GREENWOOD VILLAGE | Down just seven points to top-seeded Cherry Creek, the Grandview football team went into the lockerroom at halftime Nov. 15 with hope.
The 17th-seeded Wolves had stood up well in the opening two quarters against the Centennial League rival Bruins and trailed the Class 5A state playoff second round game by just a score after a spectacular touchdown catch by senior Xay Neto.
But just 33 seconds into the third quarter, the deficit had doubled and the task became much bigger. Cherry Creek eventually put some distance between itself and Grandview in a 38-10 victory at Stutler Bowl to advance to the state quarterfinals.
PHOTO GALLERY FROM GRANDVIEW-CHERRY CREEK, HERE
“We fought, but they are just a very good team,” Grandview coach Tom Doherty said of Cherry Creek, a program with which he served as defensive coordinator for nine seasons, including three that ended with state championships.
“The season is over and we’re upset, but there’s a lot for them to take from this,” he added. “At one point, they were 0-3 and dead to rights, but they played hard, they stuck together and they kept plugging away. There’s a lot to be said for that and I couldn’t be more proud of them for that.”
Once their hard-fought opportunity in the postseason arrived, the Wolves (who finished 6-6) sure didn’t look like a team that started the season 0-3 and had to fight for the majority of the campaign just to make the postseason.
In a rematch with a Cherry Creek team it lost to 35-18 in the regular season finale, Grandview actually got on the scoreboard first after its defense created a turnover on downs.
Back-to-back completions from junior quarterback Blitz McCarty (who finished with 233 yards passing) to junior Aaron Ball got the Wolves quickly into the red zone, but they ended up settling for a 30-yard field goal by sophomore Quinn Reynolds.
Another turnover on downs created by the Grandview defense provided a chance to build the lead, but a three-and-out set up Cherry Creek near midfield. The Bruins put together their first scoring drive, which ended in a 32-yard field goal by Jolon Quintana to tie the game in the first minute of the second quarter.
Cherry Creek put up two touchdowns in the period — both on passes from Brady Vodicka to Maxwell Lovett — but Grandview’s defense also created a turnover on a fumble recovery from junior defensive lineman Alex Crounse in between.
The Wolves couldn’t get their ground game going against the Bruins defense (they netted just three yards for the game) and the offense was held without a first down until its last drive of the first half.
Chunk plays on passes from McCarty to senior wide receiver Kyler Vaughn and sophomore tight end Matthew Schimberg got Grandview into the red zone. On third down, McCarty lofted a ball towards the back pylon for Neto (who finished with 64 yards receiving), who snared it while he fell backward and got a heel down as he fell for a touchdown.
“The first half went really well for us,” senior safety Jericho Andrews said. “We needed to keep it going in the second half.”
Indeed, the Wolves soared into the break with belief, only to watch Cherry Creek receive the opening kickoff and go 64 yards on just four plays for a touchdown.
“We’re feeling pretty good, but then they went down and scored right away and that was exactly what we couldn’t have happen,” Doherty said.
Following a turnover, the Bruins threatened to score again, but Neto — who has played a larger role on defense in the late stages of the season — picked off a pass in the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, both defenses created turnovers on downs as well as takeaways (including a fumble recovery by Andrews), but Cherry Creek took advantage of a short field to go up 31-10 on another Fox touchdown run. Another long run by reserve Elijah Cromwell provided the final margin.
Doherty knows well that only one team in Colorado will end up happy when the postseason comes to a close, but he found it difficult to look at life going forward with the loss of this year’s seniors.
It was a group that included the multi-talented Neto plus Vaughn and Donavon Vernon on offense, standouts on defense in safeties Andrews and Brandon Kahre and lineman Marcus Nesbitt, plus a variety of others who filled roles that were needed to earn the program’s 19th playoff berth in the past 20 seasons.
“This was the first class to come in when I got to Grandview, so they probably don’t realize how much they mean to me,” Doherty said. “They are like my first born child in that sense, so they are special to me. We’ve been through a lot.”
Added Andrews: “All four years with Coach Doherty have been amazing and all the seniors loved it. We played this last game as hard as we could, we just couldn’t change the final outcome.”
The Aurora area’s representation in the 5A playoffs ended in the second round, as 12th-seeded Regis Jesuit lost to No. 5 Valor Christian 24-17 Saturday morning (story, here) and 20th-seeded Cherokee Trail fell to No. 4 Columbine in the afternoon (story, here).
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 PLAYOFFS (2ND ROUND)
(1) CHERRY CREEK 38, (17) GRANDVIEW 10
Score by quarters:
Grandview 3 7 0 0 — 10
Cherry Creek 0 17 7 14 — 38
SCORING
First quarter
Grandview — Quinn Reynolds 30 yard field goal, 7:06
Second quarter
Cherry Creek — Jolon Quintana 32 yard field goal, 11:03
Cherry Creek — Maxwell Lovett 10 yard pass from Brady Vodicka (Quintana kick), 7:43
Cherry Creek — Lovett 25 yard pass from Vodicka (Quintana kick), 4:02
Grandview — Xay Neto 4 yard pass from Blitz McCarty (Reynolds kick), 1:19
Third quarter
Cherry Creek — Jayden Fox 5 yard run (Quintana kick), 11:27
Fourth quarter
Cherry Creek — Fox 12 yard run (Quintana kick), 8:44
Cherry Creek — Elijah Cromwell 54 yard run (Quintana kick), 4:28
PASSING
Grandview: Blitz McCarty 18-43, 233 yards, 1 touchdown
RUSHING
Grandview: Caleb Llamas 7-15, Chris Blanks 8-5, Kyler Vaughn 1-(minus 3), McCarty 5-(minus 14)
RECEIVING
Grandview: Xay Neto 5-64, Aaron Ball 2-54, Matthew Schimberg 3-52, Asher Mattson 3-30, Vaughn 3-28, Donavon Vernon 2-5
