Winnetonka spoils Grandview’s senior night

Even the absence of their top offensive producer could not slow down the Winnetonka Griffins on Friday night.

In the first half alone, the Griffins scored on all but one of their drives and forced three turnovers on the way to a 38-14 victory and spoiling Grandview’s senior night festivities.

“Our defense played really well and we talk all the time about swarming and making tackles,” Winnetonka coach Sterling Edwards said.

Winnetonka was playing without running back and defensive back Marquise Doherty, who is listed as a four-star recruit and the No. 5 prospect in the state of Missouri by Rivals.com. Doherty watched from the sidelines in shorts and a sweatshirt, nursing a shoulder injury. Edwards said he remains day-to-day and will re-visit his doctor early next week.

“We’ve got some really good players and sometimes Marquise gets all the headlines,” Edwards said. “Julious Sabastiano, our quarterback, and Chase Williams, our tailback, do a great job and we knew that, but not everyone else does.”

Sure enough, Sabastiano and Williams two combined for four of Winnetonka’s five touchdowns on Friday night.

Winnetonka kicked off to start the game and gave up a 33-yard return, but it did not take long for the Griffins to get the ball back. Just two plays into the drive, Grandview quarterback Ronny Johnson fumbled. It was recovered by Winnetonka’s James Gillock.

Winnetonka started its next possession on the 35-yard line and needed just four plays to take it into the end zone, a nine-yard scoring run by Sabastino. Williams added a 51-yard touchdown on a punt after the Griffins’ defense forced a three-and-out.

The Winnetonka defense continued to make things difficult for Johnson with a roughing-the-passer penalty and another forced fumble on the next drive. Then, Grandview’s defense came up with an interception of its own.

It was quickly countered by Winnetonka with a 59-yard interception return by Jacob Walker, which pushed the Griffins’ lead to 21-0 with just more than five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Grandview’s luck seemed to turn again on the next drive when the Bulldogs recovered a fumble on Winnetonka’s punt return to set them up at the 23-yard line. But they gained just 4 yards during the next three plays and were forced to punt.

Winnetonka added a 28-yard rushing touchdown by Sabastiano, an 11-yard scoring run by Williams and a 47-yard field goal by Jesse Jasso to extend the lead to 38-0 by halftime.

Grandview finally broke through for its first points with just more than a minute left in the third quarter. Johnson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run and Marcos Camargos added the extra point. Johnson added another touchdown in the fourth on a 30-yard run.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Winnetonka spoils Grandview’s senior night."