The G.W. Graham football Grizzlies win so many games, it’s not often they have the chance to make history. But they did it Friday night, earning their first-ever victory over a U-S based AAA school.
The Grizzlies traveled to Vancouver, WA. to take on the Prairie Falcons, and stunned the home side with a 35-33 W.
After the Falcons went up 6-0 on their opening drive, G.W. Graham answered back with a 37-yard scoring strike from quarterback Aiden Hewitt to wideout Carter Dallas. Riley Ashley nailed the first of five point-after kicks to give the Grizz a 7-6 lead.
Offensive coordinator Matt Paisley dialed up a balanced game plan that kept Prairie off balance. Running back Maleky Colgiu had two rushing majors, as did Hewitt. The QB completed big passes to Michael Blair, Christian Beck and Carson Raine.
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“I’m very happy with how we developed and came together as a team tonight,” Paisley said. “It really shows how much these players want to compete and go to battle for each other.”
Defensively, the Grizzlies brought relentless pressure led by led Brayden Fraser and his four quarterback sacks. Ashley and Noah Sandau had three sacks apiece and defensive backs Raine and Logan Murphy came up with interceptions.
“We were missing two starters on defence tonight, and the rest of the team rallied to fill those roles,” said G.W. Graham head coach Ryk Piche. “We played a tough opponent down here and our guys didn’t back down one bit.”
Ultimately it was special teams that won the game. Both teams scored five touchdowns each. Ashley’s accurate boots gave the Grizzlies the decisive points they needed while G.W. Graham thwarted a pair of two-point convert tries by the Falcons.
The Grizzlies are back in action Friday (Sept. 15) with their homecoming game at Exhibition Stadium, facing the South Delta Sun Devils. Kickoff is 7 p.m.