COLORADO SPRINGS – For a brief moment, it looked like Mesa Ridge and Denver South were in for a good old-fashioned shootout. 
 
The Grizzlies had marched right down the field and scored on their first drive of the game and the Ravens quickly countered. But in the end, it was Denver South getting a 24-21 win in the first round of the Class 4A football playoffs.
 
The Ravens got the win, but each team came away with a little something extra after the game. South had legitimacy. Mesa Ridge had hope.
 
The Ravens (9-2 overall) were a Season C football team last year. It was a district decision and one that they took in stride. After all, they could only compete against the teams that stood right in front of them, no matter what time of the year it was. 
 
“I knew we were good and I knew a lot of teams in Season C were good,” South coach Ryan Marini said. “A lot of people didn’t think it was the most legit season so I hope that we’re showing people that were a lot of good teams, not just us, in Season C.”
 
There’s no doubting it anymore. The Ravens will finish the year as one of the 16 remaining teams in the state no matter how the game against No. 1 Montrose ends. A big reason for that was the play of junior quarterback Joseph Capra and sophomore running back Chevelle Early. 
 
Early’s 16-yard touchdown run tied the game and Carpas 40-yard strike to Dominic McGath on the first play of the second quarter gave South the lead.
 
“Those were crucial,” Capra said. “Especially since they adjusted so well in the second half.”
 
Capra added a second touchdown pass and the Ravens tacked on a field goal before those adjustments were made. They went into the locker room with a 24-14 halftime lead.
 
 
And that’s where the hope came in for Mesa Ridge. The Grizzlies (5-6) used the ground game to get their two touchdowns in the first half. Isaiah Jones scored from six yards out and then borke a 49-yard run to setup a one-yard score from Niko Allgood. 
 
To start each half, Mesa Ridge came out in a bit of a different look as they had Desmond Burton lined in a wildcat style quarterback.
 
“When you get the ball in a playmaker’s hand, he usually does something special,” Mesa Ridge coach Jerimi Calip said. “Dez is a good athlete and that was the whole design.”
 
The problem came when the Grizzlies were facing passing situations. Senior quarterback Noah Ramirez was just 1-for-6 in the first half and the struggles carried over. With the Mesa Ridge defense now clamping down on the Ravens, Calip sent in freshman quarterback Bryce Rhiel late the third quarter. 
 
Rhiel gave the Grizzlies a jolt of energy and got the crowd back into the game when he threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Cash Cheeks. 
 
The Grizzlies lose a few key seniors, but Calip looks at the players returning next year and can’t help but be excited about what the future holds. 
 
“We have a team full of sophomores and juniors and with a freshman quarterback coming in, we can see what the future is going to look like,” he said.
 
For the Ravens, the future looks much clearer. They’ll make the long trip to Montrose and face the top team in the state, hoping to score a huge playoff upset.
 
“(The No. 1) is just a number,” Capra said. “It doesn’t matter, really. They’re a football team and we’re a football team. They have 11 guys and we’ll have 11 guys too.”
 
They’ll just have to see which 11 guys go out and get their team a win next week.