Preps

FOOTBALL Eaglecrest lone local unbeaten after 4-7 Week 3 for Aurora programs

Through three weeks of the prep football season, only Eaglecrest has made it through unscathed and it took a clutch late performance for that to happen as well.

The Raptors fell behind in the fourth quarter of their Sept. 8 matchup with Highlands Ranch at Legacy Stadium, but Peyton Taylor made sure the deficit didn’t last for long. The electric senior took back a kickoff for a 78-yard touchdown and it stood up as Eaglecrest topped the Falcons 18-15 to get to 3-0.

Jacob Schmitt threw a touchdown pass to Logan Ryan and Diego Cearns rushed for 112 yards and a score for Eaglecrest in the win.

Grandview is now 2-1 with a 33-21 defeat in a showdown with Ralston Valley Sept. 9 at Legacy Stadium.

The Wolves took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter and had their chances even after falling behind, but the Mustangs scored a touchdown on a fourth-down play inside the final minute to seal the result. Liam Szarka threw touchdown passes to Xay Neto and Simon Kibbee and ran for one as well for Grandview.

Rangeview had allowed a combined 25 points to its first two opponents, but ceded 21 alone in the second quarter of a 35-12 road loss at Douglas County to put it at 2-1.

Armani Patterson and Kevin Prosser III rushed for touchdowns for the Raiders, who trailed 21-0 at one point in the second quarter.

Regis Jesuit improved to 2-1 with a 23-10 victory over Arapahoe in a matchup of teams ranked in 5A’s top 10. Exander Carroll (who ran for a score) threw a touchdown pass to Andrew Metzger in the third quarter that essentially put the game away, though the Warriors returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

D’Andre Barnes had two interceptions, including one he took back for a touchdown and Pierce Martin added a 42-yard field goal for the Raiders.

Also 2-1 after a Week 3 win is Aurora Central, which prevailed 19-14 on the road at Falcon in a game delayed significantly by lightning. The Trojans have outscored their last two opponents 74-14.

Getting into the win column for the first time was Smoky Hill, which topped rival Overland 42-12 Sept. 8 at Stutler Bowl in a game that earned them custody of the Wagon Wheel traveling trophy as well. Quarterback

Ty Bowers rushed for four touchdowns, while John Bass III went over 100 yards rushing with a score and Kaiden McElhiney also got into the end zone for the Buffaloes, who held off an Overland team that got touchdowns from Komari Owens and Jarrius Ward.

Cherokee Trail got a late touchdown pass from Eliot Ming to Noah Greer, but still ended up with a loss as it fell to Columbine 35-7 Sept. 8 in a matinee at Jeffco Stadium. The Cou- gars are 1-2, as is Vista PEAK, which opened its Sept. 9 contest vs. Broomfield at APS Stadium in style with a Marcel Evans kickoff return touchdown before falling 55-6.

Hinkley is 0-3 after a 53-0 loss to Adams City Sept. 9, while Gateway has the same record following a 5613 defeat to the Far Northeast Warriors Sept. 10.

FIELD HOCKEY Buffs win to snap 75game winless streak

The streak is over for the Smoky Hill field hockey team as the sweet taste of victory came Sept. 6.

The Buffaloes triumphed 1-0 over the Poudre School District at Stutler Bowl to snap a winless stretch that went back 75 games, all the way to Oct. 8, 2016, when they defeated Cheyenne Mountain 2-1.

Smoky Hill was 0-74-1 since that victory, but snapped the streak as sophomore Darian Smith’s transition goal with less than two minutes gone in the third period held up to the final horn. The Buffaloes improved 1-5 under new coach Lisa Griffiths.

“They knew they hadn’t won a game in six seasons, but I don’t know if they knew the exact total,” Griffiths said. “It was pretty unbelievable. … When the game was over, they celebrated like they won the national championship. They were going wild.”

The Buffaloes — a co-op team that also includes athletes from Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest this season — celebrated wildly and for good reason.

Holdovers from last season remember a campaign in which they finished 0-14 and scored just a single goal, while allowing 74. That came in the wake of an 0-8 mark in the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 season, 0-15 in 2019, 0-13-1 in 2018, 0-15 in 2017 and a 4-10-1 season in 2016 in which they lost the last four games of the season after their win.

Griffiths — a native of Australia — had previous coaching stops at Mountain Vista, Palmer Ridge and Cherry Creek, where she was an assistant before she applied for and landed the Smoky Hill job for this season.

She took over in April and had 2025 players throughout the summer activity, which surprised even her given the program’s lack of recent success.

Griffiths and her new staff focused more on skills than on fitness and she believes she has seen it pay off in the first handful of games. The Buffaloes lost their opener to Dakota Ridge by one goal and then had three tough contests against two-time defending state champ Regis Jesuit, Kent Denver, Arapahoe and Denver East.

Against the Poudre School District team that came in off a 2-0 win over Grandview in its previous game. The Buffaloes’ defense kept goalie Meghan Bird — who had made a whopping 93 saves in the first five games — from needing to touch the ball at all.

Week Past

The week past in Aurora prep sports

MONDAY, SEPT. 12: The Eaglecrest softball team piled up 14 runs in the third inning on its way to a 22-12 win over Denver East. ...The Regis Jesuit boys tennis team earned a 6-1 dual match win over Castle View, paced by the singles sweep of William Dickey (No. 1), Agustin Azcui (No. 2) and Brady Jenkins (No. 3). ...The Regis Jesuit girls volleyball team had a two-set lead escape as Holy Family rallied past the Raiders 15-25, 12-25, 25-22, 29-27, 15-10. ...The Regis Jesuit boys golf team finished eighth at the Kadet Invitational as Ben Sander and Ryland Doolittle each carded plus-nine 81s. ...SATURDAY, SEPT. 10: The Cherokee Trail boys cross country team earned another big win, as the Cougars topped the field in the sweepstakes race at the Liberty Bell Invitational. Hunter Strand finished as the individual runner-up and Brady Smith (16th) and Reuben Holness (25th) posted top-25 results. The Grandview boys were 15th with Owen Zitek (26th) and Andrew Fox (33th) leading the way. …The Regis Jesuit boys cross country team finished second in the Bernie Gay Invitational hosted by Centaurus High School with David Flaig turning in a fourth-place individual finish. Ashlyn Pallotta finished third and Jo Collins fifth for the Regis Jesuit girls, who were third. …Garrison Hanson scored the go-ahead goal with less than two minutes left for the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team, which edged Rangeview 2-1. Jose Rocha gave the Raiders the lead just before halftime, but the Cougars — who were down a player after a red card — benefited from a Rangeview own goal to tie it up. …The Grandview softball team topped Eaglecrest 6-4 as the teams met at the Dave Sanders Memorial tournament at the Aurora Sports Park. Peytann Weiland drove in a pair of runs and Makayla Valle earned the win for the Wolves, while Maddie Demoss, Izzy Ervin and Megan Drugan drove in runs. Grandview also lost to Golden (12-2) and Eaglecrest dropped a 6-2 contest with Holy Family on the last day of the tournament.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 9: The Regis Jesuit boys tennis team won the Western Slope Invitational as its total of 197 points put the Raiders comfortably atop a field of 16 scoring teams. …The Overland gymnastics team finished third at the Loveland Invitational with a season-best score of 172.275 points.

Maya Richman and Kyla Burke finished 1-2 on the vault for the Trailblazers, while Burke finished third in the all-around standings. …The Grandview softball team finished 2-1 on the first day of the Dave Sanders Memorial tournament as the Wolves topped D’Evelyn (19-0) and Fruita Monument (9-1), plus dropped a 5-4 contest to Ponderosa. Kamaya Harris earned both wins for the Wolves, while Kristin Gallego had seven hits between the games along with three RBI. Peytann Weiland drove in a combined seven runs. Also at the Dave Sanders tournament, Eaglecrest defeated Pueblo Central 10-2 at the Dave Sanders Memorial tournament (highlighted by Megan Drugan’s grand slam in a five-RBI game), then lost 4-1 to Windsor despite two hits from Jac Smith THURSDAY, SEPT. 8: The Regis Jesuit boys soccer team rallied from a 2-0 deficit at Grandview, as the Raiders came away with a 3-2 overtime victory on a goal by Jovany Espinoza Chase Patterson also scored for Regis Jesuit, which got the benefit of an own goal from the Wolves, who lost their starting goalkeeper to a red card in the second half. …Alberto Levant, Jose Rocha and Alexis Salas all scored as the Rangeview boys soccer team topped Overland 3-1. …The Gateway boys soccer team rolled to 8-4 win over Sheridan. …Nicole Sparks registered 10 kills as the Smoky Hill girls volleyball team extended its unbeaten start to the season with a 19-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-18 road win at Poudre. Jordana Ancheta recorded 18 digs and Morgan Garst

Aurora Central goalkeeper Hassane Dia leaves his feet as he attempts to play a ball outside of the goal box in the Trojans’ 2-1 nonleague boys soccer win over visiting Smoky Hill Sept. 6. Bottom left:

Rangeview goalie Randy Morales (1) punches out a free kick service in front of Cherokee Trail’s Amman Muzaffar (12) during the second half of the Cougars’ 2-1 win over the Raiders Sept. 10. Below right: Eaglecrest’s Jac Smith arrives just before the ball as she steals second base during a huge third-inning rally of the Raptors’ 22-12 non-league softball win over Denver East Sept. 12. Photos by Courtney Oakes/Sentinel Colorado

16 assists. …The unbeaten Rangeview girls volleyball team swept past former EMAC rival Prairie View 25-19, 2517, 25-21 behind an 11-kill effort from Elisha Davis. …The Grandview girls volleyball team got back on the winning track with a 25-12, 25-12, 25-21 win at Highlands Ranch.

…The Gateway softball team outlasted Aurora Central 25-24 despite a three-RBI, seven-stolen base effort from the Trojans’ Alyanna Espino

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The Smoky Hill softball team topped Dakota Ridge 15-5 as Danika Wood had four hits and drove in five runs, while Kahiau Bentosino, Elliana Trujillo and Kiley Snyder had three hits apiece. …The Grandview boys tennis team swept past Mullen in Centennial League play. …Cole Dewey shot plus-four 76 and Eli Handler shot 77 as the Regis Jesuit boys golf team placed eighth at the Continental League boys golf tournament at South Suburban G.C. …Vista PEAK’s Connor Angelini of shot a plus-seven

79 at the Denver Prep League boys golf meet at Aurora Hills G.C. The Bison finished seventh, coming in behind Rangeview, which saw Khiem Davison and Nate Urban each shoot 81. ...WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7: Megan Drugan tripled in a run to give the Eaglecrest softball team a 5-4 walk-off win in eight innings over Arapahoe in its Centennial League opener. Lindsey Troftgruben struck out 12 in the victory. …Makaya Valle struck out seven in four scoreless innings and had two runs scored and two RBI herself in the Grandview softball team’s 12-0 Centennial League win over Smoky Hill Brianna Hazak racked up 15 kills, while Rina Maiava contributed 17 assists and 11 digs as the Overland girls volleyball team topped Hinkley 2519, 25-20, 25-20. ...Amman Muzaffar scored in the opening half, but the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team ceded a goal in the second half to fall 2-1 to Valor Christian for its first loss of the season. ...TUESDAY, SEPT. 6: The Cherokee Trail boys golf team won the Centennial League tournament at Aurora Hills G.C. Brayden Forte carded a 3-under-par 69 to win medalist honors, while he was joined by teammate Christopher O’Donnell (who shot 71) in a top that that also included Eaglecrest’s Gregory White (who tied for 2nd with a 2-under 70) and Andrew White, who shot 71. …Mohammed Haidara scored on a rebound of his penalty kick attempt and the Overland boys soccer team outlasted ThunderRidge 3-2 in double overtime. Haidara had two goals and Eduardo Nieto also scored. …Also on the pitch, Aurora Central scored twice in the second half in a 2-1 overtime win over Smoky Hill in a local matchup. Peter Mutai scored in the second half for the Buffaloes. …The Grandview girls volleyball team dropped a showdown with Legend 25-14, 25-21, 25-19.

Week Ahead

The week ahead in Aurora prep sports

THURSDAY, SEPT. 15: Week 4 of the football season begins with a matchup of local teams when Aurora Central and Rangeview face off at 6:30 p.m. at APS Stadium. Going on the road are Grandview — which treks to the Western Slope for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Stocker Stadium against Fruita

Monument — and Overland, which faces Heritage at LPS Stadium. Both have 6 p.m. kickoffs. … The Centennial League softball slate has a quality matchup with Grandview playing at Cherokee Trail at 3:45 p.m. ...On the boys soccer pitch, Overland plays at home at 4 p.m. against Aurora Central, while Rangeview plays host to Eaglecrest in a 6:30 p.m. match. … Rangeview and Vista PEAK boys golfers take part in the Denver Prep League championship meet, which begins at noon at Overland Park G.C. FRIDAY, SEPT. 16: Friday Night Lights for Week 4 is highlighted by a matchup between Regis Jesuit and Ralston Valley at Lou Kellogg Stadium, which has a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, the same time Vista PEAK welcomes Skyline to APS Stadium. Cherokee Trail is home to Fort Collins at 7 p.m., the same time Smoky Hill meets Palmer Ridge at Don Breese Stadium and Eaglecrest goes against Rocky Mountain at French Field. …SATURDAY, SEPT. 17: The Grandview and Smoky Hill field hockey teams square off at 10 a.m. at Legacy Stadium. ... The softball schedule has Eaglecrest on the road against Cherry Creek for an 11 a.m. contest at Village Green Fields, while Cherokee Trail is at Smoky Hill at the same time.

A full look at the week ahead in Aurora prep sports can be found at sentinelcolorado.com/preps