Football roundup: Grandview upsets No. 1 Cherry Creek in 5A

Grandview upset top-ranked Cherry Creek on Friday, ending the Bruins’ 13-game winning streak with a 28-20 win.

The Wolves, ranked No. 9 in Class 5A, led 28-0 in the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a varied night from Hayden Blubaugh, who had a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, and passing touchdown on a trick play.

“Hayden Blubaugh ran the ball very well, our defense set us up with some short fields, and really held Creek at bay for the first three quarters,” Grandview coach John Shultz told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show on Friday night. “It was just one of those games where everything we planned for worked. The kids executed very well and the defense played great.”

But Cherry Creek started to rally late in the game. Grandview was attempting a short field goal with about six minutes to play when the Bruins blocked the kick and it was returned 96 yards for a score by Marquise Davis.

“As a head coach, I probably made a really poor decision,” Shultz said of the field goal attempt. “We had the ball on the 3, and I chose to kick a field goal.”

After a series of penalties, Cherry Creek kicked off from Grandview’s 30-yard-line, and attempted an onside kick because of it. The Bruins recovered at the 1, and scored on the next play. It was 28-12 at that point.

“All of a sudden, it was 28-12 and we had to work real hard in the last five minutes,” Shultz said.

Cherry Creek then got a fumble recovery, and added another score — though that one came with 2 seconds to play. Grandview held on for the big win.

“Luckily our kids hung in there, defense hung in there and finished the game off,” Shultz said.

The Wolves dominated the game for much of the night until the final frenzied scoring from Cherry Creek.

“We are honestly just trying to get better every week and keep kids focused,” Shultz said. “The sky’s the limit for them. Obviously, they did some great stuff tonight, but we’re really growing as a football team since the summer.”

Grandview was the last team to beat Cherry Creek, doing so last October. The Bruins, of course, went on to win the 5A title.

3A: (4) Roosevelt 64, (6) Holy Family 63

In what was arguably the game of the night, at least from an offensive perspective, Holy Family and Roosevelt combined for 127 points and 1,243 total yards. Ultimately, Roosevelt got a late two-point conversion and game-sealing interception to get the win.

Roosevelt rushed for 595 yards on 73 attempts as a team, and got four touchdowns each from Cameron Hurtado and Carlos Ortega. Hurtado had 234 rushing yards.

The teams went score-for-score, and so Roosevelt went for two with 39.8 seconds to play. They got it, and then picked off Holy Family’s last possession.

Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig, as usual, had a monster game with 475 yards passing and four touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving score on a trick play. In total, he had 549 yards of offense.

5A: ThunderRidge 14, (3) Regis Jesuit 10

The Grizzlies scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left to pull off one of the biggest upsets in 5A so far this season.

The low-scoring game was 7-7 in the fourth quarter, and Regis went ahead on a field goal.

But ThunderRidge got the late score to pull the upset.

1A: (10) Burlington 27, (8) Wiggins 20 (OT)

Burlington rallied from down 20-7 at the half to force overtime, then won it in the extra frame.

“It was a whale of a game, and my hat’s off to Wiggins. They played really well,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Scoreboard Show. “The second half was really intense, really physical. … Obviously, we’re terribly excited to get that win, whether it was in regulation or in overtime.”

Burlington scored first in OT, then recovered a fumble to secure the win.

“It was a real good battle,” Higgs said.

6-man: (3) Kit Carson 22, (2) Eads 8

After a scoreless first quarter, Kit Carson jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead, then held on for the win.

“It wasn’t your typical 6-man game,” Kit Carson coach Jim Trahern told the Scoreboard Show. “In the first quarter, neither of us could get any offensive rhythm. Both defenses dominated.”

Kit Carson junior Jaxon Crawford had a 52-yard interception return with 6 seconds left before the half.

“That was kind of the key play of the game,” Trahern said.

4A: (6) Durango 48, (7) Palmer Ridge 35

Durango quarterback Terrence Trujillo had four total touchdowns, including three passing, in the big top-10 win.

Lawrence Mayberry added 260 yards and three rushing scores, according to the Durango Herald.

2A: (6) Sterling 18, (7) Eaton 17

Sterling quarterback Michael Mitchek hit Isaac Harris for a touchdown with 30 seconds to play to give the Tigers a dramatic victory.

Eaton had taken a 17-12 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the two teams battled for much of the fourth quarter before Sterling’s late score.

Sterling is now 6-1.

Notables:

Arapahoe, ranked No. 7 in 5A, snuck by Grand Junction 17-14. The Warriors are now 7-0 and could move up in the rankings based on Grandview’s upset. The Wolves’ lone loss this season is to Arapahoe.
3A No. 10 Mead got a good win over Berthoud, 21-18. “One of the best wins that I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Mead coach Jason Klatt told the Scoreboard Show. “It was just amazing to see our kids step up and play probably our best game against a quality opponent.”
In 1A, Peyton upset No. 6 Rye 22-21.
Another 1A upset: Meeker 38, Cedaredge 12.
Big top-10 game in 8-man, as No. 2 Akron came away with a 43-14 win over No. 8 Haxtun. Also, it was No. 10 Merino over No. 6 Dayspring Christian, 58-14.
In 6-man, No. 8 Peetz beat No. 5 Pawnee 45-21. And No. 9 Cheraw beat No. 10 Cheyenne Wells 58-39.
In the Mountain Bowl, an annual 3A battle, Evergreen beat Conifer 30-20 behind five turnovers. “It was a great win,” Evergreen coach Rob Molholm told the Scoreboard Show. “We made some big plays on offense when we needed to.”
8-man’s West Grand beat Pikes Peak Christian 40-0, giving coach Chris Brown his 304th victory. Brown is now two wins shy of tying the state record for career victories.
Elijah Anderson had the game-winning two-point conversion as Eaglecrest beat Overland 38-37 in overtime.