The Bears found out Friday night not to poke the Grizzlies.

Mesa Ridge scored 19 points in the fourth quarter including a 15-yard go-ahead pass from Bryce Riehl to Zander Iwanski to stun Palmer Ridge at Don Breese Stadium 31-28.

“Best receivers in the state,” said Chris Dooley, Mesa Ridge wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator. “I don’t care if we’re talking about anyone from 5A, Cherry Creek. It doesn’t matter. We have the best receivers in the state.”

Mesa Ridge (4-1) scored on the first play of the game, but managed just one touchdown until midway through the fourth.

Meanwhile, Palmer Ridge (4-1) scored on three of its four first-half drives including an 89-yard pass from Carson Campbell to Magnus Newman with 1:25 left on the clock in the second.

The Bears, ranked No. 5 entering the game, then scored on their opening drive of the second half when Campbell found Zak Crisler on a 39-yard pass to make it 28-12 with eight minutes left in the third.

“There was never a doubt,” Riehl said. “Toward the end of the first half, I saw that our receivers were clicking. I knew that it wasn’t over and we showed it there at the end.”

The Grizzlies’ run began late in the third when they forced a fumble, one of three second-half turnovers by the Bears, and recovered it at the Palmer Ridge 20.

Mesa Ridge, ranked No. 6, capped an eight-play drive when Riehl found Sonny Rogers on a six-yard pass in the end zone to cut it to 28-18 with 9:35 left in the game.

Palmer Ridge went three-and-out the next possession and the Grizzlies followed with a nine-play, 94-yard drive that included an acrobatic catch down the Grizzlies sideline by Sonny Rogers to keep Mesa Ridge in the hunt.

Riehl found Zander Iwanski alone in the end zone for a 20-yard reception to cut the lead to 28-24 with 6:31 left in the game.

Chris Hinojosa Jr. then ended the Bears’ following possession when he snagged an interception in Palmer Ridge territory.

“They pressured the quarterback and forced him to roll out to his left,” Hinojosa said. “I started rolling that way and he underthrew it and I came in and took it.”

The interception put the Grizzlies at Palmer Ridge’s 27 with 4:45 left in the game and the Grizzlies needed just four plays to score.

On back-to-back drives, Riehl found Iwanski, this time for 14 yards, to give the Grizzlies a 31-28 lead.

Iwanski said entering the fourth quarter, his receiving coach Paul Browning helped him “stay locked in.”

Browning, who played wide receiver for Colorado State University Pueblo’s national title team in 2014 and had a stint in the NFL, told the Grizzlies junior his opportunities would come and to be ready when they arrived.

They did, and Zander was.

“I’m appreciative of coach Browning and everything he’s brought to the program,” Iwanski said. “I was feeling frustrated going into the fourth quarter because I didn’t have many catches. He told me I’m the go-to guy and I believe in coach and I trust him.”

As did Riehl, who finished the second half with three touchdown passes.

“We all started trusting in each other and ourselves and what we’ve been practicing for months,” Riehl said. “On the second (touchdown to Iwanski), I saw he had a little separation in the corner of the end zone and I knew he was going to catch it.”

Palmer Ridge had one final shot to get in field goal range to potentially trot out their kicker Rhett Armstrong, who made a 62 yarder against Lewis-Palmer.

But Hinojosa made sure that didn’t happen. Hinojosa earned his second interception of the fourth quarter and took it to the Mesa Ridge 42 to seal the game.

“I was nervous but I knew if I concentrated on the ball, I would secure it,” Hinjosa said.