Can-do Khan helps Lakes eke one out against Grant

As quarterbacks tend to do, Brandon Khan made plenty of plays with his arm Friday night.

The Lakes senior quarterback completed 12-of-22 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown in leading the visiting Eagles to a 14-7 victory over Grant.

But it was a play in which Khan used his leg, more specifically his foot, that sealed the win for Lakes, which moves to 3-2 after its third straight win.

Grant drops to 1-4.

"That was his best play of the game," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said of Khan's fancy footwork.

With Lakes clinging to that 14-7 lead with just about two minutes remaining, and facing a fourth-and-5 at the Grant 48-yard line, it was decision time. Either punt the ball and let Grant have another offensive possession, or go for the first down and essentially end the game.

Mertens kept the offense in, and Grant bit hard, bringing the house defensively.

The thing is, Khan has been trained to throw a curve ball in these kinds of situations. He's been trained to punt instead of pass if it makes more sense.

Khan read perfectly that Grant sent everyone to defend a potential offensive play and had left no one back to catch a potential punt, so he tapped a nice little kick downfield and got a lucky roll that ended up settling the ball at the 3-yard line.

Pinned deep in its own territory with only 1:41 left, Grant was facing tough odds. Grant sophomore quarterback Matt McGraw eventually hit Charlie Kramer for a 28-yard gain, which advanced the ball to the Grant 43-yard line with about 20 seconds to play, but he was then intercepted two plays later by Lakes senior Leon Small to end the game.

"We work on that punt play every day at practice," Khan said. "You think that it's just a minor thing, but when it comes into play like that, it actually is a huge thing for our team. It worked out good. It really boosted my confidence.

"I had never kicked the ball before (high school). I have been working with the coaches so that we can do that quick-kick play. Throughout the years I've been working on it and it's just gotten better."

Khan, who was able to shake off 3 interceptions, had two other key plays. He broke open a scoreless tie early in the second quarter by hitting Ryan Selig (5 catches, 88 yards) for a 17-yard touchdown. He then scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run halfway through the third quarter.

Grant answered that second Lakes score just five minutes later when safety Sam Tate picked off Khan and returned the interception 20 yards for a touchdown.

"We needed that, just to get us back in the game, being down 14," Tate said. "We just needed something to re-energize us. It was an amazing play and I feel like it turned around the game. We had a lot more energy on the sideline."

Khan was picked off again by Grant safety Nick Kouvelis on Lakes' very next series, but the Bulldogs were not able to capitalize.

"We did play hard, there's no doubt about that," Grant coach Vito Andriola said. "But we don't make plays. We have a chance to make plays on offense, but we don't and that's the difference.

"I am pleased how we're playing harder. I'm just tired of losing."

The Grant defense did keep Northwestern-bound running back Cameron Ruiz relatively in check. Ruiz, who entered the game banged up, gained just 51 yards on 18 carries for Lakes and got dinged up a couple of times.