Fruita Monument’s boys soccer team had arguably their best season in years beating rival schools Grand Junction and Durango for the first time in 6 and 3 years, respectively. With these accomplishments in mind, the team went into playoff season hopeful for a good state-run, but they never would have thought that they would miss the opportunity entirely.

Fruita Monument had a winning record of 9-6. After gaining a 4-0 victory against Aspen high school, the boys were excited to find that their RPI (rating percentage index), a method used to rank the top teams in the state, would place them in the top 32 teams in the state and give them a spot in the playoffs. The coach took many starting seniors out of the game in hopes to keep them fresh for the playoff game however, none of them knew this would be the last high school game they would ever play in.

When the teams were announced, Fruita was surprised to see that Grand Junction High School (6-9-1) had clinched a spot against the number 1 team in the state, legacy, even though they were ranked 42. The Fruita boys were mad because it seemed they were better in every measurable aspect than Junction being, RPI, head to head, goal differential, and overall record. The only edge GJ had on Fruita was their conference record and because of a new rule CHSAA 

made stating, the top 5A team in any conference can take the 32nd spot. Because of this technicality, the Fruita boys were not able to go to tryouts and CHSAA has actually reconsidered this rule.