Gruell punts highlight of Goats’ loss to Grandview

Playing against defending state champion Grandview, Garrett Gruell displayed what a powerful leg he has in a District 9-3A, Division I game Friday night.He punted eight times in the Goats’ 42-0 loss to Grandview on Friday night in Groesbeck. Grandview is the top-ranked team in the state in Class 4A, Division II this season. Gruell had three punts of more than 60 yards and averaged 45 yards per kick. He put on a kicking display which came about as the Goats couldn’t move the ball except for a couple of first downs in the game.Gruell had to go back to punt following eight stalled drives, some of which were three-and-out occasions. His kicks had the Grandview radio announcers commenting at halftime about how impressive they were.He began with a 56-yard beauty followed shortly by an even better one of 63 yards. In the rest of the game, he booted six more times getting distances of 40, 32, 62, 43 and 62 yards. He misfired only once with a two-yarder which brought his average down to 45 yards per punt. While Gruell’s kicks were the highlight, Groesbeck coach Jerry Bomar had positive notes in his observation of the Goats’ effort. He came away pleased with how hard his team played.“Considering that we were playing the numberone team in the state, we played very hard,” Bomar said. “Twice, before (Grandview) Coach (Ryan) Ebner put in his second team, we stopped the first-team offense. We ran to the ball. We got in some licks.”The Zebras averaged more 15 yards per play on offense as they quickly built a 21-0 lead on a total of 14 plays which garnered 215 yards of offense for them.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition https://etypeservices.com/Teague%20ChronicleID677/