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 (6-5) at No. 3 Arapahoe (8-2), 7 p.m. Friday. 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-Arapahoe winner, 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. Golden-Heritage winner, TBA.
No. 9 Golden (9-2) at No. 8 Heritage (6-4), 11 a.m. Saturday: Heritage is looking to get back to the 4A quarterfinals for the second year in a row, while Golden attempts to advance after losing in the Round of 16 the past two seasons. Next week: vs. Palmer Ridge, TBA.
No. 13 Fruita Monument (8-3) at No. 4 Broomfield (8-2), 11 a.m. Saturday: The Eagles face Fruita Monument for the second time in three weeks. The defending 4A champions came out on top, 21-6, in the first meeting en route to a league title. 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. Fruita Monument-Broomfield winner, 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. 14 Pueblo West (7-4) at No. 3 Montrose (8-2), 1 p.m. Saturday: Montrose hosts the Cyclones looking to extend its run of 4A quarterfinals appearances to six, while Pueblo West has been eliminated in the Round of 16 each of the past two seasons. 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. Pueblo West-Montrose winner, TBA.
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