Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek won vs. No. 8 Fairview, 49-28: Senior running back Jayden Fox went supernova with four touchdown runs, and senior quarterback Brady Vodicka threw three touchdown passes as the defending champion Bruins (12-0) survived a shootout with Fairview to move on to the 5A semifinals. The Knights (10-2) recovered three onside kicks to make Creek sweat all the way into the fourth quarter. Fairview had the ball and was trailing by just seven points entering the final frame, but Creek (12-0) came up with a stop and Fox burst for his fourth TD run of the day. Vodicka tacked on a touchdown pass to BYU commit Ty Goettsche after that to put the game away. His other two scoring passes went to Kansas State commit Maxwell Lovett. Next week: Cherry Creek vs. Valor Christian, TBA
No. 5 Valor Christian won at No. 4 Legend, 31-30: Junior cornerback Brandon Wright broke up a two-point conversion in the end zone with no time remaining, and the Eagles survived an instant classic to hand Legend its second one-point loss of the season. The second of Channing Fox’s two touchdown plunges gave Valor (10-2) a 31-24 lead with 5:29 left, and the Eagles appeared to have the game in hand when Wilson Ptacek forced a Legend fumble that Valor recovered at its 19-yard line. But Boston College QB commit DJ Bordeaux got the ball back one more time and scored from 16 yards out with zeroes on the clock to set up a potential game-winning two-point try. Bordeaux rolled right on the attempt, but his throw was denied by Wright, sending off a wild Valor celebration and ending the Titans’ season at 10-2. Bordeaux had TD passes to Ryken Banks and Kellen Marchand and another 51-yard scoring run, but Valor was the one moving on to the 5A semifinals for the second straight season. Next week: Valor at Cherry Creek, TBA
No. 2 Ralston Valley won vs. No. 10 Mullen, 41-14: The Ralston Valley machine churned out another commanding victory to advance to the 5A semifinals for the third time in four years under head coach Jared Yannacito. Senior quarterback Zeke Andrews threw for two touchdowns and ran in two more, while junior Levi Rillos scored twice to push the RV Mustangs to 12-0 for the first time in six years. Mullen senior Cole Parsons hooked up with senior receiver Kevin Lewis for a pair of TDs, the last slicing the RV lead to 27-14 near the end of the third quarter, but the Mullen Mustangs (8-5) got no closer the rest of the way in their first 5A quarterfinal trip in nine years. Next week: Ralston Valley vs. Mountain Vista, TBA
No. 3 Mountain Vista won vs. No. 6 Arvada West, 36-21: Junior Hudson Modrzewski ran in all five Golden Eagles touchdowns as Mountain Vista (12-0) outlasted A-West (10-2) to advance to the 5A semifinals for the first time in program history. The lead changed hands six times over the game’s first three quarters in a back-and-forth slugfest. A-West senior QB Logan Duhachek tossed touchdown passes to Keegen Balistreri, Jaiden Green and Noah Meurer, with the last one giving the Wildcats a 21-20 lead late in the third. But the Mountain Vista defense didn’t budge after that, Grayson Rooney drilled a 20-yard field goal and Modrzewski capped off his electric day with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs. Next week: Mountain Vista at Ralston Valley, TBA
Class 4A
No. 1 Dakota Ridge won vs. No. 8 Pueblo West, 42-14: Senior Landon Kalsbeck set the tone with a pair of touchdowns in the first 10 minutes, and the Eagles (12-0) had 42 points by the end of the third quarter to punch their ticket to the 4A semifinals for the second straight season. Pueblo West (8-4) scored both of its TDs well after the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles claimed their seventh straight win by 28-plus points. Next week: Dakota Ridge vs. Heritage, TBA
No. 5 Heritage won at No. 4 Durango, 45-36: The Eagles exploded for 35 points in the second half to advance to the 4A semifinals for the first time in 16 years. Durango senior Sebastian Tripp’s 95-yard touchdown tied the game at 10-all heading into halftime, and his kick return TD pulled the Demons (9-3) within eight points in the fourth quarter. But Heritage’s five passing touchdowns in the final two quarters proved to be too much as the Eagles (9-3) eliminated the Demons in Durango for the second consecutive season. Next week: Heritage at Dakota Ridge, TBA
No. 2 Montrose won vs. No. 7 Monarch, 56-27: Senior running back Elijah Womack and junior QB Cade Saunders scored three touchdowns apiece to push Montrose (12-0) into the 4A semifinals for the third straight season and fourth time in five years. The Coyotes (9-3) were within striking distance down just eight points late in the second quarter, but Womack answered with his third rushing TD of the game, the Red Hawks recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Saunders scored with seconds remaining in the half for a 35-13 lead that was never again challenged. Next week: Montrose vs. Palmer Ridge, TBA
No. 3 Palmer Ridge won vs. No. 6 Broomfield, 45-27: The Bears scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, including TDs running and receiving from junior Zak Crisler, to set the tone early en route to taking down the defending 4A champs in Colorado Springs. Crisler got things started with a 55-yard scoring run, and by the time senior Jackson Mabe found the end zone on the Bears’ opening possession of the second half, the Palmer Ridge (12-0) lead had ballooned to 35-7. Sophomore QB Slater Saunders ran in a pair of TDs and threw for another, but it wasn’t enough for Broomfield (9-3) to overcome the Bears’ offensive onslaught. Next week: Palmer Ridge at Montrose, TBA
Class 3A
No. 1 Windsor won vs. No. 9 Pueblo South, 56-14: Senior running back Adrian Czyszczon ran in three touchdowns and the Windsor special teams produced a blocked punt TD as the Wizards reached the state semifinals for the first time in nine years. Pueblo South QB Caeden Herrera threw a pair of touchdowns in the first half, with the second pulling the Colts (9-3) within seven points in the second quarter. But that was all the Windsor defense would allow in a game that eventually went to a running clock in the fourth quarter. Next week: Windsor vs. Holy Family, TBA
No. 5 Holy Family won at No. 4 Mead, 34-26: Senior kicker Oliver Hansen drilled field goals of 44 and 41 yards in the fourth quarter, and sophomore Adam Moore sealed the deal with an interception with 1:19 remaining as the Tigers (11-1) beat Mead (9-3) for the second time this season at Mead. Sophomore quarterback Kaden Hopkin gave the Tigers a 21-7 lead with touchdown passes to three different receivers in the game’s opening 19 minutes. Mead slowly reeled Holy Family back in, however, getting within five points twice in the second half on sophomore Caleb Fahlin’s 23-yard TD pass to senior Griffin Kratochvil and senior kicker Eli Davis’ 29-yard field goal with 6:28 left. But Holy Family answered each score with a Hansen field goal to return to the 3A semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Next week: Holy Family at Windsor, TBA
No. 2 Pomona won vs. No. 10 Lutheran, 30-27: Junior quarterback Tucker Ingersoll hooked up with senior receiver Sebastian Reyes for two TDs, including a 12-yard strike that ended up being the game-winner, to send the Panthers (11-1) to the 3A semifinals for the second consecutive season. In a back-and-forth affair that saw the teams exchange 14-0 runs in the first half, the Lions (8-4) took the lead with 9:47 left in the third quarter when senior QB Eli Abramson found sophomore Tavish Burt for a 25-yard scoring pass. But Ingersoll answered with a 4-yard keeper to put the Panthers ahead 24-20 with 2:30 left in the third quarter, and his second scoring pass to Reyes with 8:55 left in the game gave Pomona a 10-point cushion that proved to be the difference. Next week: Pomona vs. Palisade, TBA
No. 3 Palisade won vs. No. 6 Roosevelt, 21-14: Senior running back Dylon Larson connected with junior Aidan Shiao for a 79-yard halfback pass touchdown with 9:37 left in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs defense came up with a fourth-down stop at their own 11-yard line to eliminate the Rough Riders (8-4). Roosevelt took a 14-13 lead on senior QB Jasiah Ramirez’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Noah Lucero, the junior receiver’s second TD reception of the game. But the Bulldogs (10-2) punched right back to land the program’s first 3A semifinal trip since 2018. Next week: Palisade at Pomona, TBA
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