After falling to the reigning state champions of D1 Cass Tech on the road last week, Grandville traveled to West Ottawa to take on another hungry squad in the Panthers who sat 0-2 with a combined margin of defeat of 7 points in those two losses. The Dawgs would rebound Friday night and pick up their first OK-Red win of the season with a 27-14, grind-it-out type win.
Grandville would get off to a fast start taking the first possession and grinding 5:58 off the clock before punching Braylen Haney into the end zone for a 5 yard TD plunge for a 6-0 edge after a failed 2-point try. After a quick WO 3 and out, the Dawgs would drive right down the field and score again, this time with junior FB DJ Hardiman bouncing off tackled for an 11 yard score – XP good from senior Owen Vasquez and a 13-0 Grandville lead after one.
Grandville forced another stop and marched down the field, this time taking to the air to score as senior QB Jeffrey Fogelsonger would connect with TE Garrett Nawrocki for a 22 yard TD grab, after a missed XP from Vasquez it was 19-0.
WO would get one back before the half on a wild bouncing TD rumble after a short demo-off catch by Griffin Dobb, as he went 43 to the house off the pass from Abel Anaya – 19-8 at the half.
The Panthers would get the ball and close the gap down to a score early in the third as Abel Anaya was ale to avoid pressure and chuck up a long TD pass along the back line of the end zone to Quiet Edwards Jr, who somehow was able to stay in bounds while making a leaping and contested grab, the lead was cut down to 5, 19-14.
Grandville answered the bell with the first of two long 2nd half drives, this one taking nearly eight minutes of game clock to drive down the field before Fobelsonger came up with his 2nd TD connection of the night, this time to a sliding junior TE Carter Jaarsma at the goaline, Fogelsonger connected with a wide-open Nawrocki again on the two-point try and Grandville led 27-14.
After an early 4th quarter stop that ended with a 4th down fumble from Anaya, the Dawgs would go on another extremely long drive that would stall out inside the 10 but eat 9+ minutes of clock inside two minutes.
Senior Josh Crater would ice the game with an INT in the end zone on a long heave from Anaya to move Grandville to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the league. West Ottawa is now 0-3 on the season. Grandville travels to Caledonia next week, and the Panthers will take on 3-0 Hudsonville – who defeated the aforementioned ‘Scots tonight.
