Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 17 Legacy, 31-7: The Bruins (11-0) ran their postseason win streak to 16 games, with Jayden Fox scoring twice on the ground and Dawson Johnson and Max Lovett each hauling in TD passes to power a 31-0 start and eliminate Legacy (7-5). Next week: vs. Mountain Vista, TBA.
No. 8 Mountain Vista beat No. 9 Castle View, 52-20: Jack Blais ran in three touchdowns, QB Austyn Modrzewski threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and the Golden Eagles (9-2) beat Castle View (8-4) for the second time this season to advance. Next week: vs. Cherry Creek, TBA.
No. 4 Pine Creek beat No. 13 Denver East, 41-24. A week after earning its first fall playoff win in 15 years, the Angels (9-3) ran into a Pine Creek (10-1) buzzsaw in the Springs with Cam Cooper’s scoring pass to Cannon Budge giving the Eagles a 34-0 halftime lead that proved too much to overcome. Next week: vs. Ralston Valley, TBA.
No. 5 Ralston Valley beat No. 12 Rock Canyon, 42-14: Brady Weldon opened the game with a pair of touchdown runs, Jackson Hansen returned a kickoff for a touchdown and the Mustangs (9-2) triggered a running clock by jumping out to a 42-0 lead in the third quarter to eliminate Rock Canyon (8-4). Next week: vs. Pine Creek, TBA.
No. 2 Columbine beat No. 18 Fountain-Fort Carson, 65-7: Josh Snyder scored four touchdowns, Mason Moreno tacked on two scores and the Rebels (11-0) posted a season-high point total to eliminate Fountain-Fort Carson (8-4). Next week: vs. Legend, TBA.
No. 10 Legend beat No. 7 Valor Christian, 20-13: Jaden Lawrence and Ryken Burns both ran in TDs to give the Titans (9-3) a 14-10 lead with 3:08 left in the third quarter, and the Legend defense came up with a critical goal line stop up a touchdown late to keep Valor (6-5) out of the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. Next week: vs. Columbine, TBA.
No. 14 Chatfield beat No. 3 Arapahoe, 28-21 (OT): QB Jake Jones scored from three yards out in overtime, then the Charger (7-5) defense stuffed a pair of Warrior runs inside its own 1-yard line to stun Arapahoe (8-3) and advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in three years. Arapahoe took a 14-0 lead into halftime on a Michael Moynihan TD pass to Charlie Eckhardt and 14-yard Moynihan run. But Jones threw a TD pass, Landon Mueller ran one in from 6 yards out and Jones scored on a 5-yard keeper to give the Chargers a 21-14 lead. The Warriors responded with a drive than ended in a Carter Nealy scoring run to send the game to OT, but ultimately saw their bid for a second quarterfinal trip in three years denied. Next week: vs. Grandview, TBA.
No. 11 Grandview beat No. 6 Regis Jesuit, 25-23: Senior QB Liam Szarka scrambled and found Donavon Vernon for a diving 7-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone with 15 seconds left as the Wolves (8-4) rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to eliminate Regis (6-5). Szarka ran in three other scores for Grandview, while RJ’s Albert Medina scored once rushing and another time on a pass from Peyton Lindell. Next week: vs. Chatfield, TBA.
Class 4A
No. 1 Palmer Ridge beat No. 17 Denver South, 42-6: Jimmer Weir scored twice on the ground and once through the air on a pass from Derek Hester to lead the Bears (11-0) past South (7-5) and into their seventh straight quarterfinal trip. Next week: vs. Heritage, TBA.
No. 8 Heritage beat No. 9 Golden, 31-18: Heritage (7-4) punched its ticket to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, answering a Demons TD in the first quarter with 17 unanswered points to close out the first half. A Luc Chevalier scoring run brought Golden (9-3) within a score in the third quarter, but Heritage answered with two straight TDs to put the game away. Next week: vs. Palmer Ridge, TBA.
No. 4 Broomfield beat No. 13 Fruita Monument, 30-14: The defending 4A champion Eagles (9-2) beat Fruita Monument (8-4) for the second time this season to advance to the quarterfinals. The Wildcats pulled within two at 16-14 in the third quarter, but that was as close as they would get. Next week: vs. Mesa Ridge, TBA.
No. 5 Mesa Ridge beat No. 12 Loveland, 57-7: Isaiah Jones ran in five touchdowns as the Grizzlies (8-3) closed out the game with 57 unanswered points to clinch the program’s first quarterfinal bid in 11 years. Loveland (8-4) missed out on the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. Next week: vs. Broomfield, TBA.
No. 2 Erie beat No. 15 Rampart, 52-0: Blake Barnett ran in a TD on the Tigers’ first possession of the game, Preston Terranova returned an interception for a score after that to ignite a 42-0 first half and Erie (10-1) beat Rampart (7-5) to advance to the quarterfinals for the third straight season. Next week: vs. Dakota Ridge, TBA.
No. 7 Dakota Ridge beat No. 10 Thomas Jefferson, 52-28: Senior QB Blake Palladino threw a pair of TD passes and ran in two more, sophomore Landon Kalsbeck scored twice on the ground and once receiving, and the Eagles (8-3) advanced to the 4A quarterfinals for the fourth time in five seasons. TJ (10-2) finished with its most wins since going 11-1 in 2007. Next week: vs. Erie, TBA.
No. 3 Montrose beat No. 14 Pueblo West, 35-28: Gage Wareham scored one TD and found Austin Zimmer for another as part of a 28-0 first half, as the Red Hawks (9-2) clinched their sixth straight trip to the quarterfinals. Blake Griffin’s rushing score put Montrose ahead 35-7 late in the third quarter before the Cyclones (7-5) mounted a desperation rally that fell short. Next week: vs. Windsor, TBA.
No. 11 Windsor beat No. 6 Ponderosa, 38-21: The red-hot Wizards (10-2) clinched their first double-digit win season since winning the 4A title eight years ago and just their second quarterfinal bid since then with an upset victory over Ponderosa (7-4). Next week: vs. Montrose, TBA.
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