It's playoff season in preps volleyball and football. KVNF’s Tamie Meck reports on who’s still alive in the run for a state title
Delta, Palisade and Rifle are among the western slope football teams to advance to Round 1 play in Class 3A competition. The Panthers ended the season with a 35-point shutout win over Steamboat Springs. Brothers Ryan and Mitch Whiteside contributed 18 points to the Panthers win. Their 26-21 win on October 19 earned them a wildcard playoff berth. They are seeded 13th and travel to Colorado Springs Saturday to face No. 4 seed The Classical Academy. Palisade is seeded ninth and travels to No. 8 Roosevelt. And No. 1 seed Rifle hosts 16th seed Erie this Saturday.
Hotchkiss and Cedaredge are the only Western Slope teams alive in state 1A competition. Cedaredge is seeded third and crushed 14 seed Centauri, 55-14, on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. They host No. six Monte Vista this Saturday at 1.
No. 10 Hotchkiss advanced on a 48-7 win over No. 7 Wiggins, with Trenton Tamayo running for thee touchdowns. Hotchkiss will host the quarterfinal game this Saturday against No. 2 Limon. The Badgers are a perennial powerhouse and hold several state records, including the most team titles. The last time Hotchkiss and Limon met on the field was in 2009. Limon won, 35-28, to eliminate the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals. That's a loss the Bulldogs hope to avenge this Saturday.
Hotchkiss and Cedaredge are on the same side of the bracket. The winners of the Hotchkiss-Limon game will face the winners of the Cedaredge-Monte Vista game in the semifinals on November 17.
In Class 4A, the Western Slope League champion Montrose Indians ended the regular season with 7-3 record after a 48-0 blowout over Grand Junction Central. Montrose held the Warriors to just 39 yards rushing. The Indians are the only western slope team to advance to first-round playoff and are seeded seventh. They host No. 13 Canyon City this Friday at 7 p.m. at Montrose High School.
And in Class A 8-man playoffs, No. 8 Dove Creek advanced to quarterfinals after a 39-12 win over West Grand. They face 16th seed Granada Saturday at Granada High School. Fowler upset No. 5 seeded Norwood, 46-20. Norwood ends the season with a 7-2 record and the league championship.
In volleyball, Paonia and Telluride will represent the Western Slope this Friday and Saturday at the Class 2A state tournament at the Denver Coliseum. Telluride is ranked 12th in the 12-team tournament and will face defending state champions Lutheran at 11 a.m. Friday.
This is the first time in 22 years the Paonia Lady Eagles qualified a team for state playoffs. Paonia posted a 3-2 win over Vail Mountain and won in three sets over Dolores to claim the 2A Region 3 title last Saturday at Vail. They are seeded seventh and will open with pool play on Friday. Paonia will face No. 11 Sangre de Cristo at 12:30 p.m. Friday, and No. 2 Swink at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Norwood and Dove Creek advanced in class 1A. Norwood won the San Juan League title then went undefeated to win the district and regional titles. They enter pool play as the No. 6 seed and face No. 10 Kit Carson on Friday. Dove Creek is the No. 12 seed and faces No. 8 Eads and No. 1 Weldon Valley on Friday.
Semifinal matches for all classes begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the championship match scheduled for 7 p.m. Matches can be viewed live online at chsaa.tv.
