Ascendant Sartans: St. Pius has little trouble grounding Grants

For the second consecutive season, Grants served as quarterfinal fodder for an explosive St. Pius squad.

The second-seeded Sartans (9-1) raced out to a 42-7 halftime lead and rolled to an 48-7 victory over the No. 7 Pirates (7-5) in a Class 4A quarterfinal matchup at Nusenda Community Stadium on Friday night. In 2024, St. Pius topped Grants 46-14 en route to a Class 4A championship game appearance.

“These kids got the job done,” said Sartans head coach Curtis Flakes II. “We’ve had two weeks to prepare and get ready. It’s just a great opportunity for us to come out here and do what we do.”

Friday’s game was also significantly more lopsided than the regular season meeting, which the Sartans won 34-20 on Aug. 29 in Grants. According to Flakes, that was a combination of early season rust and getting accustomed to new systems.

“It takes some time for you to get adjusted. We’ve got a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator this year,” the coach said. “That was Week 2. We weren’t gelling yet, and we weren’t truly understanding the offense and the defense. But we had some weeks and competed against some good teams.

“Now we’re rocking on all cylinders.”

The Sartans’ trademark big plays were present in abundance in the rematch as they put the game out of reach early. St. Pius quickly jumped out to a 21-0 lead behind two touchdown passes from Isaiah Carpenter — 26 yards to Cayl Cox-Liggins and 48 yards to Curtis Flakes III — and a 44-yard interception return by sophomore linebacker Nicholas Casco.

Shortly after Grants showed signs of life with an 11-play scoring drive to cut the deficit to 21-7 early in the second quarter, St. Pius again went on the attack. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Hershul Olloway Jr. ripped off a 67-yard touchdown run to put the Sartans up 28-7. Olloway Jr. finished with 147 yards rushing — all in the first half.

Grants drove to the St. Pius 11 on its next possession but ultimately turned the ball over on downs in what turned out to be the Pirates’ last serious threat. From there, Ezra Ocampo capped an 11-play, 89-yard march with a six-yard scoring run for the Sartans. Olloway then showcased his open-field skills on defense, returning an interception 44 yards to the Grants 6 to set up a scoring run by Carpenter to close out the half. With a running clock the rest of the way, the second half moved briskly.

“It’s just one step closer,” coach Flakes said. “We’re taking it week by week.”