(Ray Chen/MaxPreps.com)
The expectations were already high. Now, perhaps, things have been kicked up a notch.
ThunderRidge, coming off a 36-18 win over then-No. 3 Ralston Valley, took over atop the CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A this week. The Grizzlies had been No. 2, but jumped Valor Christian, which lost in overtime to Bingham (Utah).
Valor has yet to play an in-state opponent this season, and the four-time defending champion still received half of the first-place votes. Still, the Eagles are No. 2 this week.
Cherry Creek had its own big win last week — over then-No. 6 Pomona — and moved up on place to No. 3.
Grandview (No. 4) also moved up one place, and faces ThunderRidge this week.
Columbine went from No. 7 to No. 5 to round out the top five.
Ralston Valley settled in sixth following its loss, Regis Jesuit is seventh and Fairview is eighth.
The 5A top-ten is rounded out by two newcomers: Chatfield (No. 9) and Grand Junction (No. 10).
In 4A, Monarch continued its hold on the No. 1 spot. Denver South moved up to second, and the ranking added Standley Lake at No. 9.
Class 1A also got a new No. 1 team this week with Buena Vista taking over at the top.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
CHSAANow.com Football Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man
| Class 5A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | ThunderRidge (12) | 2-0 | 226 | 2 |
| 2 | Valor Christian (12) | 1-1 | 217 | 1 |
| 3 | Cherry Creek | 2-0 | 176 | 4 |
| 4 | Grandview | 2-0 | 137 | 5 |
| 5 | Columbine | 2-0 | 88 | 7 |
| 6 | Ralston Valley | 2-1 | 79 | 3 |
| 7 | Regis Jesuit | 2-0 | 70 | 9 |
| 8 | Fairview | 2-0 | 67 | 10 |
| 9 | Chatfield | 2-0 | 58 | – |
| 10 | Grand Junction | 3-0 | 48 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Pomona 42, Cherokee Trail 40, Arapahoe 34, Douglas County 20, Doherty 8, Horizon 4, Legend 2, Mullen 2, Mountain Range 1, Mountain Vista 1. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| Pomona (6), Cherokee Trail (8). | ||||
| Class 4A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Monarch (19) | 2-0 | 192 | 1 |
| 2 | Denver South (1) | 2-0 | 170 | 3 |
| 3 | Pueblo West | 2-0 | 120 | 7 |
| 4 | Montrose | 3-0 | 113 | 5 |
| 5 | Wheat Ridge | 1-1 | 98 | 2 |
| 6 | Falcon | 2-0 | 96 | 6 |
| 7 | Loveland | 2-0 | 88 | 8 |
| 8 | Pine Creek | 1-1 | 70 | 4 |
| 9 | Standley Lake | 2-0 | 31 | – |
| 10 | Windsor | 1-1 | 29 | 9 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Montbello 15, Dakota Ridge 14, Mesa Ridge 14, Durango 13, Pueblo Centennial 9, Longmont 7, Vista Ridge 5, Sand Creek 4, Ponderosa 3, Widefield 3, Green Mountain 2, Pueblo South 2, Thompson Valley 2. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| Dakota Ridge (10). | ||||
| Class 3A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Silver Creek (8) | 2-0 | 124 | 1 |
| 2 | Discovery Canyon | 3-0 | 97 | 2 |
| 3 | Rifle (4) | 2-0 | 89 | 3 |
| 4 | Holy Family | 2-0 | 80 | 6 |
| 5 | Conifer | 2-0 | 79 | 5 |
| 6 | Palisade | 2-0 | 53 | 8 |
| 7 | Lutheran (1) | 3-0 | 50 | 9 |
| 8 | Coronado (1) | 3-0 | 45 | – |
| 9 | Roosevelt | 1-1 | 35 | 7 |
| 10 | Elizabeth | 1-1 | 28 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Eagle Valley 16, Pueblo East 15, Northridge 10, Erie 4. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| D’Evelyn (10). | ||||
| Class 2A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Platte Valley (7) | 2-0 | 79 | 1 |
| 2 | Brush (1) | 2-0 | 64 | 4 |
| 3 | Kent Denver | 1-1 | 62 | 3 |
| 4 | Florence | 1-1 | 45 | 2 |
| 5 | La Junta | 2-0 | 40 | 6 |
| 6 | Strasburg | 2-0 | 36 | 8 |
| 7 | Eaton | 1-1 | 33 | 5 |
| 8 | Manitou Springs | 1-0 | 18 | 10 |
| 9 | Lamar | 2-0 | 16 | 9 |
| 10 | Bayfield | 1-1 | 12 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Fort Lupton 11, Denver West 7, Faith Christian 7, Ridgeview Academy 6, University 2, Aspen 1, KIPP 1. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| Faith Christian (7). | ||||
| Class 1A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Buena Vista (7) | 2-0 | 154 | 3 |
| 2 | Limon (4) | 2-0 | 139 | 2 |
| 3 | Cedaredge (6) | 2-1 | 126 | 1 |
| 4 | Hotchkiss | 1-1 | 81 | 4 |
| 5 | Holyoke | 2-0 | 78 | 8 |
| 6 | Monte Vista | 2-0 | 57 | 6 |
| 7 | Wray | 1-1 | 56 | 9 |
| 8 | Crowley County | 2-0 | 51 | – |
| 9 | Wiggins | 2-0 | 49 | 5 |
| 10 | Paonia | 2-0 | 38 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Centauri 34, Meeker 25, Rye 13, Burlington 9, Peyton 7, Roaring Fork 7, Resurrection Christian 4, Cornerstone Christian 2, Lyons 2, Platte Canyon 2, Ignacio 1. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| Centauri (7), Rye (10). | ||||
| 8-man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Hoehne (8) | 2-0 | 80 | 1 |
| 2 | Dayspring Christian | 2-0 | 60 | 2 |
| 3 | Akron | 2-0 | 54 | 3 |
| 4 | Caliche | 2-0 | 45 | 4 |
| 5 | Simla | 3-0 | 40 | 9 |
| 6 | McClave | 2-0 | 35 | 10 |
| 7 | Norwood | 2-0 | 22 | – |
| 8 | Granada | 1-1 | 18 | – |
| 9 | Kiowa | 2-1 | 17 | – |
| 10 | Dove Creek | 2-1 | 15 | – |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Sangre de Cristo 13, Sargent 13, Belleview Christian 7, R.M. Lutheran 5, Antonito 4, Fowler 4, Miami-Yoder 3, Springfield 3, Haxtun 2. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| Elbert (5), Fowler (6), Sargent (7), Haxtun (8). | ||||
| 6-man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| 1 | Liberty/Stratton (7) | 2-0 | 43 | 1 |
| 2 | Hi-Plains (2) | 2-0 | 33 | 2 |
| 3 | Eads | 2-0 | 26 | 3 |
| 4 | Arickaree | 2-0 | 13 | 5 |
| 5 | Fleming (1) | 1-1 | 10 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: | ||||
| Kit Carson 5, Deer Trail 3, Peetz 3, Otis 2, Briggsdale 1, Hanover 1. | ||||
| Dropped out | ||||
| None. | ||||