AURORA | As uncertainty about the escalating coronavirus pandemic creeps in, Grandview head coach John Schultz doesn’t know if his team will even have practice on Monday.
Regardless of what happens going forward, Schultz is pleased with his Wolves’ performance Friday night at Legacy Stadium, where they held off a Smoky Hill team that kept coming and coming until the end for a much-needed 49-21 victory.
Off to a 1-2 start for the first time since 2012, Grandview needed a win in a big way to stay in the chase to make the smaller-than-usual Class 5A state playoff field and got it with a strong running game keyed by junior Moosah Alsaffar and enough key plays on defense to keep the dangerous Buffaloes at bay.
Alsaffar followed the blocks of his hard-working offensive line and took advantage of the open space to score two touchdowns and pick up hard yards when needed and junior Jonathan Broadus rushed for two scores and threw for one in spot time at quarterback as the Wolves evened their record at 2-2 and 2-2 in the Centennial League with a clash with rival Cherokee Trail (also 2-2) scheduled for Nov. 6.
Defensively, junior Kahden Rullo intercepted a pass for the fourth straight game and has a 5A-best five on the season for Grandview.
Two third quarter series loomed large for the Wolves, one that resulted in a Broadus 3-yard touchdown that was an answer to a Smoky Hill scoring drive that made it a 14-point game and then followed that up with a 99-yard drive that concluded with a 43-yard Alsaffar touchdown run that essentially sealed the game.
Coach Tom Thenell’s Smoky Hill team — which is now 1-3 on the season and is still looking for its first Centennial League win of the season — got a fourth multiple-touchdown game from senior quarterback Leslie Richardson III, who threw two scores to senior Alec Pinkowski and another to junior Anthony Harris Jr. (who had a game-high 110 yards receiving).
Richardson III, who moved into second place in 5A with 13 touchdown tosses, used his legs to set up a couple of scores as well and finished with 102 rushing yards to go with 215 passing.
Smoky Hill’s Kamari Lewis-Stallworth also picked up his third interception of the season, which helped the Buffaloes make it a seven-point game in the third quarter.
Grandview has a rivalry game scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Legacy Stadium against Cherokee Trail, which has an identical 2-2 records, while Smoky Hill faces winless Overland at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Stutler Bowl in a game that will decide custody of the Wagon Wheel traveling trophy and serve as the Cherry Creek School District’s Veterans and Military Appreciation event.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GRANDVIEW 49, SMOKY HILL 21
Score by quarters:
Smoky Hill 0 7 7 7 — 21
Grandview 7 14 14 14 — 49
SCORING
First quarter
Grandview — Moosah Alsaffar 2 yard run (Ben Beckman kick), 4:52
Second quarter
Grandview — Spencer Schwartz 3 yard run (Beckman kick), 7:35
Grandview — Evan Johnson 27 yard pass from Jonathan Broadus (Beckman kick), 3:26
Smoky Hill — Alec Pinkowski 4 yard pass from Leslie Richardson III (Elijah Brown kick), 0:31
Third quarter
Smoky Hill — Pinkowski 4 yard pass from Richardson III (Brown kick), 8:14
Grandview — Broadus 3 yard run (Beckman kick), 6:16
Grandview — Alsaffar 43 yard run (Beckman kick), 1:10
Fourth quarter
Grandview — Broadus 1 yard run (Beckman kick), 9:21
Smoky Hill — Anthony Harris Jr. 19 yard pass from Richardson III (Brown kick), 7:55
RUSHING
Smoky Hill: Leslie Richardson III 9-102, Kobe Williams 5-32, Marvin Jones 1-5, Kamari Lewis-Stallworth 1-0
Grandview: Moosah Alsaffar 28-282, Evan Johnson 2-19, Jacob Burr 5-16, Chase Dahir 2-16, Tristan Burrus 1-10, Spencer Schwartz 2-5, Jonathan Broadus 6-2
PASSING
Smoky Hill: Richardson III 19-33, 215 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
Grandview: Broadus 4-5, 70 yards, 1 touchdown; Burr 3-6, 27 yards, 1 interception
RECEIVING
Smoky Hill: Anthony Harris Jr. 9-110, Davien Norman 4-61, Alec Pinkowski 6-44
Grandview: Johnson 3-38, Alsaffar 2-32, Schwartz 2-18, Darius Brown 1-9
