With only minimal playing time from injured standout junior outside hitter Taylor Loyd, Eaglecrest (21-3) had little trouble with No. 35 Fairview or No. 23 Bear Creek in winning the Region 2 tournament on their home floor Nov. 3, securing one of the 12 berths in the 5A state tournament.
Loyd injured her ankle during the Raptors’ clinching victory at a season-ending tournament at Ponderosa and was held out the team’s regional opener against Fairview. Sophomore Kalee Maricle picked up some of the slack with 10 kills and Ruth Okoye and Chloe Logan had eight, while sophomore Jordyn Poulter dished out 30 assists in a 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 victory.
Loyd posted eight kills in two sets work of action in a sweep of Bear Creek to lock up the state berth.
• The Cherokee Trail volleyball team swept No. 31 ThunderRidge and No. 19 Loveland on Nov. 3 at the Region 6 tournament on their home floor, earning its first trip to the state tournament since moving up to 5A. The Cougars appeared in the 4A state tournament in 2007.
Cherokee Trail (19-6) got a big offensive day from freshman Shannon Webb and seniors Lauren Dunkle and Kayla Slofkiss and became the fourth Centennial League team in the 12-team state field, joining Eaglecrest, Cherry Creek and Grandview.
• Coach Patty Childress’s Grandview volleyball team qualified for the state tournament at the Denver Coliseum for the 13th consecutive season by sweeping two matches in the Region 7 tournament at home Nov. 3.
The seventh-seeded Wolves (19-6) knocked out another Aurora entry — No. 18 Regis Jesuit — with a 25-21, 25-15, 25-16 sweep in the final match of the day to gain another trip to state. The young Raiders, who had massive turnover since making state in 2011, went 2-1 on the day and finished the season 13-12.
Junior Morgan Montgomery had a big day for Grandview, notching 27 total kills.
• East Metro Athletic Conference champion and 27th-seeded Rangeview was less than handful of points from making the 5A state tournament out of Region 10 at Legend High School Nov. 3.
The 27th-seeded Raiders needed two victories to advance, but finished the day 1-1 and ended the season with a 19-6 record in its first season under coach Larry Deffenbaugh. Rangeview couldn’t quite close out five set points in the pivotal third set points in a 25-20, 22-25, 34-32, 25-23 loss to No. 10 Legend.
The Raiders rebounded to beat No. 15 Rocky Mountain 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, but watched Legend sweep the Lobos as well to earn the state berth.
• All-league teams beginning to come out: Volleyball — Colorado 7 and East Metro Athletic Conference; Boys Soccer — EMAC and Colorado 7.
• Sophomore midfielder Walter Prince headed in a pass from sophomore Kevin Del Mazo late in the second half and fourth-seeded Smoky Hill held on for a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Pine Creek in a Class 5A boys state soccer quarterfinal on Nov. 3 at “The Swamp.”
Playing in front of a charged atmosphere with fans from both sides lining the field, the Buffaloes and Eagles slugged it out for 70 minutes before Prince broke the deadlock with his fifth goal of the season and his first game-winner of the year.
Goalkeeper Grayson Heath and the Smoky Hill defense recorded the team’s third consecutive postseason shutout and the Buffaloes moved into a semifinal matchup against Cherry Creek. Photo gallery here.
• Ninth-seeded Cherry Creek got the golden goal early in the second overtime for a 2-1 victory over No. 17 Eaglecrest in a Class 5A boys state soccer quarterfinal on Nov. 3 at Stutler Bowl.
Nelson Merino scored on a pass from Symon Fabbricatore to tie the score at 1-1 midway through the second half, but Bruins standout Miguel Jaime found a barely open Kyle Ericson for the game-winning goal in the second 15-minute overtime session to send Cherry Creek on to a semifinal matchup with Smoky Hill. Photo gallery here.
• Junior Ashlynn Graybill, sophomore Kellyn Toole and freshman Kate Johnson competed in the individual event finals of the Class 5A state gymnastics meet, with Toole and Johnson getting onto the medal podium with their performances.
Toole finished fourth in the floor exercise with a score of 9.650, while she was also sixth on the vault (9.625), while Johnson earned a medal for her fourth-place result in the vault (9.700).
The previous day, Overland — the 2011 5A state champion — finished third in the team competition behind run-away winner Broomfield and Fort Collins.
• Full Class 5A state playoff football scores for 1st round, 2nd round schedule here.
• Quarterback Adan Soto threw for a touchdown and rushed for one, TreShawn Wilford caught three passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns and Ryan Willey added a rushing score as 22nd-seeded Eaglecrest recorded a 29-7 upset of No. 11 Chatfield in a Class 5A state football first round game on Nov. 3 at Jefferson County Stadium.
• A last gasp effort fell short for Overland in a Class 5A state football first round game on Nov. 2 at Mullen High School, as the 19th-seeded Trailblazers fell 25-20 to the No. 14 Mustangs.
Sophomore quarterback Austin Conway and senior running back Myles Simmons scored fourth-quarter touchdowns for Overland, which led by a point with just one three minutes left, but Mullen responded with a drive that resulted in Conor Brady’s go-ahead touchdown and held the ‘Blazers out of the end zone on their final possession.
• A 28-point third quarter — sparked by three touchdowns from sophomore Cameron Smith — helped Cherokee Trail pull away from Mountain Range in a Class 5A state football first round game on Nov. 2 at Legacy Stadium.
The third-seeded Cougars led by just one point at halftime, but quarterback Aric Johnson threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, including one to Smith — who also rushed for a pair of scores — and Thomas Thortvedt returned an interception for a touchdown to dispatch the 30th-seeded Mustangs.
• A tight game at halftime turned into a blowout in the Class 5A state football first round contest between Grandview and Fairview on Nov. 2 Stutler Bowl, as the ninth-seeded Wolves ripped off the final 33 points in a 40-6 rout of the 24th-seeded Knights.
Grandview’s ground game piled up 440 yards and had three rushers over 100 yards in quarterback Reece Weber and running backs Cassius Davis and Isaiah Jackson and the Wolves defense had seven sacks and forced six turnovers to push the team to the second round of the postseason for the 10th straight season.
• Dustin Rivas caught two touchdown passes and had two interceptions — including one for a touchdown — as No. 21 Horizon pulled off a 47-24 upset of No. 12 Rangeview on Nov. 2 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium in a Class 5A state football first round game.
Armon Brown rushed for three touchdowns in the losing effort for the Raiders, who had a six-game winning streak snapped and finished 6-4.
• An all-Aurora Class 5A state football first round contest on Nov. 1 went to 20th-seeded Regis Jesuit, which edged turnover-plagued No. 13 Gateway 15-14 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
The deciding points came on a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown by junior linebacker Joe Bozeman in the third quarter, which built on a touchdown pass from Matt Houghtaling to John Schmidt in the first quarter.
Tate Johnson and Tory Adams rushed for touchdowns for the Olys, who lost their first home playoff game since 2005 and finished the season 7-3.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555