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Walker helps Grant run to victory

This running back thing has got its perks.

Like the potential to score 4 touchdowns and rush for 200-plus yards…in a single game.

That was Drew Walker's Friday night, unexpected numbers for a kid who never expected to be playing running back in the first place.

Walker, one of Grant's three main running backs, has played a lot on the line, and some linebacker and safety over the course of his football career.

Being a starting running back is new. But Walker looked as though he's been doing it for years in leading Grant to a 35-13 victory over visiting Grayslake Central in Northern Lake County Conference action.

Grant moves to 1-2 while Grayslake Central drops to 0-3, which pushes its winless streak to 22 straight games. The Rams haven't won a game since the 2013 season.

“This is definitely the biggest game I've ever had because I've never really played running back before this year,” said Walker, who finished with 206 yards on 16 carries with a long touchdown of 75 yards.

So why did the Grant coaching staff put Walker at running back?

“No clue,” said the humbled Walker with a laugh. “I have some speed. But today, it was the blocking. The blocking was great today. Our line stepped up huge this week.”

Grant's running game finally gained some traction this week, which was timely considering sophomore quarterback Matt McGraw was sidelined with a leg injury that he suffered in practice on Wednesday.

With backup quarterback Nick Kouvelis nursing a hand injury, third-string quarterback Ben Bach got the nod. And, although he didn't throw the ball, Bach distributed well to a three-headed rushing attack that rolled up 448 yards and included Walker, Kenyon Jones (26 carries, 151 yards) and Diego Ortiz (11 carries, 141 yards).

“I thought Ben (Bach) did a great job with the offense,” Grant coach Vito Andriola said. “Matt (McGraw) got hurt and Ben came in and that's pressure. I'm really proud of him.

“And I'm glad about the way we ran the ball, and we blocked better, too.”

After Grayslake Central running back Mikey Andrews ran in a quick 7-yard touchdown seven plays and 3 minutes into the game, Grant answered with 3 straight scores to take a 21-6 lead into halftime. Two of those touchdowns were by Walker (11 yards, 20 yards).

“Here's what we look at for positions, ‘What guys are going to make Grant better?'” Andriola said of moving Walker to running back. “It might not be the position they like or they're used to. But it's a position that will make Grant better and I really thought Drew would be good at running back.

“He fits that position. He's an offensive person. He used to play defense, but I think he's more a person for offense.”

Grayslake Central cut its deficit to 21-13 with 3:21 left in the third quarter when quarterback Sam Lennartz connected with Bryce Gniadek (5 catches, 83 yards) for a 41-yard touchdown pass.

But then, Walker scored twice more, including his 75-yard sprint in which he says he was getting tired at the end because he's not used to running with the ball for that long.

“I was scared (the defense) was going to get me,” Walker laughed. “I was pretty tired on that one.”

Andrews knows about being tired. He is Grayslake Central's workhorse and carried the ball 16 times for 69 yards. He also knows about the mental fatigue that he and all the older players face in having dealt with back-to-back winless seasons prior to this year.

“It's definitely a big mental thing,” Andrews said. “We have a lot of young kids so that haven't seen everything I've seen. They just need to stay composed and contain (frustration) and learn how to win.

“We started to get down and that's never what you want to do when you're losing. This was a great learning opportunity for the boys.”

Lennartz completed 7-of-12 passes for 76 yards for the Rams. He also added 27 rushing yards.

“I'm proud of the way we showed some resiliency when we were down,” Grayslake Central coach Jason Schaal said. “This is the first time we started the game with that amount of drive.”

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