No. 4 Grandview football comes up clutch with late quarterfinal win over No. 5 Ralston Valley

AURORA – Slowly, deliberately and confidently, the Grandview offense moved down the field towards the go-ahead score in the final minutes of Friday night’s Class 5A quarterfinal against Ralston Valley.

Sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka put a two-turnover first half behind him as he guided the Wolves on a decisive 59-yard drive that he finished with a 9-yard touchdown pass to senior Charlie Dick to put his team in front in the closing minute.

The defense held on four consecutive pass plays and fourth-seeded Grandview used the victory formation to close out a 20-16 victory over the fifth-seeded Mustangs after a see-saw second half of postseason action at Legacy Stadium.

“We went into halftime they were a little down and out, but I said ‘listen, fellas, we had three turnovers and a bucket load of penalties and we’re only down 10-0,’” said Grandview head coach Tom Doherty, who has the program in the semifinals for the first time since 2018 and for the eighth time in program history in his first season at the helm.

“We’re OK, we’ve been there before, it’s not like we haven’t been in competitive games,” he added. “They stayed the course, believed what we were telling them and here we are.”

Next up for the 10-2 Wolves, a semifinal matchup against top-seeded and undefeated Valor Christian, which topped ninth-seed Columbine 17-7.

At halftime, it looked like it might be veteran coach Matt Loyd’s Ralston Valley team that was headed for a return to the semifinals — where it was in 2019 — as the Mustangs (9-3) took a 10-0 lead into the break against a Grandview team that turned the ball over three times (including two interceptions thrown by Szarka) and was beset by penalties.

Senior Steele Fredricks nailed a 46-yard field goal and senior Marquel Collins rushed for a short score to put Ralston Valley in good position at halftime.

But the Wolves rallied themselves in the locker room and got back into the game with a scoring drive that pulled them within three points after Szarka connected with senior wide receiver Evan Johnson on a 49-yard touchdown.

Grandview’s defense forced another quick punt and Szarka put together an 83-yard drive for the lead with a nine-play series that included plenty of hard running by senior running back Moosah Alsaffar. Senior Tristan Burrus hauled in a pass from Szarka to put the Wolves in the lead, but the extra point went wide.

Ralston Valley bounced right back with a drive that got extended by a roughing the passer call and took advantage on another Collins’ TD run, though the lead remained three points when Grandview’s Malique Singleton blocked the extra point.

The Wolves failed to move on the subsequent drive, but forced a punt to get the ball back with 4:34 remaining.

Doherty said there is no quarterback in the state he would really have on his side with the game on the line than Szarka, who affirmed that belief.

Szarka showed composure on the drive, including a scramble on 3rd-and-1 that yielded a first down as well as more when he was hit late out of bounds. Two plays later, he spun and connected with Dick, who got the ball inside the pylon for the go-ahead score with just 47.4 seconds remaining.

“I didn’t see anything else but the end zone and I had to get there,” Dick said.

The Wolves defense held and Doherty received an ice bath from his players after time had expired. Grandview now moves into a round where it has only one win in its previous seven attempts to make the state championship game, with the lone successful try coming in 2007 when the program won its only state title.