AURORA — It didn’t take long for Chatfield football to morph from the Class 4A state champions back into a Class 5A force.
The Chargers outlasted Grandview in a thriller on Friday at Legacy Stadium, 37-28, advancing to next weekend’s semifinals. Chatfield senior QB Jake Jones balled out with three passing TDs and two long rushing scores to push the Chargers another step deeper into the tournament just two years after claiming the 4A crown and moving up to play with the big boys.
“We knew what we were capable of (after going 5-7 last year) and we knew the talent we had,” Chargers head coach Kris Rosholt said. “Being one of the smaller schools in 5A, we knew the challenge was there. But we’re not a team that shies away from a challenge, and this year has proven that. We’re here to make a statement and put our name back in as 5A contenders.”
Chatfield’s victory put the Chargers one win away from their first Class 5A title appearance in 22 years, when the Chargers beat Fairview 9-3. And it came despite the adversity of being a No. 14 seed on the road, the direct result of the Chargers having to forfeit three games earlier in the season for the use of an ineligible player, tanking their RPI.
Rosholt said the forfeits lit a fire under his program.
“That adversity revealed our character, and that was that we are a resilient team, we’re a team that’s strong, a team that’s prepared for anything and a team that’s going to band together,” Rosholt said. “It was an us-against-the-world mentality from that moment on, and we decided we weren’t going to let anyone else determine what happens with our season.”
Jones added that “there were two ways we could react to the forfeits. We could be pissed off, and sit and sulk, or we could go out there and dominate and show the team that we really are. We’ve done (the latter) and shown where we should truly be in this state. That adversity only helped us.”
After rallying from a 14-0 halftime deficit to beat Arapahoe in overtime last week, the Chargers showed more mettle on Friday while topping a physical Grandview team headlined by its own star QB, Liam Szarka. Chatfield’s defense came up with key stops in its own territory, while Jones put the offense on his shoulders in crunch time.
Jones, who quarterbacked Chatfield to the 2021 4A title over Erie, wasn’t going to let Chatfield lose when the game got tight. The uncommitted QB, who’s been invited to play in this year’s Indigenous Bowl, which recognizes the top 75 Native American players in the country, engineered the game-sealing TD drive after the Wolves roared back in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers captain, who is about 50% Menominee (a tribe in Wisconsin), said he’s motivated to excel for his heritage. He currently has one offer, from Division II Colorado Mesa, but believes more are coming soon.
“Football gives me a great opportunity to represent what it means to be Native American, and also my tribe at the same time,” Jones said.
Chatfield struck first with Jones’ 5-yard TD pass to fullback Jude Smith, but Grandview responded with Szarka’s 26-yard TD scramble. Then Szarka ran in the two-point conversion to put the Wolves up 8-7 with 4:01 left in the first.
That would be Grandview’s final lead of the night.
Jones’ ability to extend the play in the pocket gave the Chargers an edge. The senior found Brock Narva for a 28-yard TD pass in the waning seconds of the first quarter, then hit Narva for another score from 11 yards out to put Chatfield in command, 21-8 with 2:34 left in the half.
Grandview had been able to run between the tackles all half, but saw several promising drives stall out. Facing a two-score deficit and with the vibe turning grim on the Wolves’ sideline, GHS turned to the air.
Szarka found junior Xavier Neto for a 52-yard TD pass that cut the score to 21-15. Neto, who set a Grandview single-game record with 257 yards receiving in the Wolves’ playoff opener against Douglas County, beat Chatfield senior cornerback and CSU commit Dagan Myers in man coverage down the field on a well-placed pass by Szarka.
Grandview got the ball again toward the end of the first half and drove into plus-territory, but the Chargers defense bowed up to preserve their lead heading into the locker room.
“I never wanted to look back at this game and say, ‘Man I wish we would’ve used Liam a little bit more,’” Grandview head coach Tom Doherty said. “We put the ball in his hands, because we don’t get here with out him anyways.”
The offense slowed on both sides to start the third quarter, with three straight punts before the pressure from Chatfield’s defensive front got Szarka flagged for intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety that pushed the Chargers’ lead to 23-15 at the 2:48 mark.
On the next possession, Jones uncorked a 58-yard TD run, and the Chargers were ahead 30-15 in a blink.
“We knew Jones was identical to Szarka,” Grandview coach Doherty said. “(Chatfield) seemed pretty healthy, and we were out of guys and just beat up. They made plays at the end and they were better than us tonight.”
The Wolves had a glimmer of hope at the end of the night, even with Jones’ dominance.
Grandview responded to Jones’ long TD run with a quality drive capped by Szarka’s 10-yard TD pass to Neto, who made a contested catch at the pylon, making it 30-22 on the final play of the third.
Jones had the Chargers driving deep into Grandview territory for a potential knockout blow, but a fumble turned the ball back over to Grandview with 9:53 to play. After trading punts, Szarka found Kyler Vaughn for an 80-yard TD pass, which Vaughn bobbled at midfield, secured and then outraced the Chatfield secondary to the end zone.
But Grandview’s two-point conversion failed, and the Chargers maintained a 30-28 lead with 5:59 left. From there, Jones delivered the final punch with another 58-yard TD run. A fumble by Neto on Grandview’s next drive, recovered by Chatfield, assured the Chargers of advancing.
“We knew we could run on them in the second half, and I thank my linemen for creating those big holes to help us seal the game,” Jones said.
Chatfield now faces No. 2 Columbine, their Jeffco rival who dispatched of Legend on Friday in Lakewood, in the semifinals next Saturday at Jeffco Stadium. Ralston Valley and four-time defending champion Cherry Creek meet in the other semifinal.
“We’re going to give Columbine our best shot,” Rosholt said.
