AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 5A state football second round playoff contest between Granview and Cherry Creek scheduled for Nov. 15, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A STATE FOOTBALL SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF GAME
No. 17 Grandview (6-5) vs. No. 1 Cherry Creek (9-1)
Nov. 14, 7 p.m. at Stutler Bowl
BREAKDOWN: Grandview and Cherry Creek meet in the Class 5A state playoffs for the fourth time in the past 17 seasons, but for the first time since 2011 when the Wolves topped the Bruins 51-31 in the second round. Cherry Creek won a second round matchup between the teams in 2007 and a quarterfinal contest in 2008. The teams play annually in the regular season in Centennial League play and Cherry Creek has won the last two meetings (35-18 on Nov. 1 this season and 45-22 in the 2023 season), while Grandview won 24-21 in the regular season finale of the 2022 season. …Grandview is in the postseason for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons, missing out only in the 2020 season in which the playoffs included just eight teams due to the coronavirus pandemic. The program’s only state championship came when it won the 5A state title in 2007. …Cherry Creek ranks second in Colorado history with 13 all-time championships and won three straight between 2020-2022, while it lost to Columbine in the 2023 state championship game. The Bruins have made it to at least the semifinals every season since 2017.
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 regular season 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. …The Wolves opened the postseason with a 17-3 victory over No. 16 Denver East in the first round (story, here). Senior RB Caleb Llamas rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown, while junior QB Blitz McCarty also scored a touchdown and sophomore K Quinn Reynolds connected on a 23-yard field goal. …For the season, the Grandview offense has averaged just under 26 points per game. In his first season as a starter, McCarty has thrown for 1,677 yards and 16 touchdowns against seven interceptions. His favorite target in the passing game has been senior WR Xay Neto, who leads the teams in receptions (47), receiving yards (684) and receiving touchdowns (nine), while senior WR Kyler Vaughn (467 yards, 4 touchdowns) and junior WR Asher Mattson (228 yards receiving, 1 touchdown) have also seen volume in the passing game. The ground game has flourished with the two-pronged attack of Llamas (926 yards — second-most in the Centennial League — plus 9 touchdowns) and junior RB Chris Blanks (607 yards, 8 touchdowns). …Defensively, Grandview has allowed an average of 16.4 points per contest and has one shutout (vs. Smoky Hill), while it had two other games in which foes were limited to single digits. The leading tackler for the Wolves is senior S Jericho Andrews, who has made 73 stops to the 71 of senior S Brandon Kahre with junior DB Brody Flores at 70 (which includes a team-leading nine sacks). Next on the sack list for Grandview is senior DT Marcus Nesbitt with 4.0 and senior LB Jack Naranbayar with 3.0.
CHERRY CREEK: Coach Dave Logan’s Bruins come into the postseason with a nine-game winning streak since they suffered their only loss, a 24-14 defeat out of state in the season opener against Skyridge in Utah. Cherry Creek’s regular season schedule included No. 8 Pine Creek, No. 11 Arapahoe No. 12 Regis Jesuit, No. 17 Grandview, No. 20 Cherokee Trail, No. 21 Eaglecrest — against which it went 6-0 — plus three out-of-state teams with a combined record of 25-9 (10-3 Skyridge, Utah; 9-1 Highland Park, Texas; 6-5 Millard North, Nebraska). …The Bruins had a bye in the first round of the playoffs. …For the season, the Cherry Creek offense has averaged 39 points per game. In his second season as a starter, junior QB Brady Vodicka has thrown for 2,105 yards and 20 touchdowns against three interceptions along with seven rushing scores. Leading the way in receiving is senior WR Jeremiah Hoffman, who has 709 yards and six touchdowns to pace the team, while junior WR Max Lovett is next with 425 yards receiving, just in front of sophomore WR Alijah Landrum-Hamilton with 423. The ground game leans heavily on junior RB Jayden Fox, who has amassed 1,278 yards on the ground (the only Centennial League back to break the 100-yard mark in the regular season) and scored 13 times. …Defensively, Cherry Creek has allowed an average of just 12.2 points per game to opponents with two shutouts (vs. Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest), while three other teams were limited to single digits.
WINNER GETS: The Grandview-Cherry Creek winner moves into the 5A quarterfinals and will face the winner of the second round game between No. 9 Erie and No. 8 Pine Creek.
