Big Plays Were Key In Grace Win
Sep 25, 2024 12:30PM ● By Jody Reeves
The contrasting skyline made for a picturesque backdrop for Friday night lights in Grace.
Unlike other sports, football does not have a district tournament or a set number of bids that each district gets to state. Instead, the district champion is based on your district win-loss record, and only the district champ is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. All of the other spots are selected based on Maxpreps rankings. In short, this means that every win and loss matters all season long.
Prior to last Friday’s game, the Grace Grizzlies were sitting with a precarious 2-2 record facing down an undefeated Glenns Ferry team. If the Grizzlies want to make the playoffs, they need to get wins over teams like Glenns Ferry. A loss could be devastating to their chances of making the playoffs.
The Grizzlies started the game on defense and made a great stand forcing a punt on fourth down. Case Williams playing nose guard for Grace got a good push on the play resulting in a blocked punt. This set Grace up in good field position on the twenty-seven yard line. Just a couple of plays later, Carson Welch rumbled into the endzone from seventeen yards out followed by Gavin Draper running in the two point conversion. Grace got the early lead 8-0. The first quarter big plays were not done yet. On the first Pilot snap following the kickoff, Glenns Ferry ran sixty-five yards for a touchdown. The Pilots failed on the two point conversion, leaving Grace in the lead by the score of 8-6. The Grizzlies next series was an ugly one forcing them to punt the ball away. Glenns Ferry then put together a good drive that got them as close as the sixteen yard line. Grace got the next big play and it came from a pair of Grizzlies. Parker Yost came on a blitz hitting the quarterback causing the ball to fly straight into the air. Derek Hill was the beneficiary of being in the right spot catching the fumble out of the air and using his speed to take it to the house for another Grizzly score. A failed two point now put the score at 14-6. Glenns Ferry would answer back with another long drive finished by a big pass play and the first quarter would finally end in a 14-14 tie.
On the Grizzlies’ first drive of the second quarter they featured recently returned running back Trevor Mathews. Mathews had some good runs on this drive, eventually getting Grace to the one yard line. Mathews was rewarded with the one yard punch up the middle and the two point conversion. Grace now led 22-14. For the next several minutes, both offenses got bogged down with the teams trading possessions. With the half winding down, Glenns Ferry struck again with a fifty-five yard pass play for a score. The Grace fans were not happy with the play due to what looked like an obvious push off by the receiver. The play would stand and the defense would hold on the two point conversion taking a 22-20 halftime lead.
Grace once again benefitted from a big play when on the second half opening kickoff Bryant Moss would muff the catch but be able to gather the ball up and run eighty-five yards for a touchdown. Unofficially, this was Grace’s first kick return for a touchdown in four years. That was about all there was for excitement in the third quarter. The Grace defense made some halftime adjustments and put the clamps on the Pilot offense. The quarter ended with Grace still leading 28-20.
Grace started the fourth quarter on defense. The defense held once again, forcing a punt that would travel to the nineteen yard line. The Grizzlies put together a great drive to start the fourth that would end with another score for Grace. This time the touchdown came in the air on a pass from Draper to Parker Yost from fifteen yards out. The defense continued to hold, and Grace was once again in possession of the ball around midfield. The Grizzlies leaned on Mathews again on this drive where he would get the ball down to the five yard line. Moss finished the drive off on the next play and Mathews earned the two point. Grace extended the lead to 42-20. One more defensive stand is all Grace would need and the offense would finish the game in victory formation.
Grace was happy to finally have Mathews on the field and with a bye week this week they hope to get a few more of their banged up players closer to coming back to get the team at full strength down the stretch of a difficult schedule.
