GAME OF THE WEEK | Grand Junction defeats Vista Ridge on last-second field goal
It’s safe to say that Grand Junction Central and Vista Ridge have started a new 4A Southern rivalry.
With 0.9 seconds left on the clock in the first meeting between the two conference foes, Central’s Joe Carol kicked a 22-yard field goal for a last-second 16-13 victory over the host Wolves.
After Vista Ridge couldn’t capitalize on back-to-back interceptions, Central took over with 2:37 left to play and let the clock bleed. Eventually the Warriors got into the red zone with 24 seconds left on the clock thanks to a 20-yard run by quarterback Max Marsh, who was down after the play with a cramp.
With no timeouts left, Central was forced to spike the ball on second down after Vista Ridge stopped their attempt from the 5.
“It made it a little stressful. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do, go for it or try to kick a field goal to win it,” Central coach Shawn Marsh said. “We haven’t had a lot of success kicking the ball, but we had a kid working hard at it and Joe (Carol) did a great job tonight.”
But Vista Ridge wasn’t going to make it easy. The Wolves successfully iced Carol calling a timeout with 1 second on the clock.
“He was perfect, right on, so we just told him to go do it again,” Marsh said.
And he did.
Vista Ridge held a 13-0 lead at halftime thanks to a 24-yard touchdown pass by Payton Kaiser to Micah Hilts, and a short touchdown run by Emmanuel Garcia, but the second half was a different story for the Wolves as penalties plagued their offense despite multiple opportunities.
“We had about 12-14 penalties for about 107 yards, and any time you give away that many free yards against a team that’s pretty good, you’re going to lose football games,” Vista Ridge coach Jerimi Calip said. “We didn’t execute and we didn’t finish the game. That’s been the story the whole season, we can’t finish and that showed up tonight.”
With about six minutes left to play, Vista Ridge’s De’lan Gandy pulled down back-to-back interceptions for big gains. But penalties pushed the Wolves back, and they could not capitalize on either turnover.
“We’ve said it all season, when we have the opportunity and defense gets the ball back we have to score,” Calip said. “We just didn’t do it.”
Marsh found Cade Balleweg for a touchdown in the third quarter, followed by a fourth-quarter run by Anthony Zubiate 35 yards into the end zone for the game-tying score.
Vista Ridge senior Chase Mestas (58) attempts to block the pass of Grand Junction Central junior Max Marsh (9) as as senior Corben Miller (57) defends in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) passes as junior Matthew Wells (62) defends against Grand Junction Central senior Jence Morrison (53) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to junior Keon Lacy (28) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) is sacked by Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to senior Emmanuel Garcia (6) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge junior Christopher Livingstone (87) punts the ball in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) runs the ball against Vista Ridge junior Isaiah Talapu (32) as senior Shaun Stepisnik (8) defends in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) runs under pressure from Grand Junction Central sophomore Dymilo Miller (56) and senior Corben Miller (57) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central junior Joe Carol (1) is tackled by Vista Ridge junior Devin Antoine (5) and senior Carter Bussone (35) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Chase Mestas (58) attempts to block the pass of Grand Junction Central junior Max Marsh (9) as as senior Corben Miller (57) defends in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to junior Keon Lacy (28) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) is sacked by Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to senior Emmanuel Garcia (6) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) passes as junior Matthew Wells (62) defends against Grand Junction Central senior Jence Morrison (53) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge junior Christopher Livingstone (87) punts the ball in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) runs the ball against Vista Ridge junior Isaiah Talapu (32) as senior Shaun Stepisnik (8) defends in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) runs under pressure from Grand Junction Central sophomore Dymilo Miller (56) and senior Corben Miller (57) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central junior Joe Carol (1) is tackled by Vista Ridge junior Devin Antoine (5) and senior Carter Bussone (35) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to junior Keon Lacy (28) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) is sacked by Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) hands the ball off to senior Emmanuel Garcia (6) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) passes as junior Matthew Wells (62) defends against Grand Junction Central senior Jence Morrison (53) in the second quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge junior Christopher Livingstone (87) punts the ball in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central senior Anthony Zubiate (4) runs the ball against Vista Ridge junior Isaiah Talapu (32) as senior Shaun Stepisnik (8) defends in the third quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Payton Kaiser (3) runs under pressure from Grand Junction Central sophomore Dymilo Miller (56) and senior Corben Miller (57) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Vista Ridge senior Chase Mestas (58) attempts to block the pass of Grand Junction Central junior Max Marsh (9) as as senior Corben Miller (57) defends in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Grand Junction Central junior Joe Carol (1) is tackled by Vista Ridge junior Devin Antoine (5) and senior Carter Bussone (35) in the fourth quarter. The Vista Ridge Wolves hosted the Grand Junction Central Warriors in boys’ football on Friday, October 5, 2018 at Vista Ridge High School. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing
