GRIFFINS KICK OFF FOOTBALL SEASON

GRIFFINS KICK OFF FOOTBALL SEASON
BY ANDREW FINLEY

The Griffins are still looking for their first win their first month into the season. It's official; football season here! From the NFL all the way down to the college level, teams are looking to win championships. Grossmont's football team looks to a high level of greatness as well, working to make it as far as it can in the Southern California Football Association (SCFA).

The Griffins kicked off their season Sept. 7 versus the Long Beach City College Vikings at Grossmont High School. After giving up two Vikings touchdowns in the first quarter, the Griffins struck back with a touchdown of their own. A 25-yard touchdown pass to Perry Steele marked the first touchdown and points scored for Grossmont this season. After a 35-yard field goal from Jack Browning, the Griffins went scoreless until the fourth quarter, when sophomore running back, Jarius Burnette, took the football 36 yards to the house. Grossmont topped the game off with a 55-yard run by Perry Steele, totaling 24 points for the Griffins. Unfortunately, the Vikings had their own ways of scoring, leaving the final score at 55-24 in favor of Long Beach.

The following week, Grossmont traveled to College of the Canyons to face the Cougars. The Griffins were shutout until the second quarter, when quarterback Sharif Harris-Legree hit Burnette for a 63-yard touchdown pass, which brought the score to 17-7 in favor of the Cougars. The Griffins' next points came in the fourth quarter from two Browning field goals. The final score of this game was 41-13 as the Cougars took the victory.

The Griffins next contest was its first game on the newly-installed turf at Grossmont College against the Eagles of Mt. San Jacinto. The game started off slow for both teams, with the Eagles ahead by just 13-0 at halftime. Grossmont wouldn't score until late in the third quarter with a one-yard run by Burnette. That play was set up due to the Griffins' defense, forcing the Eagles to punt from their own end zone. This allowed the Griffins to start their drive with great field position. The Griffins looked to be within striking distance of the Eagles, trailing by just six points heading into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the defense for Grossmont gave up 14 points,and the offense could only cough up seven points of its own, from a Lukas Arthur 35-yard touchdown to Dominick Hudson, ending the scoring and leaving the Eagles with the 27-14 victory at Grossmont.

The new field was the location of the Griffins' next matchup versus nearby Mesa College. The Griffins' only points came in the fourth quarter, after the Mesa Olympians put up 35 points of their own in the first three quarters. Both the Griffins and Olympians put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Grossmont's first points of the game would came off a 16-yard Joaquin Quintana-McKinny touchdown pass to Amari Colbert. Quintana-McKinny then threw his second touchdown pass to Mylick Steen halfway through the final quarter. Mesa took that match with a final score of 49-14, leaving the Griffins with an 0-4 record going into October.

Obviously, going winless the first month of the season isn't an ideal start. With two months of football left to go, however, the team still believes it has what it takes to win football games.

"The season's not over yet. There's a lot of good things we've seen on film," said Coach CJ Arnold, the defensive coordinator for the Griffins. "There are still a lot of games left against a lot of good teams, so we're still attacking it with the same enthusiasm as we would if we were 4-0."

The coaches aren't the only ones who've seen growth. The players themselves have seen growth and are working to win each and every week.

"We got guys that want to win and that are trying to get better every week," Jarius Burnette said, a running back for the Griffins. "It's a young team, and I feel like they're improving every week. Burnette also mentioned that he, as an offensive player, has seen a lot of growth from the young defense.

Grossmont's offense has produced a total of 1,278 yards this season, with 1,046 of those yards coming through the air. Leading the team in passing yards is Harris-Legree with 355, along with two touchdowns on the season. The Griffins leading rusher is Burnette with 262 total yards on the ground with a couple of touchdowns of his own. Leading the team in receiving is Steen, who has 21 catches for 321 total yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side, freshman linebacker Tyreece Tarrant-Patane leads the Griffins with 32 total tackles, and sophomore Anthony Sola leads the team in sacks with 2.5 sacks this season. Leading the team in interceptions are defensive backs Robert
Whitehead, Derek Sutherland and Jayden Tauanuu with an interception a piece.

Grossmont's next game at G-House will be on Oct. 19, when the young, unproven team takes on the Tigers of Riverside City College.

LAYOUT BY SHARISSE COHEE