ARLINGTON – Grandview quarterback Dane Jentsch was told not to look into the stands at AT&T Stadium until the final play of Thursday night’s Class 3A Division I title game.

But it was difficult to ignore a boisterous crowd supporting the Zebras as they looked to make history against a dangerous group from Malakoff.

Once his game-sealing, 15-yard touchdown pass to Dametrious Crownover clinched Grandview’s 35-21 victory, he finally caught a glimpse of the Johnson County faithful. What did the sophomore quarterback think?

“Once I did look, it felt amazing. I love every single one of them,” Jentsch said. “It’s crazy to think this is the first time in Grandview’s history to be the champions, just crazy.”

Sitting in section 233 cheering as Jentsch was named both Offensive and Defensive MVP for his performance was someone who’d once been in Jentsch’s shoes. Bill Lyle was the Zebras’ starting quarterback in 1962 and has been to an estimated 90 percent of Grandview’s games in the past 55 years.

He’d seen plenty of ups and downs during his time supporting the Zebras. He’d seen close calls like in 2008 and last year when Grandview advanced to the state quarterfinals.

Thanks to Jentsch rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown while passing for 123 yards and two scores, now Lyle finally had seen a champion.

“It just means the world. I guarantee you right now there’s nobody in Grandview except some old people like me,” Lyle said. “We’re just so proud of them. Sports in a little town like Grandview is very important.”

Lyle had never met Jentsch until this week when he was purchasing tickets for the title game and ran across the quarterback at the high school.

“I’ve seen him from here, but I’ve never met him,” Lyle said. “He’s a nice young man. When I played, we never got past bi-district. They are so much better athletes today than we were. It was incredible to watch them.”

Lyle was Grandview’s starting quarterback as a freshman in 1959 when the team only had 13 players suited up and went winless. He moved to running back the next two seasons before taking over at quarterback again as a senior. 

Lyle thought the Zebras could have put Thursday’s game away earlier, but both teams made mistakes that can happen with inexperience on this big of a stage. Malakoff made a state semifinal appearance two years ago, but this was the Tigers’ first title game since the program’s debut in 1925. 

Grandview had Malakoff beat, though. The Zebras began playing football in 1909, never reaching this point until this year.

“We’ve had some teams that could have gotten here, but they’ve had bad injuries and bad luck,” Lyle said. “This year it just went well. And good coaching.”

Brad Davis has elevated Grandview’s profile since taking over as head coach, going 26-4 in his two seasons. He pushed all the right buttons against Malakoff, too.

The Zebras went for fourth and 2 from their own 42-yard line late in the third quarter of a 21-21 game with Jentsch converting by plowing through for 3 yards. That began a 13-play, 66-yard drive that gave Grandview the lead for good.

Then there was Jentch’s jump pass to Crownover with 23 seconds left that sealed the victory and touched off a loud celebration.

As Jentsch stood on the field soaking in the moment, he discussed what winning state meant to his team.

“We had a hard path to get here, but we’re resilient enough and had enough character and heart to get us here,” the quarterback said. “There ain’t enough to say about us.”

With such a young cast, this Grandview team will be on the short list of 3A Division I contenders next fall. Lyle had one more thing to say about that, too:

“They’ll be back.”