AURORA — Tom Doherty knew what he was doing. There’s only one reason you leave a dynasty — to go and try to start your own.
The longtime Cherry Creek defensive coordinator took over the Grandview job three years ago, and led the Wolves to the Class 5A semifinals and quarterfinals the past two seasons. And Doherty’s Wolves, the lone in-state team to beat the four-time defending champion Bruins in 2022, are looking like a title contender again this fall.
As evidence of that potential, Grandview outlasted Eaglecrest 39-32 on Friday at Legacy Stadium in a thrilling see-saw game to open Centennial League play. Senior quarterback Liam Szarka, the exact mold of player that Doherty wants to build his program identity around, put the Wolves on his shoulders with five total touchdowns.
So, let’s check in with Doherty — how’s he feeling about his decision to leave juggernaut Cherry Creek? Pretty, pretty good.
“I like our trajectory,” Doherty said. “I left a great spot at Creek, and I would only have left there for a great spot like Grandview, where there’s tradition and the ability to be in the mix year-in and year-out. It’s met all the expectations of support, involvement and buy-in from the players and the community. We have the talent, the size, the speed.
“Now we just have to keep winning, baby.”
Szarka co-headlines Grandview along with senior edge rusher Nkongolo Wa-Kalonji. Both are Air Force commits.
Szarka ran for two TDs and threw for three more, including the game-winner, while Wa-Kalonji had at least 10 pressures to give Grandview an edge in the tight rivalry. Coming into Friday, the programs split the last 10 showdowns, including six contests decided by one score or less.
Doherty (Eaglecrest’s head coach from 2004-09) got the final say Friday against his old school thanks in large part to those two playmakers, one of whom he says should be an early frontrunner for the Denver Post Gold Helmet Award.
“I believe (Szarka) is the best high school football player in the state, or at least the best quarterback when it comes to leading his team and making plays in pressure situations,” Doherty said. “I’m not surprised by his play tonight.”
After Eaglecrest went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive, a poor snap on a punt gave the Wolves the ball at the Raptors’ 27-yard-line. They took advantage, with Szarka’s four-yard TD run on fourth-and-two putting GHS up 6-0.
Another Szarka TD run came early in the second quarter, making it 12-0 Grandview. The Wolves were about to turn the game into a blowout, but a muffed punt set the Raptors up at the Grandview eight-yard line. The next play, Raptors junior QB Joe Steiner hit tight end Logan Ryan for a touchdown. Eaglecrest went for two, but got stuffed, to keep the Raptors’ deficit at 12-6.
Grandview had the final score of the first half, with Szarka’s 22-yard touchdown pass to tailback Donavon Vernon, who made a catch in traffic at the goal line between two defenders to push the tally to 18-6 after another missed extra point.
In the third quarter, GHS fumbled on their opening possession to tee the Raptors up in the red zone. Eaglecest took advantage with Xavier Waldron’s 21-yard touchdown run, and the Raptors converted the first extra point of the night to make it a five-point game.
Grandview came back with Christopher Banks’ four-yard TD run to make it 25-13, and Eaglecrest responded with Josh Wiley’s one-yard run. Kyler Vaughn’s nine-yard TD catch for Grandview made it 31-19, but then Steiner found Zavion Gamble for an 11-yard TD pass and Waldron for an 84-yard TD after Eaglecrest stuffed Grandview on fourth down.
Eaglecrest suddenly had its first lead, 32-31, with 5:52 left. But Szarka had one final answer up his sleeve.
On a Patrick Mahomes-type scramble, the Grandview QB eluded multiple sacks and fired a 35-yard dart to Vernon for the game-winning TD with 3:30 left. Szarka ran in the two-point conversion to make it 39-32.
“We made a statement that we can come back and get a score when we really need one, in any type of situation,” Szarka said. “We knew the game was on the offense at that point… We got up (and answered the bell).”
Despite the loss in Friday’s rivalry, Eaglecrest remains on the ascension in the second year following the return of Mike Schmitt. The head coach, who led the Raptors to Class 5A prominence and the 2017 title game before moving to Pennsylvania, has Eaglecrest back on track after the Raptors bottomed out with a 1-9 record in the season prior to Schmitt’s return.
The Raptors went 7-4 last year and made the playoffs, and started this year 5-0. But their average margin of victory through non-conference play was 33.2 points, largely because Eaglecrest couldn’t get top-tier 5A opponents on their schedule when the 2023 slate was being made amid their one-win season a few years ago.
Because Eaglecrest steamrolled through the first five games, Schmitt wasn’t sure what to make of his team. Now, after falling just short against a worthy opponent, it’s evident the Raptors are “for real,” as Doherty assessed.
“Last year, we thought we were good, but we (as coaches) knew we were still building back up,” Schmitt said. “So this year is a different feel for the boys and our staff… This is us trying to break through and try to get back to the level that Eaglecrest was at my last few years before I moved. And (this rivalry) is a measuring stick, because Grandview is a premier program.”
The Grandview defense made a stop on the final drive to secure the win in the showdown between the state’s two largest schools behind Cherry Creek. Szarka, playing cornerback, had the game-sealing pass break-up.
“I got on the headset and told the other defensive coaches, ‘Give me Liam for this last drive,’” Doherty said. “They said, ‘What?’ We put him in there (spur-of-the-moment) and of course he made a play.”
Speaking of the top-ranked Bruins, the Wolves, who previously showed some cracks with a 30-15 road defeat to Ralston Valley in Week 3, didn’t look ready to take down the champs quite yet. The special teams issues were glaring (on both sides) and Grandview’s offense still has protection issues to address.
But Wa-Kalonji insists Grandview (5-1) will be ready for the heavyweight showdown against Cherry Creek on the final day of the regular season, Oct. 27 at Legacy Stadium, and for another deep postseason run. Grandview’s won one state title, a triumph over Douglas County in 2007, and last year the Wolves’ playoff potential was affected by numerous injuries on offense including Szarka’s broken finger that sidelined him in the quarterfinal loss to Pine Creek.
“We stayed the course in that win over Cherry Creek last year, and never looked forward in that season or beyond the play (at hand) in that game,” Wa-Kalonji said. “Every year we’re looking to make a statement. The Cherry Creek game will be a big game for us again this year. We’ll be ready for it. And hopefully we stay healthy, because (a deep run) is always the plan.”
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