The penultimate week of the prep football regular season saw Aurora area programs finish with a 3-8 record.
Two of the three victories (those earned by Grandview and Vista PEAK Prep) came in tight head-to-head local matchups with rival Eaglecrest and Rangeview, respectively, while Gateway won in lopsided fashion.
The wildest game of the week featured a back-and-forth contest between Vista PEAK Prep Oct. 24 in front of a lively crowd at Aurora Public Schools Stadium. Tyrone Smiley capped a phenomenal game with a jump pass touchdown to Asher Bartholomew that held up as the winning score. Smiley also rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns, while Isaiah Watson caught two touchdown passes for the Bison (4-5 overall, 2-2 in Front Range South League). The Raiders (5-4, 1-3) got a huge game from quarterback Tyson Tuck with three rushing scores and a passing touchdown, while Kylen Mack piled up 264 yards and two scores.
Grandview outlasted Eaglecrest 16-14 in a wild Centennial League contest Oct. 24 at Legacy Stadium. A wild end to the opening half saw the Wolves (5-4, 2-2) open up a 10-0 lead on a short touchdown run by Chris Blanks, which was followed up by a 99-yard kickoff return score by Cameron Bell and 2-point conversion run by William Brinkman to make it a two-point game. Blitz McCarty threw a touchdown pass to Julian Savaloja in the second half and Noah Galvez made a field goal for Grandview, which survived a rally by the Raptors (6-3, 2-2) with Brinkman’s fourth-quarter touchdown run that was followed by a two-point conversion stop.
Gateway scored double-digit points in each of the first two quarters of its Oct. 23 4A 1-25 game with Thornton at Aurora Public Schools Stadium and sustained the momentum in a 45-8 victory. Amiel Krangar scored two touchdowns, Adriel Krangar returned an interception for a score and Luis Grajeda took a kickoff back 95 yards for another score for the Olys (3-6, 1-3).
Regis Jesuit dropped a second straight one-score 5A Southern League contest, as Pine Creek scored a touchdown inside the final 10 seconds to take a 31-24 victory Oct. 24 at Lou Kellogg Stadium. Joe Pron rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns, Luke Rubley threw a touchdown pass to Colt Jones and Jack Manthey connected on a 51-yard field goal to round out the scoring for the Raiders.
Coming off a big Week 8 win over Grandview, Cherokee Trail dropped a 27-13 Centennial League contest against Arapahoe. Bryson Peterson rushed for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Mitchell, while Logan Posey went over 100 yards of total offense (79 rushing, 42 receiving) and Evan Smith hauled in 104 yards worth of passes for the Cougars.
Smoky Hill dropped to 2-7 with a 42-0 Centennial League loss to Cherry Creek that saw all the scoring happen in the opening half, while Aurora Central (59-0 to Northfield) and Hinkley (64-0 to Standley Lake) also lost by shutout. Overland came up just short of its first win with a 17-14 road loss at Boulder in a game in which Elijah Hargrove had 200 yards and a touchdown.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
