A dominant rushing attack fueled the third-ranked Legend Titans to a 21-14 victory over No. 7 Grandview in Aurora on Friday night.
The Titans totaled over 170 yards on the ground and two touchdowns between three players, scoring twice in the first quarter before Nicholas Farley went over the top in the fourth to break a 14-all tie and send Legend to a victory.
Grandview quarterback Blitz McCarty threw for over 150 yards of his own in his debut under center, nearly rallying the Wolves back from a two-score deficit. But the Titans’ ability to answer with a grinding, 13-play scoring drive proved to be the difference.
“This was a playoff-level game for sure,” Legend head coach Monte Thelen said. “Grandview’s an excellent football team. … We showed a lot of character, converted some downs and won the game in the fourth quarter, which is what we kind of thought was going to happen tonight.”
The first quarter proved fruitless for Grandview, as the team could not convert more than one first down in any of the first three drives. Legend, on the other hand, capitalized on the Wolves’ slow start, scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the game after a Grandview punt sailed only 7 yards.
Legend kept the pressure on at the end of the first. The Titans used a timeout to force Grandview to punt the ball with its back against the end zone late in the first quarter.
One second was all Legend needed to double its lead. Quarterback Michael Marsenich connected with running back Jaden Lawrence, running a streak down the left side of the field for a one-play touchdown as time expired in the first quarter to put the Titans up 14-0.
After the Wolves failed a fake punt attempt from their own 36-yard line, Legend had the ball a prime opportunity to go up three scores before halftime. But on the very first play after the turnover, Grandview defensive back Zach Johnston intercepted a pass from Marsenich and returned it to the Legend 25-yard line. From there, the Wolves only needed two plays to find the end zone.
The 14-7 Legend lead held through the third quarter and into the fourth until McCarty found wide receiver Kyler Vaughn on a 3rd and long for 63 yards and a touchdown.
The 14-14 scoreline did not last long. With Farley substituting in for Marsenich at QB on the ensuing drive, Legend ran the ball down the Wolves’ throat. With 12 rushing plays and only one passing play, Farley scored the game-winning touchdown, icing the game in a 21-14 victory.
“We needed to play really good football to beat them, and we had too many mistakes offensively,” Grandview head coach Tom Doherty said after the game. “We played a really good team and we lost.”
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