TAMAQUA — North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall told his team before its season opener that it had a target on its back and to expect the worst.
That message was received loud and clear near the end of the first quarter, when the Spartans’ worst-case scenario almost became reality.
Fourth-year starting quarterback Bobby Grigas was helped off the field after a blown-up punt, putting no weight on his right foot, before taking a ride off the field via a cart.
Yet Grigas was back on the field when the clock hit zeroes Friday night. He walked away from a quarterback kneel-down — with a noticeable limp — as he and the Spartans survived, leaving Tamaqua banged up but a 20-14 victor in an Anthracite Football League game.
“A lot of pain — I never felt anything like this before,” Grigas said. “But I just knew we needed to win this game. We needed to start this season on a positive. If that means a little banged up here and there, we got to win.”
Neither Spartans coach Wally Hall nor Grigas could say exactly what Grigas’ injury was. But Grigas wanted to re-enter the game — “If they had to carry me from goal line to goal line, I was going in,” he said — and took the field again in the second half.
Grigas was instrumental in his team’s opening win. He was 6-for-13 passing for 89 yards, throwing for one touchdown and punching in two more touchdowns on quarterback keepers. The Spartans’ offense began to sputter following his injury, but the senior was there to provide a spark when his team needed it the most.
The Blue Raiders tied the game 14-14 a minute into the fourth quarter when Thad Zuber found Zeke Wassell in
the end zone for a 13-yard grab. The Spartans wasted no time responding, putting together a seven-play, 69-yard touchdown drive highlighted by two huge runs and an accurate Grigas pass.
Running back Pat Gownley exploded up the middle for 19- and 30-yard runs on consecutive plays to start the drive, powering through would-be tacklers on his way to the red zone.
“Those guys up front, the bottom line is it starts with them,” Hall said. “They got a good wake-up call, they got their feet wet real quick. It was a good game.”
Gownley picked up four more yards, but the Spartans faced a third-and-6 from the 16 after an incompletion. Grigas took a snap from the shotgun and zipped a spiral right to Richard Zahodnick a yard short of the right pylon.
Did Grigas think he could make a throw like that, given the pain he was in?
“I just thank God for upper body strength, I guess, because I wasn’t using my legs,” he said.
Two plays later, he ran a keeper for a touchdown and a 20-14 lead; a two-point conversion attempt resulted in an incompletion.
The Raiders had plenty of time to respond, but then the Spartans’ defense took over.
Scotty Grigas intercepted a deep Zuber pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. When Tamaqua took over again, this time with 1:59 on the clock, Major Jordan recorded back-to-back sacks to pin the Raiders far behind the original line of scrimmage. Two more incompletions ended the drive.
“It was a great Week 1 game. It was definitely a wake-up call for us,” Hall said. “But give Tamaqua credit; they’re a good football team. I expect that.”
Game Summary
North Sch. (1-0) 14 0 0 6 — 20
Tamaqua (0-1) 7 0 0 7 — 14
NS — B. Grigas 2 run (B. Grigas kick)
NS — Murray 32 pass from B. Grigas (B. Grigas kick)
Tam — Moyer 33 run (Devlin kick)
Tam — Wassell 13 pass from Zuber (Devlin kick)
NS — B. Grigas 1 run (pass failed)
NS Tam
First Downs 8 6
Rushes-Yards 33-127 30-81
Passes 7-14-1 3-15-1
Passing Yards 95 49
Total Yards 222 130
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties 7-51 2-22
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: North Schuylkill — Gownley 14-91, S. Grigas 1-33, Zahodnick 3-9, Wagner 1-5, Weist 2-1, Jordan 3-(-1), B. Grigas 10-(-11). Tamaqua — Moyer 17-75, Barron 2-16, Dannenfelser 1-3, Rega 2-1, Breiner 1-1, Zuber 8-(-15).
PASSING: North Schuylkill — B. Grigas 6-13-1, 89; Weist 1-1-0, 6. Tamaqua — Zuber 3-15-1, 49.
RECEIVING: North Schuylkill — Murray 2-46, Jordan 2-22, Zahodnick 2-21, Gownley 1-6. Tamaqua — Dannenfelser 1-29, Wassell 2-20.
INTERCEPTIONS: North Schuylkill — Gownley, S. Grigas