Cokefair, Grant run past Panthers

Grant quarterback Justin Cokefair didn't have much of a passing game against conference foe Round Lake. The thing is, he didn't have to.

Cokefair finished at 4-for-8 with 51 yards and an interception through the air, but ran for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-7 Grant victory over the Panthers. The win improves Grant to 5-0 while Round Lake remains winless at 0-5.

As to why Cokefair prefers to use his legs as opposed to his arm, his answer is simple: "I'm too short," Cokefair joked. "When I throw, it's hard to see over the line."

With almost 200 yards on the ground, Grant coach Kurt Rous can probably find it in his heart to forgive Cokefair for his 5'9" stature. Nevertheless, Grant's potent option ran all over the Panthers to the tune of 394 total yards on the ground.

Even with backup quarterback Leo Minne, Grant's offense didn't miss a beat. Minne finished with 100 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries for the Bulldogs - all in the second half.

"It's Grant; they've got a really good team," Round Lake coach John Coursey said. "They're a tough team and they ought to be able to do some things this year."

Round Lake's lone bright spot came early in the fourth quarter as quarterback Matt Ortiz connected with Dan Krause for a 67-yard touchdown. But it was too little too late as the Bulldogs had the game firmly in hand. Ortiz finished 2-for-9 for 71 yards and a touchdown.

For the Bulldogs, Grant's big touchdown came on a nice 29-yard touchdown from Cokefair as he also scored from 8 and 2 yards out. Bulldogs fullback Dan Hourihan turned in 2 touchdowns of his own, scoring from 10 yards out in the first quarter and adding the go-ahead touchdown with 6.2 seconds left before halftime.

"(Round Lake's touchdown) was a nice play; we've got a really good quarterback and a wide receiver," Coursey said. "Our big problem is that we can't get our team to be here on Friday nights.

"Through suspensions and disciplinary actions, we haven't been able to put our team on the field. We just have to work on getting our whole team out there."