CHSAA state football playoffs: How the Round of 16 played out in Class 5A and 4A
A look at how the Round of 16 of the CHSAA state football playoffs played out in Class 5A and 4A.
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Class 5A
No. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 17 Grandview, 38-10: Junior quarterback Brady Vodicka hooked up with junior Maxwell Lovett for a pair of TD passes in the first half, Jayden Fox opened the third quarter with a 5-yard scoring run and the Bruins (10-1) slowly pulled away to eliminate Grandview. Senior receiver Xay Neto made a spectacular TD grab in the corner of the end zone from Blitz McCarty to bring the Wolves (6-6) to within seven of Creek 19 seconds before halftime. But Fox scored twice in the second half and Creek beat Grandview for the second time in three weeks. Next week: Cherry Creek vs. Erie, TBA
No. 9 Erie beat No. 8 Pine Creek, 28-23: Junior running back Braylon Tolliver busted loose for TD runs of 68 and 50 yards and secured a critical interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter to push Erie (10-2) into the quarterfinals in its first year in 5A. Gabe Sema and Ronin Ward also scored for the reigning 4A champions, who trailed 17-7 after Cameron Cooper found Elijah Roy for a TD pass with 9:51 left in the second quarter but shut out Pine Creek (7-4) until Emmanuel Hill scored the second of his two TDs with 1:04 to go. Erie recovered the ensuing onside kick. Next week: Erie vs. Cherry Creek, TBA
No. 20 Cherokee Trail (5-6) at No. 4 Columbine (9-1), 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Regis Jesuit-Valor Christian winner, TBA
No. 12 Regis Jesuit (6-5) at No. 5 Valor Christian (9-1), 11 a.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Cherokee Trail-Columbine winner, TBA
No. 2 Mountain Vista beat No. 15 Fossil Ridge, 49-14: The Golden Eagles’ shock-and-awe attack put Fossil Ridge on its heels from the start, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to a resounding win. Senior QB Austyn Modrzewski threw TD passes to Jakhai Mack and Sean Conway on the Golden Eagles’ first two drives, then Mack returned an interception for a touchdown. By the time Elam Parises punched in a TD, Mountain Vista (11-0) was ahead 28-0 in the first quarter and well on its way to its second straight trip to the 4A quarterfinals. Fossil Ridge QB Nick Kubat hooked up with Harley Schmidt on a scoring pass to temporarily stem the tide late in the first quarter, but that was as close as the SaberCats (7-5) would get. Next week: Mountain Vista vs. Fairview, TBA
No. 7 Fairview beat No. 10 Chatfield, 42-15: Sophomore quarterback Ki Ellison threw three touchdowns passes and ran for another, and Fairview (11-0) claimed its first playoff victory in five years to stay unbeaten on the season. Ellison found Toray Davis for a pair of TDs and ran one in to give the Knights a 21-0 lead in the first half that proved too much for Chatfield (8-4) to overcome. Ellison’s last scoring pass went to Jordan Rechel, who also tacked on another rushing TD in the third quarter to put the game away for good. Next week: Fairview at Mountain Vista, TBA
No. 14 Arvada West (7-4) at No. 3 Ralston Valley (9-1), noon Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Arapahoe-Legend winner, TBA
No. 6 Legend beat No. 11 Arapahoe, 24-20: Wyoming commit Jaden Lawrence scored from 21 yards out with 2:45 to go and the Titans (10-1) defense held on from there to claim a wild back-and-forth affair and advance to the 5A quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years. Arapahoe kicker Lincoln Peterson drilled a pair of field goals and senior quarterback Mitchell Price threw two TD passes, the last a 25-yard strike to Tyson Watson that gave the Warriors (8-4) a 20-17 lead in the final frame. But the Titans marched back the other way for the go-ahead score and Arapahoe was eliminated in the Round of 16 for the second straight year. Next week: Legend vs. Arvada West-Ralston Valley winner, TBA
Class 4A
No. 17 Loveland (5-6) at No. 1 Dakota Ridge (9-1), noon Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Grand Junction-Ponderosa winner, TBA
No. 9 Grand Junction (10-1) at No. 8 Ponderosa (7-3), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Loveland-Dakota Ridge winner, TBA
No. 13 Rampart (7-4) at No. 4 Palmer Ridge (9-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Vista Ridge-Broomfield winner, TBA
No. 12 Vista Ridge (7-4) at No. 5 Broomfield (9-1), 10 a.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Rampart-Palmer Ridge winner, TBA
No. 15 Frederick (8-3) at No. 2 Montrose (10-0), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Monarch-Mesa Ridge winner, TBA
No. 7 Mesa Ridge beat No. 10 Monarch, 34-31: The Grizzlies scored on a pair of TD passes late in the fourth quarter, the last a 70-yard catch-and-run from Bryce Riehl to Kobe Dooley with less than a minute left, to narrowly survive Monarch’s upset bid and advance to the 4A quarterfinals for the second straight year. Monarch (9-3) twice led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Mesa Ridge (8-3) ended the Coyotes’ season in the playoffs for the second time in three years — this time one win away from the program’s first state quarterfinal trip in 11 years. Next week: Mesa Ridge vs. Frederick-Montrose winner, TBA
No. 19 Golden (6-5) at No. 3 Pueblo West (9-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Heritage-Durango winner, TBA
No. 11 Heritage (6-5) at No. 6 Durango (7-3), 1 p.m. Saturday. Next week: Winner vs. Golden-Pueblo West winner, TBA
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