Holyoke quarterback Wyatt Sprague had a chance to lead the Dragons to a special win. But battling through this tough game couldn’t get them onto the Class 1A throne.

Limon escaped the clash of 1A’s top two teams with a 28-22 win.

The win comes after the Badgers trailed for most of the game, but quarterback Jordan Rockwell led his team on a late scoring drive to give them their first lead of the game with about three minutes left on the clock.

“Our kids really stepped up,” coach Mike O’Dwyer said on the Scoreboard Show. “We had a lot of kids step up and make plays when they had to. Hats off to our kids for making those plays.”

The Dragons moved quickly down the field and broke inside the 10-yard with a fresh set of downs, but couldn’t cash in on a touchdown that would’ve tied the game and a PAT that could’ve given Holyoke the win.

This is the closest margin of victory for the Badgers all season and if the game was any indication, there is a good chance that Limon and Holyoke will meet again in the playoffs, potentially in the state championship game.

5A ranked teams fall

All season, the voters of the Colorado Preps Select Media Poll have declared Pine Creek the top 5A team in the state after Cherry Creek. Those voters will have to reconsider next week. The Eagles were stunned on Friday night, losing to 28-16 to suffer their first loss of the year.

Not too far away, Douglas County was busy pulling of an upset of its own as it came away with a 21-18 over No. 10 Fountain-Fort Carson.

These two results shake things up in the 5A Southern League as Legend, Regis Jesuit, Pine Creek and Douglas County all sit at 2-1 in the league standings.

“It’s a tough league,” Legend coach Monte Thelen said on the Scoreboard Show. “There are a lot of good teams and you have to put your best effort forward because if you don’t you’re probably going to get beat.”

Palisade topples Summit

Sitting at 2-5 coming into Week 8, Palisade needed something special to happen if it was going to keep its playoff hopes alive. A dominant win over Summit might just be the start of that.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick lead thanks in a big part to Kaleb Wells. He rushed for 91 yards and two scores in the first half and Palisade cruised to a 44-6 win over the Tigers.

Sitting at No. 24 in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, a win Friday night was a good start for the Bulldogs, but the work is far from over.

Dakota Ridge rallies to beat Golden

If there was one game that accounted for countless emotional swings on Friday, look no further than Dakota Ridge’s 29-28 win over Golden.

With the game tied at 7, the Demons blocked a field goal attempt and scored on the play to take the lead.

The Demons later extended the lead but Dakota Ridge found a spark and scored 22 straight points to get the win at the NAAC.

“Our kids grew up tonight,” Eagles coach Ron Woitalewicz. “We just have to keep that momentum up next week against Grand Junction.”

Woitalewicz cited this game and previous games against the likes of Pueblo West as the games that will make his team battled tested heading into the playoffs.

Gunnison stuns Meeker

After the way Meeker beat Buena Vista a week ago, it seemed like a league title was a foregone conclusion. But Gunnison had other ideas.

In a Cowboys vs. Cowboys showdown, it was Gunnison getting the impressive 30-6 win on Friday. That complicates matters quite a bit in the 1A Western Slope League as Gunnison, Meeker and Buena Vista all sit with one loss and all three teams have played each other.

That will send the league championship decision to a tiebreaker, assuming everyone takes care of their own business over the final weeks of the regular season.

Eads gets crucial win for playoff hopes

Heading into the week, we said that Eads needed to win two of their last three games to realistically have a shot at the 6-man playoffs.

They got that process started with a 46-44 over No. 10 Cheyenne Wells. The Eagles were sitting at No. 15 in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index and will likely get a nice boost to move more comfortably inside the playoff field.

**

Key scores:

Class 5A

  • (1) Cherry Creek 21, Eaglecrest 0
  • (3) Columbine 42, Arvada West 14
  • (6) Mountain Vista 34, Castle View 17

Class 4A

  • (1) Palmer Ridge 55, Air Academy 0
  • (3) Montrose 57, Coronado 8
  • (7) Mesa Ridge 41, Rampart 14

Class 3A

  • (3) Roosevelt 38, (10) Northridge 29
  • (6) Resurrection Christian 26, Severance 6
  • (8) Lewis-Palmer 27, Pueblo South 7

Class 2A

  • (5) La Junta 24, Lamar 22
  • Moffat County 29, (7) Basalt 6
  • Bayfield 27, Salida 20

Class 1A

  • (5) Banning Lewis 48, (10) CSCS 0
  • (6) Strasburg 52, Middle Park 0
  • (9) Wray 35, Yuma 6

8-man

  • (2) Simla 56, Elbert 12
  • (5) West Grand 40, Hayden 0
  • (7) Akron 36, Sedgwick County 28

6-man

  • (2) Granada 61, Kit Carson 14
  • (4) Otis 78, (3) Arickaree 36
  • Fleming 40, Prairie 32