Our regular Friday night routine this late in the season includes a rundown of results from the night in football and what they mean to conference races. We break down all seven classifications below.
CLASS 5A
- Smoky Hill’s win kept alone in first in the Metro 10 division as they continue to lead Denver East and Westminster by one game. Denver East won Thursday night and Westminster moved past Rangeview on Friday. Smoky Hill meets Westminster next week.
- Cherry Creek remains alone in first in the Metro East thanks to their win over Cherokee Trail. Grandview and Eaglecrest are tied for second one game off the pace as both picked up wins this week. Cherry Creek and Grandview collide next week.
- Columbine clinched the Metro West championship by beating Pomona 35-13. Pomona and Ralston Valley play for second next week.
- Regis (South), Fairview (Front Range) and Valor Christian (Metro South) all clinched division titles with wins on Thursday.
CLASS 4A
- Dakota Ridge beat Chatfield on Thursday leaving both teams at 2-1 and sharing the conference lead. The winner between Grand Junction-Bear Creek on Saturday will join them to create a three-way tie for the top spot. Wheat Ridge fell off the pace with their loss to Golden and those teams now share fourth place.
- Loveland’s shutout at Silver Creek kept the Indians tied with Skyline for the Longs Peak lead. The Falcons won on Thursday night over Greeley Central. Loveland and Skyline play in week 10.
- Montrose blanked Gateway on Friday and remain tied for the Metro lead with Ponderosa. The Mustangs moved to 3-0 in league play with their win over Aurora Central on Thursday. Montrose and Ponderosa square off next week.
- Longmont moved into a second place tie with Broomfield in the Northern conference. Both teams are 2-1 and trail Greeley West by one game in the league chase. The Spartans took over the top spot with their 17-14 overtime win over Broomfield on Thursday. Greeley West has already beaten both the Trojans and Eagles so they clinch the title by downing Windsor next week.
- Standley Lake topped Vista Peak in a battle of league unbeatens inside the Pioneer. The Gators will be tied for the league lead with Fruita Monument providing the Wildcats get by Hinkley on Saturday. Standley Lake heads to Fruita Monument next Friday.
- Grand Junction Central kept pace with Pine Creek in the Southern 1 by beating Cheyenne Mountain. Both teams are now 3-0 in conference play. They face off at Pine Creek next week.
- Pueblo West and Rampart are now co-leaders in the Southern 2 conference. Both moved to 3-0 with wins. Air Academy shared the lead entering the night but dropped to third with their loss to Pueblo West.
CLASS 3A
- Palmer Ridge moved to 3-0 in the Central with an impressive win over Thomas Jefferson. Discovery Canyon can match the 3-0 league mark by beating Lewis Palmer on Saturday. Palmer Ridge and Discovery Canyon face off in the final week.
- Green Mountain now has sole possession of the Mt. Metro lead thanks to their 31-7 win over Evergreen. Both teams were 2-0 in league play before the game. Evergreen is tied with Conifer (2-1) in second place.
- Mead moved to 3-0 in the North Metro by moving past Holy Family. That means Frederick must beat Denver North on Saturday to keep pace. Mead and Frederick don’t play until November 2nd.
- Erie and Fort Morgan both moved to 3-0 in the North Valley with wins on Friday. They continue to share the conference lead and both have a two game edge on all other league members. That means their showdown in the final week likely determines first and second place.
- Pueblo South won at Durango (21-10) on Friday and that results leaves Pueblo East alone in first. The Eagles rolled by Pueblo County on Thursday night and sit at 3-0 in league play. Pueblo South and Durango are tied for second (2-1) but the Colts obviously have the tiebreaker because of the head-to-head win.
- Harrison continues to be alone atop the Southern standings. The Panthers (3-0) have won three conference games by a total of 142 points and will be heavily favored to get past Sand Creek and Mitchell in their final two contests. Canon City and Mitchell share second place at 2-1.
- Palisade is now alone in first in the Western Slope. They improved to 3-0 by downing Eagle Valley but Battle Mountain fell at home to Glenwood Springs. Summit also beat Steamboat Springs so now there’s a three-way for second between Summit, Battle Mountain and Glenwood Springs.
CLASS 2A
- Kent Denver is now alone atop the Colorado standings as they picked up a win over Alameda on Thursday and Machebeuf fell short to Englewood 6-3 on Friday. Kent is now 4-0 in league play with the Pirates and Buffs one game back at 3-1. Kent Denver did not clinch as they have a game with Machebeuf in the final week.
- Faith Christian easily moved to 4-0 in the Flatirons with their win over Middle Park. That means D’Evelyn must beat Bennett on Saturday to keep pace. Faith Christian and D’Evelyn meet next week.
- Bayfield’s exciting over win over Pagosa Springs (14-13) left them tied with Salida top the Intermountain. The Spartans won at Montezuma Cortez on Thursday. The Pirates and Spartans are both 3-0 heading into their showdown next week.
- Platte Valley earned a forfeit over Valley but cannot clinch the Patriot East title unless Weld Central upsets Brush on Saturday. Brush is tied with Sterling one game back and meet Platte Valley next week.
- Resurrection Christian clinched the Patriot West crown with their win over Academy. University also upset Berthoud so Eaton will be alone in second by beating Prospect Ridge on Saturday.
- La Junta wrapped up another Tri Peaks championship by beating Classical Academy on Friday. Elizabeth also won at Woodland Park so the Cardinals are alone in second. Elizabeth must still beat Lamar next week to secure the runner-up spot.
- Rifle and Aspen both picked up victories on Friday and that leaves the two teams tied with Basalt in the Western Slope lead. All three teams are 3-1 in conference play. Aspen and Basalt play next week while Rifle plays Moffat County. Aspen clinches the championship with a win. Rifle is the champion with a win if Basalt also beats Aspen. Basalt lands the championship with a win if Moffat County also upsets Rifle.
CLASS 1A
- Clear Creek edged Manual 31-30 in overtime and that result leaves Platte Canyon alone in the Foothills lead. They will need to beat Lake County on Saturday to stay there. The Huskies cannot clinch this weekend as they have a game remaining with Manual next week. The Thunderbolts share second place with Clear Creek with both teams at 3-1.
- Limon remained alone atop the North Central standings with their win over Wray. Holyoke also beat Wiggins and improved to 3-1. Burlington can also get to 3-1 by beating Yuma on Saturday and the Cougars have the tiebreaker since they beat Holyoke earlier this year. Limon and Holyoke collide in the final week to help determine the top three spots.
- Strasburg is still alone in first inside the Northern conference thanks to a good win at Estes Park. The Indians lead Cornerstone Christian and Highland by one game but will not clinch this week unless Cornerstone Christian falls to winless Pinnacle on Saturday. Strasburg and Cornerstone meet up next week.
- Peyton and Crowley County will wait until Saturday night at 7:00pm to decide the Santa Fe title. Both teams are 3-0 with the winner clinching the crown and the loser wrapping up second.
- Monte Vista secured second place in the Southern Peaks with their win at Center. Centauri has already wrapped up the league championship but dropped a key non-conference game to Florence (12-7). The Falcons were 4th in RPI and Florence 7th going into the contest.
- Florence has clinched a top two finish in the Tri peaks and Colorado Springs Christian can do the same by beating St Mary’s on Saturday. If that happens, both the Lions and Florence will be unbeaten going into their matchup in week 10.
- Meeker came from behind to beat Olathe 14-7 and the win gives the Cowboys the Western Slope championship. Paonia must beat Cedaredge next week to claim the runner-up spot
EIGHT MAN
- Hoehne clinched the Ark Valley title by beating Wiley on Friday. Holly is alone in second with their win over McClave as Fowler edged Springfield 46-44. Holly has not clinched second as they meet Springfield next week.
- Sargent is now alone in second in the Mountain division. The Farmers started the week sharing the spot with Sanford but the Indians were upset by Dove Creek 52-33 on Friday. Sargent picked up an easy win over Del Norte on Thursday. Second place remains up for grabs as Sanford challenges Sargent next week. Mancos has already clinched the championship.
- West Grand clinched the Northwest title by beating Soroco. Rangely also wrapped up second place with their win over Gilpin County.
- Sedgwick County is the Plains league champion for a fourth straight. The Cougars topped Caliche 36-0 in a battle of league unbeatens. Despite the loss, Caliche will not fall farther than second.
- Pikes Peak Christian (Southern) and Front Range Christian (Central) had already nailed down league titles before games this weekend.
SIX MAN
- All six league champions were crowned before games opened this weekend. The champions are Genoa Hugo (Central), Stratton/Liberty (East Central), Peetz (North), Manzanola (South Central), Kit Carson (Southeast) and Mountain Valley (Southwest).
- Granada clinched second in the Southeast by beating Walsh on Friday. The result also puts Cheyenne Wells third and Walsh fourth in the final standings.
- Arickaree/Woodlin nailed down second place in the East Central by outscoring Otis 66-50 on Friday. Otis drops into third.
- A key game between Briggsdale and North Park is set for Saturday as the teams are 15th and 17th in RPI and battling for one of the last available playoff berths.