Montezuma Cortez made a push at the 3A State Championship, but was narrowly defeated in their quarterfinal game on day one by the Sterling Tigers 6-5 to end their season. The one run game was the second one of the day, although offensively, it didn’t stack up to the 18-17 thriller the Panthers won over La Junta in the opening round to boost them to their 19th win on the season. The 19 wins is the most for the Panthers going back to 2009, and tops their 17 win season in 2019.
Cortez will be returning their second and third best hitters with Lizzie Likes and Rylee Hickman coming back as seniors next year. They will need to find a new pitcher to combine with Likes, as senior Taiah Wilson is graduating leaving a hole in the two-girl rotation.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MONTEZUMA CORTEZ HIGH SCHOOL
Football
Durango had another dominant week on the football field in league action, as they took down the Sierra Stallions 64-0 on Friday night in the Springs. The Demons led the game 50-0 at the half, and were pushed by 280 rushing yards, including more than half from junior Zach Haber.
The Demons were also impressive on the defensive end of the ball, picking the Stallions off five times, including two of which went for defensive touchdowns. The route moves the Demons to 6-2 heading into the final two weeks of the season. The rankings still have Durango sitting at fifth in the most recent poll, as they host Mitchell and the 0-6 Marauders on Friday night.
Bayfield took home their sixth win in a row and moved up to sixth in the 2A football rankings with a 56-18 win over the Montezuma Cortez Panthers Friday night. Isaac Ross threw for 317 yards on 40 attempts and found the endzone five times for the Wolverines to lead the way as the running game was a little more limited than in weeks past, only gaining 105 yards on the ground. James Mars stood out in the receiving line, with four scores and 98 yards added to his season totals.
Down the road from Bayfield, Pagosa Springs was in Colorado Springs taking on The Classical Academy, and the Titans had the running clock going by halftime in their 42-0 win over the Pirates, dropping them to 2-6 on the year.
Bayfield will host Pagosa Springs this weekend to wrap up their season and look to move up in the rankings, while Montezuma Cortez will take their 3-5 record on the road, travelling to Salida for the final game for the 0-8 Spartans.
Ignacio dropped to 5-3 on the year after they were forced to forfeit their game with Centauri over the weekend. The game will wrap up the Bobcats season with their game against Del Norte being taken off the schedule.
Mancos remains the number two team in the state after receiving a forfeit from Dolores Huerta Prep to move them to 6-0 on the year with only one game remaining. They will take on the Sarget Farmers in the San Luis Valley on Friday night.
Dove Creek actually dropped a spot in the rankings to eighth even after their win over the Sargent Farmers on Friday where they took the victory 46-0 to improve to 4-2 on the year. The Bulldogs ran for 200 yards despite not having anyone break the 100 yard mark as an individual, and also had 95 yards passing from senior Chorbin Cressler who also had one touchdown pass.
Dove Creek takes on the test of Sanford this weekend to wrap up the 8-man season on Friday night, with a possible home game on the line with a victory over the Indians.
Volleyball
Durango had a rough week on the volleyball court, as they dropped their final two league matches to Fruita Monument and Montrose, dropping the Demons record to 9-8, and finishing league action at 4-4. This week still has a lot to look forward to for Durango as they can still improve their seeding into the regional tournaments. Five matches away them with a rivalry against Bayfield before heading to Highlands Ranch for tournament play this weekend.
The Bayfield Wolverines picked up votes in the latest rankings, after wrapping up a league title in the intermountain with a win in four sets over Centauri. Only two more matches are waiting for the Wolverines this week, with their dual against Durango leading into a drip to Discovery Canyon on the weekend.
Pagosa Springs also had a light week but moved to 11-8 with a win over Ignacio last week. The Pirates will be looking to really help out their standings heading into regionals after a disappointing league record of 2-6, and will close the season out with matches against Palisade and Glenwood Springs this weekend.
Montezuma Cortez improved to 11-5 with a four set win over Mancos last week, but with a 1-5 league record, the Panthers will be still traveling with it comes to regional action as of now. The Panthers do have a tournament in Pueblo after a final league match with Centauri this week, as they could change the look and host a regional with a strong week.
Ignacio’s loss to Pagosa Springs snapped their win streak and paired with a five set loss to Sargent dropped the Bobcats to 14-4 on the year. The Bobcats are still hoping they can also impress to get a regional host bid, and will be taking on Dolores before Rye on the road, as well as tournament action against Sanford, Trinidad, and Hoehne on Saturday.
Dolores goes into their match with Ignacio after they snapped a two match skid with a win over Ridgway in straight sets, after falling to Dove Creek and Telluride earlier in the week. The Bobcats will wrap up league play for the Bears who are 10-8 overall, and will look to improve their hopes of a regional bid when they travel on Saturday for four matches in a tournament of their own.
Telluride went 4-0 this week on the volleyball court to improve to 14-8 on the year after an important week in league. Their five set win over Dolores went with two other five setters against Mancos and Dove Creek, as well as a four set win on Monday over Nucla. The Miners get some rest this week, with only a match against Norwood to close out the year before they wait for the regional pairings.
Ridgway moved to 5-14 after splitting a pair of matches this week against Dolores and Norwood. The Demons are also looking at a light week, with a match with Mancos all that awaits them in a light close to the year.
Dove Creek dropped to ninth in the rankings this week after their winning streak was snapped by Telluride on Saturday, but a win over Dolores helped to salvage the week and keep the Bulldogs at 17-2 on the year. League play is now over for Dove Creek, and they head to a tournament this weekend with action against Olathe and Sargent.
Nucla tried to make a tough push this weekend, with action against Mancos and Telluride seeing the Mustangs push both teams to extra sets, but it wouldn’t change the results as the Mustangs also dropped both, and fell to 5-10 this year in the process. They turn their attention to Norwood this weekend, before they also close out the year with a Saturday tournament.
Mancos went 2-2 over the weekend to move to 9-10 on the year with a loss to Montezuma Cortez and Telluride opening the week, before the rebounded to defeat Creede and Nucla on the rebound. It’s a quiet week, with only a non-league match with Center, before Ridgway closes out the year on Thursday.
Soccer
Durango finished the season as the fifth ranked team in the final CHSAA poll of the season and is entering the postseason with a 2-1 victory over Montrose to improve the record to 12-1-2 and clinch second in league action. The Demons are entering the state postseason with a match against the 7-6-2 Erie Tigers to open the 4A playoffs at home.
Pagosa Springs also qualified for the 3A postseason field, capturing the 18th seed and will be travelling to 8-6-1 Peak to Peak on Wednesday. The Pirates finished the season at 11-5, and had a week off to get rested and ready for the postseason push.
Bayfield finished the regular season with a 5-0 win over Alamosa to go 6-9 on the year, but the Wolverines are on the outside of the final 32 teams in Colorado this year going into the postseason. The Wolverines do capture second in the league standings, going 4-2 in the 3A Southwest.
Telluride was able to throw some weight into their push to the postseason with a pair of wins last week including a 2-0 win over Crested Butte to hand the Titans their first loss of the season. The Miners only improved to 10th in the rankings for the final CHSAA poll, but still earned a home match with 10-4 Loveland Classical in the 2A postseason, in the 8-9 matchup, with the winner taking on the winner of Crested Butte and Rocky Mountain Lutheran.
Ridgway also made the playoff field as the fourth seed and will take on Ellicott at home to open the 2A postseason. The Demons finished they year ranked 5th, and moved to 9-3 to close the regular season with their 4-1 win over Colorado Rocky Mountain.
Cross Country
Durango is bringing a full team to the state cross country meet in Colorado Springs after taking second at the 4A Region 5 race in Pueblo. Senior’s Land Lambert and Damian Frausto took second and third respectively to break up a Cheyenne Mountain sweep and helped them edge out Widefield for the second team spot.
In the girls race, Durango took notes from the Cheyenne Mountain boys, and put six in the top ten and nine in the top twenty as they finished 70 points ahead of second in the team race. Individually, junior Willow Lott led the way taking second with one of only three sub 20 minute times, finishing in 19:50.
For 2A, Ouray’s boys brought home a team title, finishing just ahead of Crested Butte as the Trojans were led by sophomore Vincent Schierenberg who placed second overall with a time of 16:55, and saw four total make it into the top fifteen to lead them to the title. Mancos was able to qualify a pair as individuals, with seniors Edgar Hernandez (3rd) and Connor Sehnert (15th) making the cut. Ignacio junior Eppie Quintana also made the state field finishing 11th overall. Just missing the cut taking 16th was Telluride freshman Sean McKillop.
The Mancos BlueJays took home second place by one point over Caprock Academy on the girls side as a team to qualify a full crew to take to Colorado Springs. Freshman Teagan Archer took home fourth to lead Mancos, in what was a very balanced team field. Telluride will also be showing their colors in the state field, with a pair of Miners qualifying in seniors Ruby Tanguay and Chloe Hehir who took 12th and 13th overall.
Pagosa Springs saw senior Andrew Bowles punch his ticket to Colorado Springs with a tenth place finish as the only qualifier from the 3A level to represent the southwest in boys or girls.
