GRANDVIEW
Mascot: Wolves
Coach: John Schultz, 12th season
2014 record: 12-1 overall, 5-0 in 5A Centennial League (lost in semifinals of 5A playoffs)
Players to watch: DeAndre Shorts, 5-foot-9, 210 pounds, LB/RB, sr.; Marcus Lawrence, 6-2, 180, DB/WR, sr.; Garrett Goulding, 6-2, 185, QB/SS, sr.; Robert Moss, 6-3, 256, OL/DL, jr.; Joe Richart, 6-2, 225, DL, sr.; Hayden Blubaugh, 6-0, 180, RB, jr.; Dom Chapa, 5-11, 165, DB/WR, sr.; Uche Obinnah, 6-3, 200, DE, sr.; Jamaal Curtis, 6-2, 225, TE/DE, sr.
2015 outlook: Coach John Schultz cautions that his Grandview team is young, but to ever leave the Wolves out of the conversation among Colorado’s best teams is unthinkable given their track record, which includes 10 straight appearances in the Class 5A state playoffs and at least one playoff victory in each of those postseason trips. The Wolves did graduate a lot of talent from a team that went undefeated in the Centennial League gauntlet — including wins over eventual Class 5A state champion Cherry Creek and runner-up Valor Christian — before losing a tight semifinal to the Eagles, but always have the numbers and the talent at the lower levels to reload. Defense is always a strength for Grandview and though longtime defensive coordinator Dean Adams retired in the offseason, the Wolves have enough talent to maintain a strong until, especially with All-Centennial League first team linebacker DeAndre Shorts returning. Shorts finished second on the team with 67 tackles last season and racked up eight sacks, just 1/2 off the team lead. Seniors Uche Obinnah and Jamaal Curtis and juniors Robert Moss and Joe Richart along the lines should be difficult to deal with, while senior Garrett Goulding, who will also assume quarterbacking duties, is a stalwart in the defensive backfield. On offense, the Wolves lost a combined 2,487 yards and 33 touchdowns between graduated running backs Chukwuma Obinnah (now at Colorado State), Ben Marshall and Austin Quarles, but the addition of Smoky Hill junior transfer Hayden Blubaugh (800-plus yards of total offense in 2014) should help. Schedule: Grandview cruised through a non-league schedule of Chaparral, Gateway, Arapahoe and ThunderRidge last season — winning by a combined 181-40 margin — and faces the same four teams to open the 2015 campaign. The Centennial League schedule opens with an Eaglecrest team that took the Wolves to overtime last season and concludes with a trip to Valor Christian in the season finale.
Schedule: Home games in all caps (played at Legacy Stadium): Friday, Sept. 4 — vs. Chaparral at Sports Authority Stadium (Parker), 7 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 10 — GATEWAY, 7 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 18 — ARAPAHOE, 7 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 24 — vs. ThunderRidge at Shea Stadium, 7 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 1 — EAGLECREST, 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 9 — CHEROKEE TRAIL, 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 16 — CHERRY CREEK, 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 23 — vs. Overland at Stutler Bowl, 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 30 — at Valor Christian, 8 p.m.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel