ARVADA | The reasons for some football losses are hard to exactly pinpoint, but it was fairly cut and dried for Grandview coach Tom Doherty Friday night.
His 11th-seeded Wolves fell to sixth-seeded Arvada West 31-15 in a Class 5A state playoff second round game in which Grandview’s chances of pulling off an upset were significantly derailed by five turnovers.
The host Wildcats (10-1) intercepted two passes from Wolves’ senior quarterback Blitz McCarty and recovered three fumbles in a victory that secured their spot in the 5A quarterfinals, where they will play third-seeded Mountain Vista.
“You can’t win a high school game with five turnovers, it’s impossible,” said Doherty, whose team finished 6-6. “Nobody overcomes five turnovers. …They were a good team, but we felt we could have won this game.”
McCarty threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Tim Arnold III and senior Brody Flores rushed for a touchdown to account for the scoring for Grandview.
It was the second straight season the Wolves fell in the second round of the postseason following quarterfinal runs in 2022 and 2023 and a semifinal berth in 2021.
The Aurora area’s presence in the 5A postseason came to an end, as No. 14 Eaglecrest lost a 14-0 contest against No. 3 Mountain Vista — Arvada West’s quarterfinal opponent — at The Stadium at Redstone Park.
The Wildcats got on the scoreboard on the opening play of the second quarter on Jaxon Pyatt’s 1-yard leap into the end zone, but Grandview junior Zach Johnston blocked the extra point to keep it a six-point advantage.
Arvada West attempted an onside kick and the ball went out of bounds near midfield, which helped the Wolves quickly get into the red zone. But McCarty was sacked and fumbled and one play later, Wildcats’ quarterback Logan Duhachek lobbed a ball down the sideline that Noah Meurer caught and took to the end zone for an 82-yard score and 12-0 lead.
Another Pyatt plunge with 2:39 left in the opening half opened the advantage to 18-6, but another unsuccessful onside kick again gave Grandview’s offense a short field. McCarty made the Wildcats pay with a 19-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Tim Arnold III, which he followed with a two-point conversion pass to senior Julian Savaloja to make it a 10-point game at halftime.
Arvada West gained more separation with Meurer’s second touchdown catch midway through the third period, but the Wolves got the score back just over a minute later. Flores — a defensive stalwart who hadn’t run the ball all season, but got some backfield work with an injury to leading rusher Chris Blanks the previous weeks — broke several tackles on his way to a 46-yard touchdown.
“I ran the ball in youth football, but it came back to me,” said Flores, who finished with 65 yards on six carries. “It felt good scoring that touchdown because I’m a defensive guy. I was having a blast.”
Flores also had another big play on a subsequent drive as he headed upfield after catching a screen pass, but an Arvada West defender punched the ball out of his hands and the Wildcats recovered. That turnover led directly to another Wildcats score on a 33-yard pass from Duhachek to Meurer.
“I just want these guys to be proud of the season we had,” Doherty said. “I just wish it hadn’t ended this way.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 5A STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS (2ND ROUND)
Nov. 14 at North Area Athletic Complex
(6) ARVADA WEST 31, (11) GRANDVIEW 15
Score by quarters:
Grandview 0 8 7 0 — 15
Arvada West 0 18 7 6 — 31
SCORING
Second quarter
Arvada West — Jaxon Pyatt 1 yard run (kick blocked), 11:56
Arvada West — Noah Meurer 82 yard pass from Logan Duhachek (pass failed), 9:38
Arvada West — Pyatt 1 yard run (pass failed), 2:39
Grandview — Tim Arnold III 19 yard pass from Blitz McCarty (Julian Savaloja pass from McCarty), 49.5
Third quarter
Arvada West — Meurer 7 yard pass from Duhachek (Chase Drake kick), 5:59
Grandview — Brody Flores 46 yard run (Noah Galvez kick), 4:45
Fourth quarter
Arvada West — Meurer 33 yard pass from Duhacek (kick failed), 3:43
RUSHING
Grandview: Brody Flores 6-65, Quentin Dorsey 5-16, Maddox Johnson 4-11, Blitz McCarty 7-(minus 21)
Arvada West: Caleb Gomez 16-53, Noah Meurer 7-52, Jaxon Pyatt 3-5, Teegan Ribble 1-1, Logan Duhachek 10-(minus 38)
PASSING
Grandview: McCarty 12-28, 130 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
Arvada West: Duhachek 27-36, 346 yards, 3 touchdowns
RECEIVING
Grandview: Tim Arnold III 3-42, Matthew Schimberg 4-39, Jaxson Flores 2-16, Logan Maines 1-12, Ryne Tripp 1-12, Brody Flores 1-9
Arvada West: Meurer 10-183, Keegan Balistreri 7-81, Ayden Garcia 2-40, Will Benkert 2-19, Caleb Gomez 3012, Zane Stehwein 3-11
