14ners

Stats and information prior to Tuesday’s contests

Mateo Racho-Pluth, Manitou Springs, so., boys soccer – One season ago, the Mustangs striker starred for Manitou’s junior varsity team. Now, he’s parlayed that success to varsity.

In Manitou Springs’ 11-1 win against Alamosa on Sept. 2, Racho-Pluth netted four goals in the season opener and finished with eight points in the contest. It’s the first time the Mustangs had a player score four goals in the season opener since 2011 when Sawyer Lincoln scored four in a 7-0 win against Lamar.

Luke Bruno, Vista Ridge, sr., boys soccer – Bruno scorched Sand Creek in their Sept. 2 matchup and finished with eight points for the Wolves in their 9-0 win against the Scorpions.

Bruno notched a hat trick against the Scorpions defense and added two assists. For Bruno, it’s the third time in his career he’s earned a hat trick and, through two games, the Wolves senior has 12 points on five goals and a pair of assists.

Paige Haugen, Woodland Park, so., softball – The Panthers’ first win of the season came 24-14 against Sierra and Haugen’s monster game paved the way.

Haugen had a team-high four hits and five RBIs in the victory and the sophomore added two runs. Haugen’s .667 batting average against the Stallions was the third time in 2025 she hit .667 or better.

Landry Roberts, Cheyenne Mountain, jr., girls volleyball – MaxPreps named Roberts the top player in Colorado and the Red-Tailed Hawks’ outside hitter showed why against 5A Mountain Vista.

Roberts finished with a season-high 19 kills Sept. 2 in a 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 28-26 win against the Golden Eagles. Roberts also finished with a game-high 30 receptions and poured in three aces.

Grady Ortiz, The Classical Academy, fr., boys golf – Antler Creek might become Ortiz’s favorite course following his performance at the Falcon Invitational on Sept. 2.

Ortiz finished second in a field of 94 and carded a 2-under-par 70. The Titans freshman hit five birdies at the tournament including three on the back nine.

Anna Kranz, Discovery Canyon, sr., girls volleyball – Kranz played a pivotal role in the Thunder’s 3-2 (18-25, 24-26, 25-13, 25-23, 16-14) victory over Elizabeth last week.

The Thunder senior finished with a team-high 16 kills and had a 76.2 kill percentage. Kranz also dominated at the net and had eight of the Thunder’s 12 blocks against the Cardinals.

Will Guttormsen, Palmer Ridge, jr., boys soccer – The Bears’ goalkeeper served as a wall in a victory against Doherty. The Spartans entered the match on a two-game winning streak and scored nine goals in two games.

Guttormsen, though, stifled the Spartans’ attack and finished with five saves in 80 minutes for the Bears that gave Palmer Ridge its second consecutive shutout. Guttormsen and the Bears’ effort have built a 2-1 record, which is as many victories as they’ve had in the past two seasons.

Vivian Jack, The Classical Academy, jr., cross country – TCA’s trip to Alamosa proved fruitful, especially for the Titans’ top runner.

At the 32nd Joe I. Vigil Open, Jack set a personal best of 17 minutes, 56.20 seconds to win the girls’ 5K race. This is the first time in Jack’s cross country career she ran a sub-18-minute race and it’s her best finish at a cross country meet since winning last year’s 3A Region 5 meet.

Thomas Buckmiller, Coronado, sr., football – Though it came in a 42-39 loss to Lewis-Palmer on Saturday, the Cougars quarterback had an outstanding game.

Buckmiller finished 22 for 33 for 520 yards, four touchdowns and one interception against the Rangers. The senior also had two receivers go over 100 yards. Colin Wolf (173) and Lyrik Smith (155) also had 10 receptions and three touchdowns.

The Cougars QB finished with touchdown throws of 96, 80 and 65 yards. After his performance in two games, Buckmiller is second in the state in passing yards at 830 behind Mountain Vista’s Marquise Reese, who has 854 in three games.

Patrick Robinson, Sierra, sr., football – One week after the third-lowest rushing total of his career, Robinson returned with fury in a 12-7 win against Palmer.

The Stallions running back terrorized the Terrors for a career-best 185 yards and a score on 22 carries. Robinson also punished the Terrors on defense and finished with a fumble recovery, a sack, a tackle for loss and four total tackles.

Ryan Whitcomb, The Classical Academy, jr., boys cross country – Through a herd of more than 400 runners, Whitcomb managed one of his best races.

Whitcomb clocked in at 15:55.69 to set a personal record and finished sixth at the 32nd Joe I. Vigil Open. The time is Whitcomb’s first sub-16 run of his career and his placement marks the second-best since he earned fourth last season at the Widefield Cross Country Invitational.

Jordan Banta, Air Academy, sr., cross country – Banta cut a chunk of time from the season opener to the Cherry Creek Steve Lohman Invitational.

The Kadets’ top runner shaved 51 seconds off her time from the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on Aug. 22 and clocked in at 17:49 for sixth place Saturday in Greenwood Village. The time and placement are nearly identical to her finish as a junior where she placed sixth at 17:51.50.

Donna Paola Martinez, Mesa Ridge, so., softball – In 32 career games, Martinez has six total home runs. One-third of those came in an 18-8 victory against George Washington. Martinez went 4-of-4, had five RBIs, three runs and a triple to go with her two dingers.

It’s the second time this season Martinez had a perfect day in the batter’s box and it took the sophomore just seven games this year to reach her home run total from her freshman campaign.

Ellie Wagner, Evangel Christian Academy, jr., girls volleyball – This is the leap – pun intended – coaches hope their players make year over year.

Wagner notched a career-high 24 kills in a 3-2 (25-7, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-7) victory against Calhan to help ECA remain perfect. In 15 sets played, Wagner has 80 kills and has 20 or more in three of her four matches. Last season, Wagner finished two games with 10 kills and tallied 124 in 83 sets played.

Exciting finishes

Boys soccer

Rampart 4, Discovery Canyon 3

After a one-goal loss on the road to start the year, the Rams found redemption against the Thunder.

Both teams entered the break tied 2-2, but the Rams outscored the Thunder 2-1 in the final 40 minutes to pick up their first victory. Rampart senior Matthew Frausto scored twice and teammates Aiden Casperson and Sebastian Collela finished with a strike each.

Football

Lewis-Palmer 42, Coronado 39

On the back of the Rangers’ run game and on the leg of kicker Isaac Dejoia, the Rangers improved to 2-0 for the second time in three seasons. Dejoia hit a 35-yard field goal to finish 2 of 2 in the win over the Cougars.

Greg Moore had a career high in carries (28), rushing yards (245) and touchdowns (three) and Troy Johnson also ran amok in the matchup with 18 carries for 107 yards and a score.

If you haven’t heard…

Air Academy softball thriving on the diamond with 9-0 record

For the second time in three seasons, the Kadets own a win streak of eight games or better to start the season. Air Academy earned a 15-10 record in 2023 when it started 8-0 but, last season, finished 5-13 and never won more than two games in a row.

Rideau Dravida, Keira Finkle and Bailey Williams lead the Kadets in several categories. Finkle leads in fielding percentage (1.000), runs (19), hits (16), slugging percentage (1.033) and triples (three). Dravida leads the team in batting average (.556) and on-base percentage (.765). Williams and Finkle both have two home runs and Williams has an earned run average of 3.11.

The Kadets look to run their win streak to 10 against Discovery Canyon at home at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Thunder ended the Kadets’ streak in 2023.

TCA flag football avenges state title-game loss to Mountain View in triple overtime

The Titans needed three overtimes to earn redemption against the team that bested them in last year’s 4A state title game and maintained their composure after losing a 19-7 third-quarter lead.

Mountain View scored 12 in the fourth to knot the game at 19-all and, after both teams traded scores in the first and second overtimes, the Titans shut down the Eagles’ offense in the third OT and scored seven to earn the win.

TCA improved to 2-0 and hold the No. 1 slot in 4A’s Colorado High School Activities Association rankings.

Sierra, Widefield football earn first wins since 2023

One season after finishing 0-10, Sierra and Widefield tasted victory in the same week.

The Stallions’ vengeance against Palmer came to fruition in a 12-7 victory Friday where Sierra rushed for 247 yards and held the Terrors to one score one year after Palmer dropped 58 points on Sierra.

For Widefield, the Gladiators lost 36-6 to Liberty in 2024 but turned that into a 17-7 win and held the Lancers’ offense scoreless until the fourth quarter.

Week 2 area football scores

Northfield 10, Mesa Ridge 7

Palmer Ridge 49, Doherty 0

Discovery Canyon 22, Pueblo East 20

Fountain-Fort Carson 28, Denver South 0

Widefield 17, Liberty 7

Peyton 56, Lincoln 0

The Classical Academy 49, Florence 20

West Grand 32, Calhan 30

George Washington 20, Harrison 8

Akron 70, St. Mary’s 38

Alamosa 33, Banning Lewis Academy 13

Pueblo South 40, Falcon 17

Woodland Park 27, Salida 20

Sierra 12, Palmer 7

Idalia 58, Hanover 0

Sand Creek 32, Air Academy 14

Vista Ridge 52, Evanston (Wyo.) 0

Cheyenne Mountain 42, Pueblo Centennial 7

Eagle Valley 26, Cañon City 16

La Junta 40, Mitchell 0

Ellicott 28, Grand Valley 6

Prospect Ridge Academy 28, Manitou Springs 11

Lewis-Palmer 42, Coronado 39