Must-see 5A-4A Continental League games …

Having won 14 Class 5A championships since 2000 and a dominant 10 in a row from 2000-09, the Continental League underlined Denver suburban power and it wants more. The southern metropolitan area and its edges have talent and depth to re-arrange the big-school order of Colorado play that has shifted to nearby Centennial League schools. It will be evident if you have the opportunity to view a few of the following: &nbsp; <strong>Tuesday, Feb. 9, Regis Jesuit at Highlands Ranch, 7:30 p.m.</strong> For about the past 15 seasons, this one was an automatic mark on your calendar. Highlands Ranch has won 13 of the past 20 meetings. And while the Raiders won the regular-season matchup in 2019-20 as well as the league title, Highlands Ranch responded with a head-to-head victory in the quarterfinals. As for this go-round, Regis Jesuit will be headed by Avery Van Sickle (Washington signee) and [player_tooltip player_id="116818" first="Samantha" last="Jones"] (2021). Plus, the Raiders have the younger sister of Stanford forward and pioneer dunker Fran Belibi – [player_tooltip player_id="216647" first="Hannah" last="Belibi"] (2024), who already is showing her ups and athleticism. As for Highlands Ranch, a sparkling 323-54 since the middle of the past decade, [player_tooltip player_id="95123" first="Payton" last="Muma"] (Gonzaga), [player_tooltip player_id="95169" first="Taylor" last="Ray"] (2022) and [player_tooltip player_id="95179" first="Alex" last="Pirog"] (2022) will be handling the majority of things for Caryn Jarocki, Colorado’s all-time leader in female coaching victories (more than 600) and winner of seven state titles. &nbsp; <strong>Friday, Feb. 12, ThunderRidge at Mountain Vista, 7 p.m.</strong> After winning it all in 2016, ThunderRidge had a few rugged seasons before the past season’s rebirth at 17-7. The Grizzlies were third in the Continental and feel good about contending again despite having to replace their top-five scorers. The Golden Eagles also have holes to fill, but will do so with [player_tooltip player_id="116801" first="Amiya" last="Robinson"], Berit Brookfield and Sara Vafaie (all 2021s). &nbsp; <strong>Also keep an eye on …</strong> Chaparral may be a combined 6-41 vs. Highlands Ranch (Thursday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m.), ThunderRidge (Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.) and Regis Jesuit (Friday, March 5, 7 p.m.), but coach Tony Speights’ crew loses only two seniors and sports the likes of the Bang sisters, Avery and Payton (2022s). Highlands Ranch will open against Valor Christian on Saturday, Jan 30, 7:30 p.m. Regis Jesuit also will meet Valor Christian (Saturday, Feb, 20, 7:15 p.m.) and have its first-ever meeting against Visa PEAK Prep ([player_tooltip player_id="95171" first="Mikenzie" last="Jones"], 2022), on Thursday, Feb. 11, 7:15 p.m., two Aurora schools finally going head-to-head. Both nonleaguers will occur as a result of no out-of-state travel for the Raiders, who ordinarily head elsewhere at least twice per season. &nbsp;