FORT COLLINS — Cherry Creek remains Colorado high school football’s unreachable bar.
The Bruins blasted Ralston Valley 56-28 on Saturday in the Class 5A championship at Canvas Stadium, padding their ongoing dynasty that is showing no signs of slowing up.
In Cherry Creek’s eighth straight title appearance, the Greenwood Village blue blood won its 15th title, and gave head coach Dave Logan his 13th crown. The two marks padded Colorado big-school and coaching records, respectively.
In the Bruins' span of consecutive championship games since 2018, Logan's squad is 99-8 (92.5 winning percentage) with more rings (six) than in-state losses (five). No Colorado opponent has beaten the Bruins since Columbine upset them in the championship two years ago.
Logan said that although the Bruins made the path to another title look easy, it wasn't always effortless as Cherry Creek answered the bell numerous times throughout the fall.
"We beat a really good Florida team in Orlando, we beat a good team out of Utah at home, Fairview had us on the ropes in the first half (of the quarterfinal), Valor Christian had the lead going into the fourth quarter (of the semifinal)," Logan said. "When you get so used to winning, and you get the proverbial punch in the face, how your team answers is indicative of the character of the team.
"When this team has been challenged by good teams, we found a way to answer."
On Saturday, the Bruins were never challenged as they left no doubt as to their status as the Box State juggernaut after self-inflicted mistakes nearly ended their season in a 21-13 comeback win over Valor Christian last week. Cherry Creek raced to a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter as Ralston Valley had no answers on either side of the ball.
While scoring on its first three possessions, Cherry Creek featured its slick running back Jayden Fox, who got to the edge, trucked a Mustangs defender and then outraced the defense to the end zone for a 21-yard TD run to open the floodgates.
On the Bruins' next possession, Fox ripped off a 42-yard TD run on 4th and 2, cutting back an outside run, stepping out of a tackle and then breezing by the helpless RV defense as he celebrated with his hands up before crossing the goal line.
"We've started slow on this stage before, and all week, the discussion was (centered on) making sure that didn't happen again," Fox said. "We grabbed the momentum from the opening drive and never looked back."
Already up 14-0, Cherry Creek added on via Brady Vodicka's 18-yard TD pass to tight end Ty Goettsche to make it a three-TD game as the Ralston Valley crowd went completely silent. By the time Bruins linebacker Tate Matthews sacked Ralston Valley quarterback Zeke Andrews on the final play of the first quarter to force a punt, Ralston Valley's first three possessions managed just one first down and negative-4 total yards.
The Bruins then made it 28-0 after converting a 3rd and 26 with a 45-yard pass from Vodicka to Max Lovett, followed by a 12-yard TD pass to Zai Davis the very next play. The early aerial assault was part of a stellar evening by Vodicka, who earned the game's MVP.
The Louisiana Tech commit finished 18 of 22 for 291 yards and 4 TDs passing with a 252.9 QBR, plus 33 yards and a TD on the ground. It marked his fourth straight title game appearance as he emerged as a driving force in Cherry Creek's recent dominance years after getting pulled at halftime in the Bruins' title victory over Valor Christian as a freshman in 2022.
"I knew it was the best for the team that game (for me to get pulled), and that I was going to come back stronger," Vodicka said. "To get to this game all four years, and win the last two, I couldn't ask for anything else."
Ralson Valley's offense finally found life late in the first half, with Andrews' arm and legs sparking a pair of scoring drives that both culminated in TD runs by the dual-threat QB. But Cherry Creek scored again in-between, via the unguardable Goettsche's 44-yard TD catch, to keep the Bruins' lead at a safe distance.
"We knew we had to get another touchdown on that drive," Vodicka said. "I knew the matchup, saw the coverage, and we executed it."
In the second half, the game was briefly more even, but Ralston Valley had dug itself too big of a hole to climb out of in the program's first title appearance.
"We had a pretty bad start, but I'm proud of this team for continuing to fight and to have some positive things happen in the game," Ralston Valley head coach Jared Yannacito said. "It could've very easily been a running clock, but we made some plays.
"This is a process (for this program). We knocked down the door to get here. The stage was a little big for us, but now we've got experience here. This will help our future teams."
The Mustangs had an effective drive on its opening possession of the second half, but the Bruins forced a turnover on downs deep in Cherry Creek territory. After a Bruins punt, RV found the endzone thanks to Andrews' 3-yard TD pass to Brady Warren, cutting the score to 35-21 with 3:43 left in the frame.
But the Bruins responded with Vodicka's 12-yard TD run to again give them cushion at 42-21 late in the third. Cherry Creek then had a pick-six wiped off the board due to a penalty, but star defensive lineman T.I. Umu-Cais ended Ralston Valley's drive about a minute later with a thunderous fourth-down sack.
"We made two, three stops in the second half that were very key for us... that was one of them," Logan said.
Fox proceeded to rush for his third TD of the day, this time from 30 yards out. That pushed the UCLA signee over the 100-yard mark and made it 49-21 in the waning seconds of the third. Fox averaged 14.2 yards per carry in the game.
"That (TD run) was a sealer," Fox said.
Andrews had his third rushing TD early in the fourth, but it was too little, too late for the Mustangs. Ralston Valley's defeat ended the day on a down note for Jeffco Public Schools, which saw Pomona win the Class 3A crown on a dramatic walk-off field goal and then Dakota Ridge cruise to its first title in Class 4A.
Cherry Creek added on with tight end Anthony Betti's TD reception midway through the fourth to achieve the 50-burger. With the Bruins' 15th title, only small-town Limon has more football championships. The Badgers won their Colorado record 23rd title this fall.
Logan promised the Bruins wouldn't be resting on their laurels. Cherry Creek will again be the heavy championship favorite in 2026.
"You enjoy it for a while, go on Christmas break, and then when the underclassmen get back in January we get back in the weight room and go to work again," Logan said. "You appreciate what has been accomplished, but after the holiday season, it's time to move on."
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