Granville showcases skill, depth in 7-on-7 against Fairfield Union

GRANVILLE ― Noble Terebuh battled injuries last season, but Granville's versatile wideout-defensive back showed what he can do Tuesday morning as a healthy senior.

During a 7-on-7 against visiting Fairfield Union, not only did he catch multiple touchdown passes from quarterback Beckett Long, including one on which he fought the ball away from a defender for an acrobatic grab in the back of the end zone, but he also had two interceptions that excited him the most.

"It feels great to be out there and play both ways," said Terebuh, who played primarily defense last season as the Blue Aces went 12-1 and turned in an unbeaten regular season. "I enjoy doing both and have always done both, but there's not anything better than playing defense."

Said Long: "He played safety last year, but he's back at cornerback, where he prefers to be."

A healthy Terebuh will help soften the blow of losing do-everything Dante Varrasso to graduation, but he has a plethora of help and seasoned veterans from last year who give the All-Ohio Long plenty of weapons to work with in a highly-anticipated season.

On Tuesday, Jakob Culver also hauled in multiple TD passes, and Joey Couzins, Jack Yeager and Kyle Kirby also reached the end zone. Kirby, an All-Ohio linebacker as a sophomore who also plays running back, missed the last part of 2023 with injury, costing the Blue Aces a possible deeper playoff run, but he's healthy again.

Fairfield Union coach Andy Clark, who guided the Falcons to a 6-4 record last year, their first winning season since 2017, said it was good for his team to see the athletes that Granville brings to the table.

"They're athletic and they are deep," he said. "We'll see maybe one or two teams that have that many athletes. It gave us a good chance to see where we are. At times, our defense was pretty good and we did not have that many busts."

Couzins and Theo Talbott, who will play both running back and strong safety, transferred in from Newark Catholic and are having an immediate impact, making the Blue Aces even deeper.

"They're both phenomenal and are such good players," Terebuh said. "They bring a lot to our team."

Injuries took some toll last year, but Long said the Blue Aces are already ahead of the game depth-wise.

"We got in some needed work today, and a lot of young guys got reps," he said. "We can't wait until the end of the season to build that depth. We made a big jump, confidence wise, from our first scrimmage (last week against Newark)."

Fairfield Union was run-oriented last year, with Owen Ruff rushing for more than 1,500 yards, and he and quarterback Hunter Clark each ran for over 100 in the season-ending win against Teays Valley. The Falcons are looking to be more balanced in 2024. They played a 7-on-7 at Nelsonville-York last week and finish out their passing scrimmages at Maysville this week.

Against Granville, the 6-foot-3 Clark threw a TD pass to senior classmate Isaiah Saleh, who made an outstanding grab over a Blue Aces defender in the corner of the end zone and also tight-roped the sidelines for another catch. Zach Berry, a 6-4 junior, gives the Falcons another outside threat, and he tumbled into the end zone for another score. Clark also picked off Long from his free safety slot early in the scrimmage.

"We have a few guys in some new spots," coach Clark said. "We want to add a little more diversity to our offense."

After a few years of playing up the underdog role, first-year Granville coach Heath Hinton knows his team has a big target on its back. That's why they can never be satisfied. They host Teays Valley in a final 7-on-7 at 10 a.m. Thursday.

"We watched the film from last week, and we made some good corrections," he said. "But we're still a work in progress."

dweidig@gannett.com

740-704-7973

X: @grover5675

Instagram: @dfweidig

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville showcases skill, depth in 7-on-7 against Fairfield Union