West loses overtime to Grandview in defensive battle

The elation was short-lived, however, as Grandview sophomore quarterback Mason Landers found senior Gavin Carroll for an eight-yard strike to secure a 20-17 overtime victory and a share of the District 5-3A division. I title for the Zebras (6-3, 4-0 in the district).

The fight reached its limit: West (5-4, 2-2) decided to let time run out in the main match and trusted the defense, which appeared constantly.

“We’re proud of our guys, they played really hard today, competed all night long,” Trojans head coach David Woodard said. “Made some mistakes that put (Grandview) in good situations and we took advantage of some of their mistakes.

“Once their punt went big late in the game, we just felt like we could win in overtime if we did something, but unfortunately we fell short.”

The game remained tied 14-14 throughout the second half as both defenses made stop after stop. West held Grandview to a three-and-out early in the third quarter, getting momentum from Cunningham’s 60-yard pick-six late in the first half that tied the game.

The junior, who wears the cap as a kicker, receiver and defensive back, made two PATs and made 1 of 2 field goals while also helping West gain field position with several deep punts.

“He works hard, especially playing football,” Woodard said. “He stays after that and works on some things. He missed that goal (the field goal) early and came back and was able to score it in overtime, which was a big accomplishment. Played great on pick six.”

The Trojans converted a seven-yard throw on third down from sophomore quarterback Dub Crain to junior wide receiver Aiden Green and then picked up a first down on pass interference against Grandview. But then West got hurt while holding a call on the next play and stalled on third-and-long.

After forcing another punt, the Zebras recovered the ball due to a fumble near the end of the third quarter and the defense stepped up again.

The teams traded punts throughout the final quarter.

“Overall, he didn’t play enough, especially offensively, to get the win,” Woodard said.

On the ground, the Trojans looked to senior Aidan York, who carried the ball 26 times for approximately 95 yards.

Crane passed for about 58 yards on 10 of 16 completions with a five-yard touchdown slant dart to Kai Cook in the first quarter, giving West an early lead after trading a three-and-out with Grandview to start the game.

Three plays later, Nick Muniz returned an interception to the Zebre 36, but the Trojans were unable to convert it into points.

After Cunningham’s miss, Grandview responded with an 80-yard rocket pass from Landers to junior receiver Blue Hubbard over the middle, and the Zebra junior took off like “racing stripes” into the end zone. The blow was unsuccessful.

The Zebras took the lead with a 29-yard pass to Carroll followed by a quick two-point throw to Hubbard to make up for the missed extra point. Cunningham’s interception with less than a minute left in the half sent the teams into a locker room stalemate.

West will close out district play on the road against Whitney (5-4, 1-3) in a must-win matchup for both teams. The Wildcats defeated Groesbeck (4-5, 0-4), earning their first district win of the season and reigniting their playoff hopes.

“(Next week) means a lot. It means everything,” Woodard said. “Tis the season.”