By Kevin Shaffer, ColoradoPreps.com
MaxPreps.com
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Defending 5A Champs Upended
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Special teams were the downfall as Douglas County's 20-game winning streak ended with a 7-6 loss to Mountain Vista last weekend.
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The Huskies missed an extra point and two short field goals, including a potential game-winning, 22-yard attempt in the final two minutes. The loss also cost the Huskies a chance at a second-straight league championship. Mountain Vista now controls the race and wins the title by beating high-scoring Heritage Saturday.
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Limon Stretches Winning Streak
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For the first time since 2002, Class 1A Limon trailed by more than 10 points. Down at home to conference rival Byers, 13-0, in the first quarter, the three-time champion Badgers rallied for a 33-25 victory. The win clinched a fourth-straight league title for Limon and gives the Badgers a chance to tie the all-time mark for most consecutive wins (48) when they face Calhan in their regular season finale.
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Touchdowns at critical times sparked the comeback. The Badgers reached the end zone just before half, cutting the lead to 19-13. They then took a two touchdown advantage (33-19) when they recovered a Byers fumble in the end zone with just over five minutes left.
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High Flying Alamosa Hangs On
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In what some termed the game of the year in Class 3A, top-ranked Alamosa held on for a 21-20 win over fourth-ranked Pueblo County.
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Credit the Hornets for a great defensive effort. They limited the Mean Moose, which entered the game averaging over 53 points a contest, to just three touchdowns and actually had a chance to win the game late.
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After scoring a touchdown with 16 seconds left, coach Jeff Wilson opted for the win going for two instead of kicking the extra point. That conversion try failed and the Mean Moose kept their perfect season alive.
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Conference Titles to be Decided this Week in Class 5A
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Class 5A's regular season comes to a close this weekend and three head-to-head battles will determine league championships.
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Top-ranked Mullen can clinch a fourth-straight Centennial crown by beating Overland. The visiting Blazers also have title aspirations as they can create a three-way tie atop the league standings with an upset. Mullen is also in a dogfight with fellow unbeaten Fort Collins for the No. 1 overall playoff seed.
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Fort Collins needs one more win to wrap up the Front Range conference. They host cross-city rival Rocky Mountain and a victory gives the Lambkins the outright title. Rocky Mountain creates a three way with Fort Collins and Legacy by scoring the upset. The Lobos started the season 1-3, but have won four-straight with the return of quarterback Alex Kelly. He completed just six passes in the win last week over Horizon, but those tosses went for 199 yards including touchdown passes of 42 and 88 yards to Andy Burns.
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Traditional powers Bear Creek and Columbine collide to determine the South Metro championship. It's a battle of contrasting styles. Columbine will run the football about 99 percent of the time, while Bear Creek, behind quarterback Jake Spitzleberger, runs the spread offense and will throw the football 30-40 times. On the season, Spitzleberger is just 16 yards shy of 2,000 yards.
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Eight Man Cross Divisional Games Set
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The eight man playoffs don't officially begin until next week, but the 16-team bracket will be filled out with cross division games this weekend. Under a new format this year, the top four teams in each conference advance to this week and face an opponent from a neighboring conference.ÿ The top team from conference one meets the fourth place team from conference two and so on with winners moving to a pre-set bracket.
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Matchups shape up like this:
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EASTERN BRACKET (I-70 vs Black Forest)
Lutheran of the Rockies at Stratton
Colorado D&B at Flagler
Simla at Elbert
Cheyenne Wells at Pikes Peak Christian
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NORTHERN BRACKET (Plains vs Central)
Maranatha Christian at Merino
North Park at Sedgwick County
Dayspring Christian at Silver State
Haxtun at Nederland
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SOUTHERN BRACKET (Ark Valley vs Southern)
Swink at Granada
Manzanola at Wiley
Springfield at Fowler
McClave at Hoehne
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WESTERN BRACKET (Mountain vs Western)
Norwood at Sangre De Cristo
Plateau Valley at Cotopaxi
Mountain Valley at Nucla
La Veta at Dove Creek
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Erie's Softball Dominance Comes to an End
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Erie was the preseason pick to win the Class 3A state softball championship, and why not? The Tigers had won six-straight state titles and seven of the last eight championships. That run came to an end last Monday as the Tigers were upset by Holy Family, 6-0. Erie had beaten Holy Family in the 2005 finals while throwing a perfect game.