Monarch and Pomona among football squads regaining footing after shaky start.
While one streak is over, two more live on for the
Mullen (Denver) football team.
The Mustangs, top-ranked in Class 5A and No. 7 nationally, finally gave up a point Friday in a 34-14 win against No. 3 Bear Creek. This ended any shortsighted – if not ridiculous – proclamations that the Mustangs would become the first Colorado team since Englewood in 1937 to make through a full season without surrendering a point.
Mullen (5-0) still can bask in the glow of two streaks that are much more feasible to maintain: the Mustangs have won two straight 5A titles and pushed their winning streak to 24 games. As for the shutout streak, it encompassed just more than 202 minutes.
2. Monarch grooving: After beginning the season as the No. 1 team in 4A, many wondered if that designation was a bit lofty for Monarch when the Coyotes were blown out of the water 42-19 by Broomfield on opening night. Two things have been revealed since: One, Broomfield is pretty darn good, and two, the Coyotes aren't that far off from a top-ranked team now that they've found their groove.
Monarch (Louisville) piled up 414 yards rushing Friday while knocking off Dakota Ridge 35-16, with
Cody Schneider and
Ryan Muller each topping 100 yards rushing and compiling two touchdowns.
"The biggest thing is we've been working really hard throughout the weeks," Schneider said. "That’' the best feeling, when you put a lot of time into what you're doing and you come out with a victory."
3. Widefield? Really?: Don't look now, but the team that was 1-9 a year ago and scantly mentioned in preseason reports (if at all) has begun the season 5-0. That's right,
Widefield (Colorado Springs) is unbeaten, and the Gladiators just missed out on a top-ten spot this week (they're ranked No. 11). Granted, the Gladiators haven't played a rigorous schedule, but they've outscored their opponents 178-37.
Saturday will mark a true test, when Widefield takes on 4-1
Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs) in a key 4A Foothills League matchup.
4. Valley overthrows No. 1: In a battle of 3A softball heavyweights Saturday,
Valley (Gilcrest) got a 10th-inning walk-off single from Hope Asbury to upend top-ranked Holy Family 5-4. Asbury, the Vikings' catcher, finished the game 4-for-6 with four RBIs.
"I knew I had to do my job for the team," Asbury said. "It's just amazing that we all came together at the same time."
5. Don’t count out Pomona: After nearly knocking off Mullen in last season's big-school football championship,
Pomona (Arvada) was thought to be a bit down this season after dropping two of its first three. But the Panthers' 28-17 win against Arvada West on Friday proved the Panthers aren't done.
With the win, the Panthers moved to No. 5 in the rankings while
Arvada West is No. 4. Each is 3-2, but all the losses have come against quality opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS•
Skyview (Thornton) running back
Kyle Bowers keyed his team's upset of D'Evelyn by scoring four touchdowns (three on the ground, one by reception) in the Wolverines' 34-21 win. Bowers rushed for 195 yards and scored a quartet of TDs for the second consecutive week. He was coming off a 331-yard performance on the ground against Alameda and is 62 yards shy of the 1,000-yard plateau entering Week 6.
•
Rangeview (Aurora) quarterback
Jaleel Awini has defined the dual-threat concept. After passing for three scores and rushing for two in the Raiders' 62-0 pasting of Aurora Central, Awini has thrown for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 11 touchdowns for the Raiders (5-0).
• In a game that featured 101 total points,
Denver Christian quarterback
Alex Terpstra made sure he got his. He threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns in the Crusaders' 68-33 shellacking of Front Range Christian, connecting three times for scores with
Riley Herren.
KEY MATCHUPS THIS WEEK• In an otherwise light week in regards to marquee football matchups, this 3A tilt should be a dandy: No. 1
Mountain View (Loveland) at No. 4
Roosevelt (Johnstown) (7 p.m., Friday). Each team enters 5-0.
•
Bear Creek (Lakewood) will look to regain traction after the loss to Mullen when the third-ranked Bears welcome
Arapahoe (Littleton) to Jeffco Stadium (4 p.m. Friday) in a matchup of 4-1 squads.
•
Wheat Ridge, top-ranked in 4A softball, will get an indication of how it stacks up against the big schools when the Farmers travel to
Arvada West in a nonleague game (4:30, Thursday).
• Continental League supremacy in 5A boys soccer could be on the line when
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) (10-0, 7-0) travels to
Chaparral (Parker) (7-1-3, 5-0-2) to take on the gritty Wolverines (4:30, Thursday).
RECRUITING NEWSColorado girls basketball continues to churn out top-notch Division I talent. Three more seniors are bound for big schools next season:
Highlands Ranch guard Tierra Shumpert and
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) guard Shavonne White each will play at Vermont while center Deidra Smith of defending 5A champion
Denver East is bound for Boston College. Of note, Shumpert is the daughter of former major league second baseman Terry Shumpert. ...
Legacy (Broomfield) junior softball pitcher Rainey Gaffin has given a verbal commitment to Tennessee while Lightning teammate Melissa Marcovecchio, an infielder, is headed to Northern Colorado. The three-time defending 5A champs, whose former pitcher Shelby Babcock now plays for Arizona, have two additional Division I prospects in catcher Buggs Torrez and outfielder Shae Rodriguez.
Paul Willis is a regular sports freelancer for The Denver Post and covered high school, college and pro sports for the Rocky Mountain News from 2000-09. You can reach him at gdpdub@aol.com.
