Out of Left Field: Palmer Ridge looking to cap off exceptional fall with football title
Palmer Ridge’s fall has been about as successful as it could be, and it has a chance to get even better this week.
The Bears already won state championships in gymnastics and girls volleyball earlier in the season. Palmer Ridge will play for a football state title on Saturday when the Bears battle Erie at 11 a.m. at Canvas Stadium.
The first two state titles that Palmer Ridge won this year have something in common: redemption.
The school’s gymnastics team had come close so many other times. Palmer Ridge finished on the podium in the previous three seasons, placing second as a team in 2020 and 2022 and third in 2021.
This time, though, the Bears got it done. They posted a team score of 183.85 to avenge their close finishes.
The story was similar for Palmer Ridge’s volleyball team.
Palmer Ridge won its first title in program history in the 2021 spring, a season which was moved from the 2020 fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But despite having similarly great teams in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Bears fell short. Palmer Ridge won a combined 49 matches in those seasons and were seeded No. 1 in both tournaments, but Thompson Valley won back-to-back titles.
The Bears avenged their prior shortcomings in 2023. Palmer Ridge, seeded No. 3 this time, went undefeated in the 4A tournament and defeated Thompson Valley to reclaim the throne.
If Palmer Ridge’s football team could win the title, the story would be reminiscent of those from the gymnastics and volleyball teams.
The Bears were the No. 1 seed in 4A a year ago but fell victim to an upset against eventual runner-up Loveland in the semifinals. Palmer Ridge has won three state titles in program history, most recently in 2019.
Palmer Ridge has been consistently stellar since then, going 28-4 over the past three seasons. But all three of those seasons have something in common: That the Bears fell just short in the postseason.
This year’s squad has all the makings of a state-winning team.
Palmer Ridge enters Saturday’s title game 13-0 and the No. 1 seed in 4A. The Bears made light work of Denver South, Heritage and Broomfield in their first three playoff games, and their only close game came in Week 1, when Palmer Ridge beat eventual semifinalist Montrose 28-27.
But make no mistake: Saturday’s contest won’t be an easy one.
Erie, 12-1, lost in Week 1 to Vanguard — a school from Florida — 26-20 but has been perfect since. The Tigers beat Montrose 25-22 to earn their spot in the title game.
Regardless of how Saturday’s game goes for the Bears, the 2023 fall has already been an exceptional one for Palmer Ridge’s football team and the athletic department as a whole.
But a football title would make it that much sweeter.
Carson Field, Sports Reporter for the Gazette. Photo taken Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Palmer Ridge’s Holden Wright finds an opening earlier this season against Ponderosa.
Palmer Ridge’s Jimmer Weir makes a catch Aug. 24 against Montrose.
Palmer Ridge’s Avier Elvira crosses the goal line for a touchdown against Ponderosa on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.