Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 8 Mountain Vista, 51-24: The Creek defense set the tone from the start, going interception, turnover on downs and punt block in Mountain Vista’s first three possessions to spark a 21-0 first quarter. Senior RB Jordan Herron ran in a pair of those TDs, and sophomore QB Brady Vodicka found Jadyn Irving for a scoring pass as part of the opening surge. Vodicka connected with Tyson Mauck for two more TDs and Herron ran in a third score as Creek took a 44-18 lead late in the third quarter. Junior QB Austyn Modrzewski had four passing TDs for the Golden Eagles (9-3), but that wasn’t enough to keep the Bruins from advancing to the semifinals for the sixth straight year. Next week: vs. Ralston Valley, 1 p.m. Nov. 25
No. 5 Ralston Valley beat No. 4 Pine Creek, 28-3: Senior RB Brady Weldon rushed for three touchdowns and the Mustangs (10-2) held Pine Creek (10-2) to its lowest scoring output of the season to advance to the semifinals for the second straight season. Logan Madden hooked up with Wyatt Morwood for the Mustangs’ other score, as Ralston Valley responded to Pine Creek’s first-quarter field goal by scoring 28 unanswered points. Next week: at Cherry Creek, 1 p.m. Nov. 25.
No. 2 Columbine beat No. 10 Legend, 21-3: The Rebels broke open a defensive slugfest in the second half with two touchdown runs from Mason Moreno and one from James Cillessen to reach the semifinals for the first time in four years. Ryder Williams sparked the first score with an interception at midfield early in the third quarter, and the last of Columbine’s three scores came after Legend fumbled away a punt midway through the fourth. The Titans (9-4) took a 3-0 lead into the halftime break after capping a 90-yard drive with a 26-yard Brady Ryan field goal, but the Columbine (12-0) defense proved to be too much in the final two quarters. Next week: vs. Chatfield, TBA.
No. 14 Chatfield beat No. 11 Grandview, 37-28: A battle of two of the state’s top senior QBs lived up to the hype, as Chatfield’s Jake Jones outdueled Grandview’s Liam Szarka in a shootout that saw the two combine for nine TDs. Jones threw three scoring passes and ran for two more for the Chargers (8-5), the last a long run that put the game away in the fourth quarter after Grandview (8-5) had pulled to within 30-28. Szarka had three touchdown throws of his own, two to Xavier Neto, and ran in another score. Next week: vs. Columbine, TBA.
Class 4A
No. 1 Palmer Ridge beat No. 8 Heritage, 28-7: Senior QB Derek Hester had touchdown runs of 15 and 55 yards and an 18-yard scoring pass to Nick Toth to lead Palmer Ridge (12-0) to the semifinal round for the second year in a row. Holden Wright added an 8-yard scoring run for the Bears. Jett Belika scored from 5 yards out with 7:59 left in the game for Heritage (7-5), which was ousted in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Next week: vs. Broomfield, TBA.
No. 4 Broomfield beat No. 5 Mesa Ridge, 38-6: Mason Smiley snagged two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, and the Eagles (10-2) got a pair of 1-yard scoring plunges from CT Worley to advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row. Brent Harris put Broomfield up 7-0 with a 36-yard run with 6:58 left in the first quarter, and the Grizzlies (8-4) trailed the rest of the way. Next week: vs. Palmer Ridge, TBA.
No. 2 Erie beat No. 7 Dakota Ridge, 35-7: Senior QB Blake Barnett hooked up with Donovan O’Brien and Josh Levine for a pair of touchdown passes and had scoring runs of 1 and 24 yards as Erie (11-1) advanced to the semifinals for the third straight season. Gavin Lusk added a 2-yard scoring run for the Tigers, which kept Dakota Ridge (8-4) out of the end zone until Landon Kalsbeck’s rushing score late in the fourth quarter. Next week: vs. Montrose, TBA.
No. 3 Montrose beat No. 11 Windsor, 26-7: Blake Griffin ran in all four touchdowns for Montrose (10-2), which will return to the semifinal round for the second time in three years. Mikey Munn pulled Windsor (10-3) within 14-7 with a 1-yard TD in the second quarter, but the Red Hawks defense shut out the Wizards the rest of the way to set up another showdown with Erie in the penultimate round. Next week: vs. Erie, TBA.
Class 3A
No. 1 Green Mountain beat No. 9 Roosevelt, 40-21: Trailing for the first time all season early in the third quarter, the Rams (12-0) scored 22 unanswered points to avenge a 2022 state semifinal loss to the defending 3A champions and pull within two wins of their first state title since 1999. QB Blake Weslin ran in three TDs, the last two of which came on runs of 12 and 75 yards in the second half. George Soppe (69 yards) and Max Choboian (1 yard) also scored for the Green Mountain. QB Bronco Hartson threw three TD passes, the last coming after Roosevelt (9-3) recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter and put the Rough Riders up 21-18. But that was the last time the Riders saw the end zone. Next week: vs. Lutheran, TBA.
No. 5 Lutheran beat No. 4 Durango, 39-30: The Lions eliminated the Demons (9-2) for the second straight season in Durango, as senior QB Ryken Daugaard ran for a pair of TDs and connected with Ben Herbek on another to push Lutheran (10-2) back into the semifinals for the third year in a row. Cole Johnson helped put the game away with a pair of rushing TDs in the second half, and Durango was denied a return trip to the penultimate round. Next week: vs. Green Mountain, TBA.
No. 3 Thompson Valley beat No. 11 Northfield, 31-24: Senior QB Riley Suarez spun into the end zone from 3 yards out to put Thompson Valley (10-2) ahead for good with 8.5 seconds left, as the Eagles survived an upset bid from a game Northfield (8-4) team. The touchdown was one of three rushing TDs for Suarez, who also found Marco Lapierre for a 5-yard TD pass that tied the game at 21-all with 17 seconds left in the first half. The two teams traded field goals after that before Suarez put the game away. Next week: vs. Holy Family, TBA.
No. 2 Holy Family beat No. 10 Lewis-Palmer, 42-17: Senior quarterback Rylan Cooney threw three TD passes and ran for another, and Dominic Gabriel had two rushing TDs to send the Tigers to the 3A semifinals for the first time since 2020. The Tigers (11-1) scored the first 28 points of the game before Lewis-Palmer (9-3) responded with a 17-0 run between the second and third quarters that included TD runs from Jayden Pagano and Luke DeBoer. But Holy Family had an answer in the fourth quarter with Gabriel’s second scoring run of the game capping a 14-0 final frame. Next week: vs. Thompson Valley, TBA.
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