Arvada West football drives into 5A quarterfinals for the first time since 2009

ARVADA — The first team to punch its ticket to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A football state tournament was the Arvada West Wildcats on Friday at the North Area Athletic Complex.

The No. 6-seeded Wildcats defeated No. 11 Grandview 31-15 in the first game of a playoff doubleheader at NAAC. 

“We don’t care what the score is. We don’t care how much we win by,” A-West first-year coach CJ Hanna said. “As long as win and keep moving on. I’m so proud of these guys. They have done everything we’ve asked them to do.”

Senior Noah Meurer seemed to do everything except drive the team bus back to campus after the victory. The senior receiver had three touchdown catches (81, 7 and 31 yards), along with an interception and two fumble recoveries on defense.

Meurer also lined up at running back for a handful of carries.

“The one thing I like about our coaches is we are unpredictable,” Meurer said. “You never know what we are going to come up with next. That is what is beautiful about our team, we have playmakers everywhere.”

A-West senior Jaxon Pyatt was another playmaker on both sides of the ball. 

Pyatt made the most of his first two offensive carries of the season. One of the best linebackers in the state who has committed to the University of California had short touchdown plunges of 2 and 3 yards to help the Wildcats take a 18-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

“I honestly love it,” Pyatt said of playing a little running back. “We’ve been hiding it all season. Now we are bring it out.”

Pyatt’s last offensive carry was actually also went for a touchdown. The all-state linebacker had a 1-yard touchdown run in the Wildcats’ first-round playoff win a year ago against Fort Collins.

Defensively, the Wildcats hounded Grandview senior quarterback Blitz McCarty for most of the night. A-West forced five turnovers and senior Jaiden Nichols also blocked a punt for the Wildcats to set up A-West’s opening touchdown.

“We were a three-man front first a few weeks ago. We felt like we didn’t bring enough pressure,” Pyatt said of the loss to Ralston Valley in Week 10. “A five-man front gave them no time. I love edge rushing. I can use my speed and get around every time.”

A-West senior quarterback Logan Duhachek threw his 29th touchdown of the season on the 81-yard bomb to Meurer for the third score of the first half for the Wildcats.

Grandview (6-6 record) did answer late in the first half to end the shutout. Senior quarterback Blitz McCarty tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Timothy Arnold III with 49 seconds left before halftime. A successful 2-point conversion cut A-West’s lead to 18-8 at halftime.

The connection of Duhachek to Meurer struck again with a 7-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter. Meurer actually set up the score with an interception to give A-West the ball on Grandview’s 31-yard line.

However, Grandview answered with a 46-yard touchdown run by senior Brody Flores to make it a 10-point game at 25-15 with 4:45 left in the third quarter.

Grandview had one of the toughest schedules of any time in 5A. The Wolves suffered losses to Legend, Ralston Valley, Arapahoe, Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek. Four of five of those are top-8 seeds advanced to the round of 16. 

The Wildcats put the finishing touch on the season-ending loss for Grandview with Meurer’s final touchdown catch that came with 3:43 left in the fourth quarter to make the score 31-15.

“You never know with these teams and football. Everything is unpredictable,” Meurer said of the importance to get into the end zone for a third time to put the game on ice. “I felt like if I could get in there and ice the game. The competitive edge never drops.”

A-West (10-1) brought an undefeated record into its regular-season finale two weeks ago against rival Ralston Valley. The Wildcats suffered a rough 49-20 loss to the Mustangs to end A-West 9-game winning streak under Hanna. 

The win advanced A-West to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2009.

“It means a lot,” Pyatt said of A-West’s deepest postseason run in 16 years. “I honestly feel like a state championship is coming.”

A-West will face the winner of No. 14 Eaglecrest/No. 3 Mountain Vista next week.