Grant worn down by CL Central
Three years ago, on the first play of his first freshman game, Grant's Isaac Jaime intercepted a halfback option pass and took it back for a touchdown at Crystal Lake Central.
On the same field Friday, Jaime took a kickoff back 85 yards for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball in his senior season. The runback tied the score 7-7 in the second quarter, but unfortunately for Grant, that was the only offensive highlight.
The visiting Bulldogs were competitive in the first half, but couldn't stop Central's new spread offense in the second half and lost 42-7 in nonconference action.
"I thought we played the best we've ever played hard in the first half," Grant's third-year coach Vito Andriola said. "I wasn't pleased with the offensive blocking, but I thought we looked a little bit like what we coach. They're big, they're strong and they wore us down a bit."
Grant trailed 14-7 at halftime, with the defense allowing just 4 first downs. Both of Central's first-half touchdowns came on fourth-down plays.
But the Bulldogs' offense couldn't move the ball and the defense was on the field a long time. Surrounding Jaime's kickoff return, Central ran 18 consecutive offensive plays. Grant's running backs managed just 6 yards on 10 carries in the first half and sophomore quarterback Matt McGraw was often under pressure when he did try to throw.
The Tigers made a radical change in offensive philosophy this summer, switching from a tight, run-oriented double-wing to a spread, which usually featured four receivers and a shotgun snap.
Junior quarterback Jacob Staples made it work, connecting on 14-of-18 passes for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
"We want to have a balanced offense, get the run game going and then pass," Staples said. "But we had a tough time running and started calling more pass plays. We weren't planning on throwing the ball as much, but second half we stepped up real well. Second half, that's everything we worked for. That's what we need every game, to be honest."
Staples got Central on the board early in the second quarter when he hit Zac Batterham for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth-and-6. After Jaime's touchdown tied the score, Central's next drive was kept alive by a pass interference penalty on fourth down and Staples found Daniel Manning from 9 yards out on the next play.
The Tigers' run game picked up steam in the second half. Working behind heavily-recruited tackle Wyatt Blake (6-5, 295), lead runner Vinson May picked up 71 yards on 16 carries, while backup Braden Bisram tacked on a 63-yard touchdown run.
"I challenged the kids at halftime about settling down and take away the self-inflicted wounds (six penalties in the first half)," Central coach Jon McLaughlin said. "These kids put a lot of time in between open gyms back in February, 7-on-7s in the summer, summer camp. We want to be able to run and throw equally well."
Grant's top rusher, junior Kenyon Jones, finished with 47 yards on 15 carries.
"I knew it was going to be a hard game," Andriola said. "Their program is really good and we're upcoming. I thought we showed some really good things early and then they wore us down and we couldn't keep the defense off. We've got to watch the video on why we didn't establish the run."