2015 CLASS 5A STATE FOOTBALL QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP
REGION B: NO. 2 POMONA (8-3) vs. NO. 1 GRANDVIEW (9-2)
7 p.m., Nov. 20 at Legacy Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Grandview of the Centennial League and Pomona of the Jeffco League both appear regularly in the Class 5A state playoffs, but they’ve only met one prior time in the postseason, a first round matchup in 2010 that saw the Wolves prevail 35-22. That is also the only time the teams have played in at least the last decade…Coach John Schultz has guided Grandview into the quarterfinals for the eighth time in the past nine seasons and four of those previous seven trips into the final eight has resulted in a semifinal berth. The Wolves reached the quarterfinals with a 49-7 win over No. 8 Prairie View and a 49-20 victory over No. 4 Mountain Vista. Both games ended early due to the 40-point running clock mercy rule…Coach Jay Madden has led Pomona to at least the 5A quarterfinals for the seventh time in eight years, but the round has tripped up the Panthers for the past three seasons since a semifinal appearance in 2011. Pomona downed No. 7 Poudre 44-22 in the opening round and took down No. 3 Horizon 35-14 in the second round…POMONA: The Panthers carry three losses on their record, but two of them came to No. 1 seeds Columbine and Cherry Creek by a combined eight points and they almost lost an overtime contest to Mullen, which made it to the second round of the postseason. They also own a win over another top seed, Valor Christian…Pomona averages more than 31 points per game and features a balanced offense that has both a 1,000-yard passer in sophomore QB Ryan Marquez (1,323 yards passing, six touchdowns) and 1,000-yard rusher in junior RB Cameron Gonzales (1,116 yards rushing, 23 touchdowns), who both benefit from a large offensive line that includes two players that weigh 280 pounds or more, headed by senior OL Jake Moretti, a four-star recruit who has committed to Ohio State. Sophomore RB Max Borghi is another very effective offensive weapons for the Panthers, as he is the team’s leading receiver with 410 yards receiving and four touchdowns, while he’s also second in rushing with 776 yards (including four 100-plus yard games) and seven scores in addition to a special teams role. Senior WRs Mark Ruhland and Masavik Dominguez each have more than 268 yards receiving as well…Pomona’s defense has given up big games at times — 42 points to Columbine and 38 to Mullen (in an overtime game) — but for the most part has limited teams to 14 points or less. Senior MLB Josh Madrid is a key figure with a team-high 98 tackles, while senior MLB Elijah Leyva has 9.0 sacks and junior DT Brandon Micale has 7.0 sacks and is credited with 25 QB hurries. The Panthers don’t generate bunches of turnovers, but senior FS Chris Gatseos, junior DBs Jeremy and Cameron Gonzales have two interceptions apiece…GRANDVIEW: The Wolves rebounded from a 31-14 loss to Valor Christian in the regular season finale to run roughshod over both Prairie View and Mountain in the postseason. They invoked the mercy rule in the opening half against the ThunderHawks and early in the third quarter against the Golden Eagles, allowing Schultz to take some starters out early and keep them healthy…Junior RB Hayden Blubaugh remains the key to Grandview’s offense, as he has worked behind an assertive offensive line to go over 100 yards in all 11 games and lead Colorado rushers in all classifications with 2,215 yards to go with 28 touchdowns, including four in each of the Wolves’ playoff games thus far. The threat of the run opens up a quick passing game for junior QB Gunnar Lamphere, who doesn’t take chances with the ball and has thrown for 704 yards and 10 touchdowns against just one interception. Lamphere loves the size of his targets in the passing game, as senior WR Marcus Lawrence (323 yards receiving, three TDs), sophomore WR Gunner Gentry (156 yards receiving, three TDs) and senior WR Quinn Stokes (110 yards receiving, three TDs) each are listed at 6-foot-2 or taller. Senior FB Alex Reyna is a big key with his blocking and also gets into the end zone occasionally on the ground or with short passes…Defensively, senior LB DeAndre Shorts continues to rack up tackles and heads the team with 87 stops (in addition to a team-high 9.0 sacks), followed by S Dom Chapa with 66 and senior LB Matthew Sciba with 50. Senior LB Garrett Goulding has dumped opposing quarterbacks 7.0 times, followed by 6.0 from sophomore LB Julius Carter Jr. and 5.0 apiece from Sciba and sophomore LB Thomas Jenkins. Grandview has forced 23 turnovers on the season, more than two per contest…WINNER: The Grandview-Pomona winner captures the Region B championship and moves on to the semifinals to face the winner of Region A, either No. 1 Columbine (11-0) or No. 2 Regis Jesuit (9-2). Pomona lost to Columbine during the regular season but Grandview has not faced either team. Per CHSAA coin flips, Grandview would go on the road to play either Columbine or Regis Jesuit, while Pomona would play host to Columbine or travel to play at Regis Jesuit depending on the matchup.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
