Legacy Stadium. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — This is why backup plans exist. It’s why second-team guys get good reps in practice, why they prepare just as hard before a game.
Because you never know when your all-state quarterback will go down with a game-ending injury on the third play of the quarterfinals.
Branden Brenning, a junior, jumped into the fray when ThunderRidge’s Brody Westmoreland left with a back injury following a blind-side sack in the first quarter. Brenning scored his team’s only touchdown, which helped secure a 13-9 win over No. 20 Grandview on Saturday afternoon. And a spot in the Class 5A football semifinals.
“I saw Brody go down and I immediately went and started to throw,” Brenning said. “I’ve always been ready to step in for Brody. He’s a great quarterback, but I’ve got to be prepared mentally and physically every day, every practice, because you never know what can go wrong.”
No. 5 ThunderRidge looked a bit stunned after Westmoreland left the game. Grandview took a 6-0 lead on Frank Solomon’s 28-yard reception less than a minute after the injury, and Brenning’s first pass attempt was intercepted on the next drive. But the ThunderRidge defense dug in, and Mark Hopper hit a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 6-3 at the half.
In addition to missing Westmoreland, ThunderRidge’s starting running back Steve Ray was slowed by an injury from last week’s win. So 6-3 at the half was manageable.
Still, the Grizzlies needed a spark — one they got when the team recovered an onside kick to start the second half.
“We were kicking into the wind. We didn’t think we’d get it deep,” ThunderRidge coach Joe Johnson said. “We didn’t kick it quite as hard as we wanted to, but it ended up working out for us.”
ThunderRidge marched right down the field after the recovery — thanks in part to a nice 16-yard completion from Brenning to Hopper on third-and-10. The Grizzlies also used a steady dose of Matt Stanley up the middle in moving the ball inside the red zone.
Then, facing second-and-goal from the 8, Brenning made as though he would give it to Stanley up the middle again. Instead, he kept it and swept out left to the end zone. ThunderRidge led 10-6.
Grandview cut it to 10-9 with Aiden Pirrin’s 40-yard field goal on the ensuing drive, then held ThunderRidge to a three-and-out. But the Wolves fumbled the punt, and the Grizzlies recovered with 1:15 to go in the third quarter. They chewed up more than seven minutes of game time en route to another field goal from Hopper, this one from 22 yards out. By then, 5:52 remained in the game.
“That was huge,” Johnson said of the long drive. “We, obviously, needed to shorten the game.”
ThunderRidge’s defense then held firm on a fourth-down attempt near midfield with 4:33 to go. A Grizzlies’ fumble gave Grandview one last chance. The Wolves drove all the way down to the ThunderRidge 11 with 59 seconds remaining, but a fourth-down pass was inches from the outstretched fingertips of a wide-open Brandon Brooks and the Grizzlies held on.
“This win was huge,” Brenning said.
Especially missing Westmoreland and having a limited Ray.
Brenning said his typical day of practice consists of nine reps before he runs the scout team.
“I’m always ready,” Brenning said. “I always try to be prepared mentally and physically in case this ever happens.”
After the game, Westmoreland said he did not have a concussion. He was having X-rays taken on Sunday evening, but his status for next week’s semifinal game with Fairview won’t be known until next week.
In Ray’s stead, Kevin Knox handled an increased load and finished with 91 yards on 18 carries, while Stanley had 77 on 24.
“Coach told me during the practice week to be prepared, be ready at a moment’s notice,” Knox said. The win, he added, “shows we’re one hell of a team and we’re willing to do anything to win. I mean look what we did today, that just showed what we can do.”
ThunderRidge’s defense gave up just 240 yards of total offense. The bulk of that belonged to Grandview running back Chukwuma Obinnah, who had 125 yards. Wolves quarterback Tyler Smith also had 95 yards passing and the scoring toss to Solomon.