AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 5A state football first round playoff contest between Grandview and Denver East scheduled for Nov. 10, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com.Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A 1ST ROUND STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF GAME
No. 17 Grandview (5-5) vs. No. 16 Denver East (6-4)
Nov. 9, 3 p.m. at All-City Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Grandview and Denver East face off in the postseason for the second time in the past 25 years, with the last meeting coming in the second round of the 2008 Class 5A postseason. The Wolves defeated the Angels 48-20 in that contest and then lost in the quarterfinals. …Grandview is in the playoffs for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons, with the only exception being the 2020 season, when the playoffs were cut to just eight teams due to the coronavirus pandemic. In that span (which stretches back to 2005), the Wolves have appeared in at least the second round every single season and won at least one game in 17 of those 18 trips, while they had a first round bye in 2019 before losing to rival Eaglecrest in the second round. In that same span, Grandview has made the semifinals eight times and advanced to the state championship game in 2007, when it won its only state title. …Denver East is in the postseason for the second straight season and lost in the second round of last season’s playoffs. The program has won two all-time state championships, with the last coming in 1962.
GRANDVIEW: Coach Tom Doherty’s Wolves had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 35-18 loss to Cherry Creek in the regular season finale. Grandview’s schedule included seven 5A state playoff qualifiers (No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 3 Ralston Valley, No. 6 Legend, No. 11 Arapahoe, No. 20 Cherokee Trail, No. 21 Eaglecrest and No. 23 Rock Canyon), against which it finished 3-4.
DENVER EAST: Coach Stephen Ruempolhamer’s Angels snapped a two-game losing streak with a 33-8 victory over Denver South to end the regular season. Denver East’s schedule included five teams that qualified for the 5A state playoffs (No. 3 Ralston Valley, No. 4 Columbine, No. 10 Chatfield, No. 14 Arvada West and No. 21 Eaglecrest), against which it finished 1-4.
WINNER GETS: The Grandview-Denver East winner advances to a second round matchup against top-seeded Cherry Creek (9-1), which has a first round bye.
