Lakewood – ThunderRidge made it look so easy Thursday it could have been a late-night infomercial.
You can bet Dakota Ridge wants back its $19.99.
In a rematch of the Class 4A state championship, the outcome was the same and the Grizzlies’ execution was even more impressive.
The Grizzlies, ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News poll, scored on five of their first six possessions at Jefferson County Stadium en route to a 47-24 pasting of the fifth-ranked Eagles in a Mountain Plains League matchup.
ThunderRidge (3-0, 1-0 in league) hasn’t lost since Oct. 1, won its 12th consecutive game and pulled its starters with 11:18 remaining.
“We were just clicking on all cylinders,” said ThunderRidge quarterback Kyle Black, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. “We knew exactly what they had coming and we really wanted to beat these guys. So we came out with a lot of intensity.”
Behind 110 yards rushing from fullback Nick Lind, the Grizzlies ran for more than 350 yards and ripped off four touchdown plays of 34 yards or longer.
Defensively, the Grizzlies were unforgiving, harassing quarterback Eric Cain and neutralizing the Eagles’ ground game.
The Eagles (2-1, 1-1) went 12-2 last season with two losses to the Grizzlies.
“They’re a good football team,” Dakota Ridge coach Ron Woitalewicz said of the Grizzlies. “Sooner or later we’re going to figure them out.”
The Grizzlies scored early and often, pounding the Eagles’ interior front and showing off plenty of breakaway speed.
ThunderRidge needed five plays to score two touchdowns. Damian Bates cut back for a 53-yard score and Lind went for 81 yards after pulverizing the Dakota Ridge line and outracing Dustin Korth down the left sideline.
The Eagles breathed a moment of life into the game when Cody Lunsford’s 67-yard touchdown catch made it 13-7 late in the first quarter. But the Grizzlies answered in one play – a 55-yard pass to Eric Moats, who called the win a “statement game.”
The first-quarter statistics spoke volumes: Lind had 101 yards rushing while Lunsford had 15 on eight carries. To compound the Eagles’ misery, Lunsford didn’t carry the ball again and limped off at halftime with ice strapped to his left knee. Woitalewicz said Lunsford had a sprained knee and could have returned had the score been closer.
Touchdown runs by Moats (for 34 yards) and Black (3) had the Grizzlies up 34-7 and on cruise control with 8:05 remaining in the first half.
ThunderRidge 20 14 6 7 – 47
Dakota Ridge 7 6 3 8 – 24
T – Bates 53 run (Lind kick). T – Lind 81 run (kick failed). DR – Lunsford 67 pass from Cain (Bigelow kick). T – Moats 55 pass from Black (Lind kick). T – Moats 34 run (Lind kick). T – Black 3 run (Lind run). DR – P. Sanchez 7 run (kick failed). T – Black 1 run (kick failed). DR – FG Bigelow 45. T – Faddis 34 run (Lind kick). DR – Dye 16 pass from Cain (Freeman run).
