If you haven’t noticed over the last month, The Grant Generals are beginning to run like a well-oiled machine.
That hasn’t been more apparent than it was on Thursday night, as Grant was in control from the start and seemed to never let up as if to make a statement loud enough for more than just the rest of the PIL to hear.
Playing without starting quarterback Sam Davis, the offense didn’t miss a beat as they scored on their first six possessions. After a three-and-out on Cleveland’s first drive the Generals marched 75 yards in 15 plays, getting a touchdown from senior Mike Waters to go ahead 8-0 with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
After fumbling the kickoff, Cleveland seemed to watch the game slip out of their hands before the first quarter had ended. Junior Luke Davis showed he’s not the only Davis on the roster that can lead the offense, finding senior Chris Lewis for a 31-yard strike.
Cleveland’s offense fought back with an 8-yard touchdown from senior Scott Brant to Brandon Gastelum-Plata to cut the score to 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Davis again led the Generals down the field on the next drive, adding his second touchdown on a four yard pass to senior Eli Willman with just under ten minutes left in the half.
After the varsity debut and first touchdown by freshman quarterback Demarcus Singleton on the next drive, Grant was ahead 27-7 and showed no signs of slowing down.
Another Cleveland fumble resulted in Waters’ second touchdown on the night, making the score 34-7 with 4:35 left before intermission. The senior runningback added to his impressive campaign by finishing with two touchdowns on 23 carries, contributing 143 of the General’s 246 rushing yards.
Davis yet again led the Generals to pay dirt, needing just two plays and under a minute to go 76 yards and finishing with a 32-yard fade to Lewis for a 41-7 lead going into halftime.
A Joey Kenney field goal and a 52-yard touchdown from sophomore James Bullock accounted for the final score in the one-sided contest.
Having Luke Davis go 14-16 for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns forced Cleveland to commit to defending the pass, opening up the box for the offensive line and Waters to feast at times.
The Generals are firing on all cylinders going into the two most important weeks of the year. This week’s homecoming game against Sprague (4-2, 16th in OSAA power rankings) is Grant’s only remaining game that can boost their position in the rankings before the season ends.
Couple that with what could be a chance to clinch the league title against Roosevelt on October 24th, and the importance of the next ten days becomes abundantly clear.
If Grant can get through the next two weeks and get some of their injured contributors healthy, they could be a dark horse to make a playoff run come November, quite the turn around from last year’s 2-8 record.
Next week’s game against Sprague with kick-off at 3:30 PM from the Grant Bowl.
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