The Arbiter: With the 5A Championship Series now set, what are your thoughts on the field and who will be crowned come May 16th?

Brian Roth: It was interesting to see 6 of the 8 top seeds making it out of 5A Districts.  And really, there was only one upset.  Heritage was able to up end 6-seeded Fort Collins in extra innings last Saturday, but it is tough to call that Cherokee Trail win over Regis an upset.  Afterall, that was a 8/9 match-up in the bracket. I still think you have to favor 2-time defending champion Rocky Mountain and Cherry Creek.  The Lobos had the toughest district, having to see Taylor Rodgers and Chatfield in the district championship. But, it did not seem to matter as Rocky rolled it way to two wins, combining to outscore both Ponderosa and Chatfield 22-0.  As for Creek, they had no problems, either.  They cruised thru districts winning their two games by the combined score of 30-4. And, while many people were surprised that Rampart got the number one overall seed, the Rams proved they belong as they punched their ticket to Denver with two wins on Sunday.

Cory Lopez: It would be a dream match-up in Class 5A  to have both Cherry Creek and Rocky Mountain in the finals.  Creek beat Rocky in the last week of the season and both rolled thru districts. The top seed Rampart is a mystery to me.  I have not see them in person and have not heard a lot about the Rams. That is a scary proposition.  Ralston Valley has now heard of them. The Rams beat Ralston in the district championship, but you wonder how much home field advantage played into that.  My sleeper is Green Mountain.  Their never say die attitude that bought them wins over Denver East and Smoky Hill could come in handy for the Championship Series.

Brian Roth: Good point on Green Mountain, Cory.  They looked dead in the water vs Smoky Hill, but managed to come back on win it on a walk-off grand slam by Matt Wollenzin.  They could feel like they have nothing to lose.  And, let us not forget about Mark Goldsberry and Mountain Vista. Talking about rolling thru districts, they beat Westminster and Dakota Ridge by the combined score of 24-0 and they have one of the most dominant pitchers in the state in Eric Anderson.  The Missouri-bound senior tossed a no-hitter in the district championship and also is one of the top hitters in the state as well. But in the end, I believe we will either see a 3-peat for Rocky Mountain, something that has not been done since Creek won 5 titles in a row in the late-1990's.  Or, we will see Mark Johnson and the Cherry Creek Bruins back in the winning circle for the first time this century.

Feedback may be made via e-mail to: brian@ispn.tv