Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 9 Erie, 34-14: Junior RB Jayden Fox ripped off touchdown runs of 70 and 35 yards, freshman Elijah Cromwell tacked on a 64-yard scoring run, and Cherry Creek (11-1) clinched its seventh straight trip to the 5A semifinals with a dominant defensive performance at Stutler Bowl. The Bruins took a 20-0 lead into the halftime break following a pair of Jolon Quintana field goals and TD runs from Fox and Cromwell. The lead ballooned to 34-0 early in the fourth quarter after junior QB Brady Vodicka hooked up with senior WR Jeremiah Hoffman for a TD pass, as Erie (10-3) saw its first season in 5A come to an end. Next week: Cherry Creek vs. Valor Christian-Columbine winner.
No. 5 Valor Christian (10-1) at No. 4 Columbine (10-1), noon Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Cherry Creek.
No. 7 Fairview beat No. 2 Mountain Vista, 49-45. It took two stadiums, 13 touchdowns, one field goal, two bus rides and one very long power outage, but Fairview pulled off a stunner in the south Metro to advance to the 5A semifinals for the first time in 11 years. After the Knights recovered an onside kick with 2:14 left, Ki Ellison threw a touchdown pass with 27.5 seconds to go to complete a Knights (12-0) rally from down two touchdowns and deny Mountain Vista (11-1) its first trip to the state semifinals.
Brock Kolstad scored twice, Jordan Rechel found the end zone three times and Davis came up with a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one in his own end zone, to help the Knights overcome record-breaking QB Austyn Modrzewski’s five passing TDs. Four of those five TDs came in the second quarter, when Vista turned a 13-0 deficit into a 35-21 lead at halftime. That’s when the power went out at Halftime Help Stadium … and the game was eventually moved to EchoPark Stadium in Parker. Modrzewski’s fifth TD pass put Vista up 42-28 late in the third, but the Golden Eagles didn’t score another TD the rest of the way. Instead, Ellison threw two TD passes in the final three minutes sandwiched around a Ryder Villarreal onside kick recovery to escape the battle of unbeatens with an upset win. Next week: Fairview vs. Legend-Ralston Valley winner.
No. 6 Legend (10-1) at No. 3 Ralston Valley (10-1), noon Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Fairview.
Class 4A
No. 1 Dakota Ridge beat No. 8 Ponderosa, 14-0: Troy McMullin returned an interception for a touchdown with less than four minutes left as Dakota Ridge survived an upset bid from league rival Ponderosa to advance to the 4A semifinals for the first time in four years. In a defensive slugfest that saw Ponderosa (8-4) deny Dakota Ridge (11-1) at the goal line near the end of a scoreless first half, junior QB Kellen Behrendsen finally broke the stalemate with a 28-yard TD strike to Trace Bratten with 11 minutes left in the third quarter. Neither offense scored after that, with Ponderosa even blocking a field goal attempt with 1:48 left in the third quarter. But the Mustangs offense couldn’t find an answer for the Dakota Ridge defense, which held Ponderosa to seven points over eight quarters in a pair of wins this season. Next week: Dakota Ridge vs. Broomfield.
No. 5 Broomfield beat No. 4 Palmer Ridge, 32-23: Senior RB Colin Torres found the end zone three times, the last on a game-clinching 20-yard run with 2:03 to go, to push Broomfield (11-1) into the 4A semifinals for the third year in a row. Junior RB Jackson Mabe had three scoring runs of his own for Palmer Ridge (10-2), which saw its bid to return to the championship game fall two wins short. Senior Elliott Less added a TD run, while senior QB Darien Jackson hooked up with Gio Toledo as the Eagles avenged last year’s loss to Palmer Ridge in the 4A semifinals. Next week: Broomfield at Dakota Ridge.
No. 7 Mesa Ridge (8-3) at No. 2 Montrose (11-0), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Heritage-Pueblo West winner.
No. 11 Heritage (7-5) at No. 3 Pueblo West (10-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Mesa Ridge-Montrose winner.
Class 3A
No. 8 Discovery Canyon (9-2) at No. 1 Thompson Valley (11-0), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Severance-Green Mountain winner.
No. 5 Green Mountain beat No. 13 Severance, 35-20: New coach, same old result. Green Mountain clinched its third straight trip to the 3A semifinals, this time under Anthony Rankin, who replaced Jesse German after he left for Eaglecest. The Rams overwhelmed the Silver Knights with a shock-and-awe first quarter that set the tone from the start. Green Mountain put 21 points on the board in that opening quarter then, after Severance clawed back a TD in the second quarter, put things away in the third with a pair of passing TDs for a 35-6 lead. With the loss, Severance (5-7) fell one game shy of its second state semifinal bid in four seasons, while Green Mountain (9-3) moves a step closer to its first state title since 1999. Next week: Green Mountain vs. Discovery Canyon-Thompson Valley winner.
No. 6 Windsor (10-1) at No. 3 Pomona (8-3), 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Pueblo Central-Mead winner.
No. 7 Pueblo Central (9-2) at No. 2 Mead (9-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Windsor-Pomona winner.
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