HIGHLANDS RANCH — Admittedly, coach Joe Johnson said, his ThunderRidge Grizzlies aren’t that dynamic or spectacular. So they have to grind out down-and-dirty rushing performances as they did Thursday night against Horizon as the 2009 Class 5A state preliminaries opened.
The Southern League’s Grizzlies advanced to Round 2 with a solid 31-6 victory over the Front Range’s Horizon at Shea Stadium.
Arguably, the most athletic move of the night came from a surprise streaker on the second play of the third quarter. He masterfully avoided stadium security with an impressive flip over a fence that led to his getaway.
But ThunderRidge, battling injuries across its offensive line, used a wave of rushers and a first-rate defensive effort to improve its record to 8-2.
“We only played with two of the kids we began the season with up front,” Johnson said of his team, which will next face the winner of today’s Cherry Creek-Chatfield first-rounder. “But we were good enough to keep us working. We weren’t spectacular, but we were functioning.”
Quarterback Alex Waner paced the Grizzlies with 113 yards rushing, but he had lots of help. Derek Munsey ran for 110 on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Justin Travis ran for 49 and a touchdown, and Kwade Glassman had 42 and a touchdown.
Even with a patchwork front, the Grizzlies controlled the game’s pace, and their defense didn’t give up a point until the game’s final play. They also created four turnovers, including three interceptions.
“We have to come up big now,” Munsey said. “The O-line had a good night, and we got the job done. We’ve got a good three-back attack, and we’ve got to use it. We’ve got to run hard and take it to people.”
ThunderRidge did so twice at the outset, using its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead. The Grizzlies next fumbled inside the Horizon 10-yard line but managed a 32-yard field goal by Logan Beck before halftime.
They put it away with two drives totalling 19 plays in the third quarter, and Johnson was able to substitute freely down the stretch.
Conversely, Horizon (4-6) received nice, steady rushing performances by Kevin Owens and Darius Knight (a combined 199 yards) but was handled up front on both sides and played with backup sophomore quarterback Brent Albrandt as the starter after senior Jaedon Fullerton was injured the previous week.
“We’ve had better days,” Hawks coach Frank Ybarra said. “We knew it would be tough, but our two running backs still ran their butts off.”
Horizon 0 0 0 6 — 6
ThunderRidge 14 3 14 0 — 31
TR — Glassman 3 run (Beck kick). TR — Munsey 4 run (Beck kick). TR — FG Beck 32. TR — Travis 6 run (Beck kick). TR — Munsey 5 run (Beck kick). H — Owens 16 pass from Albrandt (no extra point attempted).
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
