GRACE — Pulsating screams from teenage girls echoed in the hallway that led to the Grace locker room after each Grizzly made an appearance.

A hug by the female students and cheerleaders also followed for each Grace football player in a routine that happens after both victories and defeats.

The rock star treatment for the athletes was as warranted as it could be Friday. Grace upset fifth-ranked Butte County 24-19 at home after the Pirates ran out of time near the goal line at the end of the game.

The Grizzlies (4-1, 2-0 1A D1 District 5-6) came back from 13-0 to pull it off against a district foe in the Pirates (3-2, 1-1). A spark came at the tail-end of the first half when Grace had a touchdown drive that featured a fourth-down conversation and a hook and lateral.

“That was the difference in the game,” said Grace coach Brandon Sanchez. “If we would’ve went in 13-0, my kids mentally, it would have been tough to bring them back.”

Grizzlies quarterback Paycen Jensen passed to receiver Talon Nance, who tossed it back to Lincoln Skinner for a 36-yard gain to put the ball on Butte’s 25-yard line with about a half-minute left in the second quarter.

Jensen converted a fourth-and-1 on a 15-yard rush a couple moments before the trick play. The defense was bunched up in the middle. The one defender on the outside was in the area opposite to where the quarterback ran. Jensen finished the drive with a 23-yard pass to Nance.

The senior signal caller also had a key fourth-down conversion in the opening drive of the second half. He scampered 20 yards on fourth-and-5 to place the ball 5 yards from goal line.

Skinner finished it off on the following play on a run. On the 2-point conversation, Jensen found big No. 80, Mathew Gilbert, a 6-foot-4 tight end. The Grizzles were 3 for 3 on 2-point conversations for the night. The offense reached full gear after being held to three-and-outs in its first three drives of the game.

“We came out slow. We’re tired from harvest,” said Jensen, who had to bag potatoes the past two weeks. “We finally woke up and momentum got to our favor and we took it to them.”

The defense, like the offense, had a sudden turnaround in the game after struggling in the first 30 minutes. The last gut punch it received was when Jeremie Hjelm ran 82 yards into the end zone to put his team up 19-16 at about the six-minute mark in the third quarter.

What changed things on that side of the ball was an adjustment by the coaching staff. To stop the running game, an extra defensive lineman was added to make it a 4-2 alignment around the second quarter. The alteration proved successful. After the last big play, the Grizzlies finally found success with the scheme and held their opponent scoreless all the way until the clock read all zeroes.

Before it did, the defense had to do everything in its power to not let Butte score again, especially in the last drive. With 23.4 seconds left, Butte quarterback Landen Gamett ran to the sidelines on fourth down for 6 yards to convert and put the ball 2 yards away from end zone.

The Grace defense wasn’t going to let the Pirates get any farther, stuffing a run before watching the time run out.

“To see my kids step up and make the stop right there was one of the prouder moments I’ve had coaching,” Sanchez said. “And I told them that.”