A banged up GW Graham Grizzlies squad fell 19-7 to North Vancouver’s Handsworth Royals in preseason high school football action last weekend.
Missing several starters heading into the game, GWG head coach Adam Smith plugged in the reserves and they played well.
The Grizz fell behind 7-0 but the offence was driving toward a touchdown when the injury bug bit again.
Running back Von Richardson, who’d already rolled up 134 yards on 14 carries, was felled by broken foot that’ll keep him sidelined four weeks.
Starting left tackle/defensive end Liam McCormick was also forced to leave with a shoulder ailment.
That the game was tied 7-7 at half-time was a minor miracle and it was still a one-score affair (13-7) when Handsworth scored their final TD with 1:15 to go.
“The goal of our preseason was to get meaningful reps for our younger players, and that’s happening even more than we expected,” Smith said. “But the depth will pay off for us down the stretch once everyone starts getting healthy again.”
— The landscape has changed in GW Graham’s AA Eastern Conference.
The Abbotsford Panthers have been bumped up to AAA due to higher-than-expected student numbers.
The conference adds North Vancouver’s Argyle secondary school along with Salmon Arm.
That’s right. Salmon Arm, and it’ll be the Grizzlies making that long road trip this season.
