AURORA | Hayden Blubaugh is new to Grandview, but he hasn’t wasted much time putting his name in the elite program’s record books.
The junior transfer from nearby Smoky Hill — where he didn’t get a ton of carries last season — ran the ball more than 30 times behind an improving offensive line and set the school record with 313 yards to go with four touchdowns in the shorthanded Wolves’ 52-31 victory over Eaglecrest in an explosive Centennial League opener at Legacy Stadium.
Quarterbacks Gunnar Lamphere and Garrett Goulding also got into the end zone and Ben Genovese made a 32-yard field goal and all seven of his extra point tries for coach John Schultz’s Grandview team, ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press Class 5A media poll. The Wolves overcame a four-touchdown effort from Eaglecrest sophomore quarterback Jalen Mergerson and improved to 4-1 overall and won their seventh consecutive league game dating back to the 2013 season.
“At Smoky Hill last year I didn’t get a lot of carries, but I’m getting the hang of it,” said Blubaugh, who scored touchdowns on runs of 8, 39, 69 and 6 yards and had four carries of 34 yards or more.
“It feels good to get all these carries and rack up these yards and know that Coach can rely on me to be that guy, a workhorse,” he added.
Indeed Schultz knows he has something special in the backfield, which he needed with the graduation of workhorse Chukwuma Obinnah, who is now at Colorado State. He watched his newcomer eclipse the previous school individual game rushing mark of 269 yards, set by Bo Bolen during the Wolves’ 5A state championship-winning 2007 season.
Schultz wouldn’t compare Blubaugh to any of the many talented running backs he’s had in the past.
“He’s his own man,” Schultz said of Blubaugh, who had just 70 carries and 530 yards last season for Smoky Hill.
“He’s got a blend of speed and strength and hopefully he just keeps getting better,” Schultz added. “He made a lot of big plays.”
Blubaugh was especially effective in the second half, when he scored three times, including a 39-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the half for the Wolves after Matthew Sciba recovered an Eaglecrest fumble. He also set up Goulding’s touchdown run in the third quarter by moving Grandview into the red zone on five straight carries.
Mergerson kept Eaglecrest in the game with four touchdown passes — two to Damian Williams and one each to Charles Roberts and Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez — and got coach Mike Schmitt’s Raptors (2-3, 0-1) within 38-31 on his second scoring pass to Williams early in the fourth quarter.
Blubaugh answered with his second one-play scoring drive when he burst up the left sideline for a 69-yard score. He later added a 6-yard run to cap a short drive after the Wolves’ defense forced Eaglecrest to punt from its own end zone.
“I’ve got the Hogs to thank, they created the holes for me last night and allowed me to have an amazing night,” Blubaugh said of his offensive line.
Goulding, who split time under center with Lamphere, enjoyed handing the ball of Blubaugh and watching what happened.
“When he gets going, it’s crazy,” Goulding said. “It’s fun to watch and be a part of and it brings a lot of energy to the sidelines. He really makes a difference in this team, so it’s great to have him.”
Defensively, Grandview played without banged up standout linebacker DeAndre Shorts and missed two cornerbacks due to injury as well, which made if difficult to slow down the Raptors’ prolific offense at times.
But Goulding sacked Mergerson three times, forced a fumble and also had an interception in the fourth quarter as the Wolves allowed just 10 points after halftime.
“There were a lot of young kids out there for us tonight, so it was great come through,” Schultz said. “The defense played well because Eaglecrest is so darn potent on offense.”
The Raptors took an early lead when they recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and converted immediately on a 31-yard pass from Mergerson to Sandoval-Jimenez and trailed just 24-21 at halftime, but couldn’t overcome three second half turnovers.
Speedy sophomore Victor Garnes had two runs of 40-plus yards and racked up 136 yards for Eaglecrest.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
GRANDVIEW 52, EAGLECREST 31
Score by quarters:
Eaglecrest 7 14 3 7 — 31
Grandview 10 14 14 14 — 52
SCORING
First quarter
Eaglecrest — Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez 31 yard pass from Jalen Mergerson (Patrick Damm kick), 11:46
Grandview — Ben Genovese 32 yard field goal
Grandview — Hayden Blubaugh 8 yard run (Genovese kick), 5:45
Second quarter
Grandview — Gunnar Lamphere 2 yard run (Genovese kick), 9:29
Eaglecrest — Damian Williams 39 yard pass from Mergerson (kick failed), 6:19
Eaglecrest — Charles Roberts 2 yard pass from Mergerson (Colbey Ross pass from Mergerson), 3:10
Grandview — Dom Chapa 12 yard run (Genovese kick), 1:07
Third quarter
Grandview — Blubaugh 39 yard run (Genovese kick), 11:45
Eaglecrest — Sandoval-Jimenez 21 yard field goal, 6:19
Grandview — Garrett Goulding 9 yard run (Genovese kick), 1:21
Fourth quarter
Eaglecrest — Williams 19 yard pass from Mergerson (Sandoval-Jimenez kick), 9:25
Grandview — Blubaugh 69 yard run (Genovese kick), 9:12
Grandview — Blubaugh 6 yard run (Genovese kick), 6:54