge rolled to its 10th straight win, topping 40 points before the end of the third quarter to advance to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in six seasons. The Eagles (10-1) carried a 21-7 lead into the halftime break, then scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game away for good up 42-7. Loveland (5-7), which entered Saturday on a four-game win streak, saw its season end in the Round of 16 for the second straight year. Next week: Dakota Ridge vs Ponderosa, TBA
No. 8 Ponderosa beat No. 9 Grand Junction, 42-14: Senior RB De’alcapon Veazy scored three TDs, junior RB Troy McWhorter added two TDs and the Mustangs defense shut down an explosive Grand Junction attack to advance to a rematch with top-seed Dakota Ridge. Ponderosa (8-3) came up with a key stop on fourth-and-2 at its own 4-yard line, then ripped off a pair of long marches after that to help turn what had been a 7-0 deficit into a 35-7 lead by halftime. Grand Junction (10-2) saw its first 10-win season in 13 years come to an end. Next week: Ponderosa at Dakota Ridge, TBA
No. 4 Palmer Ridge beat No. 13 Rampart, 30-7: Senior RB Avier Elvira ran in a pair of touchdowns, junior Jackson Mabe and senior QB Carson Campbell each added rushing scores of their own, and the Bears defense scored a safety to roll into the quarterfinals. Elvira’s second TD gave Palmer Ridge (10-1) a 30-0 lead in the fourth quarter, as Rampart (7-5) didn’t get on the scoreboard until the final minutes. Next week: Palmer Ridge vs. Broomfield, TBA
No. 5 Broomfield beat No. 12 Vista Ridge, 49-7. Air Force commit Mikhail Benner hauled in three touchdown passes from Darien Jackson to help give the Eagles a 35-0 halftime lead that was more than enough to clinch the program’s third straight trip to the 4A quarterfinals. Broomfield (10-1) stretched the lead to 42-0 on Colin Torres’ touchdown run before Vista Ridge (7-5) was able to get on the board. Next week: Broomfield at Palmer Ridge, TBA
No. 2 Montrose beat No. 15 Frederick, 44-22: Junior RB Elijah Womack found the end zone four times, including a fumble return touchdown that went 80-plus yards, to push Montrose (11-0) past upset-minded Frederick (8-4) and into a rematch with Mesa Ridge. Frederick was marching toward a potential go-ahead score deep in Montrose territory in the second quarter when Womack’s scoop-and-score put the Red Hawks ahead 16-8. The Golden Eagles tied the game again at 16-all on a short TD run and conversion in the second quarter and pulled within eight (30-22) on Burke Eismann’s TD reception in the third quarter. But Womack tacked on his third rushing TD of the game after that, and junior Chase Mehan put the game out of reach with his second rushing score in the fourth quarter. Next week: Montrose vs. Mesa Ridge, TBA
No. 7 Mesa Ridge beat No. 10 Monarch, 34-31: The Grizzlies scored on a pair of TD passes late in the fourth quarter, the last a 70-yard catch-and-run from senior QB Bryce Riehl to junior Kobe Dooley with less than a minute left, to narrowly survive Monarch’s upset bid and advance to the 4A quarterfinals for the second straight year. Monarch (9-3) twice led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Mesa Ridge (8-3) ended the Coyotes’ season in the playoffs for the second time in three years — this time one win away from the program’s first state quarterfinal trip in 11 years. Next week: Mesa Ridge at Montrose, TBA
No. 3 Pueblo West beat No. 19 Golden, 49-7: Two weeks removed from their first loss of the season, the Cyclones ended a streak of three straight Round of 16 exits with a rout of Golden. Pueblo West (10-1) locked up their first 10-win season in five years by rolling out to a 35-0 lead in the third quarter and cruising from there. The win marked the third time in four games that the Cyclones topped 40 points, with the other game a 27-24 loss at No. 2 Montrose in Week 10. Golden (6-6) was knocked out in the Round of 16 for the fourth straight year. Next week: Pueblo West vs. Heritage-Durango winner, TBA
No. 11 Heritage beat No. 6 Durango, 42-20: Heritage went into southwest Colorado and pulled off a stunner, intercepting Durango QB Cully Feeney twice as part of a 28-7 first half and riding its high-powered offense to a third straight trip to the quarterfinals. Senior RB Jett Balika ran in a pair of TDs, junior QB Jamison Seese threw a TD pass to senior WR Tanner Terch and ran for another, and junior safety Tanner Guthrie returned an INT for a touchdown in the win for Heritage (7-5). The Demons finished 7-4 in their first season back in 4A. Next week: Heritage at Pueblo West, TBA
