Football: Grigsby Carried The Load For Rogers High

 Staff Photo J.T. Wampler Bryan Grigsby, Rogers senior, stretches for the goal line Friday on his way to scoring a second quarter touchdown against Siloam Springs.
Staff Photo J.T. Wampler Bryan Grigsby, Rogers senior, stretches for the goal line Friday on his way to scoring a second quarter touchdown against Siloam Springs.

ROGERS -- Running the fullback was the bread and butter of the Rogers High triple option offense Friday night.

Rogers fullback Bryan Grigsby set a new 7A-West Conference single game rushing record when the senior rushed 32 times for 446 yards and five touchdowns in the Mounties 35-21 season opening win over Siloam Springs.

THAT FIGURES

0 — Rogers didn’t complete a pass.

1 — Rogers attempted one pass.

11 — Grigsby gained 10 or more yards on 11 of his 32 carries.

21 — Grigsby had 21 carries for 228 yards in the first half.

And Grigsby often ran the same play time after time.

After Grigsby was stopped for a one-yard gain on first-and-10 from the Rogers 10 early in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator Marshall Hahn signaled to the Mounties coaches on the sidelines from his perch in the press box to run the same play again. Rogers did and Grigsby raced 89 yards to the end zone for a 35-14 lead.

"Coach Hahn saw the weakness," Rogers coach Shawn Flannigan said. "Siloam was not adjusting to one of our formations. I hope we see that every week out of Grigsby. He has got better every year and I think he will get better every week."

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Grigsby accounted for 446 of the Mounties 535 yards of offense. He carried the ball 15 straight times in the second quarter, scoring touchdowns on runs of one, five and 70 yards. Trailing 14-7 with 9 minutes, 28 seconds before halftime, Grigsby started a 73-yard scoring drive with four-straight first downs on runs of 10, 17, 12 and 10 yards. He then capped the drive with a five-yard scoring run that tied the game at 14-14.

In second half, Grigsby totaled 169 yards on three consecutive carries on two different possessions, including scoring runs of 79 and 89 yards that gave the Mounties a 35-21 lead.

PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Rogers senior Jay Young blocked a Siloam Springs punt deep in the Panthers' end of the field late in the third period but punter Luke Lampton picked up the football and raced for a first down. Five plays later, Siloam Springs quarterback Chris Lampton hit Zane Washington for a 59-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21-21.

INJURY UPDATE: Rogers suffered no major injuries although several players suffered cramps on a hot and humid night.

NOTABLE: Rogers senior offensive lineman Skyler Partain started just weeks after being bite by a poisonous Copperhead snake. Partain was bitten by the snake on the porch at his home. ... The Mounties wore decals on their uniforms supporting senior Jackson Carter. Carter is at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock battling Leukemia and will need a bone marrow transplant, Flannigan said.

UP NEXT: Rogers travels to Claremore, Okla. next week in what will be the first meeting ever between the two schools. Class 6A Claremore lost 28-3 to Pryor, Okla. Friday night.

Sports on 09/07/2014

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