2013 CLASS 5A STATE QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP
NO. 5 THUNDERRIDGE (10-1) VS. NO. 20 GRANDVIEW (7-4)
Nov. 16, 1 p.m., Legacy Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Grandview of the Centennial League and ThunderRidge of the Continental League hadn’t met in more than a decade, but have become very familiar with each other over the past two seasons, as they will square off for the fourth time since the start of the 2012 campaign. The Grizzlies have won each of the previous three meetings: 34-20 in the regular season in 2012, 21-17 in the 2012 playoffs and 21-7 earlier this season. …Coach John Schultz has guided Grandview to the quarterfinals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, but the Wolves seek passage to the semifinals for the fourth time in program history and first since 2010. …Coach Joe Johnson’s ThunderRidge team has made one trip to the semifinals since joining 5A and that came last season, when the Grizzlies lost to eventual state champion Valor Christian. … GRANDVIEW: The 20th-seeded Wolves are the lone double-digit seed among the eight teams remaining in the playoffs and got there by virtue of a 31-21 upset of No. 4 Regis Jesuit in an all-Aurora second round contest on Nov. 9 at Legacy Stadium. Junior RB Chukwuma Obinnah had a huge game against his former school, rushing for 220 yards and three touchdowns, while he also threw a halfback pass for a touchdown to senior WR Trent Richardson. Senior QB Tyler Smith accounted for 102 total yards, throwing for 73 and rushing for 29. Defensively, the Wolves got big games from senior DB Sean Kopel, who had two sacks, while junior DB Cameron Knight racked up 15 tackles and sophomore LB DeAndre Shorts made 12 stops and senior DB Beau Martinez and senior DB Sean Gelsey had interceptions. Senior LB Kolton Johnson forced a fumble and made a big tackle on fourth down that led to Grandview’s go-ahead score. …Obinnah had to sit out the first four games of the season after transferring, including the first game against ThunderRidge when the Wolves rushed for just a total of 100 yards. Obinnah has gone over the 200-yard mark in each of Grandview’s two playoff games (going for 215 against Prairie View and 220 against Regis Jesuit) and scored five times, pushing his totals to 993 yards and 11 scores in just seven games. Junior RB Ben Marshall is a strong ground compliment with 676 yards and 8 touchdowns. Smith hasn’t had to throw much since Obinnah joined the lineup and he has season totals of 860 yards passing with 9 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. Richardson leads the team with 355 yards receiving and 3 TDs, while senior WR Isaiah Lang has the most scores among passcatchers with 5. …Grandview’s offense has scored an average of 44.7 points per game in the last three contests, which has been plenty given the defense has allowed just 11 points per contest in that span. Knight has been a big defensive playmaker for the Wolves with a team-best 85 tackles, while Johnson averages nine stops per game. A diverse pass rush sees Johnson, junior LB Keelan Poole and senior LB Hayden Porter with 5.0 sacks each, while 12 different players have brought down the opposing QB at least once. Junior DB Keifer Glau does a little bit of everything for the Wolves and is tied for the team lead with 3 interceptions. …THUNDERRIDGE: The fifth-seeded Grizzlies lost just one game all season — falling to the Regis Jesuit team Grandview just beat — and comes into the game on a six-game winning streak after a 59-35 victory over No. 12 Doherty in the second round. Senior QB Brody Westmoreland was a one-man wrecking crew against the Spartans, rushing for 4 touchdowns and throwing 3 TD passes, all to senior WR Mark Hopper. Westmoreland rushed for 152 yards, while senior RB Steve Ray added 124 on just 12 carries. Senior LB Clay Johnson had 2 sacks, 15 tackles and an interception to lead the way defensively for the Grizzlies, while senior DE Gregg Peterson also had 2 sacks. …ThunderRidge’s offense is averages 39.4 points per game on the season, but has been been even better in its last five games with an average of 50.6 per contest. Westmoreland has thrown for 1,460 yards and 16 TDs (against 2 interceptions), while rushing for 780 yards and 12 scores. The Grizzlies have three players with double-digit rushing TDs in Westmoreland, Ray (17, plus 1,143 yards) and junior RB Matt Stanley (11 TDs, 898 yards). Hopper is far and away the team’s biggest receiving threat with 885 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving. …Senior LB Tyler Seno leads ThunderRidge’s defense with 112 tackles, while Johnson averages 6.6 stops per game and Peterson tops the team with 7.0 sacks. …WINNER GETS: The Grandview/ThunderRidge winner advances to the 5A semifinals, where it will face either No. 1 Fairview or No. 8 Pomona. None of the teams have played each other this season.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
