Road to State: 5A Finals Preview
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#1 Cherry Creek (11-2) vs. #2 Valor Christian (11-2) | Saturday, December 3rd | 2:30 P.M. The road to the 5A state championship game for the 2022 season had its fair share of twists, turns, and speedbumps, but the final…
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Continue Reading#1 Cherry Creek (11-2) vs. #2 Valor Christian (11-2) | Saturday, December 3rd | 2:30 P.M.
The road to the 5A state championship game for the 2022 season had its fair share of twists, turns, and speedbumps, but the final destination looks all too familiar. For the third consecutive year, the battle for the championship title will be fought between the Valor Christian Eagles and the Cherry Creek Bruins, the three-time reigning state champions. The Bruins defeated the Eagles 21-0 in both of their most recent encounters, but this will be a different Valor Christian team than Cherry Creek has seen in the past.
Valor Christian entered this season with a new head coach, making him the third coach to take the Eagles to the championship game in the last five seasons. Coach Bret McGatlin took over the program following the 2021 season, where he led the Chatfield Chargers to a 4A state championship. Chatfield’s 2021 state title win under Coach McGatlin is the first championship the program has won since 2001 under Coach Dave Logan, Cherry Creek’s current head coach. There was a strong belief among many that Coach McGatlin and the Eagles would not reach the championship game in his first year, a belief that Valor Christian never bought into themselves.
The trip to Empower Field at Mile High will be the Bruins’ fifth-straight appearance in the state final and fourth time competing against the Eagles. The Bruins have a winning record of 2-1 against the Eagles in the finals, and they will be looking to add another to the win column on Saturday en route to a fourth-straight championship win.
Top Players to Watch
Both programs have a history of producing top-tier talent who have gone on to play at the highest levels in college. This year’s rosters are no different, meaning there will be no shortage of players with elite potential taking the field on Saturday.
Cherry Creek Bruins:
Blake Purchase
Blake
Purchase
6'4" | 230 lbs | DL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 EDGE | Oregon commit | @BlakePurchase
Chase Brackney
Chase
Brackney
6'4" | 240 lbs | DL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 DT | Iowa commit | @ChaseBrackney2
Logan Brantley
Logan
Brantley
6'2" | 200 lbs | LB
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 OLB/SS | Kansas commit | @LoganBrantley4
Hank Zilinskas
Hank
Zilinskas
6'3" | 255 lbs | OL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 C/IOL | Colorado commit | @HankZilinskas
Ismael Cisse
Ismael
Cisse
6'0" | 175 lbs | WR
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 WR | @IsmaelCisse_
Javion Smith-Combs
Javion
Smith-Combs
DL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 DE/EDGE | @Combs_Javion
Carlson Tann
Carlson
Tann
5'10" | 175 lbs | RB
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 RB | @TannBubba
Ben Lastrella
Ben
Lastrella
6'2" | 280 lbs | OL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 OL | @BenLastrella
Taki Dadiotis
Taki
Dadiotis
6'2" | 275 lbs | OL
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 OL | @TakiDadiotis
Braylen Warren
Braylen
Warren
6'2" | 175 lbs | DB
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 DB | @Braylen_Warren_
Max Rodriguez
Max
Rodriguez
TE
Cherry Creek | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 TE | @maxrxdriguez
Maxwell Parrott
Maxwell
Parrott
6'5" | 285 lbs | OL
Cherry Creek | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 OT | @MaxParrott1
Angelo Petrides
Angelo
Petrides
6'2" | 225 lbs | LB
Cherry Creek | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 LB | @AngeloPetrides2
Jordan Herron
Jordan
Herron
5'10" | 155 lbs | ATH
Cherry Creek | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 RB | @JordanHerron_
Aiden Knapke
Aiden
Knapke
6'0" | 190 lbs | DB
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
| 2025 FS | @AidenKnapke
Brady Vodicka
Brady
Vodicka
6'1" | 205 lbs | QB
Cherry Creek | 2026
CO
| 2026 QB | @BradyVodicka07
Valor Christian Eagles:
Trey Stott
Trey
Stott
5'11" | 195 lbs | DB
Valor Christian | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 FS/RB | @TreyStott
Brody Bliek
Brody
Bliek
6'3" | 270 lbs | DL
Valor Christian | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 DT | @bliekbrody
Rowdy Beers | 2023 TE/DE | @RowdyBeers_88
Ty Barwind
Ty
Barwind
6'4" | 280 lbs | OL
Valor Christian | 2023
State
CO
| 2023 OL | @BarwindTy
Gavin Bibik | 2023 FS | @GavinBibik
Winston McBride | 2023 OL/DL | @WinstonMcBride5
Roman Bradley | 2023 MLB | @RomanBradley241
Owen Downing | 2023 DL | @OwenDowning5
Jeremy Claycamp | 2023 K | Grove City College commit | @jclaycamp10
Alexander Jordan
Alexander
Jordan
6'4" | 225 lbs | DL
Valor Christian | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 DE/TE | @Alex_Jordan87
Gabe Sawchuk
Gabe
Sawchuk
5'10" | 165 lbs | RB
Valor Christian | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 RB/ATH | @gsawchuk25
Asher Weiner
Asher
Weiner
6'5" | QB
Valor Christian | 2024
State
CO
| 2024 QB | @AsherWeiner
Jake Krekeler
Jake
Krekeler
5'10" | 195 lbs | WR
Argyle | 2024
TX
| 2024 WR/ATH | @kr2ky
Maddox Broughton | 2024 LS | @mbroughton76
Breck Kolojay
Breck
Kolojay
6'4" | 240 lbs | OL
IMG Academy | 2026
CO
| 2026 OL | @Breck_Kolojay
Cash Spence
Cash
Spence
5'10" | 165 lbs | ATH
Valor Christian | 2026
CO
| 2026 WR/ATH | @Cash_Spence1