No. 1 Cherry Creek 42, No. 9 ThunderRidge 7 – at the Stutler Bowl
The top seeded Cherry Creek High School Bruins are moving on to the 5A State Football Semifinals next week with an emphatic 42-7 win over 9th-seeded ThunderRidge on a clear and cold Saturday at the Stutler Bowl in Greenwood Village.
The contest was close in the first half as the Grizzly defense forced two Bruin turnovers. One was inside the 15-yard line on Creek’s first drive of the day. The second turnover was a fumble on the 50-yard line. However, the Grizzlies couldn’t capitalize on either giveaway.
The Bruins came back with scores by junior running back Jordan Herron for three yards and a 53-yard touchdown pass from senior Brian Rudden to senior Ismael Cisse with a minute left in the half. The Bruins led 14-0 going into the break.
Cherry Creek (10-2) blew the game open in the second half, scoring 28 points in the third quarter. Senior runner Arion Boyd went five yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 Creek. Then junior inside linebacker Angelo Petrides grabbed a loose ball off a fumble and went 40 yards for a score, 28-0 Bruins. Cherry Creek continued the offensive effort with Carlson Tann rumbling 40 yards to paydirt to increase the advantage to 35-0. After another ThunderRidge turnover, Herron closed out the scoring late in the third with a 29-yard ramble to the end zone to start a rolling clock, giving the home team a 42-0 lead.
The ThunderRidge offense was stymied all afternoon by a stout Bruin defense, which allowed a short run late by the Grizzlies’ junior fullback Will Fischer in the closing minutes. The final score: 42-7.
“We gave up seven points late, but I think overall, we had a great game on defense,” said senior outside linebacker Blake Purchase. “It’s not over yet. Not until we win that state championship.”
Bruins Head Coach Dave Logan was pleased with his club’s effort.
“I thought both sides played well,” Coach Logan said. “We put the ball on the ground a couple of times offensively, which we don’t do much. It stopped our first drive inside the 15, and when you do that, things are going to tighten up. But I thought we played hard and spirited, and we’ll get ready to go and play next Saturday.”
On Nov. 26, No. 5 Pine Creek (10-2) - which eliminated Grandview 24-3, - will visit the Stutler Bowl in one of the 5A State Semifinals. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Coach Logan said his team will be ready.
“It’s never easy, and the final score is rarely indicative of the kind of game that the team just played,” he said. “We understand that. We’ve done this for a while. Pine Creek comes in having beaten Grandview. They are a big, physical team, well-coached, and that’s going to be ‘a big chunk of the bear,’” he added.
No. 5 Pine Creek 24, No. 4 Grandview 3 – At Legacy Stadium
In the other quarterfinal contest, the Grandview Wolves were eliminated by the visiting Pine Creek Eagles on Saturday at Legacy Stadium. The Wolves, missing junior starting quarterback Liam Szarka due to injury, took a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play on a 31-yard Kyle Chavez field goal.
The Eagles would go on to score 17 unanswered points in the remainder of the first half, helped by Wolves turnovers. The score was 17-3 at the break.
The Grandview offense continued its struggles into the second half, while Pine Creek added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.
The Wolves finish the season at 9-3. Pine Creek improves to 10-2 and will face No. 1 Cherry Creek at 1 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 26.
Unified Bowling: Eaglecrest gets to State
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for the Eaglecrest Unified Bowling team.
The Raptors took second overall in regional play held at Crown Lanes in Denver on Nov. 10. The top three finishers all qualified for the state finals.
Eaglecrest joined 17 other clubs at the 2022 Unified Bowling State Championships held at AMF Belleview Lanes in Englewood on Nov. 18. While Pueblo schools took the first three places, the Raptors finished 14th overall.
The event was attended by parents, teachers, and friends. A fun time was had by all.
2022 All-State honors in boys soccer
The 2022 All-State teams for boys soccer were announced Nov. 18, with student athletes from Cherry Creek Schools well-represented. Compilations are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
Second Team:
Courtney Hall – Senior Midfielder, Grandview
Alex Hightshoe – Senior Defender, Cherry Creek
Will Lujan – Senior Defender, Grandview
Amman Muzafar – Senior Defender, Cherokee Trail
Honorable Mention:
Peter Eugenio–Deras – Sophomore Midfielder, Cherokee Trail
Hojin Lee – Senior Goalkeeper, Cherry Creek
Marcelo Ruiz – Junior Forward, Cherokee Trail
Reed Schneider – Senior MIdfielder, Cherry Creek
Colin Starr – Senior Goalkeeper, Cherokee Trail
Daniel Vasquez – Senior Forward, Eaglecrest
You can see all the honorees here.
Congratulations to the 2022 All-State boys soccer honorees!
CCHS football photo courtesy Theodore A. Stark.
Posted 11/21/2022.
