AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2026 Class 5A state football 1st round playoff contest between Fossil Ridge and Regis Jesuit scheduled for Nov. 6, 2026:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2026 CLASS 5A STATE FOOTBALL FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF GAME
No. 21 Fossil Ridge (5-5) vs. No. 12 Regis Jesuit (6-4)
Nov. 6, 6:30 p.m. at Lou Kellogg Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Fossil Ridge and Regis Jesuit meet for the second time in the state playoffs, with the first encounter coming in the second round of the 2022 postseason, which saw the Raiders win a 63-28 contest on their home field. Prior to that, the programs played in the regular season in 2024 (a 35-14 Regis Jesuit win) and 2025 (a 47-14 Raiders victory). …Fossil Ridge is back in the postseason after a year absence due to a 2-8 campaign in 2025. The program began in 2004 and has not won a state championship, with its deepest push into the postseason being two trips to the second round. …Regis Jesuit has qualified to make a state playoff appearance for the 20th consecutive season and have won at least one game in three of its last five appearances, though they haven’t made it past the quarterfinals since they advanced to the semifinals in 2016. Regis Jesuit remains in search of its first state football championship.
FOSSIL RIDGE: Coach Chris Tedford’s SaberCats enter the postseason on a two-game winning streak after victories over Erie and Rock Canyon. Fossil Ridge face 10 opponents in the regular season that had a combined 49-53 record, while five of them are headed to the postseason in 4A (No. 4 Monarch, No. 5 Loveland) and 5A (No. 14 Fairview, No. 18 Legacy and No. 20 Riverdale Ridge). The SaberCats’ lone win against the playoff qualifiers came against Legacy. …Offensively, Fossil Ridge averaged 28 points per contest and were held in single digits only once. The passing game is significant in the SaberCats’ offense, as junior QB Colton Jantz has thrown for 2,744 yards and 30 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Junior WR Gavin Zanotelli has been the main weapon among passcatchers as he’s racked up 963 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns, but he is just one of six players with more than 100 receiving yards on the season. Senior WR Brayden Higgins has 631 yards receiving and three scores and senior Caleb Camping (a 6-foot-5 TE who has 446 yards receiving and eight touchdowns) also get plenty of targets. Senior RB Will Hough (368 yards, 4 touchdowns) and junior RB Hayden Malik (243 yards, 3 touchdowns) have been the primary ballcarriers. …The Fossil Ridge defense has surrendered slightly more than 23 points per game with one shutout to its credit. Junior LB Chris Isom has racked up 111 stops as the unit’s far and away leader in tackles, while junior LB Solo Mays has 78 and senior DB Adriel Hernandez 65. Junior DL Dalton Rex owns the team lead in sacks with 3.5 (and has scored defensively on an interception return), while sophomore DB Memphis Cluse has three interceptions for a team that has generated just 11 turnovers in 10 games. …On special teams, Zanotelli has been a weapon — especially on kickoff returns — while senior K Holdon Bousu is 2-of-5 on field goal attempts for the season with a long of 36 yards.
REGIS JESUIT: Coach Danny Filleman’s Raiders dropped their regular season finale to No. 2 Valor Christian, but had won five straight games before that after a 1-3 start. Regis Jesuit’s 10 regular season opponents had a combined record of 50-50 and six of them advanced to the 5A playoffs in No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 5 Grandview, No. 6 Legend, No. 7 Eaglecrest, No. 16 Heritage and No. 24 Castle View. The Raiders posted wins over Grandview, Heritage and Castle View of that group. …Offensively, Regis Jesuit averaged 26.6 points per contest and were held in single digits only once (in its season opener against Eaglecrest). The Raiders have thrived on the play of junior QB Luke Rubley, who has thrown for 2,100 yards and 19 touchdowns against six interceptions. Rubley’s connection with junior WR Colt Jones has been virtually unstoppable, as Jones has 946 yards receiving and nine touchdowns, while junior WR Theo Shelburn (458 yards, 3 touchdowns), senior WR Cade Filleman has 302 yards and two scores and senior WR Andrew Mihm has hauled in four scoring passes. When the Raiders run the ball, they feature senior RB Joe Pron (677 yards rushing, 6 touchdowns) with senior RB Benjamin Bacon (160 yards, 1 touchdown) mixed in as well as timely scrambles from Rubley. …The Regis Jesuit defense has ceded 20.5 points per game and held opponents in single digits twice. As an LB, Filleman leads 5A in tackles with 126 (including 78 of the solo variety), while senior DB Logan Singer is next with 78 and Jones third with 73. Sophomore DE Jermaine Jones has four sacks and senior DT David Ejuwa three for the Raiders, while a ballhawking defensive backfield has snatched 18 interceptions, including five from Singer, four from Jones and two from senior DB Will Anzures. Singer and Jones have each recorded a pair of pick-sixes. …On special teams, senior K Charlie Wolpert has been strong in the kicking game with six makes on eight field goal attempts, including a long of 47 yards. Jones has a kickoff return score in the return game.
WINNER GETS: The Fossil Ridge-Regis Jesuit winner advances to a second round matchup against No. 5 Grandview (7-3), which had a first round bye. The Raiders defeated the Wolves 24-21 in Week 9 of the regular season.
