AURORA | Jaxson Flores temporarily didn’t know where he was supposed to go once he caught a second period punt Friday night.
But once the ball nestled into his grasp, the Grandview junior saw an opening to his left, burst up the sideline and ran through two Vista PEAK Prep players that met him at the goalline at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Flores’ 45-yard punt return touchdown gave coach Tom Doherty’s Wolves the momentum they needed to withstand a challenge from the host Bison and they went on to a 42-14 victory.
“At first, I forgot where we were supposed to go, so I started to run straight, but then I saw the outside was open, so I cut it back and the rest is history,” said Flores, who earlier blocked an extra point in the contest. “It’s important because momentum carries everything, especially in games.”
Besides the special teams score, senior Chris Blanks rushed for a pair of touchdowns, while senior quarterback Blitz McCarty had two scoring passes as Grandview overcame some typical opening week sloppiness to open the season with a victory.
“We have a lot to learn from that game, but I’m just glad we’re doing it while we’re 1-0,” Doherty said.
Vista PEAK Prep — which played its first game with Kyle Reese as head coach — got a touchdown run from junior CJ Key Jr. in the opening half and got within 14 points in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from senior Canaan Barthlow to senior Isaiah Watson, but could not sustain the momentum in the final quarter.
“We knew they were tough and you saw that at times,” Reese said. “For us to go the length of the field in the third quarter, convert fourth downs and score was huge. From where this team came from a mental standpoint and from a physical standpoint, I told them I respect them and I’m really happy for them.”
Grandview makes a 7 p.m. visit to EchoPark Stadium Aug. 28 in a clash with Legend (1-0), while Vista PEAK Prep (0-1) is in action on the same date at 7 p.m. at All-City Stadium to face Denver East (0-1).
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GRANDVIEW 42, VISTA PEAK PREP 14
Score by quarters:
Grandview 7 21 0 14 — 42
Vista PEAK Prep 0 6 8 0 — 14
SCORING
First quarter
Grandview — Chris Blanks 1 yard run (Noah Galvez kick), 7:29
Second quarter
Grandview — Timothy Arnold III 27 yard pass from Blitz McCarty (Galvez kick), 10:24
Vista PEAK Prep — CJ Key Jr. 25 yard run (kick blocked), 6:41
Grandview — Blanks 8 yard run (Quinn Reynolds kick), 5:47
Grandview — Jaxson Flores 45 yard punt return (Reynolds kick), 1:31
Third quarter
Vista PEAK Prep — Isaiah Watson 4 yard pass from Canaan Barthlow (Joshua Gallien from Barthlow), 0:32
Fourth quarter
Grandview — Neelein Shead Jr. 4 yard run (Reynolds kick), 8:49
Grandview — Julian Savaloja 33 yard pass from McCarty (Galvez kick), 4:53
PASSING
Grandview: Blitz McCarty 17-25, 245 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception; Lander Wise 1-1, 11 yards
Vista PEAK Prep: Canaan Barthlow 13-35, 160 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
RUSHING
Grandview: Chris Blanks 11-66, Neelein Shead Jr. 9-62, Maddox Johnson 8-46, Logan Fieser 4-3, McCarty 4-(minus 4)
Vista PEAK Prep: Tyrone Smiley 19-86, Barthlow 3-(minus 5)
RECEIVING
Grandview: Julian Savaloja 4-65, Ryne Tripp 3-53, Timothy Arnold III 45, Aaron Ball 2-31, Matthew Schimberg 4-30, Asher Mattson 2-21, Colin Aspeslagh 1-11
Vista PEAK Prep: Isaiah Watson 9-102, Joshua Gallien 2-29