Class 4A state quarterfinals are set for this weekend and six of the top eight seeds remain in the bracket.  They’re joined by #9 Ponderosa and #14 Heritage who scored road wins in the opening round.  Both the Mustangs and Eagles face challenges again this week as they face Pine Creek and Dakota Ridge in the second round.  We preview those matchups and battles between Pueblo West-Montrose and Broomfield-Chatfield.
Please note that home teams are listed first in the previews.  Colorado Preps will recap the games and set the scene for the following week during a special playoff edition of the Scoreboard Show.  It airs this Saturday from 3:30-5:00pm on the Colorado Preps Radio Network.
 
#9 Ponderosa (8-3) vs #1 Pine Creek (10-1)
Coming off a strong defensive effort against Skyline last week, Ponderosa now must deal with a Pine Creek offense that has scored at least 41 points in every win this season.  And a major part of the challenge is working through a likely early onslaught.  In their 48-13 win over Longmont in round one, Pine Creek led 28-0 after one quarter and over the past five games have outscored opponents 112-0 in the opening 12 minutes.
The focus defensively of course remains slowing down David Moore.  The senior running back picked up 202 yards and scored four times on just eight carries last week.  He’s now over 7,000 yards for his career and is just the sixth player all-time in Colorado to reach that number.  Six more yards on the ground this week moves him past Ryan Moeller of Rifle and into the top five all-time for rushing yards.
Gavin Herberg, in limited throws, was also sharp last week.  He completed five of six attempts for 84 yards and two scores.
Ponderosa gave up 305 yards of offense to Skyline but allowed just 13 points in a three-point win.  The highlight came in the fourth quarter where the Mustangs battled through a 20-play Skyline drive without allowing any points.  Ben Beecher had 12 tackles, Cael Porter 11 and James McMahon-Carter 10.  The group finished with five sacks including two from Beecher.  Brant Jarvis also had a key interception.
On offense, Jack Hanenberg sparked the team with two TD’s.  One score went to Kolton Miller and the other to Joe Hufford.  Hanenberg finished with 117 yards; moving past 1,400 yards for the season.
The Mustangs have won seven straight since a 1-3 start.  They’ve allowed 61 points over those seven games after giving up 113 in the first four.  Pine Creek has won their last eight; giving up just 75 points in those wins.

  • History: The teams have met once previously in the playoffs with Pine Creek picking up a 42-0 shutout in a 2014 first round contest.  A win this week gets Ponderosa into the semifinals for the second straight year and fifth time in school history.  They beat Chatfield 31-24 in this round last season.  Ponderosa’s lone championship came in 2003.  Pine Creek fell to Skyline (21-20) in the quarterfinals last year which prevented a seventh consecutive visit to the semifinals.  The Eagles are 29-11 all-time in the post-season with 22 coming since the 2011 season.

 
#4 Montrose (10-1) vs #5 Pueblo West (10-1)
Balanced offensive attacks led both teams to first round victories last week.  Four different players scored as Montrose downed Brighton 28-13 while Matt Rudd (129) and Jeremiah Sanchez (61) combined for 190 yards rushing as the Cyclones dropped Golden 27-7.
The running numbers for West were a bit surprising as QB Chandler Mason has been their top offensive threat the entire season.  Mason totaled just 78 yards of offense but with the Golden defense focused on slowing him down, other players such as Rudd and Sanchez stepped up.
The Cyclones were also stout defensively as they picked off five passes; including two from Zachary Reid and allowed just 78 yards rushing.  That group will be tested against a Montrose offense determined to move the football on the ground.  Last week, the Indians picked up second quarter touchdown runs from Tayne Ila and Eli Evans and then in the fourth quarter, Cole Simmons reached the end zone from eight yards and out and Emmert Kastendieck from 45 yards.

  • History: This is the first playoff meeting between the Indians and Cyclones.  With a win this week, Montrose can earn a second consecutive semifinal visit and third trip since 2013.  They beat Greeley West 28-14 in this round a year ago.  Their win over Brighton last week was their fourth first round win in the past five years.  The Indians have made seven appearances in the state championship game with their lone title coming in 1950.  Pueblo West is in the state quarterfinals for the second time in three years and seeks their second semifinal berth in that span.  They beat Chatfield 24-21 in this round two years ago.  Last week’s win over Golden balanced the Cyclones all-time playoff win to 9-9.

 
#14 Heritage (8-3) vs #6 Dakota Ridge (9-2)
Heritage joins conference members Ponderosa and Montrose in the final eight as the Metro league is having a strong post-season showing.  The Eagles were also the lowest seed to advance from round one as they stunned #3 Vista Peak 27-12 last week.  Defense against the run carried them to victory as they limited the Bison to just 185 yards rushing.   It was a season low for Vista Peak and one of just four games where they did not gain at least 300 yards.  Heritage also held the Bison to five yards per carry.  And while that doesn’t sound like a great number, the Bison averaged nearly double that (9.9) for the regular season.
Before last week, Dakota Ridge actually held the mark for fewest rushing yards allowed to Vista Peak; holding the Bison to 213 yards.  However, they also surrendered 218 yards passing in a 48-27 loss.
Dakota Ridge was held scoreless in a regular season closing loss to Golden but the Eagles returned to good offensive form in a 35-21 win over Fruita Monument in round one.  They ran for 251 yards.  Both Charlie Offerdahl (110) and QB Ben Gultig (105) went over 100 yards and they combined for five touchdowns.  Gultig also threw for 105 yards.
On defense, Steve Reyes led the way with 14 tackles.  Four different players also forced turnovers as the Eagles recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes.

  • History: The schools have not met previously in the post-season.  The upset of Vista Peak last week marked the first playoff win for Heritage since 2015.  They had lost their last two first round games before getting past Vista Peak.  A win moves Heritage into the semifinals for the first time since 2009 when they won their only state title.  Dakota Ridge snapped four-game playoff losing streak by beating Fruita Monument.  Their last win came in 2013.  Their last second round win came in 2010 when they edged Dakota Ridge 31-28.

 
#2 Broomfield (11-0) vs #7 Chatfield (9-2)
When a team features a 2,000-yard rusher, they are expected to run the football and while Caden Peters picked up another 106 yards for Broomfield last week, QB Zac Kapushion was the difference in a 35-9 first round win over Grand Junction.  He threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns.  It was his third game of at least 250 yards passing this year with the first two coming in the first two weeks of the season.  Since those two games, Kapushion had cracked 100 yards just twice.
River Jaurez caught two TD’s with Aedan Collins and Grant Swenson latching onto one apiece.
Chatfield had a more difficult time in round one but they eventually wore down Loveland 40-21.  The Chargers actually trailed 21-20 at halftime but outscored the defending state champions 20-0 in the second half.  Malcolm Boyd picked up 203 yards and scored twice.  Daniel Nickels reached the end zone twice on the ground and once through the air.  QB Ethan Delfino threw for 106 yards wit two scores.  He hit on 11 of 14 attempts.
The Chargers defense also forced five turnovers with all five coming from different players.  Colin Simcox topped the team with 14 tackles and Aiden Kempen finished with 12.
Broomfield’s defensive unit has given up just 104 points through 11 games and only five opponents have reached double figures.  Grand Junction did gain 252 yards rushing and two players went over 100 yards individually so the Eagles will need to be better there against Chatfield.

  • History: This is the second straight year the Chargers and Eagles have met in the 4A playoffs.  Chatfield held off the Eagles 10-7 in the first-round last season.  It’s the only previous post-season battle.  Broomfield seeks their fourth semi-final appearance since 2014.  They’ve won their last three second round games but two have been very tight.  They edged Loveland 28-27 in 2017 and Montrose 24-20 in 2014.  In-between was a 61-32 win over Ponderosa in 2016.  Chatfield is in the state quarterfinals for a fourth straight year.  They’re just 1-2 in their previous three games with the lone win coming against Fruita Monument (36-28) in 2016.  The Chargers fell to Ponderosa (31-24) last year and Pueblo West (24-21) in 2017.