Re-watching Grimsley’s 41-15 Win over WS Reagan: My Three Big Takeaways

Re-watching Grimsley’s 41-15 Win over WS Reagan: My Three Big Takeaways
Courtesy of Michael Fanning, covering the 2023 Grimsley Whirlies football team, for GreensboroSports.com…..

Midway through the fourth quarter, as the Reagan fans began heading to the exits, it became clear. After playing three consecutive teams with playoff-level defenses, the only ones to really slow down the Whirlies have been themselves.

Grimsley head coach Darryl Brown wanted to play really good defensive teams to start the season. He wanted opposing teams to really challenge the Whirlies up front. Well, challenge accepted. The offensive line, quarterback, running game and receivers have all performed at an amazing level considering the talent they matched up against. Coach must be happy with what he is seeing on that side of the ball. Let’s get into what were my three biggest takeaways from Grimsley’s 41-15 win over Reagan

Number One: Two minute drill was run to perfection. Reagan scored on a 26 yard touchdown with 2:05 left in the first half to make it 15-9. With the crowd going crazy and all the momentum back on the Raiders sideline, how would the Whirlies handle their final drive? How about an 8 play, 80 yard touchdown drive that was capped off when Brandon found a leaping Alex Taylor from 20 yards out as time expired. It was a fantastic catch by Taylor and a perfectly placed ball from Brandon to give the Whirlies a 21-9 lead….but it was the drive that was a thing of beauty. With only one Grimsley timeout to work with, Brandon threw great balls where only his playmakers could catch them. The way the offensive looked so composed made the drive look all that more impressive. Cool, deliberate and focused, they went down the field making smart decisions to manage both field position and the clock.

Number Two: The two-minute drill brings me to my second point. The pre-snap communication and execution on offense was the best so far. When re-watching the game, you begin to take for granted the rhythm the offense operates in. Often making pre-snap adjustments can lead to confusion or missed assignments. So far, this team is in sync. Two minute drill? No problem. Handling exotic Reagan defensive blitzes? No problem. Gap integrity, downfield blocking? Best yet. Grimsley scored touchdowns on 6 of the first 7 times they had the ball against Reagan. Last week, 9 touchdowns on 11 possessions. They have scored 134 points in three games! These numbers are only possible when a team communicates on offense and executes at a high level.

Number Three: I mentioned this last week but it is becoming a recurring theme through the first three weeks. Grimsley’s defensive secondary can play with anybody. Once again, the opponent could not find open receivers. Now, to be clear, it’s not like the run defense has been outstanding. Grimsley needs to focus on the linebacking core during the bye week as Reagan, like Rolesville, found the most success running the ball downhill between the tackles. Raiders running back Jaylen Moore had 19 carries for 221 yards. Often, that kind of success on the ground can lead to big plays in the passing game. Nope. Reagan’s play action passing game was not fooling the Grimsley defensive secondary. Reagan only completed ten passes. The coverage forced the Raiders to be one-dimensional and move the ball on the ground. A disciplined, well coached and physical secondary may be the calling card of the 2023 defense.

Grimsley has a bye this week before playing Southeast Guilford at home on Friday, September 15th.