AURORA — It was 41-7 and every bit the blowout that the score indicates.
With another dominating performance, two-time defending champion Mullen crushed Grandview on Saturday in the Class 5A state semifinals at Legacy Stadium and roared into its sixth championship game since 2004, to be played next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Invesco Field at Mile High.
In taking its 32nd consecutive victory, Mullen avenged its previous loss, 17-10 to the Wolves on the same field, in the 2008 regular-season finale.
The Mustangs (13-0) had the Wolves (8-5) under the 40-point mercy rule by the third quarter and officially began to empty the estimated 5,000 fans who had started to vacate the facility at halftime.
Winning is never easy and doesn’t get old, even when sporting targets.
“You know what, the turnovers played a big part, so I was proud of the way our kids executed,” said coach Dave Logan, who improved his record at Mullen to 100-9. “Grandview is very talented, and we got away from them with the turnovers.
“You just get a group of kids who work hard, and now we’re one game away. We never talked about (making the final), and this group has been really good about taking one game at a time.”
Mullen was its usual thorough self, and its frontliners delivered. Senior running Adonis Ameen-Moore scored the game’s first four touchdowns, each on short rushes, and the Mustangs’ defense created two fumbles, recovered a muffed punt, had an interception and yielded only 175 yards.
“We never overlook opponents, and that’s why we got here,” Mustangs senior linebacker Leilon Willingham said.
Mullen may have accounted for a relatively low 274 yards, but Ameen-Moore kept the chains moving, quarterback Cyler Miles threw two scoring passes and Rayshon Williams had nine receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.
“Especially as a senior, this means a lot to me,” Ameen-Moore said. “If you come to Mullen, you just know. . . . I mean, they teach us how to come out and be ready to play.”
Meanwhile, Grandview, which also punted four times and didn’t score until it really didn’t matter, had no answers.
“You can’t make mistakes, you can’t fumble,” Wolves coach John Schultz said. “And (Mullen) capitalizes on your mistakes. It’s tough to find a high school football team anywhere in the country that good.”
Mullen 7 21 13 0 — 41
Grandview 0 0 7 0 — 7
M — Ameen-Moore 1 run (Baker kick). M — Ameen-Moore 2 run (Baker kick). M — Ameen-Moore 2 run (Baker kick). M — Ameen-Moore 1 run (Baker kick). M — Beekman 27 pass from Miles (Baker kick). M — R. Williams 7 pass from Miles (kick failed). G — Gentry 24 pass from Schlehuber (E. Williams kick).
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
