Within approximately 10 square miles in southeast Aurora, a trio of behemoth high schools have all the ingredients they need for sustained football success.
Grandview, Eaglecrest and Cherokee Trail are three of the four biggest high schools in the state, with the latter being the only school other than Cherry Creek with more than 3,000 students in average enrollment during this
The Wolves are No. 3 in the latest Post Preps rankings, while the Raptors and the Cougars also appear capable of making noise in Class 5A this fall. Together, the Cherry Creek School District programs are a combined 10-1 entering Friday, with the lone defeat coming from Eaglecrest’s dramatic 29-27 win over Cherokee Trail via a last-second field goal on Thursday at Legacy Stadium.
“We talk about all the time in our program that one of our goals is to win Aurora, because if you do that, you’re in a pretty good spot,” fifth-year Cherokee Trail head coach Justin Jajczyk said. “And there’s other good programs right in our area, like Regis Jesuit, which is right down the street from us as well.
“It’s a great area for football and for athletics as a whole — a lot of competition, a lot of great athletes, a lot of great coaches. There’s a certain pride in our program (and in Grandview’s and Eaglecrest’s), because we’re all always trying to be the talk of the town.”
About 40 years ago, the burgeoning suburbia where all three schools are located was largely undeveloped. But the three schools were built in response to the explosive population growth in southeast Aurora over the past few decades, starting with the opening of Eaglecrest in 1990, followed by Grandview in ’98 and Cherokee Trail in 2003. Those three in the Cherry Creek district.
It wasn’t long before Eaglecrest showed how the area within Colorado’s third-largest city could be a breeding ground for football talent. The Raptors won the Class 5A title in 1993 (then the state’s second-largest class), and by the aughts, Grandview had established itself as a big-school heavyweight. Under longtime head coach John Schultz, the Wolves won the Class 5A title in 2007 and made seven semifinals overall.
Cherokee Trail also quickly put itself on the football map, including a state runner-up finish in 2012, when the Cougars lost to Christian McCaffrey and Valor Christian in the Class 5A championship. And more recently, Eaglecrest appeared in the historic 2017 Class 5A championship, a shootout loss to Pomona that was the highest-scoring 5A title of all time.
While all three schools have experienced extended state championship success in other sports — Grandview in girls basketball and girls soccer, Eaglecrest in boys basketball, and Cherokee Trail in track and field — the football programs are itching to get back to that level with postseason runs come November.
Prior to the playoffs, their collective hopes of competing in the — which features heavy championship favorite Cherry Creek, the winner of six of the last seven Class 5A titles — are rooted in the same feeder system. A majority of the players for Grandview, Eaglecrest and Cherokee Trail all came up playing in the
“A lot of us know each other from playing together so much and for so long as kids,” Eaglecrest star safety Jayden Bradley said. “But now, with us all split between (the high schools), it’s definitely more of a rivalry than a friendship.”
Grandview’s early omen
The Wolves showed why they should be in the conversation to make an appearance at Canvas Stadium come December with a signature road win over Legend on Aug. 28.
Grandview was up 21-3 at halftime before the Titans stormed back with three unanswered TDs to go ahead. But the Wolves dug deep. Junior QB Lander Wise engineered a drive to re-take the lead with about a minute left. After a long reception on the ensuing possession set Legend up on the doorstep of the game-winning TD, senior defensive lineman Quentin Dorsey (Kansas commit) and the Grandview D had a goal-line stand to preserve the 28-24 victory.
Grandview sixth-year head coach Tom Doherty called it “one of the biggest wins in the regular season” in his tenure, and the victory has aged well, considering Legend nearly ended Cherry Creek’s 29-game winning streak last week in a 34-28 OT loss for the Titans.
“The game against Legend was a game of perseverance and some mental toughness and physical toughness,” Doherty said. “Our players never stopped battling. The last five minutes of the game were chaotic. So for us to be able to hang in there and find a way to win was really, really gratifying for the program and for our kids.”
Beyond Wise and Dorsey, Grandview’s key playmakers include senior wideout/safety Zach Johnston (Air Force pledge), junior wideouts Timothy Arnold III and Blake Richmeier, junior running back Neelein Shead Jr., senior tight end/defensive lineman Matthew Schimberg, and senior and junior offensive/defensive linemen Daniel Buckeye and Marques Lawrence.
“Compared to last year, we put a lot more work in this past offseason and throughout the summer,” said. “I’d say we’re more disciplined and more dedicated.”
Grandview lost its best player from last season, do-everything athlete Jaxson Flores, via transfer to Cherry Creek. But Doherty believes his staff’s decision to play the Wolves’ best players both ways gives the team a good chance to make a deep postseason run, should they stay relatively healthy.
The emphasis on two-way players is new for Doherty, who prior to taking the Grandview job was the longtime defensive coordinator at Cherry Creek and also served as the head coach at Eaglecrest.
“We have a chance to be a team that can scare some teams in the playoffs,” Doherty said. “… When I took the job at Grandview, I knew winning games is great and it’s good for the kids, but the playoffs is where the real excitement is. Long, deep playoff runs is a goal at Grandview. I’d like to see this team play its best in November and we’ll see if we can keep striving for that.”
Eaglecrest’s next step
Over on Picadilly Street, Eaglecrest is eager to take the next step under third-year head coach Jesse German.
The Raptors went 5-6 in German’s first year then 7-5 last season, and have the talent to get to double-digit wins in 2026. Beyond Bradley, a Boise State commit who had a key kickoff return for a TD on Thursday, the Raptors also feature junior running back Clyde Surrell, the son of
“Jayden can play coverage, he’s really good in the run fits, he’s a really good tackler and a really hard hitter who loves contact,” German said. “Whenever he’s able to be impactful on defense, and we can scheme it up that he’s involved, it’s usually good for the team.
“(As for Surrell), honoring his father’s legacy from the past, and then also creating a legacy for the future, is definitely a big deal and a huge motivation for Clyde.”
Senior wideout Jayanthony Green, junior quarterback William Brinkman, senior defensive back Cy White, sophomore linebacker Jett Green, and senior linebacker Denzel Kofie are also critical for the Raptors. So too are seniors Calen Mitchell and Ryan Campbell on the offensive line, and sophomore Rajan Robinson on the defensive line, while junior Cooper Shaw is playing both ways as a tight end and defensive end.
With the rivalry game against Grandview and then Cherry Creek at home two weeks after that, Bradley says “no detail is too small” in the Raptors’ focus on getting back to the state championship level they were at a decade ago under
“Every little thing matters in the end,” Bradley said. “We just have to stay wanting to be great and be intentional about staying away from that .”
Cherokee Trail’s returning talent
The Cougars haven’t been on the same level as the Wolves and Raptors lately, with a losing record in But Jajczyk is confident this year’s team, which features 16 returning starters from ’25, can start to turn the corner.
Cherokee Trail’s headliner is defensive back Cristian Mbamarah, a Northwestern commit. The No. 2 recruit in Colorado’s Class of 2027 Mbamarah plays cornerback and safety, though he projects as a corner at the next level. The Cougars also sprinkle him in at wideout.
“As a three-year starter, he does everything that we’ve asked of him — playing offense, playing defense, playing special teams, blocking kicks, returning kicks, a (fumble recovery) that went for a defensive touchdown already this season,” Jajczyk said. “He can really do it all.”
The Cougars are also led by two-way senior lineman Brandon Rodriguez, junior quarterback Bryson Peterson, junior wideouts Evan Smith and RJ Stanley, senior wideout Jordan Mitchell, junior linebacker Kaeden Shriver, senior linebacker Nico Mavromat and junior defensive end Ryan Ayres. Plus, Cherokee Trail has what Jajczyk calls a “two-headed monster” in the backfield with senior Dorian Harris and junior Owen Newell.
Jajczyk hopes the Cougars’ commanding road wins over Arvada West and Rocky Mountain show that his team is ready to compete in the Centennial League. Even though CT came up short on Thursday against Eaglecrest when Raptors senior kicker Trey Payton drilled a 22-yard field goal with 10 seconds left, the showing proved the Cougars are drastically improved from last season.
“The returners from our very young team last year really invested in each other and in this program,” Jajczyk said. “They’ve made some great strides, and hopefully that helps put this program (back on the map), especially within the really tough area and league that we play in.”
