Mullen 'D' maintains zero status

One would think that, even if the Mullen defense really is this good, there would be a fluke fumble on special teams, an interception return ... something. But the goose egg still exists.

The Mullen (Denver) football team maintained its streak of not allowing a point this season to four games by blanking Cherry Creek 48-0 on Friday. Composite total for the season: Mullen 136, Opponents 0.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and No. 5 in the nation in the Freeman Rankings, put their streak on the line Friday against No. 4 Bear Creek. The Bears (4-0) average 34 points per game.

“Every Friday, we expect a zero on the scoreboard,” Mullen defensive lineman Tyler Henington said. “We don’t care what quarterback’s in there. I think that goose egg is going to keep being up there.”



2. Pine Creek proves its merit: Facing its third consecutive 5A football opponent, and clearly the most formidable of the three, Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) stonewalled Fountain-Fort Carson 13-3 on Friday to improve to 5-0.

The Eagles, ranked second in 4A, got another strong performance from 6-foot-4 senior quarterback Kris Kentera and proved that they are squarely in the title hunt. The Eagles’ ball-control offense, led by Kentera’s 112 yards rushing, produced numerous drives of more than 10 plays and kept the Trojans (3-1) offense on the sideline.

3. Geubelle goes wild: It was no secret Broomfield running back Dan Geubelle was one of the finest in 4A football entering the season. What was unclear is how well his injured hamstring would limit his effectiveness.

After Friday, you can label the hamstring healed and a nonfactor. Geubelle punished Loveland for 247 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries in a 46-27 win, demonstrating the shiftiness from his low center of gravity (5-foot-10) that is his signature attribute.

"It’s totally good now," said Geubelle, who sustained the injury over the summer. "The bye week really helped with that."

The Eagles (3-1) are ranked No. 3 in 4A.



4. Mountain View keeps rolling: Joey Hlushak proved his well-roundedness Friday by scoring touchdowns in three different ways: by rush, by kickoff return and by punt return. The senior's performance propelled Mountain View (Loveland) to a 28-7 win at Windsor and kept the Mountain Lions at No. 2 in the 3A poll.

The Mountain Lions are one of four 4-0 teams in the classification, joining Elizabeth, Silver Creek and Roosevelt.

5. Yuma’s streak expires: Reigning 1A football champion Yuma watched its 16-game streak dissolve this week, and it happened in unexpected fashion.

The Indians led Burlington 21-0 and looked to be steamrolling their way to another win. But the Cougars came back to win 33-28, using three fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Spencer Cure to outscore Yuma 20-0 in the quarter.

TOP PERFORMERS
• Wheat Ridge pitcher/top hitter Elle Madsen ripped three home runs Tuesday against Alameda in a 26-0 Farmers' win. But there’s more to it – all of the junior’s homers came in one inning, the first, and she did it on her first three swings. Madsen has nine homers this season for the top-ranked Farmers.

• Speaking of 3-for-3, there also is Chaparral (Parker) wide receiver Jordan Serena. Known mostly for his prowess on the baseball diamond, Serena had three receptions and three touchdowns in Chaparral's 41-0 pasting of Doherty on Friday. Ten of Serena's 16 receptions this season have produced touchdowns.



• Grand Junction Central running back Aaron Wallway rushed for 235 yards and four touchdowns Friday in a 41-7 shellacking of Hinkley.

• Sisters Taylor and Haley Hutton each clobbered tape-measure home runs in a 14-0 win for Valley (Gilcrest) over Lyons on Thursday. "I'm proud of her; she's my sister, got to love her," said Haley, a sophomore, of her senior sister who also struck out 10 in a complete-game performance.

• Ben Sanderford rushed for a 51-yard touchdown in the waning seconds to buoy Dayspring Christian (Greeley) to a 41-35 win against Merino in a Class A 8-man showdown featuring the regular championship game foes. Sanderford rushed for 242 yards overall on his 16th birthday.

KEY MATCHUPS THIS WEEK
• It doesn't get much better than the aforementioned Mullen vs. Bear Creek (Lakewood) football tilt, if not for the outcome, just to see if anyone can score on the host Mustangs (7 p.m., Brother Bernard de la Salle Stadium).

• In a key 5A Continental League battle, Serena and No. 8 Chaparral visit second-ranked Regis Jesuit (Aurora) (7 p.m., Lou Kellogg Field).

• In 3A softball, Holy Family (Broomfield) travels to Valley on Saturday (10 a.m.) in a matchup of top contenders.



• The lower half of the 4A football rankings could be shaken up this week as No. 7 Ponderosa (Parker) hosts No. 8 Montrose on Saturday (1 p.m., Burt.com Stadium) and No. 9 Dakota Ridge (Littleton) travels to take on No. 10 Monarch (Louisville) on Friday night (7 p.m., Warrior Stadium).

RECRUITING NEWS
Doherty (Colorado Springs) volleyball standout Taylor Simpson is bound for the University of Nebraska, but the senior first will have to recover. Simpson injured her right ankle – it was initially diagnosed as a high ankle sprain – over the weekend at Bruin Classic at Cherry Creek. Simpson played for the United States team in the Youth Olympics in Singapore. The injury is not considered season-ending.

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.