Three rounds of state championship playoff games and a new rushing record were among Castle View’s collection of things to boast of the 2011-12 football season.

Unfortunately for the Sabercats, a trip to Sports Authority Field at Mile High wasn’t one of them.

Valor Christian High School football ground out another high-scoring victory Nov. 26 at Valor Stadium in Highlands Ranch as the Class 4A state championship playoffs’ No. 1 seed. The Eagles beat No. 4-seeded Castle View in a rematch between the two South Metro League teams for the semifinals round.

The two-time, state championship-defending Eagles (3A in 2009, 4A in 2010) beat the Sabercats 54-7 to advance to the championship finals 11 a.m. Dec. 3 at the home field of the Denver Broncos. There, Valor faces No. 3 seed Pine Creek, also undefeated at 13-0, who beat No. 2 Monarch in the semifinals.

Against Castle View, Valor’s quarterbacks Wes Tabor had two touchdown passes and Cody Thibault had one. Tabor finished with 112 passing yards. Christian McCaffrey scored two TDs on the run and caught one end zone pass. He also had a successful 2-point conversion run. McCaffrey had 141 yards between rushing and receiving yards.

A.J. Isenburg, Braxton Peats and Jace LaMunyon each rushed a touchdown in, and Stephen Miller and Max McCaffrey each had a TD reception. On defense, Levi Waddell and Clarke Cooper each had a sack.

Castle View’s Austin Hawksworth scored the Sabercats’ only touchdown of the game on a run. Connor McKenna had a sack.

“Last week, our kids had an outstanding effort,” Valor coach Brent Vieselmeyer said. “I think the biggest thing they took away from the game is that preparation and hard work are key components to our success. Last week was our best week of practice.”

Despite another 4A title just in their grasp, the Eagles, now 23 games straight without a loss, have had a completely different year than their first 4A championship season, the coach said. There have been very high expectations on the team all season long, which can be a difficult problem to deal with for some teams, Vieselmeyer said.

“These student athletes have embraced this challenge and had even higher expectations of each other on and off the field,” he said. “I am so proud of our kids and how unselfish they have been in their play.”

Experience has been the major different between last year’s and this year’s Eagles teams. Last season, Valor only started five seniors in the championship game.

This year, the Eagles are much more seasoned with this type of experience, the coach said. For some of the Eagle seniors, the Dec. 3 finals is their 52nd game starting for the Valor varsity football team.

For the final showdown, Pine Creek comes to the field averaging almost the same in points per game as Valor. However, so did Castle View. Creek, also dubbed the Eagles, averages about 80 yards more of rushing but almost 70 less in passing than Valor.

Josh Beachum in Pine Creek’s leading rusher, averaging about 100 per game. Quarterback Ryan Warner averages about 110 with both passing and the scramble.

Defensively, Creek has been able to penetrate the line of scrimmage fairly often. Chase Stevens is the No. 3 Eagles’ leading tackler, while Benton Gray usually walks away with at least one sack to his credit per game. Valor, knowing the talent Pine Creek brings and how well-coached the team is, isn’t taking this year’s championship match-up lightly, especially having played Creek in the playoffs before.

“We played against them in the quarterfinals last year, and we were lucky to come out on top,” Vieselmeyer said. “They have incredible team speed and outstanding skill players on offense. Defensively, they have not given up a score in the playoffs. We are excited to face such a formidable opponent. Saturday should be a great game.”