Aurora – Grandview’s defense showcased quick moves and impressive athleticism against Gateway on Saturday. And much of that was between snaps.
The Wolves stunted, slanted, blitzed and bluffed their way to the Class 5A state semifinals, preventing a potentially volatile Olympians offense from building any sense of rhythm.
Grandview exploited advantages in depth and size en route to a 33-13 victory over its crosstown foe at Aurora Public Schools Stadium, the first meeting between the teams.
“With our defense, we try to move around a lot and stunt, just mess with the quarterback,” Grandview senior linebacker Alex Mann said. “We gamble a lot, because we move around so much, especially in the secondary.”
It was an offensive gamble that put the Wolves up early, however. After a wind-fettered Gateway punt gave Grandview great field position on its opening drive, running back Aubrey Quarles took a fourth-down pitch from quarterback Jared Schlehuber and eased into the end zone untouched to help give the Wolves a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Quarles finished with a game-high 149 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Wolves, and had two catches for 45 yards. But the senior made several costly mistakes, including a personal foul on Gateway quarterback Greg Bolling that kept a Gateway scoring drive alive.
Schlehuber built on the lead in the second quarter when he found receiver Lloyd Bias all alone in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Bolling was pressured most of the game, but managed to get free for an impressive 37-yard touchdown run, putting the Olympians on the board late in the first half. And Gateway kept things close with a 94-yard, nine-minute scoring drive in the third quarter.
But the Wolves, who always seemed to take over possession near midfield, continued to hammer away at their hosts as the outmanned Olympians wore down. Running back Ben Miller pounded out 56 yards in the second half as Grandview looked to chew up yardage and time with a punishing ground game.
Bolling was 4-for-11 for only 37 yards and two interceptions, and rushed for 55 yards. Schlehuber had 107 yards on 7-for-13 passing and no interceptions.
“It’s not often in the Centennial League we outsize someone,” Wolves coach John Schultz said, “and we took advantage of it today.”
Gateway had a handful of chances to make Grandview pay for its blitzes, but relentless pressure on Bolling kept the former wide receiver from connecting with any of his receivers deep.
“I would like to have gotten the ball down the field a little bit more,” Gateway coach Jeff Sweet said. “We just didn’t seem to hit the big play like we’re used to.”
Grandview 7 7 7 12 – 33
Gateway 0 7 6 0 – 13
Grandview – Quarles 12 run (Veryser kick). Grandview – Bias 21 pass from Schlehuber (Veryser kick). Gateway – Bolling 37 run (White kick). Grandview – Quarles 6 run (Veryser kick). Gateway – Schiele 1 run (kick failed). Grandview – Burgoyne 10 run (kick failed). Grandview – Miller 1 run (kick failed).
