Grant in line for big things?
The offensive line at Grant is young.
But not as young as last year.
The Bulldogs rolled up more than 1,400 rushing yards last year with three sophomores — center Jared Lalanda, guard Luis Echeverria and tackle Dan Haeffele — starting on the offensive line. Considering those three are now seasoned juniors, and a year older and wiser, Grant is hoping its rushing game will be even more potent this season.
“To have three sophomores starting on the offensive line, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in our conference that did that,” said Grant coach Kurt Rous, who also welcomes back 6-foot-5 senior tackle Jake Mraz. “They made some sophomore mistakes last year and we had some of those (growing pains). But now, it’s comforting to know they have that year of experience. They’re bigger and better now and if we got 1,400 yards last year with them as sophomores, we should be even better this year.”
The Bulldogs’ rushing game was key in securing a berth in last year’s Class 6A playoffs. And even though leading rusher Steve Niewiedzial has graduated, Grant still has plenty of talented backs to run behind its now veteran line.
Quarterback Alex Villa started last season as a backup but took over as the starter when senior Leo Minne went down with an injury. Over the last half of the season, Villa thrived in the Bulldogs’ option offense.
“Alex is shifty,” Rous said. “He makes excellent reads in the option. He ran track in the off-season, he did a lot of work in the weight room. We feel really good about him directing the offense for us.”
When Villa isn’t running the ball for the Bulldogs, newcomer Jonathon Wells will be. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore fullback is unlike most of Grant’s fullbacks of the past.
“Jonathon is big and tall and we’ve never really had anyone in the backfield built like him before,” Rous said. “When we brought him up last year to practice with us for the playoffs, our kids had a hard time taking him down. He just runs people over. He’s really well-built.”
Junior running back Kyle Whitman will also get plenty of touches out of the backfield.
When Grant does opt to pass, Villa has a couple of tall receivers to go to in 6-foot-4 basketball star Jerry Gaylor and 6-foot-1 Keion Miller.
Defensively, the Bulldogs should also be strong up front with three linemen returning, including leading tackler Quinton Quarles, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound tackle. Tackle Nick Jones and end Charles Williams also return.
“Quinton had a great year last year, a lot of tackles, a lot of tackles for loss,” Rous said. “We’ll be really strong on the line with him in there.”
Probable starters
Pos. Name Ht/Wt Yr.
OFFENSE
RT Dan Haeffele 6-3/265 Jr.
RG Devin McDonough 6-0/230 Sr.
C Jared Lalanda 5-10/205 Jr.
LG Luis Echeverria 5-11/235 Jr.
LT Jake Mraz 6-5/235 Sr.
RB Ryan Volpe 6-0/180 Sr.
FB Jonathon Wells 6-1/180 Soph.
WR Jerry Gaylor 6-3/200 Sr.
WR Keion Miller 6-2/165 Jr.
QB Alex Villa 5-8/180 Sr.
DEFENSE
DE Charles Williams 5-9/177 Sr.
DT Quinton Quarles 6-3/240 Sr.
DT Steve King 6-0/205 Sr.
DE Nick Jones 6-3/220 Sr.
OLB Matt Conn 6-1/195 Sr.
OLB Tony DiCosola 5-10/185 Sr.
ILB Jared Lalanda 5-10/205 Jr.
ILB Shawn Hansen 5-10/155 Sr.
CB Jonathon Tosti 5-8/160 Sr.
CB Dillon Watters 5-11/185 Sr.
SS Nick Fanella 5-9/155 Jr.