Entering week six, there seem to be nine or ten teams battling for the eight available playoff berths in Class 5A. With that in mind, there are four games on the week six slate that will help determine playoff qualifiers and a fifth between unbeatens Cherry Creek and Eaglecrest could sort out the top four seeds.
Based on consensus rankings released by Colorado Preps on Monday night, Valor Christian, Cherry Creek, Legend, Eaglecrest and Pomona are in very good shape to land a playoff berth. But four other clubs, Regis, Cherokee Trail, Fairview and Columbine are in a tight battle for the last three spots. They hold down positions six through nine in the consensus rankings but are separated by only five points overall.
Regis and Columbine have difficult tests to close the season. The Raiders close with 4A defending state champion Pine Creek while the Rebels face annual rival Pomona. Wins by both Regis and Columbine should get them in the bracket as they would gain another win and also move up in RPI standings based on a quality opponent. Cherokee Trail and Fairview could lose points in RPI as they both face winless opponents in week six. The Cougars tangle with Overland and the Knights are heavily favored over Prairie View.
In comparing Cherokee Trail and Fairview, the Knights have the better record (5-0) but have not faced a team that will make the playoffs. Cherokee Trail (3-2) has losses to Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek and is also coming off an impressive win over Grandview last week.
Columbine (4-0) was scheduled to meet Ralston Valley last week but had to cancel due to COVID concerns. The quarantine may limit their prep time for the date with Pomona but the two rivals are very familiar with one another.
The Rebels average 308 yards per game on the ground and have four backs in triple figures in yardage overall. Leading that list is Seth Cromwell with 495. The junior has averaged 7.3 yards per game and the Rebels on the season as a team generate six yards an attempt. With 24, Cromwell is also the top tackler. Emilio Duran is next with 23.
Pomona has allowed just 49 points in five games with 21 of that coming in last week’s win over Mullen (42-21). All 21 were allowed in the second half after the Panthers created a 42-0 halftime advantage. Marcus Geypens led the group with five tackles and Juju Howard had four. Howard also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
The teams have split their last four matchups with Pomona gaining a narrow 34-33 win last year. Columbine swept both the regular season contest (35-13) and playoff battle (41-14) in 2018 and Pomona earned a 42-21 playoff decision in 2016. They did not meet in 2017.
Based on comparison scores with playoff qualifier Legend, Regis may be in for a tough battle with Pine Creek this week. Legend beat the Raiders by 24 points earlier in the year (31-7) but survived the defending 4A state champions by just one last week (21-20). Pine Creek actually scored a potential game tying touchdown midway through the fourth quarter but a missed extra point gave the win to Legend. Regis trailed the Titans 21-7 at half and could not draw closer in the second half.
Since that loss, Regis has dominated Douglas County (42-0) and Doherty (42-10). In the two wins, Exander Carroll has thrown for 305 yards and two scores and David Dody has three TDs in the run game. Special teams were also a spark last week as Dallas Macias (punt) and D’Andre Barnes (kickoff) both scored on kick returns.
Pine Creek trailed Legend 14-0 at halftime before putting together a strong second half rally that fell one point short. Beau Freyler ran for 115 yards and Josiah Roy combined for 145 yards and three scores. The Eagles must play this week to become playoff eligible as they missed their first two weeks while sitting through a quarantine.
Cherokee Trail gave up 204 yards rushing to Grandview last week but also limited the Wolves to just 72 yards through the air. Against Overland, they’ll face an offense that has scored just 68 points in five games.
Liam O’Brien has 1,478 yards passing and 265 on the ground as he easily leads Fairview in both categories. He’s been involved in 18 touchdowns overall. Top targets include Grant Page (31 receptions) and Jay Barry (24). Three others are in double figures in catches.
The game between Cherry Creek (5-0) and Eaglecrest (4-0) was pushed back to Saturday so the Raptors would have time to prepare as they’re coming off a quarantine that caused them to miss last week’s game. Both teams are in the playoffs but the outcome will help the seeding committee place teams in the bracket. Cherry Creek appears to be in a tight battle with Valor Christian for the top overall seed and a win could get them to the top. Eaglecrest could join that discussion if they were to knock off the defending state champions.
Don’t be surprised if this game is high scoring and the teams combined feature some of the best offensive talent in the state. Creek QB Julian Hammond has 1,027 yards in five games and has tossed 17 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Chase Penry (27-7) and Gunnar Helm (21-6) have combined for 48 catches and 13 TD’s and James Walker has picked up 566 yards rushing with four scores. Eaglecrest has played just four games and has not posted complete statistics to MaxPreps but QB Khalil Howard has 621 yards with four touchdowns passing; JP Luketu has scored 10 TD’s on just 50 rushing attempts and Ty Robinson has caught three touchdown passes. Langston Williams (16) and Seyi Oladipo (13) have latched onto 29 passes and each average over 11 yards a reception.
Consensus rankings for Class 5A through Monday November 9th are available below. Teams receive 10 points for a first place vote, nine for second, eight for third and on through the top 10 of each polling metric. CHSAA is expected to release official playoff numbers later this week.
| CLASS 5A | RPI | MaxPreps | CHSAA | Packard | TOTAL | |
| 1 | Valor Christian | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 37 |
| 2 | Cherry Creek | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 36 |
| 3 | Legend | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| 4 | Eaglecrest | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
| 5 | Pomona | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
| 6 | Regis | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| 7 | Cherokee Trail | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
| 8 | Fairview | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 9 | Columbine | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Grandview | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 11 | Ralston Valley | 1 | 1 | 2 |
