The postseason has arrived for five Class 5A football teams, which were part of the 32-team field revealed by the Colorado High School Activities Association on Nov. 1.
While Grandview, Regis Jesuit, Cherokee Trail, Rangeview and Overland all made the cut in a postseason determined by wild card points, Eaglecrest was controversially left on the outside looking in.
A cheating scandal involving the Highlands Ranch football team led to the Falcons forfeiting their season, which lowered the Raptors’ wild card point total despite a win over Highlands Ranch. (see Aurora Sentinel editor Dave Perry’s column, here).
While the Raptors (3-6) join Gateway (3-6), Hinkley (2-7) and Smoky Hill (2-7) in playing non-playoff Week 10 games, Aurora’s qualifiers made preparation for hopeful runs.
Despite a 31-14 loss at Valor Christian on Oct. 30 to cap the regular season, Grandview (7-2) received one of the four No. 1 seeds and helms Region B, which it opens with a first round game against No. 8 Prairie View (4-5) at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Legacy Stadium.
Though junior Hayden Blubaugh, the state’s leading rusher, picked up 129 yards and two touchdowns, Grandview coach John Schultz saw his team get overmatched physically at times against Valor Christian and he hopes to use the preparation time for the playoffs to get back the edge his team played with previously.
“We’re zero and zero now and it’s time to get back to work and fix some things,” Schultz said. “We have to regroup. The kids had not really faced much adversity this season, so this is a reality check.”
The Wolves have won 11 straight first round playoff games and face a Prairie View program that has never won in the postseason.
With the exception of allowing 31 points in the finale against an explosive Valor Christian offense, Grandview’s defense has been
A gelling offensive line and the explosive Blubaugh have made the Wolves’ offense difficult to contain and has piled up nearly 300 points on the season. They tied their season-low in points against Valor Christian, but had a touchdown negated by penalty and made three trips into the Eagles’ red zone that netted zero points.
If Grandview can win its first two games, the Wolves would likely meet second-seeded Pomona for a trip to the semifinals.
Aurora’s other four teams make up half of the eight teams in Region A in No. 2 Regis Jesuit, No. 5 Cherokee Trail, No. 7 Rangeview and No. 8 Overland.
Regis Jesuit and Rangeview — several years removed from their time together in the Continental League — face off in the first round in the first postseason game for both head coaches with their teams.
Danny Filleman came from Arizona and guided Regis Jesuit to a 7-2 mark and the Continental League North title, riding an Ace Escobedo-led defense hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in a game all season. Regis Jesuit has also begun to find its offensive rhythm and piled up 66 points in its final two games.
Justin Hoffman, who guided Gateway to the playoffs six times, took over the Rangeview program this season and has it back in the postseason for the 10th straight season. The Raiders coming into the playoffs off two quality performances against undefeated Arapahoe and 7-2 Heritage, though both ended in close losses.
Filleman is worried about how to stop Rangeview’s abundant athleticism, while Hoffman’s main focus is getting his team to match Regis Jesuit’s physicality.
Cherokee Trail won its last two games to make sure it would extend its lengthy streak of postseason play and coach Monte Thelen is confident his team is playoff ready when it takes the field at 6 p.m. Nov. 7 against Heritage at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
Beset by injuries for most of the year, the Cougars are as healthy as they’ve been going into the postseason and feature a stingy defense and multi-dimensional offense that includes recent University of Montana commitment Ashton Torres on the offensive line.
Overland gets a rematch with Columbine, which has a 9-0 record that includes a 28-0 victory over the Trailblazers at the start of the season. (Preview capsule, here.)
Coach Seth Replogle remains confident that his athletic defense keyed by senior Alijah Halliburton and others will keep Overland in the game, but its ability to generate points against a dominating Rebels defense will be the questionmark.
Aurora’s two non-5A teams remain in the playoff hunt going into the final week of the regular season.
Aurora Central’s seemingly strong grip on a 4A playoff berth — only 16 teams qualify — has slipped with two straight losses following a 7-0 start, making the regular season finale against Standley Lake on Nov. 6 pretty much a must-win for coach Travis Peeples’ Trojans.
Vista PEAK’s 3A playoff chances became very slim with a one-point loss to Lutheran, but a win over Elizabeth in their finale could give the Bison a very slim shot at making their first postseason trip.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 CLASS 5A AURORA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF 1ST ROUND SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 5
Overland vs. Columbine at Jefferson County Stadium, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 6
Prairie View vs. Grandview at Legacy Stadium, 7 p.m.
Rangeview at Regis Jesuit, 7 p.m.
Cherokee Trail vs. Heritage at Littleton Public Schools Stadium, 6 p.m.
