Ball Fever: Seeding Index’s Late-January Top 10
By Thomas Trotman
Photo: Derek Regensburger
Welcome back, hoops fans! Most of our schools are either over or just at that mid-point of the regular season, with league play and neighborhood rivalries heating up! Let’s dive right in and see what the week ahead is bringing for our big school 5A and 6A Top 10:
THE LOOK AHEAD
Tuesday 1/28
How about a 5A “Top 10 ALERT!” to get us started right away in #1 Discovery Canyon facing #9 Cheyenne Mountain. This is the first of two league games between these two powers who already have 12 wins each on the season. 5A’s top squad, the Thunder, average 61 points per game vs. Cheyenne Mountain’s 47, so the Red-Tailed Hawks will have to keep up!
Folks, our 6A #1 Rangeview is taking on all comers en route to a 14-0 outstanding start to the season. This week starts off in league play vs. Vista Peak. This is the first of two league games between these two, and Vista Peak will look to cool off one of the hottest teams in the state while the Bison are on their home court for this one.
Lutheran is in as #3 in 5A this week and starts league play in another first of two matchups this season. Junior Kade Speckman is averaging a “monsta” 20-point, 10-rebound double-double as the Lions visit Lewis-Palmer.
More mid-season league play with Horizon, #10 in 6A, putting its four-game winning streak on the line vs. an always tough Mead.
First matchup of the year for 5A #5 Windsor, and it won’t be easy vs. Loveland’s “stat-stuffin” Zayne Desouza’s 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. The Wizards have a scorer of their own in junior Madden Smiley, bringing 20 points and 8 rebounds of his own per outing.
Wednesday 1/29
6A #4 Chaparral, now 12-3, is 3-0 in league play so far and looks to improve on that when it visits Douglas County. “Super soph” Christian Williams continues to lead the scoring for a young and hungry Wolverine squad with 20 points each time out.
More Continental league coverage as #8 ThunderRidge, riding Drew Paine’s 20 points per game, faces Castle View in this 6A tilt. Not to be outdone, the Sabercats’ Evan McKean is averaging a whopping 25 points per game.
Speaking of hot squads, #3 Eaglecrest is now 13-2 overall with three big wins in a row and looks to stay hot vs. Cherry Creek, who has not won a league game as of yet while the Raptors are unbeaten in Centennial play.
#6 Arapahoe has ripped off a four-game win streak of its own and sits at 13-2 overall going into this league match with 6-9 Overland.
Falcon, #9 in 5A, looks to go 4-0 in league play and faces Mitchell, who has failed to win a game this season.
Mullen is #5 this week in the 5A seeding index and faces Grandview in a Continental league matchup vs 6A Grandview. Both teams are looking for their first league win in this one.
#5 Regis, 12-3 overall, travels to Legend in a league rivalry. Legend is 2-0, while the visiting Raiders have one league loss on the ledger, so it’s a must-win if Regis has league title hopes!
6A Defending champ Valor Christian is now 10-4 on the season and will roll senior Cole Scherer’s amazing 29 points per game vs. Bear Creek.
5A #2 Mesa Ridge is rolling along at 12-1 (4-0 league) and has its first of two league matches with Widefield.
Representing for the city, Denver South currently 10-4 and #9 in 6A and will travel to a battle tested George Washington squad in league action.
Thursday 1/30
#2 Discovery Canyon is in action again for its second league game this week. This time it’s vs. perennial contender Lewis-Palmer.
Kade Speckman in action with #1 Lutheran again looking to stay unbeaten in league play, and it may just happen vs. Air Academy, who has yet to earn a league win this season while sitting at 0-3 in conference.
Friday 1/31
Horizon, up one spot to #9 this week, has its second game in a short amount of time as it hosts a solid Fairview squad boasting a 13-2 record. These two faced one another on 12/13, with Horizon claiming a narrow 6-point victory … expect this one to be another close one!
The Red-Tailed Hawks of Cheyenne Mountain, #9 in 5A, are at it again this week and this time it’s the first of two matches with Mesa Ridge in conference play.
“6A Top 10 ALERT!” We have #4 Chaparral headed over to visit #6 Regis in league play. Regis has one league loss so to remain in contention for top dog in the ultra tough Continental they’ll need the Regis rowdies to be rockin’!
Arapahoe, quietly up to #5 in 6A behind Miles McMonigle’s 16 points per game, looks to stay unbeaten in league play vs. Grandview, who’s still looking for its first win in tough Centennial play.
#3 Eaglecrest cannot look past Overland due to its 6-9 record! The Trailblazers ALWAYS load up a tough early-season schedule in and out-of-state under Coach Fisher and this year has been no different, leading to both of these squads coming in 2-0 in league play. This will be the first of two battles!
The Fever Crew has mentioned before that we feel Mountain Vista will be a team to tangle with well into March and the playoffs. The inside/out attack of Oliver Junker’s 12 rebounds per game with Cal Beskind’s 20 points per night is boding well as the Eagles join the Top 10 at 11-4 with no losses in league play. This night, the Golden Eagles host Douglas County.
Holding steady at #8, ThunderRidge is active again this week in Continental League action vs. Rock Canyon, who’s down at 7-8 overall this year, but both squads are 1-1 in league play.
Down South, don’t look now but Sand Creek has quietly earned a 12-2 overall record and jumped from #18 to #10 in the Seeding Index! Elijah Brothern’s 14 points per game is pacing Sand Creek, who faces Mitchell, who they beat by 50 earlier this season.
Another team down South that won big already over their Friday night opponent is #3 Mesa Ridge, who topped Harrison by 31 earlier in the season, and the Grizzlies look to go 5-0 in league play.
Grand Junction will host 5A #4 Montrose and hope its 55-point pace per game is better than the visiting squad’s 50. Montrose looking to stay unbeaten in league out West!
There’s big bad #1 Rangeview! LaDavian King leads the Raiders over to Northfield on this night in league play for game two of this new rivalry. Junior Judah Michael and senior point guard Jordan Jefferson will certainly be fired up to have #1 in their house.
Not a Top 10 matchup, but Denver East vs. George Washington in city ball is ALWAYS a thriller, and you’ll have to get their early we’re sure for a packed house Friday night rivalry!
Saturday 2/1
A true solid matchup to end this week’s coverage: Arvada West, who started the week 11-3, has a real test in facing #2 Ralston Valley and the hot-shooting Braketa brothers. Hard to argue that the Mustangs aren’t the hottest squad in the state at 15-0, and they’ve traded holding the #1 spot in the Seeding Index with Rangeview so far this season.
Well, hoop fans! It feels good to thaw out from the arctic blast of cold air our state experienced, and now that the weather’s improving this week it’s just another reason to get out and support these awesome athletes and all the great neighborhood hoops action our high school sports provide. Ge out and support!
#BallFever
