On Sept. 23, Grossmont’s football team hosted San Diego Mesa College. The Griffins came into the matchup looking for their first win of the season. 

The first quarter did not go as planned, as they struggled to get a consistent offense going by having some turnovers, and not having a drive go past six plays. Despite the absence of any points from the offense, the team demonstrated glimpses of its potential to create opportunities. Similarly, the defense showed flashes but no consistency, forcing the Griffins to trail 14-0 after the first quarter. 

For the most part, the rest of the first half followed suit. The offense put together a seven-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a field goal. A majority of those yards came from Quarterback Trenton Giles (# 17) passing to wide receiver James Johnson (#15) for 47 yards. Later in the quarter, an interception put the defense in a tough spot and led to a San Diego Mesa touchdown. Grossmont entered the locker room at halftime, down 28-3. 

At the start of the second half, Grossmont kicked off to Mesa. The first drive saw the Olympians go 75 yards for another touchdown, extending the lead to 35-3. Grossmont’s defense was able to hold Mesa’s offense off for the rest of the quarter. During this quarter, the Griffins’ offense was unable to put any points on the board but had a few big plays that were just for show. 

In the fourth, Mesa ran out the clock while Grossmont was still trying to find its footing. The Olympians put 10 more points on the board while Grossmont went scoreless for a  final of 45-3. 

When asked about how to continue to keep the offense rolling after a big play, Giles responded, “I think we just got to show up on Monday, work hard, you know, watch the film see what we did good on see what we can work on,” Giles said. “I mean work on the protection, work on the timing with the receivers– that’s all we can do.” 

A consistent challenge this team faces is maintaining a steady performance and the inability to string together good plays to create scoring drives. The team has talent on both sides of the field, and if they can turn those flashes of brilliance into points, the sky is truly the limit. The ability and talent are already there; the Griffins just have to put the pieces together.