Football: Championship Matchups Determined in 3A, 4A, 5A After Saturday Semifinals
Photo: Dan Byers
AURORA – The championship game matchups have been set for the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 2025 Football State Championships in 3A, 4A and 5A. All three championship games will be played Saturday, Dec. 6 at The Colorado State University’s Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
The 3A game between No. 1 Windsor and No. 2 Pomona will kick off the day at 10 a.m., and will be followed by the 4A championship between No. 1 Dakota Ridge and No. 3 Palmer Ridge at 1:30 p.m. The nighcap will feature the 5A finalists No. 1 Cherry Creek against No. 2 Ralston Valley – at 5 p.m.
Championship Saturday tickets can be purchased on GoFan. One ticket is good for all three games.
All three games will be televised by Altitude, while that broadcast will also be live on the NFHS Network.
In 3A semifinals on Saturday, No. 1 Windsor came from behind to defeat No. 5 Holy Family 21-14, while No. 2 Pomona beat No. 3 Palisade 42-29. Windsor will be playing for its fifth football state championship but its first since winning the 4A title in 2015. The Wizards also won in 3A in 2011 and captured 4A crowns in 1981 and 1993. Windsor’s only state-championship game loss came in 1959. Pomona is a two-time state champion in football, having won 5A in 2017 and 4A in 1988. The Panthers have also been runner-up six times in football, most recently in 2015 and 2016.
In 4A Saturday, No. 3 Palmer Ridge knocked off No. 2 Montrose 31-29 while No. 1 Dakota Ridge defeated No. 5 Heritage 31-14. Palmer Ridge has won three football state championships, which came in a 3A three-peat from 2017 through 2019. The Bears were also runner-up in both 2020 and 2023. Dakota Ridge is making only its second trip to the championship game, having finished as the runner-up in 2004.
In 5A Saturday, No. 1 Cherry Creek held off No. 5 Valor Christian by producing a strip-sack on the final play of the game with the ball on the Bruins’ 5-yard line to seal a 21-13 victory. Cherry Creek, 14-time state champions in football, is seeking its second straight title as well as its sixth in the last seven seasons. Ralston Valley rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat No. 3 Mountain Vista 31-28 on a short field gfoal by Landon Plichta with four seconds left for its first-ever trip to a football state championship game.
