Another setback, but progress for Grant
On paper, it's still a loss.
But for Grant, Friday's 24-14 loss to visiting Glenbrook North certainly felt a lot different from last year.
A running clock came into play last year in Northbrook as visiting Grant was overwhelmed by Glenbrook North, 42-13.
This time, Grant was within a touchdown (down 21-14) with 4 minutes left and was nearing Glenbrook North territory when a penalty set back the drive.
The Spartans got the ball back and milked the clock before kicker Andrew Pollina booted a 21-yard field goal with 11.8 seconds remaining to ice the victory.
"Our guys don't give up though. It's awesome," Grant coach Chris Robinson said of his team, which was down 21-0 late in the second quarter before finally getting on the board right before halftime. "Last year, this team (Glenbrook North) took it to us with the running clock. But we are getting so much better this season with each week.
"It's terrible being 0-2, but I think that if we can learn from this, I think the rest of the season, we'll be in good shape."
Grant wasn't in such good shape early on.
Glenbrook North (2-0) struck early with a touchdown on its first drive. Chris Heywood capped off an 8-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. He scored again early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run. And with 3 minutes left, the Spartans got another touchdown on a 14-yard run by Chris Park.
That gave Glenbrook North a 21-0 lead.
"We came out hard in the first half putting up points," Heywood said. "They (Grant) came back but we've had a lot of confidence in our defense so far this season, so we weren't too worried."
On Grant's first-play after the Park touchdown, the momentum suddenly shifted.
The Bulldogs, who had not yet managed even a single first down, finally made a big play. Quarterback Matt McGraw found Jacob Lotz for a 56-yard bomb down the near sideline. Lotz was pushed out of bounds but advanced the ball to the 3-yard line.
On the next play, McGraw scrambled and found Klaus Kathrein for a touchdown pass in the end zone. It was Kathrein's third touchdown catch of the season.
After a scoreless third quarter, in which Glenbrook North struggled on offense as starting quarterback Burke Morley left the game for concussion protocol, the Bulldogs struck again with another dramatic play
McGraw threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Noah Lautner. That cut Grant's deficit to just 7 points, 21-14 with 7:08 remaining.
After the defense forced a Glenbrook North punt, Grant again had positive momentum. McGraw scrambled on the first play of the next drive and advanced the ball 15 yards to the 50 yard line with about 4 minutes left, but a holding penalty backed up the Bulldogs deep into their own territory and the drive stalled, as well as the bid for the comeback.
"We fought hard and I'm proud of everyone," said McGraw, who completed 8-of-19 passes for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. "We need to keep the momentum we had in the second half for next week."