Class 5A
No. 5 Ralston Valley (10-2) at No. 1 Cherry Creek (12-0), 1 p.m.: Perpetually a contender, but not yet a champion, Ralston Valley is back in a familiar spot as a 5A semifinalist for the third time in five years looking for the program’s first trip to the 5A championship. Standing in the Mustangs’ way are the four-time defending 5A champion Bruins. Creek already beat RV once in Week 1, with senior RB Jordan Herron running for 109 yards, sophomore QB Brady Vodicka throwing two TD passes and the defense picking off senior QB Logan Madden twice in a 35-9 victory. RV has lost once since — 30-14 vs. No. 2 Columbine — and is coming off its most impressive win of the season: a 28-3 drubbing of No. 4 Pine Creek. Submit a similar effort Saturday at Stutler Bowl, and they just might hand Creek its first playoff loss in five years.
No. 2 Columbine (12-0) vs. No. 14 Chatfield (8-5), 6 p.m. Friday: Forced to forfeit a pair of wins earlier in the season, Chatfield faced a difficult road just to get to this point. But after scoring upsets at No. 3 Arapahoe and No. 11 Grandview in the last two rounds, the Chargers are a win away from their first trip to the 5A championship since winning it all under Dave Logan in 2001 (the ’21 title came in 4A). To get there, they must beat a Columbine team that already beat them once this fall — a 35-14 affair that saw the Rebels chew up 263 yards on the ground in Week 10. Chatfield senior QB Jake Jones has been on a serious heater since, compiling 830 total yards and 13 TDs passing/rushing in three do-or-die wins. Can he replicate that production against a Rebels defense that’s allowed just 10 points combined in its two playoff victories?
Class 4A
No. 4 Broomfield (10-2) at No. 1 Palmer Ridge (12-0), 1 p.m.: A Palmer Ridge program looking to reach the 4A mountaintop for the first time finds itself in the same position it was at this time a year ago — an unbeaten No. 1 overall seed needing one more win to punch its ticket to the championship. Last fall, Loveland shut out the Bears over the final three quarters to score a 10-7 upset. Now, they get the defending 4A champs, who are coming off a dominant 38-6 win over Mesa Ridge that saw the Eagles secondary produce three interceptions. Derek Hester, Palmer Ridge’s third-year starting QB, has thrown just five picks all season and is fresh off putting up 243 total yards (139 rushing/104 passing) in a 28-7 win over No. 8 Heritage. Even more impressive: the Bears defense hasn’t allowed more than seven points in a game since Week 5.
No. 3 Montrose (10-2) at No. 2 Erie (11-1), 1 p.m.: For the second time in three years, Montrose and Erie meet in 4A’s penultimate round. Back in 2021, the two teams produced an all-timer, with then-sophomore Erie QB Blake Barnett running for one TD, passing for another and running in a two-point conversion in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to score a dramatic 29-28 win. The Tigers have split a pair of regular-season meetings with Montrose in the two years since — the latest a 38-28 Erie win on the Western Slope in Week 3. Barnett is still taking snaps, and scoring plenty of touchdowns, for a Tigers program that’s looking for its first championship at the 4A level. And senior RB Blake Griffin remains a critical cog in Montrose’s run-heavy attack. With so many familiar faces, another instant classic feels likely.
Class 3A
No. 5 Lutheran (10-2) at No. 1 Green Mountain (12-0), 1 p.m.: For the first time all season, Green Mountain faced a deficit in the third quarter last week against defending 3A champion Roosevelt. And the Rams’ response — 22 unanswered points, including two of Blake Weslin’s three rushing TDs — showed that the most dominant team in 3A to date isn’t merely a product of a weak schedule. But now comes the biggest challenge of the season for the Rams: A high-octane Lutheran offense that’s scored 105 points in two playoff games with senior QB Ryken Daugaard pulling the strings. The Lions are looking for their second straight trip to the 3A championship and have been champing at the bit to finish what last year’s runner-up squad started.
No. 3 Thompson Valley (10-2) at No. 2 Holy Family (11-1), 1 p.m.: It’s been a long, long time since Thompson Valley fielded a team this good — 18 years to be exact. That’s the last time Thompson Valley reached the semifinal round of the state playoffs. And if the Eagles can pull the upset Saturday in Broomfield, they’ll be just the second squad in program history to reach the championship round (the other lost to Longmont in 1989). Of course, the same could be said for Holy Family. Once a 2A power, the Tigers’ last semifinal appearance came in Class 2A in 2007. Regardless of what happens against Thompson Valley, they will finish this season with the most wins since Jim Bratten’s 2004 team went 12-1. No doubt, the Tigers’ senior-laden roster cares little about that history. With wins over fellow state semifinalists Broomfield (4A) and Lutheran (3A), they’re ready to make their own.
* All games played Saturday unless noted otherwise
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