Grafton football hopes to rebound in 2024 after miserable 2023 season

GRAFTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Grafton Bearcats are headed into the 2024 season eager to improve after making a postseason run in 2021 and going 1-19 ever since.

“The motivation of getting back there is big. I know these kids want that. We want to be competitive in every game and let it play out from there,” Head Coach Mickey Foley said.

“The senior group now were freshman when we made it to the playoffs and it was a great feeling, I think everyone can say. You know, the towns together, the teams together, so we’re just trying to get back to the team we were then,” Senior Quarterback Cam Foley said.

A major part of the Bearcats’ rebuild has been on defense.

“The biggest thing is we’ve been more committed to stopping the run. That was a terrible side of our defense last year, we couldn’t stop anything. This year, we’ve made a concerted effort to focus on that first,” Mickey Foley said.

“Energy’s been great on defense. We’ve been just screaming and causing chaos and that’s what we want to do this season on defense,” Junior Linebacker and Center Brayden White said.

On the offensive side of things, having a senior quarterback definitely plays to their advantage.

“He is motivated internally. He doesn’t need people telling him ‘hey you gotta do this and do that.’ He’s been a really good leader for us and kind of helped carry some kids along,” Mickey Foley said.

The Bearcats have already seen tremendous improvements.

“Leadership’s been good, the team is coming together and everyone’s been getting the plays down more than it has been, so that’s been a lot better than what it has been in the past,” Cam Foley said.

“Our mentality and attitude has changed a lot. We’re tired of losing and we’ve hated where we’ve been at the last two years and practice has just been a lot more enthusiastic and we’ve been a lot more ready this year to win,” Brayden White said.

“Our mentality has to change. We know that these teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to bring it too,” Junior Linebacker and Running Back Brayden Boggs said.

Grafton’s season begins on Aug. 30 with an away game against Philip Barbour.

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