Re-Watching Grimsley’s 30-7 Win over Mount Tabor: Three “under-the-radar” Plays

Re-Watching Grimsley’s 30-7 Win over Mount Tabor: Three “under-the-radar” Plays
from Michael Fanning, for GreensboroSports.com

Anyone can be a “Monday Morning Quarterback” right? And after re-watching the game film from Grimsley’s 30-7 win over Mount Tabor I thought, why not me? For someone who never played football I feel just as confident in my analysis as any of the other talking heads out there. So without further adieu, here are my three “under-the-radar” plays you probably missed from Grimsley’s road win last Friday night.

Number One: The Whirlie’s off-season conditioning program worked to perfection. On a hot and muggy mid-August night, Grimsley played it cool and had the strength and endurance to finish strong. While several key Mount Tabor players were forced to miss snaps due to cramping and fatigue the Whirlies played their best players at the most important times. Sometimes conditioning can take a back seat to installing an offense or running drills but the Whirlies stayed hydrated and the off-season conditioning plan paid off.

Number Two: Mitchell Summers development into a “do-it-all” tailback. Yes, we all know how gifted he is with the ball in his hands. Incredible balance, vision and that ability to wrestle out of tackles. But what we saw at Mount Tabor was a tailback that picked-up countless blitzers allowing his quarterback time to make throws. No bigger blitz pickup was the touchdown throw from Brandon to Taylor to put the game away. Summers was matched up one-on-one against a free blitzing Spartan linebacker. Summers did just enough to give Brandon the extra time he needed to set his feet and throw a great ball. He also caught some balls out of the backfield and returned a kick. Mitchell Summers is developing into that “do-it-all” dude.

Number Three: The Finish. Grimsley finished the game on two consecutive touchdown drives. It may go without saying, but finishing strong after such a physical first three quarters had to feel good. Coach Brown trusted Brandon and wide receivers and rather than sit on a two score lead and lean on that outstanding Whirlie defense the offense stayed aggressive on first down. “Play your best, when it matters the most” the coach told me before the season. Grimsley walked-the-talk in game one.