AURORA — Grandview used touchdown drives to begin each half Friday night to reel off its sixth consecutive win, 21-9 over Cherokee Trail in a Creek League showdown of unbeaten teams at Legacy Stadium.
The only blemish for Grandview (6-1, 3-0), ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, is its 45-17, opening-night loss to 4A No. 1 Valor Christian on Aug. 26. The Wolves upset Mullen 12-7 in Week 2 and triumphed by comfortable margins since.
“We need to congratulate Grandview. They were the better team tonight, that’s for sure,” said coach Monte Thelen after his Cougars fell to 4-3, 2-1. “Opening drive of the game was kind of an eye-opener for our kids. And in the second half they were certainly the more physical football team, and we made some mistakes and panicked a little bit like some young teams do.”
Grandview led 7-3 at halftime but scored its second TD on Isaiah Jackson’s 52-yard run on the Wolves’ first possession of the third quarter. Keith Chiles added a 4-yard TD run as Grandview took a 21-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
“It was a great win. Last year they beat us 24-nothing, so this was a good way to pay them back,” Chiles said.
Grandview marched 71 yards in four plays on its opening drive and went ahead 7-0 on Evan Baylis’ 16-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jordan Schlehuber (9-of-13 passing for 94 yards). The big play of the drive was Le-Len Lang’s 33-yard run, in which he fumbled at Cherokee Trail’s 23-yard line. The potential turnover was avoided by teammate Eli Williams, who scooped the ball up and carried it to the 16.
“We had a good plan coming in the first four (offensive) plays worked, and then we talked about it at halftime and made some good adjustments,” Wolves coach John Schultz said.
Grandview: 7 – 0 – 14 – 0 — 21
Cherokee Trail: 0 – 3 – 0 – 6 — 9
G — Baylis 16 pass from Schlehuber (E. Williams kick).
CT — FG Winke 25.
G — Jackson 52 run (E. Williams kick).
G — Chiles 6 run (E. Williams kick).
CT — Scott 20 run (run failed).
