With senior running back Bo Bolen churning out 183 yards and four touchdowns, the Grandview Wolves raced Saturday to a convincing 42-14 victory over Bear Creek and into the Class 5A state championship game.
While Bolen was the workhorse, senior quarterback Rich Hitz was the driver in defeating the Bears and moving on to play Douglas County for the title Saturday at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Hitz dominated Bear Creek’s defense by working the zone-read option to perfection.
“If they come up field, I give it to Bo. If they crash on Bo, I take it,” Hitz said. “It works, doesn’t it?”
It worked well enough to send the Wolves to their 11th victory in 13 games and into a postgame celebration with the battle cry, “We’re going to state.” Bear Creek finished the season 10-3.
Hitz threw only six passes, completing three for 55 yards.
But even with 240 yards of rushing offense, Grandview’s defense played a major role in the outcome, with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
“Turnovers are big in all levels of football and they were huge today,” Grandview coach John Schultz said. “The exchange on a fake punt was a big momentum switch. Our player made the big play.”
The momentum turned early in the second quarter when Bear Creek coach Tom Thenell called for a fake punt on fourth-and-3 at his own 43-yard line, with the score tied at 7.
Tommy Flanagan was tackled short of a first down by James Mitchell at the 45-yard line. The Wolves scored a touchdown in two plays, capped by Bolen’s 40-yard TD run, and they scored the next 21 points to lead 35-7 with 4:18 left in the third period.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” Thenell said of the fake punt. “It’s a risk you run when you’re not conservative, and we’re not a conservative team. We never have been and we never will be.”
Grandview’s defense scored two touchdowns, with junior defensive back Craig Griffiths returning an interception 29 yards for a touchdown for a 28-7 lead with 3:48 left in the first half and defensive back Tyree Davis adding a 28-yard touchdown return, opening a 28-point lead with with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
Flanagan tried to keep the Bears in contention, but his 97 yards and two touchdowns weren’t enough. His second touchdown on a 3-yard run made it 35-14 with 1:30 left in the third.
Bear Creek 7 0 7 0 — 14
Grandview 7 21 7 7 — 42
G — Bolen 11 run (Johnson kick). BC — Flanagan 2 run (Flanagan kick). G — Bolen 40 run (Johnson kick). G — Bolen 8 run (Johnson kick). G — Griffiths 29 interception return (Johnson kick). G — T. Davis 28 interception return (Johnson kick). BC — Flanagan 3 run (Flanagan kick). G — Bolen 13 run (Johnson kick).
Bear Creek Grandview
First Downs 15 14
Rushes-Yards 34-105 43-240
Passing 12-28-5 3-6-0
Passing Yards 133 55
Penalties-Yards 6-60 12-83
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Bear Creek, Flanagan 26-97, Thenell 4-10, Lockett 3-4; Grandview, Bolen 24-183, Hitz 10-37, Burl 9-20.
Passing — Bear Creek, Thenell 12-28-132-5-0, Flanagan 0-3-0-0, Mills 1-1-2-0-0; Grandview, Hitz 3-6-55-0-0.
Receiving — Bear Creek, Mack 5-54, Mills 4-60, Flanagan 1-21, Lockett 1-(-2), Brewington 1-0; Grandview, H. Davis 1-10, Miller 1-47, Mitchell 1-(-2).
