It’s finally here.

After 10 weeks of regular-season battles, the Class 5A football postseason gets under way Thursday night. Mountain Vista kicks things off at 6 p.m. by hosting Rocky Mountain, with Legend and Poudre to follow that evening. A slate of six more first-round games will take place Friday, while the top eight seeds await the winners next week.

Three-time defending state champion Cherry Creek earned the top overall seed despite a 24-21 loss to Grandview in the regular-season finale that created a three-way tie at the top of the Centennial League standings between the Bruins, Wolves and Arapahoe. All three teams earned first-round byes.

Valor Christian is the No. 2 seed, with No. 3 Ralston Valley and Grandview rounding out the top four. Pine Creek, Columbine, Regis Jesuit and Arapahoe are the other top-eight seeds.

One more interesting note out of the Centennial: Three of the league’s five qualifiers find themselves in Quadrant 1. Should Cherry Creek and Grandview (Quadrant 2) advance to the semifinals, the rivals would play each other for a spot in the title game.

Three teams from Jeffco are among the six in Quadrant 4.

Here is a quick look at the eight first-round contests:

Quadrant 1

(17) Eaglecrest at (16) Fountain-Fort Carson, 7 p.m., Friday

Fountain-Fort Carson earned a first-round home game after knocking off Regis Jesuit in the regular-season finale behind a big night from Tavian Tuli (158 yards rushing and two touchdowns). The Trojans (7-3) won their final three games of the season after back-to-back losses to open league play. Mathias Price leads the team in rushing with 886 yards and eight touchdowns, and Tuli tossed 18 touchdown passes and rushed for five more scores.

Eaglecrest (7-3) finished fourth in a brutal league, but is back in the postseason after only one victory a year ago. The Raptors are paced by running back Diego Cearns (1,315 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and quarterback Jacob Schmitt (15 touchdown passes).

Winner: @ (1) Cherry Creek

(24) Doherty at (9) ThunderRidge, 7 p.m., Friday

ThunderRidge made an argument to be a top-eight seed, with the team’s only loss coming to No. 2 Valor Christian. The Grizzlies (9-1) closed the regular season by grinding out a 13-10 victory over Rock Canyon, and quarterback Cooper Kier has had a strong senior season with nearly 1,400 yards passing and 14 touchdowns. Kaden Shouse has 11 sacks in 10 games, and ThunderRidge finished with 31.5 as a team. Aiden Olshan is averaging nearly 13 tackles a game.

Doherty (7-3) was the final entrant into the 5A postseason after winning League 7. Kaden Becker threw for 1,826 yards and 21 touchdowns during the regular season and Rickey Fletcher rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Winner: @ (8) Arapahoe

Quadrant 2

(20) Rocky Mountain at (13) Mountain Vista, 6 p.m., Thursday

Mountain Vista finished third in the Continental League behind Valor and ThunderRidge, with the team’s offense averaging more 37 points a game. The Golden Eagles (7-3) had one of the classification’s top passing offenses, with Austyn Modrzewski throwing for 3,101 yards and 32 touchdowns in 10 games. Sophomore Sean Conway led the receiving corps with just shy of 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Rocky Mountain (5-5) took fourth in the Front Range League. Abraham Chatila rushed for nearly 1,500 yards with 12 touchdowns, and Will Pryor had eight sacks for a defense that only allowed 16.5 points a game.

UPDATE: On a snowy night, it was Rocky Mountain scoring the upset and getting a 20-13 win to advance to the second round of the bracket.

Next week: (20) Rocky Mountain at (4) Grandview

(21) Arvada West at (12) Legacy

Few teams were hotter down the stretch than Legacy (8-2), which won its final eight games and ran the table in league play. The Lightning’s only in-state loss was by a touchdown in the season opener against Arapahoe, and a stingy defense allowed less than 14 points a game. Junior Kullen Lerma had 26 total touchdowns and more than 2,000 yards of total offense, and Kylan Studebaker had four of the team’s 13 interceptions.

Arvada West (4-6), one year removed from an eight-win season, had its share of ups-and-downs in 2022. The Wildcats are allowing 34 points a game while averaging just more than 30, but the team also had a difficult schedule that included five teams seeded in the top 10 in the postseason. Senior Ethan Cook has 27 touchdown passes, 17 of which have gone to Brady Witherspoon.

Winner: @ (5) Pine Creek

Quadrant 3

(18) Poudre at (15) Legend, 7 p.m., Thursday

Legend rode the highs and lows as much as any team, overcoming a pair of two-game skids during the regular season. The Titans (6-4) dropped back-to-back league games against top-seven seeds in Pine Creek and Regis Jesuit before closing the regular season with a 43-28 victory over Douglas County. Alex Martinez has rushed for more than 900 yards with 11 touchdowns, and John Brookhart has 17 touchdown passes. Gavin Taylor has six of Legend’s 21 sacks.

Poudre (7-3) enjoyed a five-game winning streak earlier in the season and nearly upended league champion Fairview in a 33-31 shootout. Quentin Harms completed nearly 64 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns in nine games and Brody VanCleave amassed 10 sacks.

UPDATE: Legend jumped out to an early lead and held off a valiant comeback attempt by the Impalas to get the 22-15 win. The Titans will head to Valor next week.

Next week: (15) Legend at (2) Valor Christian

(23) Mullen at (10) Fossil Ridge, 7 p.m., Friday

Fossil Ridge was the only team to defeat 4A Loveland during the regular season, and the team’s only losses came to Grandview and Fairview. The SaberCats (8-2) had great balance on offense (2,124 passing yards, 2,024 rushing yards), with Colton Pawlak leading the charge with more than 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He also threw seven touchdowns and caught one as well.

Mullen (5-5) overcame a challenging non-league slate to finish the regular season with four victories in five games. Aaron Wehmeyer topped 1,000 yards rushing and scored 10 touchdowns.

Winner: @ (7) Regis Jesuit

Quadrant 4

(19) Chatfield at (14) Fairview, 7 p.m., Friday

Fairview didn’t skip much of a beat on offense despite moving Rowan Risner into the starting quarterback spot in August after sophomore Bekkem Kritza transferred. The Knights (9-1) won the Front Range League, and the team’s only loss came to No. 2 Valor Christian. Risner threw for more than 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns, and Zach Lewis rushed for 967 yards and 13 scores. Like league foe Fossil Ridge, Fairview enjoyed a strong balance on offense (2,131 passing yards, 2,226 rushing yards).

Chatfield moved up to 5A after winning the 4A state title in 2021, but found the going tough against a stiff slate of opponents. The Chargers (4-6) still took third in Jeffco behind Ralston Valley and Columbine, and sophomore Brock Narva rushed for more than 700 yards with seven touchdowns. Jake Jones and Drew Rohlman were a strong connection in the passing game, with Jones finding Rohlman 52 times for 542 yards.

Winner: @ (3) Ralston Valley

(22) Cherokee Trail at (11) Rock Canyon, 7 p.m., Friday

Rock Canyon dropped three of its final four regular season games in a tough Continental League, but those three losses came by only a combined 22 points. The Jaguars allowed only 15.6 points a game, and Aidan Duda led the offense with 155 rushing yards a game. Lukas Gunther had 9.5 of the team’s 31 sacks.

Cherokee Trail (4-6) was fifth in the Centennial League, but seven of the team’s 10 overall games came against playoff qualifiers. Kadin Porter and Kalib Davis each averaged more than 12 tackles a game, with Ellis Williams not far behind at 11.5. Sophomores Eliot Ming and Noah Collins have paced a young offense.

Winner: @ (6) Columbine