(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — A furious fourth-quarter rally helped Grandview secure yet another trip to the Class 5A football semifinals.
The Wolves exploded for two touchdowns in a six-minute span to take a 26-22 win over Eaglecrest and march on in the postseason.
“We just never quit. We never gave up,” said Grandview senior Hayden Isenhart. “Even going down, we still had the motivation that we were going to win this game.”
Said Jordan Billingsley, another senior: “It was cold, it was clutch, it was playoffs. It was a big game. It was one of those games where everything needed to be perfect, or at least close to it.”
The Wolves, seeded No. 5, trailed No. 4 Eaglecrest 22-13 heading into the final frame. But when quarterback Jacob Burr hit Billingsley for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 22-20 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the momentum seemed to shift Grandview’s way.
“I couldn’t feel my fingers, but when your team needs you, when it’s a clutch moment, you can’t think about if I’m going to drop it, or if I’m going to get hit,” Billingsley said. “You’ve got to think about catching the ball.”
After forcing Eaglecrest to punt, Grandview got the ball again and started marching. The Eaglecrest defense forced a fourth-and-10 from the 29-yard-line. It was a defining play for Grandview: convert, and firmly seize control, or turn it over on downs for a fifth time.
Grandview dialed up a pass to Dayne Prim over the middle. The three-sport athlete, who helped the Wolves win a state basketball title last winter, hauled it in and moved the ball to the 2-yard-line.
“I knew what I had to do to get the job done and keep it rolling,” Prim said.
Two plays later, Billingsley punched it in for a touchdown, his third of the game.
Grandview led, 26-22 with 6:21 to go. It was the Wolves’ first lead since going up 7-0 just 43 seconds into the game.
“They never stopped working at it, they never stopped fighting,” Grandview coach John Schultz said. “They played all 48 minutes.”
The Wolves’ intercepted Eaglecrest’s next possession, but the Raptors defense got the ball back for their offense. Eaglecrest, last season’s runner-up in 5A, had one last chance to take the lead, but turned the ball over on downs at midfield with one minute to play.
“It was kinda like déjà vu, we were in that same position last time we played them,” Isenhart said, referencing a last-second loss on a Hail Mary to Grandview during the regular season. “When that ball was in the air, it was in the air for a long time. It was great to see it hit the ground, and get the ‘W.'”
Grandview will host top-seeded Valor Christian in the semifinals next week. The Wolves will host by virtue of having a fewer amount of home games to this point in the postseason.
“It’s awesome to have the student body, have the crowd, have our parents cheering us on,” Isenhart said.