GRACE — The sun starts to set at Grace High School as their varsity football team takes the field with farmland and mountains as the backdrop.
Students from GHS along with friends and family of the team start to file into the bleachers to watch the Grizzlies play their Friday night homecoming football game against the visiting Murtaugh Red Devils.
In the end, the Grace football team delivered a victory fitting for homecoming, defeating Murtaugh by more than 20 points.
The Grizzly defense started off the night with a strong performance by holding the Devils behind the 50-yard line in their first possession.
Grace’s offense then stepped onto the field on their own 47-yard line. On their first play of the game, senior Derek Hill catches a pass for a touchdown.
The same momentum was carried when Hill scored another touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter.
The Grizzly defense kept giving Murtaugh trouble, sacking the quarterback for a fumble and a recovery for Grace to get back on offense.
Murtaugh’s first half offensive woes continued when they threw an interception to Grace junior defensive back Cooper Andersen.
After another touchdown by Grace, the Devils decided to put in a new quarterback in hopes of changing the game's momentum. It worked as Murtaugh finally got on the scoreboard with 2:35 remaining in the first half.
Both sides of the contest continued to trade blows with each other as the Grizzly and Red Devil offenses kept scoring and mishaps on defense kept both teams on their toes.
Midway through the third quarter, Grace’s junior varsity team took to the field to get some quality playing time under the lights against the Devils' varsity players.
While Murtaugh had the size advantage, the Grace JV team had the upper hand with more athleticism and speed, causing trouble for the Devils on both sides of the ball.
The game ended in a decisive 50-26 homecoming win for Grace.
Senior wide receiver Derek Hill, who had three touchdowns for the Grizzlies, said, “It was a big win. I think we showed some of what our potential can be for this season. We started out the game with great confidence and energy. We couldn’t be stopped offensively and on defense we stood our ground all night. It’s great that some of the younger guys could step up and make plays where we had a couple starters out with injury. I think we were a bit sloppy coming out of halftime but other than that it was a great game for us.”
The Grizzlies will next travel to Twin Falls for a non-conference game against Adrian High School from Adrian, Oregon. Game time is 1 p.m. Saturday at Lighthouse Christian Academy in Twin Falls.
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