Stratford hosts Gruver in highlight of high school football in Week 3
Two former district rivals will take the field Friday night when the Gruver Greyhounds (2-0) travel 40 miles west to take on the Stratford Elks (2-0) in a compelling week three matchup.
"This one's got the makings of a tough, physical ballgame," Stratford coach Matt Lovorn said. "I expect it to be a pretty good ballgame."
The last time that these two teams met, the Elks ended the Greyhounds' unbeaten 2020 season with a week eight 35-0 shutout win at home in a game that ultimately decided the District 3-2A Division II title. Stratford has won three straight games over Gruver, with the Greyhounds' last victory coming in 2018 when they got the upper-hand in a 59-28 win.
The Elks have now made the move to being a Class 2A Division I program and have jumped out to an impressive 2-0 start to the new year. They defeated Spearman 42-13 in the season opener and followed it up with a 41-21 victory over Sunray.
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There are several senior leaders for the Elks that picked up right from where they left off their 2021 state championship campaign and a sophomore quarterback in Bryce Braden that has taken the reigns and excelled from the first kickoff of the season.
"The great thing about playing a team like Stratford is that they're going to expose the things you're not doing well and they're going to expose weaknesses that you might not have known you had," Gruver coach Lee Brandon said. "It's a great indicator of what you're doing, how you're doing it, and how you can do it better."
Braden has completed 17-of-23 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 169 yards and two more scores. The 6-foot-3 sophomore has followed the holes opened up by his intimidating offensive line and relied on playmakers such as his brother, Luke, and other seniors Zane Burr, Freddie Duarte and Mauricio Duran. He also has nine tackles and one sack from his linebacker spot.
"Sometimes when you have a new person back there at quarterback, you're not sure what to expect," Lovorn said. "Bryce is a very mature young man that handles things well and is an intelligent football player. His experience on the defensive side of the ball this last year is coming into play and he's taking advantage of that experience on the offensive side of the ball. It's not like he's an inexperienced one-way player, he's playing every snap on both sides of the ball."
The Braden brothers and Co. will need to slow down a balanced Gruver offense that has earned wins over Sanford-Fritch and Texhoma/Goodwell (Okla.) to start the season.
The Greyhounds are led by a trio of seniors in quarterback Mason Gibson and running backs Pratt McLain and Ridge Holland. Junior wide receiver Sutton Ward has also proven to be a dynamic threat for the Gruver passing game through two weeks.
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The senior signal caller is 24-of-35 for 331 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions while McLain has carried for 158 yards and four scores. One focal point that Brandon has been focusing on this week has been avoiding turnovers and he believes that if they can avoid that and any red zone mishaps, then that will give the Greyhounds their best chance to win.
"One thing about Gruver is that they're always going to play hard and physical," Lovorn said. "It's been like that since Coach Brandon got there. Then you throw in the Stratford-Gruver rivalry and it's going to be a physical football game. We expect that going into it. Their defense adds in a lot of pressure and do a good job of stopping the run game whenever you're on offense. They do a lot of things well that we've had to prepare for this week."
No matter what has happened in past games, and no matter what has happened up to this point in the season, both teams will be bringing their 'A' game on Friday night to try to knockoff a longtime rival.
"If you want to bring down a team that's the defending state champion, then you're going to have to play your best," Brandon said.
GRUVER AT STRATFORD
Non-district football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Stratford High School
Records: Canyon 2-0, West Plains 0-2
Coverage: Follow @ShawnMoranNews on Twitter for live updates, plus post game video, stories and photos to appear on www.amarillo.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Stratford hosts Gruver in highlight of high school football in Week 3
