Grossmont 37, Patrick Henry 22

Season opener’s have always been known to give the public a taste of what level teams are playing at. Last season Grossmont High boasted a 5-0 home record while Patrick Henry High were at the opposite end of the Spectrum with a 0-5 away record. The Patriots were looking to cause some problems for the Foothillers at home who were without their star quarterback Anthony Lawrence, a 2014 graduate. It was time for the team to step up and prove their worth without their best player. In last year’s edition of this matchup Grossmont rolled over the Patriots 52 to 27.

The odds were stacked against the Patriots when they visited the Foothillers at home on Friday evening. They went into the game looking to cause some problems for the home team.

Grossmont started off on the wrong foot as they allowed the Patriots to score in the 1st quarter. Christopher Samaniego threw a pass to Kreig Corkill who caught it in the endzone for a TD. Their field goal was blocked, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Patriots. The home team immediately responded. Jared Redfield threw to Hunter Reiner to tie the game up at 6 all. The Foothillers then moved along quickly as they scored twice in a row. Jared Redfield scored for the home team on a QB Keeper run to put the game at 14-6 in favor of the home team. The Patriots tied it up at 14 when Chris Samaniego threw a 25-yard ball to Dezmon Patmon who scored his first of two on the night. As the game moved into the 2nd quarter, Foothiler’s RB Jake Harr made it 21-14 as he ran the ball into the endzone for an easy TD.

The score at half time was 21-14 in favor of the home team. What many thought would be a blowout with the Foothiller’s as favorites, turned out to be more of a battle.

The second half started and the game opened up. Grossmont got 2 points on a safety and turned it up after that. In the next five minutes came the play of the game. Foothiller’s RB, Alijah Avant slipped past every Patriot he saw in front him and made a 70 yard run for an unbelievable touchdown. The game had swung in favor of the Foothillers. Later, Jake ‘Little Train’ Harr took Avant’s play and made it look easy. Harr danced past what looked like a shaky Patriot’s defense and slipped by with a 77 yard run for a TD. The game was all but decided at that point as the score was now 37-14 in favor of he home team.

Towards the end the Patriots rallied and picked up a late TD as Dezmon Patmon scored and made the 2 point conversion. But it was too little too late, the game ended at 37-22.

The Patriots displayed heart and character as they defended themselves well against a quality team. Jake Harr and Alijah Avant ran for a combined 365 yards on the night in a stellar offensive display. The Foothillers got off to a bright start this season as they look to imitate their perfect home record from last season. As for the Patriots, there is a glimpse of ingenuity in a team that looks to improve on last season’s records.