BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — It was an action-packed week for the Glenwood Gators on homecoming week. Three sports were in competition for the Gators — football, volleyball and cross country. Here’s a summary of each team’s recent play.
Football:
Glenwood (4-1) came out hot on Friday for homecoming night. It scored on its first two offensive plays and didn’t look back, defeating the Beulah Bobcats (1-4) by a score of 40-0.
On the first snap of the night, Glenwood junior receiver Zayden Hart caught a screen pass from senior quarterback Jalen Stanley and left several defenders in the dust en route to an 80-yard touchdown. The Gators quickly got the ball back, and senior running back Carter Judah proceeded to take a handoff 65 yards to the house to give his squad an early 14-0 lead.
“Not many times you run two plays and score two times, but we’ll take that any time. Just how I want us to start, though, start fast and come out and be dominant out of the locker room,” said head coach Ryan Nelson. “That kind of first half just shows the maturity of our team.”
After four more TD drives, Glenwood took a 40-0 lead to halftime.
Glenwood scored on all six first-half possessions, and Stanley went 12-for-13 on passes for 275 yards to build an insurmountable lead. He threw four TD passes to three different receivers — one to Hart, one to senior Cal Lawrence and two to senior Cam Dawson. The Stanley-to-Dawson connection capped off the half with a 70-yard strike down the sideline to put the Gators up by 40.
The rushing game was just as explosive for Glenwood. Junior RB Josiah Clark added a 55-yard TD run to Judah’s 65 yarder. Outside of two missed point after attempts by the kicker, Glenwood got whatever it wanted on offense.
A comfortable halftime lead also allowed the Gators to play a lot of young, inexperienced players in the second half. Stanley checked out at the end of the second quarter, and freshman Cason Long took over as QB. Freshman Grey Walters came in at running back in the second half.
Although those guys didn’t score in the second half with a running clock, Long ran the ball down to the 5-yard line with under two minutes to go. Instead of trying to get in the end zone, the Gators opted to take a knee at that point to end the game.
“It’s always good to see those guys get experience because, like I told the team at halftime, these are the guys that give you looks every day on the scout team,” Nelson explained. “For them to come out here and play well — we controlled the ball the whole fourth quarter, and we had some guys that really started developing. Very happy with that group.”
On the defensive side, Glenwood was in control throughout the game as well. The Beulah offense totaled just 29 yards and three first downs. The Bobcats surpassed midfield just twice in the first half, and the second time a bad snap quickly put them back into their own territory.
Senior Klein Edwards and sophomore Tyler Claridy led the unit with four total tackles and an unassisted tackle for loss each.
Beulah senior QB Hunter Duval was taken out of the game after a scoreless first half. Despite not fumbling or throwing an interception, the Bobcats couldn’t make anything happen on offense. Glenwood dominated the battle in the trenches, and Beulah’s skill players couldn’t find any running room.
A running clock made for a quick, scoreless second half, and that’s all Glenwood needed to improve to 4-1. After a week one loss to Valley, Glenwood is on a four-game winning streak and owns a 3-0 record in 3A Region 4.
“It’s all about progressing right now and trying to get better,” Nelson said. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better over the last four weeks since the Valley game. We just go one week at a time and try to go 1-0. Hopefully we come out next week and play good again.”
Coming up on Thursday night, Glenwood’s next challenge is a road trip to face reigning 1A state champion Wadley. Wadley is 5-0 after a 63-6 drumming of Victory Christian on Friday. The Bulldogs have an imposing threat in 6-foot-4, 220-pound RB/linebacker Jaquez Wilkes, who is one of the most physical runners Glenwood will face all season.
For the Gators, junior QB Trey Claridy’s status is week-to-week with a foot injury he suffered in the season opener against Valley, though Nelson said he was close to being ready to play against Beulah. His possible return could be a boost for a Glenwood team that will go for its sixth consecutive win on the road on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Volleyball:
As head basketball coach Dusty Perdue proudly proclaimed over the loudspeaker at Friday night’s football game, the Gators volleyball team had a strong week. It went 5-0, defeating Chattahoochee County, Harris County, Northside (Columbus) and Dadeville (twice).
In those contests, junior Rorie Dunbar stood out with 105 assists and 26 aces. Senior Maddie Moody also turned in an outstanding week with 37 kills and five blocks. Overall, junior Halle Palmore has impressed this season with 136 digs, 70 kills, 20 aces and 68 assists, and senior Emersyn White leads the team with 144 digs.
“While the beginning of the season was challenging, we are hitting our stride and have built up some wins over some very talented teams,” said head volleyball coach Kayla Strength.
With a 12-15 record, Glenwood looks forward to a full week of stealthy competition. The Gators wrap up area play with Lee-Scott Academy on Tuesday and Beulah on Thursday for senior night. On Saturday, Glenwood will host the Border Wars tournament with Lee-Scott, Northside Methodist, Opelika, Calvary, St. Anne-Pacelli and Columbus High coming to the Swamp.
The Gators are trending upward as the playoffs are just around the corner in mid-October.
Cross Country:
Glenwood cross country has had two recent meets, the Tiger Invitational at Kiesel Park in Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 13, and a meet at Muscogee County on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
The small team of five varsity boys and four varsity girls turned in a solid performance at each event, with the boys placing in 16th as a group at the Tiger Invitational. The girls’ team doesn’t have enough runners to place as a group, but several individual performances stood out for the Gators.
For the girls, freshman Abigail Truitt finished fifth out of 29 runners at the Muscogee County meet with a personal best 21:39.42 finish time. She also finished 12th of 109 runners at the Tiger Invitational.
In the boys competition, senior Sam Horton stood out for the Gators. He finished 69th of 206 runners at the Tiger Invitational and 14th of 62 in Muscogee County with a time of 20:05.42.
Up next, Glenwood has a meet at Smiths Station on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Gators will compete in three more meets before Sectionals on Oct. 30.
